Overgrowth is a gripping story that blends body horror, alien invasions, and a surprising amount of humor into a book that’s hard to put down. Grant wastes no time pulling readers into a tense, atmospheric narrative filled with high-stakes action.

What really stands out are the characters. They're complex, relatable, and often funny in the face of terrifying circumstances. Their reactions ground the story’s more outlandish sci-fi elements, and their interpersonal dynamics keep the tension alive even in quieter moments. Grant’s exploration of identity and humanity—what makes us us—adds depth to the gore and suspense, making the horror feel meaningful.

Despite being new to Grant’s work and sci-fi in general, I found Overgrowth to be immediately accessible. It never bogs down in exposition or drags through filler. The result is a page-turner that balances existential horror with just enough levity to make the darkness enjoyable rather than oppressive.

If you enjoy narratives where the monstrous and the human blur in unsettling ways, Overgrowth should be on your list.

I have been a massive fan of Mira Grant (and all of their works under Seanan McGuire too) for a good few years now and Overgrowth seriously delivers. This book saved me from a reading slump that was lurking right around the corner, keeping me up at bedtime to get through more of the story.

This is such a strong novel with incredibly nuanced themes. The idea of looking at the alien invasion through the perspective of one of the aliens who’s lived most of her life on earth was so interesting. It added another layer to the horror elements of the novel because it allows us to look at the ugliest parts of humanity and then fully sympathise with the ‘enemy’.

*minor spoilers in this paragraph* but I was so moved by the idea that if the humans had just asked the aliens to leave them alone, they would have. That if, instead of treating them with hostility and Independence Day levels of violence, they had just had a conversation with the aliens, everything would’ve been fine. We are doomed as a species because this is exactly how it would all play out.

I loved this book but nothing is without its flaws. There was occasional lapses in logic, loose ends to minor plot points, and character decisions that didn’t make a lot of sense. But overall, I thought this was gripping and eerie and emotional. Not to mention, i LOVED the ending.

Day of the tryfids meets body snatchers meets little shop of horrors.

I loved the unique take on an alien invasion by telling the story from the POV of the alien plant (pun intended). Whilst an interesting story of alien invasion I also enjoyed the social commentary on what it takes to be human and what determines someone identity. Based in a near future that doens’t feel to far away given what’s happening in the world at the moment.

Her friends commitment to protecting and helping her despite knowing everything they do was beautiful.

It was a clever and enjoyable read, creepy and disturbing at times and heartbreaking.

Overgrowth follows Anastasia. She’s a young girl who wanders into the woods alone, but when she returns home, she is no longer the real Anastasia.

Alien seeds found their way to Earth and began their journey to invade. The new Anastasia was one of those seeds that made its way to Earth and replaced the old Anastasia, as the seeds nature is designed to do.

What follows is adult Anastasia in a society that has received a strange signal from space.
During this time, we see Stasia as she struggles between her human connections and the roots she truly belongs to.

The alien species here is crafted with such harrowing uniqueness a from how they find planets, develop a ‘forest,’ and eventually transform into their true physical beings.

I had a lot of fun with this book- however, I found myself becoming bored throughout a good 50% of the middle portion. The introduction and ending are close to being 5-star reading moments.
The journey of figuring out how to handle the signal, human relationships changing admit the threat of invasion, and society’s reaction all became repetitive, slow, and felt like a waste of time.

When the plot picked up at around the 70% mark, I immediately became hooked again. No spoilers for this part though! The last 30% is almost exactly what I wanted throughout the entire novel- I just don’t think the slow build-up to get to this point should have taken as long as it did.

Remember that viral video some time ago of the woman on a plane yelling, “I’m telling you right now, that motherf— is not real!”? There’s a scene in this book that reminds me of that, and it was quite a funny part.

I listened to the audiobook, and I believe that tremendously helped me through the middle part. Narration is great in this one!

3 ⭐ overall, but the book definitely has some standout moments.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the eARC!

A young girl ventures into the woods and is devoured by a monstrous plant from an alien planet. The plant subsequently generates a physical, biological replica of the girl. She goes on to claim to be an alien, doing so for the next 32 years. When a scientist discovers an alien sound signal, the girl is finally vindicated, and the story begins.

