I’m not sure what to make of this little book! I wasn’t sure what to expect — all I knew was that it was short and from an author I’ve really enjoyed in the past, and I was sold.

Graveyard Shift follows a group of five… friends? We’ll call them friends. They cross paths at the cemetery every night to share a smoke break, and one day they discover an open grave that should not be there and was not there the night before.

The group dynamic in this is interesting because most of them seem to barely tolerate each other. Once they have something bizarre bringing them together, their reluctance made me almost uncomfortable, like I was overstaying my welcome.

I don’t know that I loved having so many POVs in such a short book, but I did appreciate getting to know what each person’s deal was from their own perspective. I also found the pacing a bit odd — it felt like nothing much happened in the first half and then it was over suddenly.

By the end of the year, I might forget I ever read this. That said, I enjoyed my reading experience and wanted very much to learn what was going on and what would happen to those involved.

Bonus points for the audiobook having a full cast!

A novella about spooky mushrooms/spores doing spooky things--I'll take ten!

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this novella! The narration was amazing, and definitely added to story. It was like a thriller and horror novel combined (chef's kiss). The different point of views to what was happening added a lot of depth to this novella. Seeing what each character saw in that short night following the discovery of the hole in the graveyard.

Overall, this is a quick novella that is well worth the listen! I am super excited for this one to be released!


4.5/5

*3.5 stars* Thank you Netgalley for the audio arc. The writing and atmosphere were awesome, however, it was too short. I love a good novella. Horror in a novella form is my favorite. But this wasn't enough time for ML Rio's writing to shine. Her writing is so beautiful it doesn't really lend itself well to a shorter format. Nothing felt explored enough.

Actual rating: 3.5/5 Stars

This is another book that it pains me to give it less than 4 stars but it just seemed too abrupt for me. M.L. Rio is a fantastic character writer and if you loved the cast in If We Were Villains be prepared to see similar people in this story. The problem arises in that this story is entirely too short. I felt like I was just getting to hear the story when it abruptly cuts off at ends. One of the characters almost got zero screen time. The others were establishing their relationships and mending past problems. The mystery was coming out of the woodwork. I just expected a whole night of scooby gang sleuthing and then it just left me with nothing. Should have been a whole book or at least 100 pages longer. All of that to say that M.L. Rio is an incredible writer so I really enjoyed the characters for the time I got to see them. Maybe one day we will revisit these characters in a longer novel. One can only hope.

Thank you to the publisher for providing this audioARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A group of strangers who all meet at a cemetery to smoke at night, come to their regular meeting place and discover someone has dug a hole in the ground. Not too unusual for a graveyard, but it takes the characters on their own fungi themed mystery plot.

This one wasn’t for me. It wasn’t bad, just kind of boring. If it were any long I might have considered dropping it, but at barely 3 hours long I kept going. I think it had good potential, it was just so many characters to keep track of in such a short period of time.

Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review!

This was a great and quick creepy read. I really enjoyed the narration of the audiobook. Even though it's a short story I felt like the atmosphere and characters felt fully realized.

I was drawn in by the premise and loved the execution.
You know it's a great novella when you wished it was longer after finishing it.
I listened to the audiobook version and I especially loved the multiple narrators adaptation of the multiple point of views writing.

It felt somewhere between mystery and atmospheric horror, with well fleshed out characters and great pacing.

It was my first book from the author but with such great writing style and original ideas I will check out their other work.

This was such a cool story, think "creepy pasta" elevated x ten. It's a short story that packs a good punch. I was so riveted that I listened to it in one go. Each character was really interesting and well developed. The voice acting was superb, and I really liked the fact that each character had their own voice actor. I would love to see this turned into a series, because I want to know what happens next!

This had so many good things going for it: a ragtag group of friends, multiple POVs, an eerie setting, excellent writing, and an interesting premise - A group of night shift workers who regularly meet up at a local defunct cemetery find a freshly dug grave. I loved the shift in POV between chapters and how that gave us a different perspective to the grave, group dynamics, and happenings around town. There was one very memorable scene with rats that has, unfortunately (lol), stuck with me. While this was a good read at 3.75 stars, it was short in a way that left me a bit unsatisfied and wanting more. Still, a well-written and interesting little horror novella.

