My first novel by M. L. Rio and I enjoyed it. I finished it in one car ride. Has a good spookiness to it. I only wish this would have been longer.

This is an eerie mystery combined with a little light fungal horror that follows a group of insomniacs that stumble upon an open grave in their defunct graveyard. They all have their own unique reasons to be invested in the mystery and the author does an excellent job weaving their narratives together. That being said, this novella could easily have been twice its length. I found the end to be quite unsatisfying, but I wonder if that is the point, like the handful of hours that an insomniatic is able to glean between waking hours.

'Graveyard Shift' was just ok for me. I was interested in the story and where it was going, but I felt it ended too abruptly. If it had been developed into a full-length novel with some resolution at the end, I think I would have enjoyed it more.As it was, it left me with too many questions at the end.

Enjoyable, but not very memorable. Three stars.

Mysterious and atmospheric. I listened to the whole novella throughout the day and I liked the performance from the various narrators, but it kept me out of the story. I couldn’t follow what was happening between the jumping POVs so I think it would better read on the page. Nevertheless, it was a quick listen with gothic and academic themes so I’ll try to pick it up again when the book is out.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the listening copy.

A creepy story of a group of people who meet nightly in an old cemetery to smoke. One night, however, a large whole full of something appears...
Atmospheric and interesting, this is a novella to listen to.

Unfortunately, this book really wasn't for me. I always hate when that happens with a Netgalley book because I'm always so grateful to have received an ARC copy.

But sometimes, it just works out that way. :-/

In this case, it worked out that way.

I think the book definitely suffered from being novella length instead of a full-length novel. There was very little world-building, and all the characters got thrown at the reader at once, so it was almost impossible to keep track of who was who.

I constantly kept getting confused by who was talking. I would think it was one person, then they'd say something that pertained to an event that happened with another character, and I'd suddenly realize, "Oh! That's not her! It's HER!"

It just felt rushed and didn't give you enough time to get to know the characters or the setting. As a result, nothing felt impactful. Even when you find out the "horrible truth" behind what's going on, you're just kind of like, "Meh."

Yeah. As much as I hate to rate Netgalley books badly, this one just wasn't it for me.

A big thanks, though, to the publisher and to Netgalley for allowing me early access. That's always appreciated, even when the books fall a little flat for me.

Thank you, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley, for this ARC!!

I loved the audiobook and the full cast of narrators; it kept me engaged the entire time. I couldn't tell where the story was going from the first chapter, but was absorbed with the plot and how the group used their skills/abilities to solve the mystery.

For a novella, I enjoyed this and felt creeped out enough; this was definitely a good start to the spooky season for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced audio of Graveyard Shift by M.L. Rio.

This novella by the author of If We Were Villains held the same spirit as their debut. Listeners will enjoy the reading of the full cast and the easy friendship of the characters - as well as the spooky story!

I honestly don't even know how to rate this book, so I'll go with three stars.

The author does an incredible job of creating a chilling atmosphere where you know that something isn't quite right, but I felt that this novella was too short to really develop the plot. I found myself asking more questions and scratching my head by the end.

This is brilliant! I just wish it were a full length novel. I wanted more!! The characters were great and felt quite fleshed out, despite the short length. The plot was super intriguing and the twists were great. Highly recommend picking it up!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ALC!

What I liked about this novella was the narration and the setting. The narrators did a great job. The setting definitely was spot on for spooky autumn reading.

The story fell flat for me and I felt nothing for the characters. It wasn't memorable for me. The story felt like it was too long even though it was a novella. I just didn't enjoy much about this unfortunately. It wasn't for me.

I enjoyed reading about these friends with insomnia in common. I only wish it were longer.

Have you ever had trouble sleeping? I definitely have, but the characters in this book (especially Hannah) have it so much worse. Sleep eludes all of them to the point that they all meet up and hangout together in a cemetery late at night.
On one of these evenings, they see rat corpses. Like...a lot of rat corpses. And start on a search to find out what happened to them.

I loved and related to all of the characters for different reasons. They all had a very real sense of humanity and being flawed.

I would listen to again to pick up on some of the things I missed, which I am sure was a lot.