However, it doesn’t. Instead, it continues for chapters on end with the setup. We learn all about her friends, her work, her daily life, how ill-suited she is for normal existence, and about her transgender boyfriend. There’s no action; it’s just incessant description of how dull and unkind her life is. All the 30+ adults act like teenagers, and until I discovered their true ages, I genuinely thought they were high schoolers or college students, considering they live alone. That’s quite disappointing when one is seeking an adult fantasy. Another significant pet peeve of mine is the question of her boyfriend being transgender. I support representation and inclusion, but only when it’s relevant to the story, not just to tick boxes.

There’s no true alien encounter until more than 60% of the book is complete. Unfortunately, I couldn’t finish it. I don’t feel any sympathy or understanding for the main character. I found her annoying and beyond immature. The story drags on for too long to keep me invested, which is regrettable, as I found the premise and prologue fascinating.

Thank you to NetGalley and Daphne Press for the advance reader copy.

The synopsis for this book was interesting and I saw it was going to be a pick for a subscription box so wanted to read it ahead of time.

I think unfortunately for me the story seemed to draw me in around the 60% mark. I could see the points of the story where I imagined some other interesting thing happening.

There also should be a lot of trigger warnings for this book as the first part could be quite traumatic for readers.

Overall, my rating is based on the last 35% of the book as I wanted to DNF during the first half a few times.

“Overgrowth” is something that I would call contemporary science-fiction. It takes place in the world we know. However, in the past this world has been visited by an alien species. They planted their seeds and waited for them to grow.

When she was three years old, Anastasia in some mysterious circumstances, was replaced with an alien. She kept saying she’s not a human, she kept convincing people she is an alien, but no one listens. Is she the only one? Will aliens come with a visit?

Mira Grant creates a novel full of existential questions. How do we treat people that are different from what we would call “normal”? How hard is it to believe in what other people are saying? How would people react if they knew the truth all along but hadn’t accepted it? Reading “Overgrowth” has led me to many different thoughts about humans and their behaviour towards difference.

Besides that it’s a rather fast paced novel about first contact and probable course of space invasion. That part was a great entertainment, almost like a good sci-fi movie with lots of amazing action scenes.

Overall I did enjoy “Overgrowth”. It gave me exactly what I’m seeking for in science fiction - great amusement and a space for my own reflection.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book and provide a review.

I'm not sure why this has been categorised as horror? This leans much harder in to cozy-sci-fi, with the exception of the opening, where our protagonist 3 year old is consumed by an alien invader plant and reborn as an alien. That bit was brilliant. From there, unfortunately, it went a bit off the rails for me. The entire book is incredibly heavy-handed on the "othering" metaphors, and even dangerous in some instances. While I haven't read any of the author's other works, she apparently often uses her work to comment and critique social issues i.e. gender identity, immigration, and climate change. This book could have been so good if it continued as it started, however the entire first 2/3 of the book was repetitive, the characters' decision making is suspect and unrealistic, and the aforementioned social commentary is just shoehorned in whenever possible. The ending seemed rushed, though I did enjoy that the humans didn't come out on top.

I set out to read a fun sci-fi horror. I got something much more complex, and I’m still bewildered by the tears this book teased out of me.

The story is set in the near future, the year 2031. Anastasia, since the age of three, has known she is extraterrestrial in nature and never tried to hide the truth, not even when she’s 35 years old. She’s always introduced herself as the vanguard of an invasion by alien plant people - making her a bit of a weirdo, as you can imagine. What it truly means, though, she will yet come to understand. In any case, humanity has been warned, over and over again. They dismissed it.

Maybe they shouldn’t have.

Holy shit but Overgrowth was such a mentally and morally challenging read! Making me question both sides of the situation, unable to come to a conclusion that would at least settle my mind. At times, I had to stop reading and just stare at the wall for a bit, to process and digest. The rising tension was very subtle, almost lulling me into a sense of “is something really about to happen?” despite me knowing that ooh yes, yes it is.

Mira Grant took her time with the pacing. It’s a slow, mostly character-driven story that is spiraling into something unknown yet inevitable - you know the invasion of Earth is coming, yet you have no clear idea of what shape it will take.

