“… through us, humanity will finally see the universe. We're going to carry them there, in the space beneath our skins.”

(I’d like to thank Netgalley and the publishers for accepting my request to read this arc in exchange for an honest review ♡)

This was my first ever sci-fi fantasy read (I’m keeping to my “try new genres this year” pledge) and I loved it! It was such a fun experience that was the perfect blend of humour, horror, romance, and existentialism.

It raised so many important questions and topics for me personally, and truly had me wondering just what would happen to human society if an alien invasion were to happen, especially if the aliens were already here among us.

The story follows Anastasia, one of the aliens, and her slow dissociation from humanity and the gradual adoption into her alien life/culture. This was such a unique concept to read through that piqued my attention as soon as I read through the summary and, thankfully, the story continues to grasp this concept tightly within its grip, doing it a great justice.

While I found this story to be funny, witty, and overall amusing in many parts, that’s not to say that it didn’t have its dark sides. I mean, within the first few pages of the story you read about how an alien plant seed lands on Earth and eventually devours a three-year-old girl and replaces her with a kind of alien doppelgänger and, as you read on, you come face to face with body horror, experimentation, and eventually colonialism and genocide. I really do have to applaud Grant for writing about so many dark topics, while also managing to write many light-hearted scenes that are amusing enough to soften the blows.

The inclusion of LGBTQ+ and Latino characters was also something that I greatly appreciated. It briefly explores the dehumanisation and alienation of both of these marginalised groups, Graham, a transgender man, and Mandy, an American-Mexican woman. It was actually crazy to see the aliens show more respect and decency towards these two characters than the majority of the human population, never targeting, belittling, or questioning either of the two characters, and seeming to make a purposeful effort to use he/him pronouns for Graham. Unfortunately, I can totally imagine real aliens to be more open-minded and respectful than the majority of human society.

The romance between Stasia and Graham, despite not being the main “topic” of the novel, was such a beautiful thing to read. In fact, many of the quotes that I underlined were between the two of these characters! Their relationship is healthy and communicative and just radiates strength. The ending of this book actually had me tearing up a lot because of how much I felt for the two of them and their relationship. I loved the way Grant wrote about the struggles they had faced in the past: Graham with his transition and Stasia with her loneliness/isolation/estrangement from most of society. The connection between the two was so pure!

I think the only places where it may have lost me a little was the slowness of the plot and the rushed ending. This odd pacing threw me out of the story a bit, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that it was a joy to read and I don’t regret it.

Book Review
Overgrowth- Mira Grant

Thank-you to NetGalley, Tor Nightfire, and the author Mira Grant for the eARC of Overgrowth. Overgrowth followed the story of Anastasia, an alien plant in human form, during the commencement of an alien invasion of earth by her people. Although Stasia is a strange and introverted individual with few friends, her limited but significant relationships are central to the plot. There was limited horror elements in this book, but it was unnerving and left me feeling somewhat disturbed. As a plant scientist and avid reader, I was thrilled when I received approval of my ARC request, but it didn’t live up to my expectations.
 
The initial chapters (Part: SEED) had me immediately both hooked and horrified but the remainder of the novel did not live up to this opening. While SEED had me emotionally invested and intrigued; the rest of the story never quite elicited the same response. Considering the story follows apocalyptic sci-fi themes I was surprised that following SEED, the majority of the novel was snail-paced. I didn’t find the character interactions realistic or interesting enough to make up for the slow pace in story. Although, I really enjoyed Stasia reflecting on how she met the other characters and providing some context to their issues. This allowed me to feel more engaged and attached to their relationships, but these moments were few and far between. For the most part, I didn’t enjoy the internal monologue of Stasia, the main point of view. Honestly, I found Stasia to be one of the least interesting characters in the story and we were often told she was clever without necessarily demonstrating this. The novel picked up the pace again late in the story, but the ending left me wanting. Many major plot points were never addressed, left incomplete, or didn’t make logical sense- leading me to feel unsatisfied with the ending. The overarching comment on the negative aspects of humanity felt hypocritical coming from the narrator Stasia, who was lacking in empathy for people that had been fiercely loyal to her and her cat.
 
Certainly, Overgrowth was a unique story, that made me reflect well after completing the book and although the opening was spectacular, the remainder of the book didn’t meet the same energy.

