This was a highly anticipated read for me. I love many of the author's books, I adore aliens, and I love horror, and especially plant-based body horror is super fascinating for me.
Unfortnately, the book ended up not really working for me.

I think my main issue with the book was the pace, combined with the narration. It was just too slow for me. While I enjoyed reading about what was happening, and Stasia is a great protagonist on paper, something about this book reaaaally dragged. I couldn't read more than a chapter or two at a time, and it felt like I was reading forever when I just progressed a few %. I was never excited to pick the book up again, and I even took a month long break from reading in the middle, which I usually never do, and I almost always DNF books I pause. It did not get that far with this one, because, again, I did enjoy the plot itself?

But something was just not working. I think a big part of that was the narration, though I'm not sure I can put in words what about it. Something I noticed before with this author's works is that her style seems to work better for me in audiobook format. In this one in particular I noticed myself skimming or skipping entire paragraphs a lot, which is not something I usually do. But I kept drifting off. In audio, that is not something that happens to me, as listening to the narrator keeps me focussed in a way that reading this myself doesn't.
But unfortunately I did not read this in audio, so I struggled with focussing on a lot of this.

While that was my main issue, I also wasn't entirely satisfied with the plot. It's cool, don't get me wrong, and I mainly had a good time with it. But the way things wrapped up, the whys and hows, the big reveals and revelations... they did not entirely make sense to me. Maybe that is because of my inability to focus on the writing, I may have very well missed the details, but I would not be able to summarize the exact reasonings behind and mechanisms of the invasion.

I did enjoy the ending - it was very unexpected, and I honestly admire the author for going with that rather than anything else. It felt very satisfying, actually. That said, several details did not make sense to me (which may be up to me) and what bothered me more was that it felt like it ended a bit too soon. I can see why it ended when it did - it fit very well. However, a huge part of the book was the reaction of Stasia's friends and boyfriend to what was happening. This was taken away from the ending, which felt like an oversight (though it also could have been done deliberately to keep it slightly open to how things will go, given that this has strong horror elements).

Speaking of horror - the book blends genres a bit. I would not call this a 100% horror book. It is horrifying in many aspects, but does not go into as much detail in the body horror and invasion stuff as it could have. There's plenty of SciFi with the aliens and all, though for me, it was still a very human and humanity focussed story, rather than about science. Even though it's told from the perspective of an alien.

I think, ultimately, that may also have contributed to my struggling with the book. It explores humanity from the perspective of someone who is very much not human, but way raised by, lives among, and loves humans and humanity. I think a bit less introspection would have worked better for me personally. I'm not sure, because everything about that sounds awesome to me, and I'm heartbroken I didn't get as into it as I wanted to.

Overall, this is a good book about an alien invasion, told from the perspective of one of the aliens who loves humans. I loved this in concept.but did not work for me as much as I wanted it to.

Rough draft review
“But if you get scared, or if you wonder why I’m making you listen to this, just remember that this is a story. There was a time when it could hurt you, but that time is over and done. You’re safe.”


GENRE:
-General Adult Fiction
-Speculative fiction
-Fantasy
-horror
—eco horror
—survival
—cosmic
—American horror
-dystopian
-apocalyptic
-science fiction
—alien invasion
-romances
-thriller
-lqbtqia+ (trans gendered + alien romance, gay couple with children)

“Cats are better than people. Cats are always better than people. “I bet if cats were the dominant life form on this planet, we wouldn’t be getting ready to invade,”I said...”

Critical Analysis of the lasting effects of colonialism, horrors of invasion, othering and dehumanization required in the process of conquering,and colonizing a territory by one group over another. The international system is dependent on the massacre, enslavement and cultural genocide of the original inhabitants for the benefit of the newer settlers.

Personally, I am a huge fan of speculative, science fiction/ horror narratives that are set during a period of apocalyptic societal collapse and the author uses the horrifying events as an allegorical example for the texts underlying social and cultural critical analysis. It is a very exaggerated example of the effects of colonialism and genocide on a global scale.

of the horror of imperialistic colonialism, the normalization of a specific groups dehumanization through othering enable a population to divide and conquer another society’s land, natural resources while sanctioning the enslavement of the indigenous population, murder and cultural genocide.