I honestly expected to be more creeped out, as one usually does picking up a book labeled as a horror, but I ended up being more...uncomfortably fascinated. If I had to sum up Overgrowth, it would probably be something like a situational/eldritch horror, existential psychological dread, and thought-provoking sci-fi (and sci-fi isn’t even my preferred genre!). Oh, and with a bizarre alien twist on nature vs nurture and cultural appropriation.

And throughout all this, there is an interesting cast of characters besides Anastasia. Some of them I adored - Graham, a trans man and Stasia’s boyfriend (I have such a soft spot for him!), Mandy, Toni (she was particularly delightful, an unhinged, traumatized scientist who was so often the unconventional voice of reason). Others I simply tolerated. And not every one of them is human.

The relationship between Anastasia and Graham brought me to tears at times, it’s been a while since I rooted this much for a couple in a book where romance isn’t even the sub-genre. Unconditional love that transcends absolutely everything is all I have to say.

All that said, I would’ve appreciated a bit more action that would speed the plot up, instead of the frequent introspection that got slightly repetitive at times. If you pick Overgrowth expecting a fast-paced story filled with constant tension, you could get a little bored.

Overgrowth is a captivating science fiction horror novel. It perfectly blends body horror and plant horror with an alien invasion narrative.

What I find particularly interesting is that the story is written from the alien’s point of view and not an Earth defender. Stasia’s story is fascinating, as she lived a very ordinary human life until the transmission from outer space confirmed her otherness. I loved reading about her network of friends, the perfect found family, and her conflicting loyalties to her race and the humanity that raised her. There is also a rather sweet queer romance subplot.

On the other hand, the side characters could be more developed. I think the story would benefit from another point of view, maybe from one of Stasia’s friends. I would love to know more about them.

This was my introduction to Mira Grant and I was blown away by the writing. A sci-fi horror, body snatcher story that focuses on the complexities of human existence, found family, and the question of right and wrong, from the point of view of an alien, whose species is set to invade earth.

When Stasia was a child, she wandered into the woods and returned changed. She spends her life telling anyone she meets that she is an alien, something she believes to be true. The present story focuses on an impending invasion of an alien species, one Stasia claims to be connected to. It brings into question: is her alliance to her human friends or her fellow species that are on the way to Earth? Is it considered wrongdoing when you had no agency or choice in the act?

The opening sequence is spine-chilling and sets up conflicting questions for Stasia, that at times feel just as complicated for the reader.

This story is dark and weird and all things scary. It delves into the issues of belonging, self-identity, prejudice, colonisation, human rights, and what makes someone a person vs a human.

I loved the writing style and the depth of the characters. There are layers to this story, beyond a simple alien invasion. There are many themes, and difficult topics that reflect the current state of the world.

Trigger Warning: a child's death takes place in the story.

I'm very excited to read more of Mira's work. Thank you to Netgalley and Daphne Press for the arc.

Overgrowth is a must for sci-fi horror fans. The horror elements were great, with impending doom, body snatching and some gore. But alongside this there was also a lighthearted and charming way the book is written. Anastasia stands out from the crowd and her life is relatively reclusive. I loved how she interacted with others and her small group of friends and how she was unflappable in herself. Themes of belonging, prejudice and self-identity are explored expertly. I also loved the questions this brought up about people’s rights and immigration. This book is deep, exploratory and different from anything else. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

Overgrowth subverts the classic 'alien invasion' trope by blowing the reader to see through the alien's POV. Something I always love about any sort of invasion / apocalyptic type novel is the examination of humanity in threat.
While I did enjoy the book it did read as more YA than adult despite the body horror elements. The pacing was also slightly slow at points and had me wondering when it would begin to pick up.
The commentary about the treatment of minorities was done with good intentions but could have been slightly more expanded upon.
Overall an enjoyable read, I'm looking forward to delving deeper into Mira Grant's previous novels and interested to see what she does next

“This is a story. It can’t hurt you anymore”

I went in thinking I was about to read one thing but of course with a Mira Grant book you should never assume you know anything about the story you are about to be told. This one stayed with me and it really took a while to get my thoughts together about this book, unlike some of her previous books this one wasn’t as visceral but I think that is why it stayed, I think like a vine it was slow to capture the reader but by the time you were finished you were well and truly entangled.