Grant's talent for writing eerie, rich sci-fi coupled with a twist on the classic alien invasion plot made for a read I will not forget in a hurry. This book made me seesaw right along with the protagonist as she struggled to make choices that determined the fate of this story, and the point of view of the story added an interesting layer of depth to the book's themes of morality and what it means to be human, at the end of it all. If you enjoy alien invasion stories, definitely give this a read.

I had a few issues with this book.
I think the "days to invasion" countdown was too long, 50% through the book and we were still waiting for the aliens to come. The first half dragged and the main character kept repeating herself - "when my species come, I don't know what'll happen, but I know it'll be bad". It took away from the fear, because it was over-repeated and took too long to come to fruition.

I did like the mystery element of what the hell was going on, but I just wish the reveals came quicker. I did like the main character, except when she kept repeating herself.

I liked the premise and the imagination / thought put into the story, I can see a lot of people loving this book. But my biggest pet peve is repetition and plots being too slow, so I couldn't personally enjoy this book. I'm sad to say!

Thank you Netgalley and Daphne press for the chance to read this eARC edition.
This was a pretty solid sci-fi. It's definitely not my main genre but I enjoy the occasional dip and this one certainly lived up to expectations. The aliens were so interesting and unique. I wasn't sure which way the ending was going to go so it was fun to see it play out if rather depressing.
The main thing preventing it from being 5 stars was just that I found some of the supporting characters horrendously annoying and I would've liked a bit more time with the aliens.

Since she was a small child, Anastasia Miller has insisted that she’s an alien. Now a signal has been received: she really is an alien and the invasion (of maneating plants) is really coming.

In an homage to The Day of the Triffids, Overgrowth tells the story of an entity trying to reconcile her alien nature with her love for a select circle of humans.

A slowburning but witty sci fi adventure with great quirky characters perfect for fans of Grant’s Into The Drowning Deep.

Honestly, ever since reading Into the Drowning Deep and discovering Mira Grant's twisted and dark but oh so addictive books, I usually just buy her books, without even reading the summary and I am never disappointed. I absolutely love this book with the twist about an alien invasion and a confused vanguard of said alien plant invasion. Of course there are references to Little Shop of Horrors (no surprise there!) but it was easy to like Stacia who never hid that she was an alien when she came back out of the forest after subsuming the human version of Anastacia. Such honesty is refreshing in an alien invasion! As is the confusion she faces when the day arrives that the invasion is finally coming and she doesn't actually know what is going to happen though she does have friends and a cat that she wants to protect. It is a wild ride, staying ahead of those human agents wanting to capture the alien hybrids like Stasia and Jeff as well as pick off their allies (Graham, Mandy, Lucas) and with that it is kind of easy to want to side with the aliens, even if they are coming for the great harvest. Yes, it is dark, but with love to light the way, love of friends and family and hope that a better way can be found if humans don't spoil all their chances.

An absolutely fun read with a satisfying ending. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this awesome story!

3.5 ⭐️

A great Sci-Fi book with a great premise.
It started out great and was really well explained with how things start out and the journey the main character goes through of telling people she is an alien and to have next to noone believe her but carry on with it anyway.

The chapters fell very long and bit slow for me, I personally think this book could of been alot shorter, I don't know whether it was just me but it felt hard to get through although was a very enjoyable read.

It's a story of found family, pushed out people finding their place, identity and lots of other touched upon themes. Very YA
Gave great Little Shop of Horrors vibes!

Thank you to Daphne Press and Net Galley for giving me the ARC for this book.
Book release date is May 6th.

We are the Borg. Resistance is futile.
Well no, it's not Borg, it's plants. Alien plant life. Resistance still seems to be futile though.

An invasion told from the POV of one of the aliens, sent to earth years before an alien race wants to take over. An alien born from seeds put within the body of a three year old girl. And thus we are following her, balancing humanity and non-humanity, and fitting neither here nor there.

It's a story about colonization, politics, finding identity, the nature of creation and humanity, love and surprisingly, a found family.

And a story about much more, things which I have not unpacked yet. This story is really deep.

And we, the readers, kind of have to figure out where our sympathies lie, while we learn a lot about ourselves.

After I read the last paragraph, I immediately went 'wow'. You'll know when you know.

4,5/5 stars

Thank you @netgalley and @daphnepress for the eARC!

#Overgrowth #Netgalley #Bookstagram

Thank you to NetGalley and Daphne Press for giving me access to this eARC.

