3.5 stars

That ending was TOO abrupt, I fear. This novella was going so well, I was hooked, the vibes are immaculate, it's such a perfect read for October - but then it just... ended? Like that was it? I found myself checking if my eARC was missing pages because I didn't understand how it could just end there. It was so anti-climactic considering how the story had been building up! There were so many threads to unravel, and I really do think that the author could have made a full-length novel out of this; the characters felt well-fleshed out and I enjoyed the discussion of and delving into insomnia - it just should not have ended in the way.

This short novella set largely in a graveyard on a college campus is a fun, creepy read for spooky season.

If you are a night owl, this is a great book for you. Fall appropriate and with the right atmosphere it's a quick read. Through several POVs the little plot has enough variance, but due to its size of merely 130 pages, what the novella can explore is limited.

M.L. Rio’s Graveyard Shift delivers a moody, Gothic experience perfect for a quick, spooky read. Set in a college cemetery, the novella follows a ragtag group of night-shift workers who uncover a chilling mystery. Rio’s strength lies in her atmospheric prose and ability to craft deeply relatable, insomniac characters. While the plot could have been more developed, the story’s dark, haunting mood and vivid scenes of unease make it a compelling, albeit brief, addition to Rio’s repertoire. Fans of If We Were Villains will enjoy dipping into this eerie slice of academia.

A captivating novella that delves into the various forms of insomnia, weaving a narrative that feels like a dream. Set over the course of a single night, the story introduces us to a fascinating group of characters, each grappling with their own sleeplessness.

The novella excels in creating an eerie, dark academia atmosphere that is both thrilling and dreamlike. The language and structure of the text are impeccable, perfectly suited to the genre. More than being driven by plot, "Graveyard Shift" is a mood piece.

To me, this novella raises more questions than it answers, a choice that enhances the overall experience. This ambiguity fits well with the novella's theme and tone, making it a compelling read.

Overall, "Graveyard Shift" is a masterfully written piece that stands out for its atmospheric quality. A fast read that I devoured in one sitting.

I enjoyed this book. I loved ML Rio’s If We Were Villains and was super excited to read this one. I liked the eerie atmostphere and ambience, with my favourite scenes being at the graveyard. The characters were all really good and I liked the multiple POV and that the book takes place over one night. I do slightly wish Graveyard Shift was longer but I still enjoyed overall. The cocktail recipe and playlist at the end was a nice touch too.

A little novella was a nice change...I don't think I am quite the target audience for this. Generally enjoyable, but didn't blow me away. I enjoyed the setting and the group of unusual characters you meet throughout, and pretty much read it in one go. I can find the perfect customer for this one, but sadly it wasn't me.

When I saw that M.L Rio was releasing a new piece of writing after so many years I could hardly contain my excitement. I was already slightly apprehensive from the get-go once I saw that it was to be a novella, a literary form I tend not to get on with too well in the best of cases. Many of us who are fans of "If We Were Villains" have been waiting desperately for even a crumb of anything and unfortunately this is all that "Graveyard Shift" felt like - a crumb thrown to the audience that left me wanting for so much more.
All the ingredients for “Graveyard Shift” to be excellent were there: the mysterious, brooding characters, devious scheming, atmospheric college town setting – but it all fell flat for me in the end and left me feeling extremely unsatisfied. I think the main pitfall for me was simply the length, or lack thereof. M.L Rios is so excellent at intricately setting up the plot for the main crescendo to happen, but “Graveyard Shift” doesn´t allow enough time to get there.
The themes and plotlines that were introduced weren´t explored beyond a superficial brushing over. It feels like the early draft of a novel, a skeletal outline, that didn´t come to fruition for whichever reason, which makes it such a shame after the initial anticipation. Everything about “Graveyard Shift” that is there is very good – there just isn´t enough of it in my opinion.

I loved the authors first novel but this is really a short story turned into a novella. Enjoyable but not as clever or as brilliant as When We Were Villains. I think other fans will feel a bit disappointed. Cool jacket image.

An atmospheric novella following a group or miafit frienda who discover an open grave in their local hangout. Great characters and excellent writing but overall fairly superficial and predictable, mostly due to the length. I would have happily have read another 200 pages which could have made this a standout horror, but as it it lacks the draw of the author's other books.

A modern-Gothic novella which draws you in from the first moment! Graveyard Shift follows the 5 members of an ad-hoc smoking circle over the course of one long night - early morning. When the group arrive at their usual haunt, a space amongst the tombstones and mausoleums of a closed church graveyard, they find something unexpected - a shallow grave. Over the next few hours they will begin unpicking a web of lies and intrigue, ultimately unravelling a conspiracy no-one expected, and perhaps forging stronger relationships in the process.