This is a story about Plant Aliens who want to invade our planet and at the same time it is so much more, it’s about the bonds we make or don’t with friends and family and about who will really stand by your side when the world is coming to an end.

I loved the views on nature vs nurture just how much of ourselves is about the way we live and who we surround ourselves with vs what flows through our DNA. I adored the idea of an alien or just a plain old human having to go through the motions of life with rent and a job and falling in love just like everyone else.

The imagery is immaculate, insidious and truly quietly terrifying. I absolutely would have touched the death flower: it just sounds too perfect not to want to at least see it up close and personal.

A huge thank you to Daphne Press for filling the Seanan / Mira hole in my heart

Firstly, thank you to NetGalley, Mira Grant, and Daphne Press for accepting my ARC request!

I was super excited about this book, and maybe that's why I ended up a tiny bit disappointed. I thought i was going to fall in love with it, and the expectations were just too high. The premise is amazing and right up my alley; i think it was the execution that left me a bit flat, personally. However, and since it's rated pretty high on StoryGraph, I do believe this book could be someone else's favorite if they like:

- Sci-fi with alien elements, or about alien planetary invasions.
- Themes of belonging and identity and nurture versus nature.
- Questioning the ethics of violence.
- Minor horror elements and some gore (not consistently throughout the whole book, just here and there in specific moments).
- Queer rep (specifically, trans rep).

These are all things I loved about this book, and they're primarily what made me pick it up in the first place. Nevertheless, I feel like I should share my honest feedback about other aspects I struggled a bit with:

- I would have liked for the worldbuilding to be a bit more developed (I also love infodummping/loredumping, so that would have been super cool as well).
- I didn't really connect with the characters, and by the second half of the book they still kept me guessing about their motives and what drove them to make the decisions they made.
- I would have liked it better if the relfections surrounding the main themes (belonging, identity...) were a bit deeper and less spoonfed to the reader. I felt like the inner monologue of the main character left no room for me to connecting the dots and arrive to my own conclusions, but it also didn't feel like it went super deep, either, so I was left kind of in the middle.
- The pacing felt weird, which is very easy to notice in longer books like this one. By the time I was halfway done I felt like not much had happened, and then towards the last 20% of the book, the pace picked up and felt a bit rushed. Again, this might be just me, but I've read a couple of reviews that also mentioned the pacing, and I mostly agree.

TLDR; I would recommend this book, even if it wasn't my favorite, because I still appreciate what I did enjoy about it, and I think it could be a new favorite for many people, especially sci-fi lovers.

Unsettling and beautiful !! At no point could I predict what was going to happen and I absolutely loved it. The world building was fascinating , I could’ve read another 500 pages of this happily

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for approving me to read this book, I’m rating it 4.25-4.5 stars.

This was oddly thought provoking in a what would I do and who would I end up being in this scenario. It was horrifying and intriguing, the sort of body horror that occurs during this was something else. I haven’t read a sci-fi horror in a while, but I’m very glad I got to read this.

Highly recommend for a great sci-fi read with terrifying moments and moral dilemmas throughout. It taps into identity crisis and romance in some aspects.

I admit - aliens aren't my usual thing. But I love Mira Grant's writing style, so took a chance on this.

As always, she absolutely draws you in from the first. This is both an original story combined with the 'boy who cried wolf' and (yes, I'm saying it) Superman. Imagine if an alien grew up on earth, but spoke up about it? Of course they wouldn't be believed!

The pace does falter at times, and it was a bit frustrating to have to go through all the disbelief when we, the audience, know more of the truth. But as always, the skilful writing propelled the tale forward while evoking a great weird atmosphere.

Not my favourite of this author's works, but still an excellent read.

"I wasn't crazy. I wasn't a liar. I wasn't a human being. I was what I'd always claimed to be, and my people were coming to take me home, and maybe I should have been upset to realize I wasn't what I seemed to be, but I never asked to look human. I never asked to lie through the shape of my bones, when my voice only ever told the truth."
4.25 ☆|5

When diving into this book, I wasn't expecting to love it that much. But also, I wasn't expecting the story to go like that. And yet, it ended up being incredibly nice and compelling to read, and this probably made it on my list of "I don't like horror very much but this was some really good stuff".