Anastasia has told everyone that she was an alien since she was 3 years old. It’s not her fault that no one believed her. The aliens are now coming for her, maybe the humans should have listened.

This was FUN. Love a story where the mc literally tells people that they are something (this time an alien) instead of hiding it.

I also did enjoy the ending as we don’t really see much of it in other books. You’ll have to read it to find out ;)

We have some great friendships, beautiful relationships but also the question of what makes one human. And what makes one alien.

Overgrowth by Mira Grant is a gripping tale that blends existential terror with the looming threat of alien invasion. The story centres around Anastasia Miller, a woman who has long claimed to be an alien disguised as human, awaiting the return of her biological family. For years, no one took her seriously—until an alien signal is broadcast around the world, confirming her unsettling claims.

As humanity realises that an invasion may be imminent, Stasia’s family prepares to bring her back home. But the question lingers: what happens when you know something is coming but refuse to believe it? The narrative is framed as a story being told to an unnamed listener, and while it may seem like an open-ended tale, the final reveal provides satisfying closure.

Grant’s skilful use of a single point of view immerses readers in Stasia’s isolation and confusion, amplifying the psychological tension of the plot. Overgrowth delivers a unique take on alien invasion, rich in suspense and thought-provoking themes, leaving readers to grapple with the frightening unknown.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

Loved the plant aliens taking over the world. Please don't invade our world, plant aliens. Or maybe do, might be better...

I expected something different here. The story was fine, but felt extremely wordy, and this is coming from someone who has finished Wheel of Time and Malazan.
Far too many words, it probably sounds ridiculous, I get it. This was a chore, but underneath the battle of getting through this book, there was a good story there.

I would firstly like the thank Netgalley and Mira Grant for the opportunity to read this ARC. Expected release date 6th of May, 2025.

Overgrowth is a spectacular science fiction novel, following Anastasia, who has been telling everyone since the age of three that she is a plant species of Alien who was sent to Earth to prepare for an invasion.

People often laugh her off or think she's crazy; but it gets a bit complicated, when 30 odd years pass and the invasion is, in fact, on its way.

Overgrowth challenges us to consider what it means to be human; our biological make up? Our ethics? How we treat others?

I highly recommend this for fans of Little Shop of Horrors and Annihilation. Mira Grant has a phenomenal way of putting the reader into the mind of a conflicted humanoid alien, whilst also disturbing you with the internal conflict of; what essentially boils down to, "my friends smells delicious, it's a shame I can't eat them"

Read if: you like plant body horror, a loveable cast of characters facing the end of the world, or you want to finish a book and not really know what to do with yourself.

The first half of this book was really good. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and it was really interesting reading an alien horror novel from the alien's perspective. The found family aspect of this book was suprisingly heartwarming and having this connection to the main group made me truly fear for the characters. This book dwells a lot on what it means to be human and on the connections we form with those around us. The discussion of human culture from an outsider perspective was interesting and I think this book landed a few good societal critiques/thought provoking arguments but the fact that these critiques of humanity came from a colonizing, invading, alien force kind of made it feel a bit hypocritical on their part. But then I guess the humans calling them monsters also makes us hypocites. This book is a bit of a looking in the mirror and not liking what you see situation.

The body horror/scary plant sci-fi aspects of this book are really well done. The plot definitely lends itself to a 'what would you do in this situation' aspect. I don't think I would be as brave as Mandy and Graham if I found out my friend/partner was actually an alien plant person.

I think the middle section of the book was maybe a bit too long, with too many reveals that didn't end up really impacting the plot, and a lot of introspection from the main character. These sections slowed the plot down a bit and kind of made the book lose the momentum and urgency it had previously gained. Also please check the trigger warnings for this book - I don't think they are listed and there were a few I thought should be. (view spoiler)

Overall this was an interesting (not sure I can say enjoyable because of the stress it induced in me) horror read and definitely makes me want to pick up more of Mira Grant's other work.

Thank you to Netgalley and Daphne Press for the ARC. Review posted on Goodreads and rating on Storygraph. Link to review posted on Twitter.

I'm not sure how to even begin summing up my thoughts on Overgrowth - I had such a brilliant time reading it, and I'm sure I'll be mulling it over for a while to come. It had been some time since I had read any of Mira Grant's work under this pen name, and I was very glad to return to it! I was thoroughly gripped throughout the story, the tension of which grows steadily throughout, leading to a heart-pounding conclusion. Although Overgrowth is action-packed, I found the more reflective sections to be particularly resonant - the characters, be they Stasia herself, main figures in her life, or smaller supporting characters, are fully fleshed out, believable, and capable of growth. I particularly enjoyed reading the reflections on humanity and our actions (even when not facing an invasion from carnivorous alien plants!), as well as Stasia's wrestling with her human and alien selves, whilst she tries to stay true to both.

