4.5/5! 🌟🌟🌟🌟.5

🍄‍🟫 Ooooohkay, that was quite the wild ride. This started off slow for me, but absolutely finished with me having my jaw on the floor.

🍄‍🟫 A psychological horror/thriller with Gothic vibes, romance, sci-fi AND spice? Count me in. A book with crazy science experiments, fungi puns, ghosts and dark forests that come to life? Yes please. This book definitely drew me in immediately, especially with that gorgeous cover.

⁺˚⋆｡°🍄₊ Sydney, a promising mycologist, feels like she has nothing left. Her family is gone, her scholarship lost, and now all she wants is to find a cure for the one thing that took her grandmother from her: Alzheimer's. She has been offered an internship at the Madrona Foundation, a research facility on a remote Vancouver Island, where she can study the fungi that might contribute to the cause she holds so near and dear. When she gets there, however, things start to seem sideways, and not all what she signed up for. 🍄💀

⁺˚⋆｡°🍄₊ I really enjoyed so much of this, and thought it was pretty balanced in terms of the romance, spice, plot, science and horror aspects. There was just enough spice to not overthrow the plot. I cannot stand when a book is just spice and no plot, and this did the trick for me. However, the spice we did get was spicing and absolutely perfect.🔥

⁺˚⋆｡°🍄₊ The characters were all pretty solid. The ones I was supposed to dislike, I definitely disliked. Our FMC definitely fit the bill, but I wanted to shake her a million times and say "trust your instinct". Our love interest and MMC was not at all what I thought, and it was a nice surprise at the end. Munawar and his fungi pun shirts were my favorite, though. If you find no reason to want to read this, give this man and his collection of fungi related attire a chance.

⁺˚⋆｡°🍄₊ Overall, I really enjoyed Karina Halle's writing. She did a beautiful job of giving us a little bit of everything, and I certainly did not see the plot twists coming. I have so many of her books of my TBR and this made me want to dive in and see what else I'm missing out on. If you are looking for another quick, haunting read to finish spooky season off, let it be this!

🍄‍🟫 Thank you to NetGalley, and Metal Blonde Books for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review! 🍄‍🟫

This was not the wholesome Halloweeny vibes I initially thought I was getting in this book - absolutely nowhere near it - but I think I loved it anyway? It was the perfect combination of intriguing, scary, spicy and mind-bendy.

The atmosphere and vibes in this book were great for this time of year. Everything was so dark and gloomy and mysterious and foreboding. I thought I'd cracked what was really going on when I was about halfway through the book and I was pleasantly surprised to realise that I wasn't completely correct. I knew a twist was coming, but I actually liked it better than what I'd originally thought was going on.

I really liked Sidney as the main character, and I loved watching everything unfold around her and trying to guess at what was going on just as she was.

I did feel like everything was a little deflated by the end. We had all of the suspense and build up and revelations and the ending just felt little flat compared to the rest. I was just expecting a little more, or something more dramatic than what we got. I feel like Clayton especially never got the justice he deserved.

Ended my October with this perfect Halloween read! What a phenomenal journey it was reading this book. The plot, the writing had me HOOKED!

Thankyou Karina Halle and Netgalley for the arc. All opinions are my own!

#GraveMatter #Netgalley

Such an amazing read! Not sure if I was gonna vibe with this book but I ended up getting hooked and thinking I knew what was going on etc. Such a great storyline and perfect for the month of October!

the twists be twisting, the spice be spicing, a 5/5 read and I wholely suggest you pick it up ASAP, don't walk, RUN

First I would like to thank NetGalley, Metal Blonde Books, and Karina Halle for a free copy of this eARC in exchange for a honest review.

Karina Halle has been one of my favorite authors in the last year I’ve discovered her and I felt so much excitement getting to review her new book! The mystery behind all of it was so well developed, I couldn’t put the book down at all.

Overall the story is well written (including the 🌶️ scenes) with a fascinating storyline. I truly had my own predictions for how the book would end and I was surprised and happy to be wrong!

Grave Matter by Karina Halle is a phenomenal blend of sci-fi fantasy romance and gothic horror.
A fantastic and engaging story that absolutely had me hooked till the very end.
I couldn’t stop reading this book.
The world building here is done very well, totally easy to follow and has you captured from the beginning.

Grave Matter was the perfect October read. Spooky, believable, and thrilling. My first horror romance and it was a doozy! Highly recommend for thriller/horror fans and will purchase for libraries.

Grave Matter by Karina Halle
Release Date: 10/23/24
Format: ebook
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

I had the pleasure of seeing Karina Halle at Books Gowns & Crowns earlier this month and after hearing her talk about Grave Matter for literally one minute, I knew I had to read it immediately. Psychological thriller/horror mixed with romance? Say less.

I was so right. I fear this book will become my new personality. Is it going to be for everyone? Maybe not. But it is gross and creepy and beautifully written. It kept me engaged from first to last page, and was honestly the first book I have solely read with my eyeballs (without any audio assistance) in over four months.