Thank you Edelweiss Plus for the arc ebook copy of this novel and to Tor for allowing me the opportunity to read a copy of this book months before its publication date.


P.s. half spoiler/half warning
If you are a fan of horror stories with happy endings then you may not want to read this book because there is no happy endings to be found within these pages. The ending is definitely different and I loved it. But I also spent the last five pages crying.


“Can’t be the hero of the horror movie if you don’t at least try to alert the authorities. And then run like fuck when they come to make you disappear for the crime of being inconvenient.”

FOR FANS OF:

-John Wyndham’s novels:
1. Midwich Cuckoos (and the film or tv)
2.Day of the Triffids

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Doomflower (2025) Jendia Gammon -y/a genre blending novel that combines: sci fi technohorror and apocalyptic themes with the ecohorror of the 1960s murderous plants, an LGBTQIA+ teen romance, superheroine’s coming-of-age origin story, high school drama and mission impossible style thriller.

Sister, Maiden, Monster(2023) Lucy A. Snyder
General Adult Fiction
horror
alien invasion and planetary colonization of human beings
Survival horror
Viral outbreak narratives
Horror romance-LGBTQIA+
Speculative fiction
Alien colonization
Apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic
Science fiction
Ecohorror
Religious horror
Strong female protagonists human to alien transformations
Critical analysis of human beliefs systems
Ingrained hierarchical gendered beliefs and values underlying all of our social, political,cultural and religious and economic institutional structures of every society.

‘Downpour’(2023) Christopher Hawkins
-Ecohorror
-cosmic horror

The X-Files

Buffy the Vampire Slayer- female protagonists love and loyalty to her friends is her primary concern while trying to save the world and come to terms with her own fate of becoming something that is other, powerful and more than just a normal human girl
Listy post
. I actually loved this alien invasion/plant apocalyptic narrative. It was definitely a very fresh take, yet heavily inspired by Cold War sci fiction alien invasion stories like Day of the Triffids (or John Wyndham ‘s work in general), Invasion of the Body Snatchers, etc. I loved the critical analysis of the ethics of colonialism

When Anastasia Miller was 3 years old, she walked into a forest and encountered a beautiful plant. A few days later Stasia Miller walks out, the invading plant species that plants to take over Earth. Decades later, Stasia is living an unremarkable, rather mundane life, when a scientist discovers and then broadcasts a message from Stasia's alien relatives. They are coming! Stasia, along with her dearest humans, some scientists, and fellow Earth-dwelling aliens set off to outrun the government and hopefully survive what's coming. Told from Stasia's point of view, this novel is full of dry humor, lots of introspection, and flecked with heart-pounding scenes of first-contact and body horror. It's a critique of humanity's violence towards one another and the Earth, dwelling on several philosophical dilemmas made real. Quotes from War of the Worlds open every chapter, and references to Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Little Shop of Horrors abound. Readers looking for thought-provoking, character-driven alien invasion stories will be deeply satisfied.

There is a side character, David, who gets very little attention and I think is the least developed of the core "good guys." The "bad guy" government actors are also thinly drawn. Overall, I think the book is a little long, with some of the introspection getting a tad repetitive from time to time. This is still an excellent book that I absolutely devoured. I can't wait until it comes out in May! I'm looking forward to promoting this book at WLA 2025.

Described as "Annihilation meets Day of the Triffids", this book has it all. Body horror, human-eating plants, aliens, love ... this was a great story. The book is definitely a slower burn, with introspective on personal identity. The bulk of this book takes place starting 25 days prior to an alien invasion then takes us through the invasion's end and the time beyond. Mira Grant (aka Seanan McGuire) weaves us a tale that includes the age-old dynamic of "nature vs nurture" and the way it ends gives us a clear conclusion to which one wins out. Thank you Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for the ARC. You can check this one out when it publishes May 06, 2025, wherever you buy your books.

