This book was very different than anything that I’d read before and I am so glad that I did! A dark and gothic psychological horror perfect for the spooky season with an intense and haunting atmosphere, and a plot that had me second guessing myself every chapter!
Reading horror is not something I do very often but I was engrossed with the fungi aspect and really enjoyed the dark academia undercurrents, Karina Halle did an amazing job creating a setting that was spine-chilling in all the best ways. I couldn’t fully get on board with the romance until the end of the book when it all finally started to make sense (without giving spoilers!)
The plot twist at the end has me so shocked as it was so unexpected and definitely elevated this book to a 5 star read.

This took me a long time to get through. The beginning was quite fascinating, since I love biology. However as soon as the “romance” started it all went down hill fast. It was pretty hard to read. The plot also took a dive at around 45% mark and I was practically forcing myself to read it because A. It’s an arc and B. Everyone said the last 40% was good. So I kept going, and going, and going. Nothing was really happening except badly written smutty scenes, but I persisted. And yes, eventually, at around 80% it does get better, the plot gets revealed and while I had my suspicions, it was not what I expected.

But sadly, the ending was not enough to change my overall opinion of the book. And the “romance” is still cringe even knowing what I now know.

I rated this book at 3.75 stars.

This book was definitely outside my comfort zone, it is a bit gothic horror, sci-fi, thriller/mystery with even some romance sprinkled throughout.

Sydney is an aspiring mycologist who has been given a prestigious internship with the Madrona Foundation. They are doing groundbreaking work in the study of alzheimer research which is close to Sydney's heart. Madrona Foundation is located on Vancuuver Island and is isolated. Students who join the foundation have to give up all contact with the outside, no phones, no email, no social media. The more time Sydney spends at the Maldrona Foundation, the more things seem to be not quite right.

The atmosphere of this book was so creepy and so perfect for this story. An isolated island that has frequent gloomy, foggy weather and is surrounded by forest and animals. That drew me in from the beginning.

Sydney starts experiencing some weird things like a girl no one else seems to be seeing, visions of a death in the woods, an animal that seems dead but also alive at the same time. Most of it is passed off as the isolation getting to her, but is it? or is something bad happening at the foundation?

There is also an attraction to one of her professors, and a relationship that develops with him. There are some pretty spicy scenes with Wes and Sydney, and the romance seems fated. Wes also seems to be keeping an especially close eye on Sydney.

Since Sydney is a mycologist, there is A LOT of talk of fungi in this book. Much of the science speak went right over my head, and I could've done with a little less of that. There were also some descriptions of animals that was a little hard to read. But the remainder of the story kept me hooked, trying to unravel the mystery of the Maldrona Foundation and why Sydney seems to be seeing all of the things she is seeing.

The last 1/3 of this book was impossible to put down. And the twist in this book was not something I would've ever guessed, but again this isn't my usual genre. The mystery was so interesting, the romance was so good with some very spicy scenes that I was not expecting, the atmosphere of the whole book added to the spookiness of it.

Thank you to Karina Halle, NetGalley and Metal Blonde Books for my arc of this book.

I’ve never read anything like Grave Matter. I started reading and honestly, I thought I was going to have to stretch to give this a 3 star rating. Those first 5 chapters are tough, they’re slow and theres a LOT of fungi chat. But she gets good reallllll quick around chapter 6.

This book is dark romance come psychological thriller cross cottagecore paranormal-ish. I’ve read Karina’s books before, but this was so, so different (thought the spice was just as good as we’ve come to know and love her for. All Hail Kincaid!) There were several moments where I scared the shit out of myself reading this in the dark, times where I wanted to cover my eyes and ears and put the book down because: absolutely not with some of the creepy shit thank you.

This book is phenomenal. It’s unique and beautifully grotesque and macabre, sad and terrifying all at the same time. I want to experience it all for the first time again. Loved it.

