Release Date: 17 May 2011
Publisher: Harper Collins
Age Group: Adult
Format: Paperback
Pages: 336
Author: Melissa Marr
Buy the Book: Amazon
Rebekkah Barrow never forgot the tender attention her grandmother, Maylene, bestowed upon the dead of Claysville, the town where Bek spent her adolescence. There wasn't a funeral that Maylene didn't attend, and at each Rebekkah watched as Maylene performed the same unusual ritual: three sips from a small silver flask followed by the words "Sleep well, and stay where I put you."
Now Maylene is dead and Bek must go back to the place--and the man--she left a decade ago. But what she soon discovers is that Maylene was murdered and that there was good reason for her odd traditions. It turns out that in placid Claysville, the worlds of the living and the dead are dangerously connected. Beneath the town lies a shadowy, lawless land ruled by the enigmatic Charles, aka Mr. D--a place from which the dead will return if their graves are not properly minded. Only the Graveminder, a Barrow woman, and the current Undertaker, Byron, can set things to right once the dead begin to walk.
My Thoughts:
Once again Melissa Marr has not let me down. This book was simply stunning and I loved the Wicked Lovely series so much and I do believe that I love these characters just as much as I loved the Wicked Lovely series’ characters.
The characters, I loved each and every single one of these characters and I am not just saying that because I am a Melissa Marr super-fan, I am honest and I would not lie, if I dislike a story I would say so. Rebekkah was very much an adult in this book and I completely disagree with what at least two people have said on Goodreads that Rebekkah is just like a teenager, do you think a teenager would be able to handle themselves in the types of situations Rebekkah has to? I don’t think so...I am fifteen and I would freak out if I had to deal with the kinds of things the main character in this book has to. Point is; the people that wrote these reviews didn’t even finish the book and said it was too hard to get into; a murder scene doesn’t intrigue you? Come on people!
In more reviews people said that Rebekkah was immature and contradicted herself way to much with her thoughts. In these reviews people were complaining about showing the character’s thoughts too often, well with a book like this with so many POVs from different character’s I thought it was a nice way to get more insight as to what went on within the character’s mind. Rebekkah is a realistic character; she may contradict herself and have flaws but what if she was meant to be that way? She is strong in some parts of the novel that shows that she is real and I would like to congratulate Melissa on writing this character because, REBEKKAH IS REALISTIC due to the fact that she is NOT PERFECT. I for one could relate to her because she has flaws.
I understand that these are people’s own views on this book and I do respect that but I am putting my thoughts in this review about things that these people have said in their reviews because I cannot respect a person when they write a review but clearly have not finished reading the book and even state so in their reviews.
Ok rant over, now to get to the actual review. Setting- I liked the setting very much. There is nothing better than a small town where almost everyone knowing each other but what does make it even better is the fact that this small town has one huge secret.
As for the characters, I loved each and everyone one of them and could find some way to relate to them through something they either said or through and emotion which they felt due to a certain even that had occurred.
I thought that reading from so many different point of views was so thrilling because we actually get to unravel the mysteries just as Rebekkah does, yet we are almost one step ahead of her and I thought that this was a great way for the reader to still be enticed by the suspense because you want to know more, yet you want to see Rebekkah’s reaction to certain aspects and you just can’t wait for those moments...I don’t think I made sense there!
Great work was done by Melissa Marr and I ask you to please at least attempt to read this book and if you have written a review for it or plan on reading this book please let me know, I would love to hear your thoughts on this book so please leave a link to your review.
I love Marr's YA series and was really excited to read her adult debut that's out of the faerie world. The concept sounded really good and was something I hadn't really seen before. Learning the tweaked folklore in the story was interesting and I liked how she presented it.
ReplyDeleteHer characters are also wonderful and really fleshed out. The story bounces around from character to character in third person omniscient which is fun but can be a bit confusing at times. Most of the action though is focused on Rebekkah and Byron, both of whom I really liked. I loved seeing them together and the ending was really sweet (and a little bit funny). My favorite characters though were probably Amity and Alicia, both of whom don't have too much screen time but I really liked them nonetheless.