I could write an entire review on how the ADHD representation alone made me feel so seen. The amount of lines I highlighted in this book is embarrassing. The ways Halle chose to present our FMC’s struggles with ADHD just felt so spot on and it was refreshing to see some lesser written about (and often shame inducing) symptoms in this book.

I did not see the twists coming, I absolutely loved the romance and friendships in this novel, and it is a perfect October read! Check the content warnings because there are some hard to read scenes, but I feel like it is fully worth the discomfort.

Thank you to NetGalley for the free advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion!

<b>If you have a spooky season TBR, Grave Matter by Karina Halle should be added to it without a single moment of hesitation. Get ready to lose yourself in a foggy creepy island with nature's miracles, groundbreaking and terrifying scientific research, people with all kinds of intentions and a sizzling hot forbidden romance with loads of angst. At the end, you may feel like gliding through a hazy air while your heart is aching yet full of feels. A masterpiece from Karina Halle.</b>

💀 psychological thriller
💀 Gothic romance
💀 touch of science fiction
💀 forbidden romance ( professor/student or doctor/patient)
💀 dark romance
💀 neurodiverse heroine

<b>Sydney arrived in the island housing the laboratory and research of Madrona Foundation for her scholarship. No one knows she has lost her academic career at Stanford. She is eager to learn about their work with fungi and Alzheimer's Disease. But she is feeling disbalanced from the moment she steps foot into the island. The people who are running the foundation seem to have some other motives. Professor Kincaid, who also does therapy sessions for students attending the internship programme, attracts Sydney in a strange but powerful manner.

The author drags you deep into the story with wild hallucinations and visions and dreams experienced by Sydney. The nature with the rain and fog, old trees towering over the lodge, freezing sea and exotic fungi provide a perfect backdrop for the plot. I felt like I have been transported to somewhere out of this world. Sydney is lost and her mind is all over the places. Her electric connection with Kincaid is complicated. Kincaid is the perfectly flawed Alpha hero trying to protect Sydney. The chemistry is scorching hot but the emotional bond is even more beautiful. It is a very difficult book to review without spoilers. Nothing is real here. Except may be the danger. The author takes you to the edge of absurd fear and sheer terror. You can feel the invisible pieces moving but you cannot put them together till the end. The characters have endless shades. The secrets are terrifying and heart stopping. But it is a romance after all and love conquers everything.</b>

Karina Halle has crafted a twisted and mindblowing story in Grave Matter. Kincaid and Sydney battled death and destruction over and over again and their happily ever after is won in a hard way.

I reviewed an early copy voluntarily

I was impressed with how this story unfolded. There was a lot of mysterious things going on to wrap my mind around. I feel like you had to pay attention to everything because those breadcrumbs will make sense toward the end. It was fantastically shocking and right up my alley. I didn't see it coming kind of way but having some many other theories. The pacing was a little slow the first half. I believe to help us get the full picture but believe me it is so worth it. Overall, this was a great spooky read just in time for the Halloween season.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶️🌶️🌶️

Honestly, this book cements the fact that Karina is one of my FAVOURITE authors!

This book was just.... wow!

If you're looking for a spooky, thriller, mystery, with some A-grade spice, and lots of mushrooms, you need to read this book!
It's almost a week later, and I still think about it daily!

Karina literally had me guessing to very the end, and I really did not see that plot twist coming! I had some ideas around it but the actual twist I would never have guessed.

Let me also just say that Wes Kincaid😮‍💨..... Wow that man... He can do what he wants to all my mushrooms.

Go read this book now!

First of all, I want to thank Karina Halle and NetGalley for this eARC. Here my honest opinion.

A little bit of this, and a little bit of that.
Do you want a dark romance? What do you think if we add some gothic vibes and a little bit of dark academia? I guess that we can also make it as a psychological thriller, where you can trust no one (not even yourself), with a sci-fi subplot. Obviously, there wil be spice. A lot of spice. Doesn’t it sound good?
Well, that’s what you get with Grave Matter, a compelling dark romance that you won't be able to put down. I liked everything: the setting, the characters, the suspence that never leaves you. There’s also a touch of horror that emerges in the right time and the right place. I loved how the spice was managed, used to add more thrill.
It’s just the perfect read for this spooky season!

Woo buddy. Real talk, Grave Matter would not normally have been something I'd just pick up, but when Karina Halle announced she was doing a psych thriller with spicy, I knew I had to give it a shot!

This is everything you could want in a psych thriller. I lost count of the amount of times I said "wtf" in my head before immediately diving back in to keep reading. Right from the start, Karina is dropping moments and hints that foreshadow where the story is going, but just as I thought I might have figured it out, she threw another curve ball at me! This was even more awesome because I've actually been to Vancouver Island, and visited areas of the island that are very reminiscent of the setting for Madrona Lodge. I really loved too that the plot of this was sci-fi but not so far sci-fi that you couldn't actually believe it might happen.

A word of caution - when you think the twists are over, you’re wrong!

I had the wonderful opportunity to read **Grave Matters** by Karina Hale and I absolutely loved it! The story was packed with twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat. Hale masterfully crafted a unique narrative that kept me guessing until the very end, and I don’t want to spoil any of the surprises for future readers.