Overgrowth is the sci-fi horror of my dreams. This is a sub-genre that I absolutely love and this one is an excellent addition to that category. Anastasia has been telling everyone she meets, over the last 30 years, that she is not actually Anastasia but a plant based alien vanguard for the soon to come invasion of Earth. Too bad that nobody ever believed her until it was too late. I love space horror like this with the details on the way the aliens took over host bodies which was horrifying considering our main character takes the place of a 3 year old girl in the very beginning of the book. If you can't handle things like that then skip this book and it is sad but the story is so good. I could not put this book down and I hope that we keep getting more of this genre from this author. Her writing is incredible and engaging, as one would expect considering her body of work. It started losing me just a little bit at the end because it was dragging a little long for my personal taste but I still loved this book a lot.

This book was creepy and had given me nightmares for the past 2 nights. It was a good story though, definitely reminiscent of Invasion of the Body Snatchers because I finally watched that movie for the first time. It also gave me nightmares.

I stumbled upon Mira Grants work with Feed sometime in 2010/2011 and fell wildly in love with her writing style and story craft. Every single person I've met since that wonderful summer, including my eventual husband, I've always asked them, "Have you read Feed by Mira Grant??", and with their fascinated "no" I always foisted upon them my trilogy set (the first book littered with mild water damage from my tears near the back chapters, iykyk).

Overgrowth... god, I've never felt a more pervasive feeling of turmoil and anxiety. Never have I actively taken on the stress and panic of characters before, thinking through their problems and trying to find a solution of my own when I had to put the book down for more pressing tasks, like my job, or food. I found myself staring off into space thinking, "There has to be a way, right? There has to be a solution, why can't I find it? What's going to happen? Where is this going, where can it possibly go?"

I couldn't ponder it out, I couldn't guess. Nothing felt fair, nothing felt right, nothing felt deserved. But better yet... nothing felt perfect. A lot of books will tie their endings off in some way that's satisfying, or happy, or in some way that feels correct or slots in with your world view or expectations. The story will weave through and touch on what feels expected, or wanted, giving you your desired ups and downs, what you typically seek from this form of escapism/medium.

Overgrowth ended and I don't feel happy. This is a good thing. I finished this a good chunk of time ago as of posting this, and I'm still worried for everyone and everything in those pages. This book is a huge conversation about personhood, humanity, identity, nature, and choice. In some ways poorly executed, and in others so painfully correct or true to form that I couldn't help but feel disappointed when someone acted how I hoped they wouldn't but knew they would, because they are human.

Mira Grant has crafted something wonderful here, as she always does. 14 years later and I still want to read everything she writes. Aside from some needed editing for spelling and syntax, this was a winner for me.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. I loved every second!

I wish I had enjoyed this more, especially because I was highly anticipating this novel, as Mira Grant is a great sci-horror writer. It didn't quite hit the mark with me, mostly because in my eyes the story itself felt a bit disjointed. It felt like it had the hallmarks of a big bombastic alien invasion movie, playing out some of those tropes, but those tropes weren't quite subverted enough to match the much quieter, closer tone of the rest of the story. The idea and themes being presented were great - and I loved the trans rep - but it didn't gel for me.

While the premise was nice, the writing was... not what I expected. I wanted more from the characters because I felt that what was on the front cover and the front flap was not what we were given.

Did you ever have a friend who has really interesting stories and ideas but tells them over and over again until every time they start up again you kind of just shut your brain down and nod along until they're done? That's kind of what this book felt like to me.

The story starts off with such a bang, and I was there for it. It doesn't pick up again until the last 100 or so pages (where it gets wild), but by then it was too late for me to be completely invested in what was happening.

We know from the very beginning that the MC, Anastasia, is an alien who copied a human child's body year ago and has grown up being raised as human. Most of the book is her coming to terms with who/what she is and talking to friends and acquaintances about being an alien (which she has always been completely honest about, telling it to everyone she meets). She has a lot of inner arguments and discussions with herself, as well. Where do her loyalties lie as her fellow aliens come to Earth for the invasion? She has friends and a boyfriend she loves, but does that matter now that she is becoming her true self? And who is just really, if she is just a thing that took over an existing person's life years ago? How real does that even make her?