Intoxicating, fast-paced, and struck through with the delirium of sleeplessness our characters live in, this is a novella filled with mystery, darkness, and intense humanity. The only downfall of this book was its brevity. The relationships felt realised, but truncated, the plot held water, but could've withstood a little longer in the build up and reveal, and the characters were excellently penned, but I wish we'd had the chance to know them better!

This is perfect for someone in need of a short but fully realised Gothic-thriller, almost dark academia in its setting, but John-Grisham-esque in its stakes, Graveyard Shift draws from a host of intertexts, and will appeal to a huge number of readers.

Thank you to NetGalley, Headline, and M.L. Rio for a galley of this in exchange for an honest review. 4 stars.

A collection of friends who all suffer from insomnia, meet up for a late night smoke and accidentally discover a mysterious cover up.

I really enjoyed this, very short and to the point but ML Rio definitely has a skill in making characters come to life.

The plot was maybe a little rushed but it is a novella and thing do need to progress quickly. In all id highly recommend to people who maybe need a quick mystery to sink their teeth into.

After reading 'If we were villains' I had very high expectations for this one, maybe that's why it was a little disappointing reading this one this time. The writing was amazing and the characters are build greatly, but I found the ending was too rushed. This took away from the general vibe of the story, I know it's a short story, but I think a chapter more would have helped to execute the vision of the author better. Still I don't regret reading it and still would recommend it to others.

This is my first book from this author, and I gotta say, Iwas pleasantly surprised. The mystery was short but very well done, and really imaginative. I would definitely read her other book

I have mixed feelings! Loads of positives but something was missing, losing its impact.

I enjoyed the spooky vibe of this one - would be VERY good to read around Halloween/Autumn. I'm a huge fan of If We Were Villains, so I was very excited to read this. There were many elements I liked in this:

1. Even though it was a short story, it was fully thought out and felt like you were just dropping into these people's lives.

2. Setting was easy to visualize and imagine yourself in the story.

3. Many interesting details that clearly tell you who each character is - characterization - tick!

It's just very well written and I enjoyed all the elements together.

However, I don't feel like I can give it higher than a 3.5 because I don't know if I'll remember this story. I think the ultimate reveal about what was actually going on was obvious too quickly, and it didn't have as big of an impact/crescendo as it should have. There were no consequences to the actual reveal. It was like 'this has happened' and we know all about it, but that's it. There's SO much potential, I don't want your generic drama filled climax, but I would like something super dark and mysterious. Maybe we think it's solved, but then another incident occurs....

Thank you to Netgalley and Headline books for a free review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me an E-ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. This is my first book I have read by Rio and I enjoyed. I will say I enjoyed the premise more than the execution. I feel like the beginning had the perfect creepy vibes and that fell off throughout the book. I would have loved the horror elements to be more prevalent throughout the book rather than it become a sleuthing type of situation. Overall the book was still a decent read. I will be reading more from Rio in the future.

Haven't read If We Were Villains by ML Rio but I will definitely do after reading this novella! I think this could have definitely been expanded to a full novel, but it was a great read, keeping in our toes and with the right amount of horror.

The perfect read for a sleepless night. Beautifully written with well fleshed out characters and a melancholic atmosphere that leaves you craving more.
I’m still having a hard time finding words to describe how much I enjoyed this book.

A group of late night smokers who congregate in a disused churchyard find what looks like a new grave, and over the course of the night start to work out what's happened, what's being buried and the links to a series of strange events in their town.

The book is told from a range of different perspectives, where we get snippets of what's going on with each of the characters and why it is that they can't/don't sleep, as well as how their different skills come together to solve the mystery. There are some icky bits (rats), but those are mercifully brief, most of the book is best described as "a bit creepy" rather than horror. It's quite a short book, novella rather than novel, taking place over one night, which does leave some gaps in character development that a longer book would have more time to go into - those gaps are more that you want to know more about them, what happens next, rather than that they're sketchy. I think my main criticism of the book is actually that it's too short, I wanted more!

Also shout out to M L Rio for recognising the research skills of librarians, and the horrors of journal subscriptions and access from non-university accounts. I felt that one deeply.

disappointed by this, to be honest. maybe i just didn't get it. maybe i expected characters that felt dimensional and an ending that felt compelling... M.L. Rio's writing at its core is excellent, this particular story lacked oomph but it was enjoyable nonetheless.