Rio once again proves her prowess in creating an eerie plot and setting with "Graveyard Shift". Not dissimilar from the group of students in "Before We Were Villians", the novella introduces us to a group of nightshift workers suffering from insomnia. In the course of one evening, the group notices a gravedigger in the graveyard long past his shift and subsequently discover a sinister plot coming out of the university's science labs.

Considering this was a novella, there is not as much character or plot development as you would expect with a longer novel. The ending does seem to sort of fizzle out, leaving it up to the reader to imagine the consequences of one night. Despite an unsatisfactory ending, Rio's prose and descriptions are masterful (this was so much of what I loved about BWWV).

I also thoroughly enjoy an audiobook with variable narrators, and this was no exception!

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the creativity behind this storyline with a group of characters who meet in an old, historical graveyard and make a gruesome discovery. The plotting was engrossing and entertaining, but I never truly connected with any of the characters. I do recommend this book for fans of horror who enjoy a faster plot. I did like the narrators, and I made it through the audiobook quickly. Thank you MacMillan audio for the ALC.

Every night in the college’s ancient cemetery, five misfit late shift workers meet up. When a freshly dug open grave appears in the cemetery, they follow the gravedigger to get to the bottom of things. They soon realize the grave is linked to shady nefarious experiments at the college, experiments that have led to tragedies and strange happenings around town. This is a creepy atmospheric modern gothic novella, sure to make your skin crawl! The narration was haunting and spine-chilling. Loved it.
✨Pub Date: 9/24/24 ✨
4.5/5⭐️

This short, Novella was absolutely well done as far as the narration and the tone and temple of the narrator. I didn't find any fault with the narrator or the way it was presented or dictated to me as the reader.

The story itself was very Gothic and ominous. I did find some of the POV's a little more boring than others. And it definitely took me out of the story a little bit when I found the character to be not as interesting. The overall story was very interesting and I really liked the fungi element within the novel as well.

I really liked this theatrical way in which this was written and presented to the reader. Overall, this was a pretty average read for me where I was entertained, but not blown away.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan for the ARC! All opinions are my own.

3.5 Stars! I liked this more than I liked If We Were Villains but it still wasn't 5 stars. I feel like this ended super abruptly and could have benefitted from being longer. I did really like the vibes of this novella, as it reminded me of What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher but in more modern times. Some of the lines in this novella had me laughing out loud which sounds funny for a horror story, but iykyk. I will definitely pick up more of her work!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Graveyard Shift by ML Rio was short and sweet, and so too will be this review.
I was hooked immediately by the eerie setting and the eclectic combination of characters. It was the perfect blend of dark academia and sci-fi horror. My only complaint is that I wished I could have spent more time with the characters, more time at Midnight on this university campus, exploring the cemetery.
The book explores medical ethics in an accessible way. For someone with a limited knowledge of this specific subject, I felt like I understood what was going on and was able to recognize how to feel about discoveries without being explicitly told by characters more in the know. Unfortunately, when medical ethics is the topic, it usually comes with cruelty to animals. This was no different.
I am happy that I listened to the audiobook. I felt like the different narrators did each character justice. They were each distinct and added to the atmospheric nature of the story.
Overall, I give this novella a 4/5 and will definitely be seeking out more writing by the author.

*3.5 rounded up*

If there's one thing I can count on with M.L. Rio it's the well-seasoned atmosphere; this will be my go-to fall novella reco. Not a full-blown horror but we've got mystery with lots of spooky vibes.

Points knocked off for the ending as it fell flat compared to the rest of the story but oh how I wish this was longer than a novella. The characters were interesting and the story had enough weight to double the page count. Guaranteed to be a reread for me in a couple years.

Let me just start with I think M.L. Rio nails atmosphere. She’s absolutely brilliant at it. But the story was… fine. Dare I say a bit flat. As a person with ridiculous health anxiety I could have done without the suspected breast cancer that served no real purpose or all the edgy smoking. I think as a novel this would have been better. I might have cared more about the characters. So yeah, two stars for the atmosphere and another for the audiobook narrators who did a superb job.

Thank you NetGalley and McMillan for the ARC audiobook.