3.75 stars rounded up to 4

Grave Matter is a book that I wouldn't usually pick up, but I ended up enjoying this more than I thought I would. This book feels like an amalgamation of many genres - horror, mystery, thriller and of course, just that dash of spicy romance. The story is dark and with an unreliable narrator like Sydney at the forefront, you never truly know what's real and what's not. The writing is stunning, with sharp descriptions keeping you on your toes with the truth of what is actually going on. Seriously, it took me a while to figure things out. And the twists? They were pretty wild. Some of them felt a tad bit outlandish, but many also felt very realistic with how the story was progressing. In terms of the romance, I personally don't read books with taboo relationships (in this case, a combination of professor x student and doctor x patient) but I could see the chemistry between Sydney and Wes (and with the revelation towards the end - well, no spoilers from me...)

I did feel the book was a little short though, especially towards the end. We get quite a few plot twists in succession, so that really does take away the shock and surprise of it all. But overall, this was a pretty fun read that had me easily hooked and I know that I will be reading more of Karina Halle's books after this.

This book fits into so many different genre boxes, sci-fi, dark academia, horror, and romance all into one. Who would think that mushrooms could be so scary? I already didn't like them, but now I'm thoroughly terrified by them.

Madrona Research Foundation is on the cusp of finding a cure for alzheimer's. They're into the final stages and, once again, recruit some of the brightest student minds in various backgrounds in the field to help them with their research and testing. Sydney is amongst those students with her love of all things fungi. After landing herself in trouble at college, getting selected to help at Madrona is a blessing, or so she thought. Sydney manages to fall hard for her teacher and psychologist, and things start to get confusing for Syd as she starts to questioning just what's real and what's not.

I can't even stand how good this book is. It was hot, sad, wholesome, and beyond creepy. I will be purchasing this book for me and others. I need to listen to it too. I am as obsessed with this book as the doctor is with our protagonist.
I will never recover from the twists, or the weird romance, or the animals. I might have some trauma from this book.

Thank you Net galley for allowing me to receive this book. It did take me a little bit to pick it up being a mood reader but once i did, i could not put it down. This book had everything i needed was missing in a book. It kept me on my toes and kept me wanting more. I thought about it, i dreamt about it and i couldn’t stop talking about it. The feelings that i felt while reading were intense and i repeatedly kept screaming, saying wtf and was in shock. I did not expect any of the twists even though i tried to making guesses. I feel like everyone needs to read this for the storyline alone because WOW. PLEASE READ TRIGGERS as it does have some things that might bother you but wow 5 ⭐️

Grave Matter took me on a wild ride! It was dark, suspenseful, thrilling and intriguing! It was very different from anything else I’ve read and I couldn’t put it down until I had ALL the answers.

Sydney is a fungi scientist who landed a dream position working alongside other grad students for the Madrona Foundation on a remote area of Vancouver Island. The foundation is doing promising Alzheimer research. She has had some shake ups in her life so this new opportunity gives her a fresh start. However, she starts experiencing some strange things on the island and she finds that she is incredibly drawn to her professor/psychologist, Kincaid.

The story is only told through Sydney’s POV, so as readers we aren’t privy to anyone else’s experience on the island. It was really exciting to figure out what was actually happening. I wasn’t sure what other characters I could trust or if Sydney herself was even a reliable narrator. It was kind of disorienting. I felt like I was experiencing Sydney's confusion along with her. The whole time I was reading, I had a million theories of where the story was going to go. There was some absolutely twisted stuff going on and I wanted to know every detail.

This book was such a fun reading experience! I can’t wait to read more by this author.

WOW JUST WO00OWWW.
this book reminded me a lot of nocticadia at first but then the story went completely different and it's SOO UNIQUE
OMG
the plotwists are just mindblowing, I had so many moments where l was absolutely speechless...
BIG RECOMMENDATION!

What is exactly is happening? I wasn't sure so I just had to keep reading. A creepy and atmospheric descriptive read for sure. I knew there was something more happening with the FMC behind the scenes and couldn't put my finger on it, but was still thoroughly surprised in the ending.

“Grave Matter,” by Karina Halle

I didn’t like this book. I thought the plot and some characters were good, but they were overshadowed in my head by the main character. She bothered me soooo much. She came off as a giant pick me girl and super cringe. She was defensive and self-absorbed. She didn’t want someone to create a cure for ADHD because she likes to struggle with it (because let’s be real, having anxiety about time blindness is a struggle), she doesn’t want anyone else to have it, even though you have free will to take any medication kindof solidified that she was so annoying. To have a college student hoping to be a scientist to cure diseases and to be so blind to the benefits because it’s not exactly what you want means you picked the wrong field. I just couldn’t get over it. 2 out of 5 stars, not for me.

