This is my first novel by Karina Halle and it won’t be my list. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it was a wild ride and I enjoyed the heck out of it.

I don’t want to tell you too much about this because the big reveal is the whole point of this psychological thriller, so I’ll just say this: it’s dark, it’s eerie, it’s creepy, it messes with your mind, you’re constantly questioning the narrator, and everything that’s going on. It’s got fantastic reveals. You’re constantly guessing. It’s also got incredible spice.

This is the perfect novel for readers who love thrillers, but wish it also included a heavy dose of romance.
This is my first novel by Karina Halle and it won’t be my list. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it was a wild ride and I enjoyed the heck out of it.

I don’t want to tell you too much about this because the big reveal is the whole point of this psychological thriller, so I’ll just say this: it’s dark, it’s eerie, it’s creepy, it messes with your mind, you’re constantly questioning the narrator, and everything that’s going on. It’s got fantastic reveals. You’re constantly guessing. It’s also got incredible spice.

This is the perfect novel for readers who love thrillers, but wish it also included a heavy dose of romance.

I’ve been wanting to read a Karina Halle book for some time now and I’m extremely grateful to have received an ARC of Grace Matter.

This book was an amazing introduction to Karina’s books. Grave matter had such a dark and uncanny vibe to it and I absolutely loved it! I loved Kincaid and Sydney so much. Their relationship is so passionate but dark in the best way possible. my jaw was dropped the entire time while reading, it was so twisted and sexy.

I cannot wait to get my hands on some more of Karina’s books. She did her big one with Grave Matters.

I wanted to become so singularly obsessed with something that nothing else around me mattered.

Grave Matter is a thrilling new release from the brilliant mind of Karina Halle. Truly, I didn’t know what to expect from one page to the next. In fact, I sent a text to a friend while reading that said: “I feel like I’m drugs.” Book Friends, I mean that in the best possible way.

Let’s get into it.


creepy forest gif via giphy
Set in the PNW, Grave Matter begins as we meet Sydney as she embarks on a new opportunity to spend the summer on an isolated island on the Canadian coast. The island is home to the Madrona Foundation whose cutting-edge discoveries with fungi has led to stunning developments in the research of a cure for Alzheimer’s disease.

"Men lie," she says simply. "Especially men with power. They gaslight you."

Nothing is as it seems though. While Sydney is the epitome of an unreliable narrator, there is not one other character whom I found myself able to trust either. Dreams feel real, Trees give visions, and dead animals walk like the living. Grave Matter is atmospheric, creepy, and all-together thrilling. I did love the realness to Sydney's character. Her struggles with grief, with her ADHD, and her love/hate relationship with her medication made her tangibly real as a character. I sympathized with her and therefore wanted her to survive whatever the cost.


forest blackk gif via giphy
There is a forbidden romance aspect to Grave Matter as well. Sydney falls for her broody and stoic psychologist, Wes Kincaid. Her gravitation towards him grows. Not only is he enigmatic, but the rest of the professors on the island act as oddly as Sydney feels the longer she stays on the island. As Sydney attempts to navigate her reality on the island, Wes becomes a refuge for her. I admire his willingness to keep her safe regardless of his position.

I think they picked me because I was broken and alone, and they wanted to see whether I would crumble further or whether I could be saved.

Secrets abound with the Madrona Foundation. With each new chapter of Grave Matter I became more engrossed in finding out the truth behind the secretiveness. Karina’s storytelling works so well with this storyline that I was immediately hooked. I don’t normally read thrillers, but gothic romance is definitely in my wheelhouse. The weird anomalies, the ghosts, walking corpses, and snow in the summer made for an atmospheric and thrilling read.

Karina Halle’s reveal of the twist at the end truly blew my mind. I had no idea where any of this was headed. While I love Karina Halle’s contemporary romances, I believe her darker thrilling romances are her sweet spot. Grave Matter is unique, descriptive, and unputdownable. I loved getting to know Sydney and was perfectly happy with the resolution at the end as well. Do yourself a favor and give this stunning gothic romance/psych thriller a chance. I know you won’t regret it!

Thank you so much for the opportunity to have this book for free in exchange for an honest review!

Thriller meets dark romance and horror (the ultimate trifecta)

- ADHD representation
- Professor & Student
- Gore & science
- Mystery & Twists

This book was DEVOURED in 2 days, where it normally takes me 1-2 weeks to read a book this size.

I was suspicious of everything and everyone in this book... and rightly so.

The smut was 😚🤌🏻 and the breadcrumbs for the plot were constantly making me think one thing, then change my mind only to have my mind blown at the end!

I don't want to give the plot away but this has been one of my favourite books this year hands down!!

I don't usually make notes when I'm reading but this one had me highlighting all over the place!

FMC: 26
MMC: 37

Thank you so much to Karina Mackenzie and NetGalley for sending me an ARC of Grave Matter in exchange for review.

4.25 stars—

Karina used some sort of intense otherworldly magic on me. I saw the cover/title and thought “oh this looks cool” and requested to read it without any digging. Some spiritual connection MUST have been happening because it feels like this book was made for me.

Firstly we start with an FMC who has ADHD (same) who is traveling to the PNW (where I’m from) to study mycology at a “summer camp” of sorts. (I love fungi and have taken all botany/fungi courses at my local college). And one of my top favorite games/media was mentioned by name? (Hello I do have a Last of Us tattoo). These coincidences are WILD.

But enough about me, this book had me in a chokehold. The eerie dark atmosphere of a lonely BC island full of densely foggy forests and old lodges was peak incredible vibes and set up. It had all the spooky creepiness you could want, leaving you wondering “did that really happen or is Sydney losing it?”

Everything is just so mysterious and intriguing! The students, the staff, the location!

This book also is spicy. Which threw me off at times from how abruptly it begins but not in an off putting way. We do have a student/professor trope in this story but it’s not icky. Our FMC Sydney is in her mid twenties (post university) and I think we’re dealing with a ~10 ish year age gap but nothing bordering illegal (yuck) which I SUPER appreciated. The tension between these two was perfection.

I deeply enjoyed this book until about 80% in, and even then I still enjoyed it however it felt like I was on a rollercoaster I couldn’t escape from. Twists and turns coming from every direction! Not to say that’s a con either, I do wish it had been longer but maybe I just didn’t want it to end.

Karina’s writing was so easily digestible and really felt like Sydney and I shared one mind most of the way through. It is difficult to say much else without giving too many spoilers but I will be thinking about this book for a long time to come which in my mind is a good thing.

Thank you so much for letting me read this, it felt like fate for the things I love in a book (and in real life). Go read this if you love ghosts, nature, dark romance, or a mystery everyone its on KU!

I so appreciated the research that went into this book and effort that was clearly poured into it but something was just slightly off for me.
The twist itself was great and unexpected, but certain parts of it just didn’t make the most sense for me.
Similarly there was something missing with the MMC and I just didn’t feel connected to him or Sydney, the FMC.
The concept itself was really interesting but I think I’m just not a mushroom girly!
Thank you to the publishers for this early copy.

I didn't think I could be so scared while reading a book and this proved me wrong. The storyline and the characters were great. Also...the plot twist in this book killed me.

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.