One aspect that stood out was the character of Sydney. She was as much in the dark about the unfolding events as I was, making her journey all the more entertaining and relatable. Her relentless questioning and determination added depth to the story and kept me thoroughly engaged.

This was a very unique story in a genre I wasn’t sure I would enjoy, but Hale’s writing proved captivating and immersive. I highly recommend **Grave Matters** to anyone looking for a thrilling and unpredictable read. Karina Hale has truly outdone herself with this one!

What I love about Karina Halle's books is that they take you on a dark and twisted journey. The journey is always spicy, full of angst, lust and often violence. But ultimately, it leaves you going, "What the hell did I just read...I need more".
Grave Matter was all of this and more. A dark academic mystery leads you to a secluded island where they are studying all things mushrooms. Sydney, Our FMC, finds herself drawn to her Professor and Psychologist, Dr Kincaid (who seems like a fungi...get it...mushroom joke). This book gave me serious Shutter Island vibes where you constantly question every character and their motives and, ultimately, the truth: a true mind bender and the perfect spooky season reason. I love Karina Halle's writing, and this book reminded me that I need to read everything she has ever created!

What to expect:
Professor X Student
Forced Proximity
Only one tent
Isolated PNW setting
BDSM elements
Slow burn
Degradation kink
Dark Cottagecore
Stalker
WTF did I just read
Haunted Forest
Morally grey characters
He falls first
Women in STEM

Thank you so much, Karina, for my ARC copy.

I am writing this review immediately upon finishing the book, and I am having difficulty wrapping my head around what I just read. One thing I know with certainty is that this book and the writing completely captured the essence of Vancouver Island: the mystery and ethereal nature, the feeling of being dwarfed by the wilderness around you, the mist and spirituality.

Setting aside, the plot of this book was excellent completed. It is one that you feel the need to immediately re-read, knowing what you now know. I will admit, there were times in the first 15-20% that I considered DNFing it. I felt the characterization was off-putting, a sense of immaturity. And while this may be partially true, some of this was certainly intentional on the author's part. So if you were like me and thought "I dunno if this is for me", just keep with it.

I can't speak much about certain aspects of the book and the (many) notes I made, as now I see that they would be spoilers. I can make one solid recommendation - go into this as blind as you can. Suppose the description of "Horror Romance meets Science Fiction in this dark and delicious gothic psychological thriller" appeals to you, and you find the synopsis intriguing. In that case, I recommend you don't search any further and just dive in. While the spice-related trigger warnings are indeed necessary, I did not find those scenes to be heavy-handed or exorbitant.

Thank you to NetGalley and Metal Blonde Books for a digital advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I have never been more appalled nor intrigued by such a romance before! Grave Matter is the perfect blend of Crimson Peak meets Annihilation. As Sydney battles the mysteries of the Madrona Foundation, she's also battling her obsession and fixation on the resident teacher and psychologist Wes. With dark erotic dreams soon becoming reality, Sydney has to wage her heart against her mind, in a literal sense, as she fears she's going insane.

The atmosphere Halle writes in for GM is STEEPED in fog; even from the moment our FMC arrives to the remote Madrona Foundation, with her hopes of a dream opportunity, there are mysteries that leave the reader thinking "what was that?!"

As more morsels of spooky are unveiled (there are ghosts, there are beasts, there are villains) I LOVE the way Halle wrote as she leaves the reader just as blind as Sydney. Every page you turn, you'll be thinking "that can't be what I think it is?" only the find that the truth is somehow WORSE and more entertaining! I found myself yelling at my book as I went as I feared for Sydney as she began to dig into the truth behind Madrona Foundation and the walls collapsing in her mind.

Hands down one of the most unpredictable reads I've had in years. The best of horror and dark romance with a dash of science fiction that just leaves you satisfied.

This book blew my mind! Exactly the kind of psychological thriller I have been searching for this spooky season! Karina Halle knocked it out of the park! This story was so compelling that I finished it in under 24 hours! I started questioning everything right away, and that plot twist left me stunned.To be honest, I wasn't expecting a HEA. But I was pleasantly surprised. You can tell Halle put a lot of research into mycology. When the classes were described, I became a clueless college student again. 😂
I do have to say that this book is marketed as a "Gothic psychological thriller," and there really was nothing gothic about it. I was a bit disappointed in that as I was expecting more gothic vibes, but it was still a satisfying psychological thriller. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a read that will keep you guessing. Fair warning, though, you will get sucked in. And as always, mind your trigger warnings.

Thank you to Netgalley and Metal Blonde Books for the e-arc. My view and opinions are entirely my own.

THE HOOK/APPEAL: a gothic psychological thriller. A dream opportunity with terrible secrets attached.

THE REVIEW: I've been a fan of Halle for a lonnggggggg time, and yet, it had been a while since I had read her. Was I worried she wouldn't be as good as I remembered? Yes. Was I worried for no reason? YES. I don't want to spoil things. Try to go in blind.

THE RATING: 5, duh.