Thank you for the free copy, Netgalley.

Thank you NetGalley for the e-arc of this book. I see why everyone has enjoyed is but also to say it’s not for everyone, if you love dark academia and mystery then definitely pick up this book. Sadly this book took about 25% to get into the story I came really close to DNF’ing the book, but I believe that those that loved Nocticadia would also enjoy Grave Matters. The story revolves around the mfc who quickly falls for her professor/therapist who she finds out that he likes watching her they her bedroom window at night.

🔹Age gap
🔹professor/student love affair
🔹the dead don’t stay dead.

A smutty mystery book.

Was this a good book, eh.

Was the smutty, angsty, dark, brooding, murdery vibes present, yes.

It was a wild ride. I saw the twist coming but didn’t see how it happened till it was explained. I love mystery’s apparently so I gave it an extra star for that.

I was so excited going into this book! I wasn’t completely sure of what was going to happen so as I was reading I went further into this world. The scary vibes were keeping me hooked and the story was so unique. I wasn’t completely sure dying to know how it ended. The freaking plot twist hit so hard out of nowhere and once that happened the book moved so fast unraveling to the end. I absolutely devoured this book. It says sci-fi which I’m not into but it felt more like paranormal that’s explained by science 😂. I felt so many emotions especially at the end and I’ll just reiterate how spooky this was as well. Please read this!!

M Night Shyamalan meets dark romance!

That was a fun ride! I went into this, kind of unsure what it would be, and for 80% of the book I still had no idea what was going on, but in a way that kept me hooked!

🍄🍄🍄

The premise: Grad student, Sydney, at a low point in her life, joins a remote research facility, Madrona, where they are doing groundbreaking research around Alzheimer’s.

Whilst there, she becomes lost in the mystery and almost supernatural occurrences of the institute. As well as becoming caught up and obsessed with her professor, Kincaid.

🍄🍄🍄

Normally, I find sci fi hit or miss, depending on how it’s approached, but I found myself strangely interested in fungi thanks to this book! It was clear the level of research that Halle had put into the topic!!

And I loved the discussion around ADHD / neurodivergence in the book. Which I believe is reflective of Halle, herself, from her afterword. It’s a recurring theme throughout the book, and pushes the idea that Sydney’s neurodivergence is what actually makes her mind brilliant for science.

And Sydney’s mind itself made the the narration. At points she is an unreliable narrator, and you find yourself as lost as she is with what’s going on, trying to piece together together what is real and what isn’t. It definitely added to the mystery! And whilst there were some twists that I saw coming, the overall motive and reason behind them really surprised me!

And finally the romance! I really like the development of Sydney and Kincaid. Whilst it develops fast, and there is an element of obsession (which makes sense, the more you read), it doesn’t feel too forced and inappropriate, despite the power dynamics between the two. As a couple, they do really click, and it isn’t just the sexually aspect driving their relationship. That being said the spice is hot! And kicks off quite quickly due to Sydney’s dreams.

All in all, I’d recommend this if you like a slightly darker romance, with some psychological horror and minor sci fi elements! Although to reassure, it’s not too heavy, and you can definitely still read this at night and sleep peacefully!

And I will definitely me keeping an eye out for Karina Halle’s other books!

I love a book that makes me feel insane!!
Also love a book with neurodiverse representation!!
But them together and I have a grand time!!
The ability for me to feel like I was going crazy along with the main character was wild! I know what I read but was second guessing myself!
The main character is so endearing and you want to love her and all her faults! You want her to win!
The twist in this book i could not see coming and i love when I feel gobsmacked!
100% recommend checking this out and suggest buckling up for the wild ride!!

This book had a great plot with intriguing characters. I’ll definitely be looking out for more from this author.

First time reading anything by this author. Now after finishing I immediately need to look up all her work.

This books was phenomenal. Thought provoking. I was in love with the doctor myself by the end.

I thought that this book was more of a horror novel; I think the premise was really good and I did enjoy it, but the heavy romance aspects I wasn't expecting and I didn't really love.