Reviews with content warning for Blood - Graveyard Shift

CAWPILE rating: 7 / low 4⭐️

Also writing my review by each CAWPILE category bc why not:

Characters: 6.5
They felt distinct and there were no characters I didn’t like. But some felt more fleshed out than others. Would’ve liked more time to get to know them.

Atmosphere: 7
It wasn’t a hugely atmospheric book, but what we did get I really liked. Especially in the graveyard and church at the beginning.

Writing Style: 7.5
Not much to say here, I like M.L. Rio’s writing.

Plot: 5
I liked the plot a lot but I expected more horror, and the book needed to be longer. The horror aspects pretty much stop after the first two chapters, then it’s more of a character focused mystery/thriller? but because it’s so short it’s resolved very quickly. I think if it were longer and more focused on the horror I could’ve loved it, but as it is I still enjoyed it.

I would’ve loved if we got a past perspective of Project Honeydew, it was probably the most interesting part of the book to me. Lockley seemed like a really interesting character but we don’t see much of her. Then again, I tend to love mad scientist characters so I might just be biased.

Intrigue: 9
I really wanted to see how things unfolded and what exactly was going on.

Logic: 8
There wasn’t anything that didn’t add up or make sense to me, other than

I was confused why Tuck wasn’t seemingly involved with Project Honeydew despite coming up in one if the articles about it. I assumed that would be a reveal later but it wasn’t. I might’ve misunderstood?

Enjoyment: 7.5

I’d recommend this to someone who wants a short, character-focused, vibey horror/mystery/thriller.

Very random quote that I liked bc seriously it’s such a huge pet peeve of mine:

“I honestly don’t know. I can’t figure out what she wants from me, or I’d do it. No matter what I say, it seems to be wrong.”
“You’re allowed to ask.”
He stared across the bar at her. “Ask what?”
“What she wants.” She stubbed out her cigarette. “Straight men are so stupid. Women aren’t complicated. If you don’t know how to get where you want with her, just fucking ask for directions.”

Content Warnings

whatsemilyreadin's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

ezwolf's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

A group of strangers who all meet at a cemetery to smoke at night, come to their regular meeting place and discover someone has dug a hole in the ground. Not too unusual for a graveyard, but it takes the characters on their own fungi themed mystery plot.

This one wasn’t for me. It wasn’t bad, just kind of boring. If it were any long I might have considered dropping it, but at barely 3 hours long I kept going. I think it had good potential, it was just so many characters to keep track of in such a short period of time.

Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review!

Content Warnings

More...