"It didn't matter that I'd been a seed at the time, unable to decide for myself who my host was going to be, and it didn't matter if I had lived her life as fiercely and honestly as I knew how. It didn't matter if I was an alien who thought like a human, thanks to nurture triumphing over nature in almost every way that mattered. She was still dead. Anastasia Miller was still dead, and she was always going to be. I was a replacement, but I was no substitute for the woman the real thing might have become."

There is some really beautiful introspection and conversation here, but there is SO much of it that it takes over the whole book and it just drags until the invasion actually starts happening. And then more of the same introspection and conversations happen again, so you're just re-reading what you already read the first half of the book. I expected more action, but most of that happens in the last 50 pages of the book.

There is certainly some body horror here, but it is very mild. I would say this is a good starting point for people new to horror. There is a great trans character and relationship representation--it was very sweet and heartfelt, and it fit great into the storyline of identity. There are some cool plant/alien creatures at the end of the book, but it takes a long time to get to them.

This is a slow burn, introspective book on identity, what it means to be human, and nature vs nurture. I just feel like the pacing was very off from what I expected.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for the eARC.

4.5 stars!

Did I expect a book about freaky body-snatching plant aliens invading Earth to make me cry? No, but things don't always go the way we expect.

Stasie has spent her whole life informing those around her that she is an alien sent to Earth in advance of her kind's invasion, and who can blame her for the fact that no one listened? Now, as the threat of invasion becomes more and more real to humanity, Stasie must decide amidst which species her heart lies. This was a shockingly heartfelt book, and I'm not sure why I expected anything less from Mira Grant (AKA Seanan McGuire). I'm a devoted fan of McGuire's Wayward Children series but I hadn't read anything else from her (extensive) catalogue until now, and this is an amazing introduction. Overgrowth takes some classic ideas like invading aliens and directionless young women and turns them inside out, with a substantial dose of humanity and effortlessly loving prose. There is some truly striking commentary in here about colonization, immigration, violence, and belonging, made all the more impressive by the fact that Stasie is deeply inhuman and yet a lot more human than many of Earth's native residents. It's a Seanan McGuire book so of course the cast of characters is diverse and lovable even in their worst moments. I am also personally thrilled to see freaky plant fantasy/sci-fi done this well, because I think it's a cool idea that a lot of other books have tried and failed to fully utilize. I will say that I think this is a bit longer than it needs to be and I think some bits could have been cut down, but I don't feel like my time was wasted.

Such a joy to read and definitely makes me want to really all 1,000,000 books this author has written!

Thank you to Mira Grant and Tor Nightfire for this ARC in exchange for my full, honest review!

Happy reading!

Overgrowth by Mira Grant is a tense and immersive blend of horror and sci-fi, exploring themes of survival, nature’s power, and human resilience. Grant’s signature biological horror is in full force, with vivid world-building and unsettling tension. While gripping, the story’s pacing may feel uneven, but fans of her work will appreciate its eerie, thought-provoking atmosphere.

Thank you, Net Galley, Tor Publishing and Mira Grant!

I think maybe I am being a little unfair to this book, but:
I cannot connect how this book had such a horrifying, door busting start, and then evolved into something that almost felt like a YA novel? I was expecting a skin crawling, action-packed, sci-fi horror novel, and it felt like we got a coming-of-age novel with an alien invasion background?
Someone help me if I missed the mark with something, but this just wasn't what I was expecting. Maybe if this was shorter, it could have kept my interest?
All that said, it should also be mentioned that just because this book wasn't what I was expecting, does not negate the talent of Mira Grant. The characters and story are extremely well-developed, and there is dread and anxiety throughout.

Overgrowth is a demonstrated mastery of speculative emotional reality and scientific fact mixed with speculation.

I am actually at a lack for words at how to accurately describe just why I have such an affinity for this style of writing. Maybe it is that Grant/ McGuire can put to pen a lot of the issues I have with American ideologies or maybe it is the intricate alien biology, whatever it is I love it.

My heart hurts just thinking about the ending. An ache that's probably going to last a while.