From the moment I read the blurb for Overgrowth, I was intrigued. An invasion by sentient alien plants from the point of view of an alien? Sign me up.

The story follows Anastasia (Stasia) Miller, who is not-so-secretly a vanguard of an alien species disguised as a human, and a group of rag-tag friends and reluctant acquaintances as they navigate the impending invasion. We quickly learn that Stasia doesn’t actually know what’s going on with the invasion and whether it’s in peace or not, but one thing she is certain of is that it is inevitable.

The character development has to be one of my favourite parts of this story, particularly Stasia’s conflict between choosing her species and humans, as well as the growth of her friends, specifically Graham, Mandy, and Toni (whose chaotic personality and jokes were a highlight). I did find some of the other characters to be a bit bland, and it seemed like some of them were just there to serve as a way to further the plot (i.e., Thalia, the senator, Liam, and Jeff). I also enjoyed the commentary around colonialism, immigration, identity, and belonging from an alien’s perspective and how it was contrasted with the human experiences.

I liked story telling aspect of the epilogue chapter and thought it was the perfect way to set the scene. However, I didn’t love how the pacing slowed down after the first third of the book; it got painfully slow and mundane in parts, and the repetition of Stasia's inner monologue started to get to me, to the point where I was considering taking a break. Luckily, it picked back up for the final third and didn’t stop until the end.

While Overgrowth is both Sci-Fi and Horror, it errs more towards sci-fi than horror for the majority of the book, but there are some horrifying parts peppered throughout, especially towards the end.

Thank you to Mira Grant, NetGalley, and Daphne Press for gifting me an eARC!

The book starts off good with an interesting premise: an alien plantlike lifeform planting seeds on planet earth that swallow up human children and turn them into exact replicas of them. With the only difference that they know they're aliens and will openly tell everyone.

While I loved the premise, I very much missed the horror aspect. It doesn't really start until the last third of the book.
The book also has a YA feel to it. I usually read books very quickly if I'm hooked, but with this one, I had to take a few breaks, which is not a good sign.

I'm not sure if I would recommend it. Maybe if it was marketed more as a YA/Sci-Fi book, but it doesn't work as a horror book.
I do think fans of YA Sci-Fi who would enjoy reading a book about an alien invasion from the perspective of an alien might enjoy it, so if that's your type of thing, then don't let me deter you.

Unfortunately, it just didn't work for me. I really wish it did because I loved the premise.

Arc review ✨

Look away if you must, this is a story, it can’t hurt you anymore..

I was hooked from the very first page in this book. It ripped my heart out and set the mood right away. I will say it got a bit slow and tedious towards the middle chunk for some reason and that’s why I’m not able to give it a 5. But it picked up once everything started going.

Our characters were very relatable, just typical millennials trying to survive this crappy world and all the shit that comes with it. Typical of our generation, there was a lot of comic relief and sarcastic commentary during super serious moments and I kind of loved that. Like of course our world would get invaded by aliens lol. Cause of course. That type of mood. It can be hit or miss when movies/books shove funny bits in our faces when it’s really supposed to be serious but I enjoyed it here and all the little creature feature references were so fun.

I enjoyed it and would recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early ebook in exchange for an honest review.

“I never asked to lie through the shape of my bones, when my voice only told the truth”
Ever since she was young, Anastasia has claimed to be the vanguard of an alien species planning to invade Earth. But when a signal from space confirms the existence of extraterrestrial life, she begins to question whether she’s been telling the truth all along.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It strikes a great balance between character-driven development and just the right amount of action to keep the story engaging. If you're looking for a gruesome sci-fi thriller, this might not be for you—though there were definitely moments that made my stomach turn. This book explores the theme of nature vs. nurture and what happens when one is forced to choose a side.
I loved watching Anastasia’s perspective shift as she grew closer to her own kind. Some of her thoughts as the book progressed were downright startling—especially her growing appetite for her partner, Graham. If you enjoy stories about plant-like aliens with a taste for humankind, this is definitely one to pick up!
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Overgrowth by Mira Grant releases 6th May 2025.