I didn’t realize this was a novella so when the book ended as suddenly as it did, I was completely unprepared for it. I could have done with a better conclusion, but I was ABSORBED in this audiobook the entire time. Considering how short this book is, it packs a punch and checks all the boxes on character development, plot, and atmosphere.
The audio in particular has a phenomenally talented group of narrators. Highly recommend the audio version of this one.

This was a great little novella if you are a fan of Dark Academia. I struggled at the beginning to really get into the story, but I am so glad that I stuck with it. The characters, while all struggling with one form of insomnia or another, have different motivations and are very well developed. They're a really interesting mix of people that have all been brought together by their nighttime wanderings, and they make a really great cast of characters. The mystery at the heart of the book is intriguing, and I was excited to watch it unfold. Rio's writing is just as enjoyable as I remember it being when I read "If We Were Villains." Highly recommend if you are looking for a quick Dark Academia read!

These little book packs a creative punch! Five graveyard employees with various backgrounds and life experiences come together and pursue answers to the strange happenings going on around the property. “Medication-resistant insomnia,” soaks these pages, and ML Rio weaves together an incredibly eerie story between characters that have nothing else in common. It touches on “biomedical appropriation,” and dangerous fungi. It does have some animals violence, so be aware if that’s something that you typically avoid. At least it isn’t entirely unnecessary in terms of the plot at large. At the end of the day, I think it could have been a little more satisfying with its conclusion. Not bad for my first ML Rio book, I’ll definitely be picking up other other work!

♡Audiobook Review♡
4 🌟
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M.L. Rio graces us with a page-turning novella about insomnia and human experiences. This book gave me insomnia, staying up listening to the audiobook! I just had to finish it in one sitting. Now, since this is a novella, I really LOVE that it has multiple narrators for the different characters. That alone gives the book some major vibes! And it makes it easier for you NOT to get the characters confused.
A great read or listen during the 👻 spooky season!
The premise of this book, "a ragtag group of night shift workers who meet in the local cemetery to unearth the secrets lurking in an open grave," is what caught my attention.
Release: Sept. 24
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Thank you, Netgalley, and MacmillanAudio for the (ALC) audiobook for my honest review.

I really enjoy novellas, but this one wasn’t really for me. It read like a YA novella and I found myself getting lost in the array of characters and perspectives. I am still really thankful to Flatiron Books, Netgalley, Macmillan Audio, and M.L. Rio for granting me advanced audio and digital access before this piece hits shelves on September 24, 2024.

A crew of college students make a nightly pilgrimage to their university’s graveyard each night, and after noticing there’s a hole on-site that wasn’t there the night before they grow suspicious. After some investigation, they find there are mysterious things happening on their “turf” including ghastly rats, the creeping gravedigger, and slew of other events that take a domino effect on their lives.

I haven't read the book this is a follow up to, so I didn't come in with any expectations. I loved the narrators! All of them!
The story was good. I didn't' understand all of it but I loved it! I felt parts of it in my soul.

I was SO excited to read this because I loved Rio’s If We Were Villains. So, I think my expectations of this novella were unfairly high as I was expecting to be absolutely blown away by this in the same way that Villains lingered with me for years after I first read it. And so when Graveyard Shift wasn’t the best thing I’ve read all year and didn’t leave me wishing there was more, as it’s only a short novella, I was disappointed. And as such a huge fan of her previous work, I’m not sure I know how to write a review that isn’t, at minimum, subconsciously comparing the two. Her cast of characters didn’t feel so individual and clear and compelling, and the storytelling relied so heavily on the visceral unsettling yuck of it all. I think, perhaps, I should give it a re-read when it comes out, with more realistic expectations now knowing what it’s going to be. The fact that I am wanting to read it again for this purpose, I think speaks to a quality of the novella, or at least, a respect for the author.