This book is for those who wish for thoughts of anguish and beautiful connection to take root in the mind and flourish.

This is creepy! It starts off with a bang. The book begins firmly in the horror camp, but then it evolves. The narration wasn’t my particular cup of tea, but I can see how other sci-fi readers will appreciate this story. I love to see new sci-fi from female authors.

"Overgrowth" starts with a bang, and never quite hits that mark again. The opening chapter is so eerie, tense, and horrifying - straight up immediate child murder! I was instantly enraptured. And then... we spend way, way, WAY too much time hearing about Anastasia, the clueless and awkward alien, and her array of quirky friends. The tone shift is insane; it goes from dark to almost cozy, and all the characters have the same cheesy sense of humor as they navigate the stresses of an upcoming alien invasion. There's some action and some social commentary, and eventually darkness does creep back in to the narrative, but the whole thing feels very... YA, almost? It just doesn't work for me. I really thought this might be a great action-paced science fiction horror, and instead, it's more campy. Mira Grant has some sentences that are bangers - I've always enjoyed her writing - but the style she employs in this one just didn't really match the tone of the story for me.

Overgrowth is another Mira Grant book about a person gathering together a family-like team to deal with the apocalypse...it's another pod people story...and yet, it is completely engrossing and its own thing. For one, the POV of the book IS the pod person. Grant asks, "What does it mean to be in a culture but not of it?" but also another dozen questions about identity and humanity, friendship and trust and love, all in the midst of a tense book about an alien invasion. Highly recommended.

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor Nightfire for sending me an early copy of this book! All opinions are my own!

Where do I start with this book? From the very beginning, I knew it was going to become a new favorite. The way that Grant so immediately immerses you in the story and the otherworldliness of it all is something of an art. I loved the craft of this book in the way that it makes you entrench yourself in the truth of humanity while also bringing out such horrors and true alien-ness.

This is a story with all the sides of humanity at its heart. Sure, the horrors of humanity are on showcase, but I think the true life of the story is the love, inclusion, selflessness that Grant pours through these characters and their stories. Stasia builds her own family and shows the world - the universe - what it truly means to love. She's also the epitome of staying true to yourself no matter the situation. Though she was going through so much change, she never wavered from who she wanted to be and who she wanted to love.

This is such a carefully crafted love story to humanity, and I cannot wait for it to go into the world that so desperately needs to see it.

I love the way that Mira Grant blends science fiction and horror together. This was such a cool concept from the very beginning - an alien in a human's body who has been warning everyone the invasion is coming, but of course, no one listens to her. I liked Stasia a lot, as well as her quirky cast of friends. The aliens were so interesting and I would love future books about them, too. The only thing I disliked is that as far as I can tell, no one mentioned what happened to the cat at the end. Did he become an alien too?

5 stars, is anyone surprised? truthfully, this is more like a 4.5 but i am definitely rounding up because everyone knows i am a seanan / mira stan and this book is no exception.

Overgrowth is told from the point of view of Anastasia, who is an alien that has been raised as a human since age three. She has been telling everyone that she is an alien and the invasion is coming, and people react as you would expect - by ignoring her, at best. Turns out, she was right, oopsies, and now the armada is here, and everyone is fucked.

At it's core, this is a Body Snatchers type story that draws a lot of inspiration from War of the Worlds. It's also a cautionary tale about climate change, and like a lot of scifi it contains a certain amount of proselytizing and commentary on the subject. Neither is undeserved nor innacurate, and I appreciate the clear amount of research that Grant put into her scifi novels. i always feel like learn something whilst in the grips of ajbect horror; it's nice.

Without spoiling anything, this was such a ride, and one of the least predictable books i have had the pleasure of reading. I wasn't sure if I was rooting for humanity or the aliens until very close to the end. We also have some really excellent diversity in the supporting characters which is a breath of fresh air in a publishing landscape where generic LGBT / POC archetypes are shoehorned into every novel ever.

Warning: This book has some intense and graphic body horror. There's also a pretty rough scene, right in the beginning, involving the death of a child that was really hard to read, and i'm typically a person who pointedly ignores trigger warnings.