Stasia has always been honest with who she was. Since she was three years old, she has been telling everyone that she wasn't human: she was an alien from outer space, and her people were gonna come and get her back. No one was willing to listen. And yet, one day, the invasion comes.

As someone who deeply loves science fiction and media even loosely related to space, I ended up being delighted by this plot. The aliens were really interesting, and I adored all the aspects related to them and especially the way Stasia was able to communicate with her people! It was truly fascinating. Also, alien plants? I was mostly sold when I saw those words. I also really liked the writing and the characters.

Even though I liked it a lot, I still have some issues with this book. First of all, that pacing was not it. It was inconsistent and part of why it took me so long to end this book. The greatness of the story compensates for it to my eyes, but it was annoying at times, especially in the middle of the book, as it was slower. Secondly, Graham, the love interest, was a trans man. That was a nice touch, but unfortunately, I could just feel that the author was not a trans person. Some trans analogies were...certainly a choice, but nothing that I judged too bad or weird, so there is that.

Other than those minor points, this was a really great read, and I'm glad that I got to discover and enjoy it! I would like to thank Daphne Press and Netgalley for sending me this e-ARC. This one goes out on May 6th!

Oh I adored this. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Overgrowth scratches a lot of the same itch that Seth Dickenson's Exordia scratched for me, and while I would recommend this to anyone who liked Exorida, I would particularly recommend it to anyone who wanted to like Exordia but got turned off by just how hard the sci-fi of that book was. This has plenty of the alien invasion mystery, body horror, and political machinations, but it is significantly easier to follow than Exordia. Fundamentally, Overgrowth made me want to reread Exordia, but then I would have to reread Exordia, and I refuse to read that book on my phone again.

Anyway, this review is allegedly about Overgrowth (2025) by Mira Grant.

I loved Stasia as a main character. She hit a good balance of being strong without being obnoxiously overconfident (considering that fundamentally she is just some guy before the alien shit starts up). Her turmoil over the invasion felt very real and well explored. I spent most of the book being unsure exactly what she would do regarding the alien invasion, but it wasn't annoying, because there legitimately was a lot to think about for her!

The side cast was really excellent too. It's a pretty large cast of characters, and Grant does a fantastic job of making sure everyone gets their moment (except for David, David kinda falls by the wayside, and this does make his -- I hesitate to call it culmination of his arc, because that would imply that he particularly had a character arc that the reader got to see -- ending a bit less impactful than I think it's meant to be). My favorite was Graham (natch, love a trans man); I loved how his transness was a bit of a foil to what Stasia experienced. I'm a little frightened by how down bad he was for Stasia, but I don't think I've ever been that in love before, so who's to say.

The body horror/alien stuff was great. I sometimes wish the body horror had been a little gnarlier, but I am a freak. I won't get into it too deeply because I don't want to have to spoiler this review, but the aliens, once they do properly arrive, are SO cool and chilling.

Thematically, the book is solid, if a bit unsubtle. As a US citizen who has the slightest bit of empathy for people who do not look and think exactly like me, the stuff about citizenship and scapegoating rang particularly true. I think Grant could have been a little subtler with the parallels to real life, but it doesn't drag down the book. I also appreciated the moral ambiguity around the aliens; they felt properly, well, alien. SPOILERS FOR THE ENDING [You know you've got a good invasion story when you hear from the aliens why they're invading, and you think "oh the main characters are NOT going to be able to talk them out of this without one hell of a fight or an incredibly unsatisfying deus ex machina". Fortunately, there was no deus ex machina].

Any complaints? Especially towards the beginning of the book, bits of recontextualizing information would just get thrown in there in a way that felt choppy to no end. The two examples I can think of off the top of my head are about Stasia having been in the tabloids and Graham being a serious romantic partner. It stopped becoming a problem later in the book, but it made the beginning feel like it could have used another editing pass.

Overall, great read, and I will definitely be looking into Mira Grant's backlog and future writing.