Spooky and fun little novella. I enjoyed the characters, a group of lonely insomniacs that meet in a graveyard, very much and the author gives them all a surprising amount of depth in such a short page count.

When I first read If We Were Villains, I knew Rio had hooked me as a fan for life. And still, I have to admit that I was a tad worried about the follow up, considering it’s been 7 years.

I am very happy to say that I had no reason to be worried. From the first chapter, I was hooked. Rio’s excellent ability to build atmosphere definitely shined with this story without the setting overtaking the narrative, which I sometimes find can be a bit of a downfall with a horror story, especially one this short, but Rio found the line and toed it wonderfully. She also once again shows off her ability to describe things with such detail that you can almost see/smell/hear what the characters are experiencing, which is an ability I haven’t found in a lot of other authors.

If you’re looking for a horror book, I would not say the story itself is true, outright horror - at least, not my definition of it. Instead, I think I would describe this book as unsettling. The real gems of the book are the little puzzle pieces that Rio leaves in each chapter, little hints of what is going on without giving you the full picture. And then when it all finally comes together, it comes with such a satisfying conclusion that you immediately want to reread - which, I’ll admit, is 100% what I am intending to do. If you like eerie, atmospheric, creepy little thriller/horror stories that have you leaning forward for the next step, this is definitely a must read.

I listened to the audiobook version of this book, and the narrators did an excellent job of giving voices to each of the characters. I really appreciated that there were multiple narrators for this book - since it was on the shorter side, it helped fill the characters out more with the limited time we had to get to know them. I would definitely recommend anyone pick up the audiobook if they’re going to check this story out.

Overall, I really enjoyed this and I can’t wait to see what Rio comes up with next, and I hope this time it won’t take 7 years to get it - though I’m certain it’ll be worth the wait.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for early access to the audiobook for M L Rio’s latest work, ‘Graveyard Shift’! As I am deep in the throws of grief over Summer and longing for Autumn — this couldn’t have come at a better time.

I love a novella, and this certainly didn’t disappoint. Ever present is a dark, damp, and cold atmosphere, centered around chain smoking insomniacs who retreat to a defunct cemetery in the middle of the night. There is a mystery that runs throughout, an academic setting and a self awareness to the “darker” Scooby Doo vibe. Absolutely gothic in its feel. The characters are well crafted and unique, each facing challenges of their own. The audiobook is narrated by multiple people and it is such a treat to move through the night, and perspectives accompanied by distinct voices.

As I was reading this I kept thinking, “I know this is set in present day but it has such an 80s-90s feel to it”. I think this had a lot to do with the academic setting and the gritty nature of the group, but M L Rio included a playlist and it really captured that “otherness” to the time and place and is full of terrific songs.

As with many novellas I think people will want more, and the story could certainly be a novel with all of its complexities, but I (personally) really love a novella that leaves some things to the imagination and it was just so fun to be in her mind again. Highly recommend this one for the autumn, and cannot wait for more from the author!

Did I murder this with my own expectations, or was it just more okay than good?

Like many people I loved M.L. Rio’s If We Were Villains, and have been waiting not so patiently for ANYTHING new from the author.

Here we get a novella about insomnia and medical ethics, the former predictably more intriguing in a story like this than the latter.

I thought the atmosphere was about as good as you can get in short fiction, or at least it started out that way. Once lab work comes into the equation, a lot of the magic and eeriness disappears. Also, piles of dead rats are more depressing than scary, despite a valiant attempt by Rio to create a ghostly graveyard scene.

I think the “insomniacs stumble upon nefarious doings while out for a smoke” is an excellent premise for a story like this, but the reality of what turns out to be the driving force behind the late-night graveyard activity is a lot less interesting. Fungi-based suspense/horror has always felt a bit goofy to me, and now that it’s been so inexplicably overused in recent fiction, it’s also become tropey.

In all, this is fine as a quick read and there are some good things about it, but it’s a long, long way from Rio’s masterpiece If We Were Villains.