Graveminder is a Gothic mystery novel by Melissa Marr. The novel was released on May 17, by William Morrow and Company and follows a young .
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Sword of Destiny Andrzej Sapkowski. Blood of Elves Andrzej Sapkowski. The Last Wish Andrzej Sapkowski. Spinning Silver Naomi Novik. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban J. Time of Contempt Andrzej Sapkowski. The Tower of the Swallow Andrzej Sapkowski. The Lady of the Lake Andrzej Sapkowski. The Fall of Gondolin J.
Baptism of Fire Andrzej Sapkowski. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix J. Outlander Boxed Set Diana Gabaldon. A Darker Shade of Magic V.
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Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire J. Season of Storms Andrzej Sapkowski. Strange the Dreamer Laini Taylor. Rivers of London Ben Aaronovitch. The Fiery Cross Diana Gabaldon. Foxglove Summer Ben Aaronovitch. The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings J. The Name of the Wind Patrick Rothfuss.
The Tower of Swallows Andrzej Sapkowski. Beren and Luthien J. The Maze of Malcor Joseph A. The Princess Bride William Goldman. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows J. The Bane Chronicles Cassandra Clare. Maybe, and this is just my opinion, she should have stayed away from doing an adult release. I will never criticize anyone for liking a book in polar opposite to me hating it. I guess I must be a glutton for punishment in that I actually allowed myself to finish this story instead of abandoning it.
Best part of the book? Would I recommend this book to anyone? Debatable at this time. View all 10 comments. After 1 month of reading this book, I finally finished it. It was probably my reading slump that made me struggle to end this novel in one go or its slow story flow. Anyway, I'm happy I didn't give up. I still liked this book despite having a hard time finishing the novel. Graveminder is about you know, minding the graves ha! Basically, it was about a town called Claysville, a Graveminder, an Undertaker and the dead.
There's more to it if you read this book and it's on After 1 month of reading this book, I finally finished it. There's more to it if you read this book and it's one of the reason why I still liked this book in the first place. I have mentioned before that this book is slow, right?
Well yes, it's true.
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Though it was started with a murder, the flow of the story didn't get exciting at least for me. It's more of a quite tedious setup for the inevitable, for the main event. The main characters has been introduced, who, unsurprisingly were friends with benefits or lovebirds or whatsoever you want to think. Don't worry, there's a back story. The world building is shyly defined and conflict was realized. Then came the running around the circles scenarios to slowly develop the plot which either confused or annoyed me.
At least, I'd appreciate the novel a little more. Four weeks later, I stumbled upon on the interesting and engaging part of the book. This is where the resolution and the climax happened and the big reveal has been you know, revealed. I thoroughly enjoyed this part, I tell you. I've got to know more about this Graveminder-Undertaker tandem and how it originated. I've got to cherish the excitement I didn't get on the three-fourth of the book. Overall, plotwise, it was good. Character-wise, not so much. View all 13 comments. Apr 06, Jacqie rated it it was ok. Didn't end up finishing this one.
The writing wasn't bad, but the book had one of my biggest pet peeves at the beginning. The "we have secrets, but we can't tell the main character because It's not the right time. You can't handle the truth. I'm afraid you won't love me anymore if I tell you. You won't believe me. All of the above. I absolutely despise this method of building narrative tension. After more than 50 pages of the above excuses I k Didn't end up finishing this one. After more than 50 pages of the above excuses I knew that the reveal couldn't possibly be worth the buildup, and skimmed the rest.
The undead ideas are slightly more original than the norm. The villain was underutilized until the end. The romance was about average. So there you have it. I might have been kinder if I wasn't frustrated by the above skullduggery with drawing out the reveal. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Reviewed for Books Books and more Books. I'm not sure if I'm just not in the mood to write reviews or whether there is something about this book that makes it difficult to write about it.
A bit of both, maybe. The bottom line is that I can't seem to put my thoughts in order and write something about this book. I liked it well enough, I suppose. It was an easy enough read; Melissa Marr can definitely entice a reader through her writing, yes and also with her ideas and concepts. Be Reviewed for Books Books and more Books. Because I simply loved the concept of this book. It's not that it's completely original - actually I was reminded of Anna Dressed in Blood as I read this - but the entire setting is intriguing. That is what made me buy this book in the first place.
I didn't like how Marr explored her idea. I thought she just wanted to put too much into the book: The overall concept required a lot of layering and world-building and I don't feel like the author achieved this. I thought the world-building was shallow in part because of the fact that so much was crammed into the book and the story was way too character-driven, when it shouldn't be. So I finished the book and felt There was so much I was looking forward to know that was never answered.
The mystery was not very well explored and the romantic subplot took way too much spotlight when there were so many other interesting things happening. The fact that the male protagonist lacked character and the female heroine was annoying most of the time only made it worse: Why could Abigail do what she did? These were the things that really interested me Yet again, we have one of those "great concept but poor execution" kind of books I should probably create a shelf for those, they are 'piling up', so to speak.
It read like the author's YA books, the only difference being that it had a little more nudity. But like hers and most YA series it focuses on the romance rather than the supernatural plot, which wasn't especially thrilling for me because she didn't even do it right Rebekkah and Byron spent most of the book whining about how they loved each other but couldn't be together. If you liked Melissa Marr's "Wicked Lovely" series, you'll like this.
However, if you read the synopsis and thought the idea interesting I would thread carefully; this is more paranormal romance than urban fantasy. A somewhat disappointing read. View all 3 comments. Sep 17, Shannon rated it did not like it Shelves: I'd never read anything by Melissa Marr, even though I see that she's put out several books before this one.
Graveminder - Melissa Marr - Digital Audiobook
I had high hopes for Graveminder. The idea for it sounded intriguing.
Unfortunately I very quickly got frustrated with the way in which events unfolded. It seems like the great majority, if not all, of the confusion and conflict in the book was a result of the characters just not bothering to ever tell anyone anything, and never for any reason beyond "Oh, I just couldn't! There were other, less frustrating ways for, just as an example, Rebekkah just spell her name right, please?
I hate that to have been clueless about what to do once Maylene was gone and she was compelled to take up her duties. Maylene never bothering to tell her just seemed ridiculous, considering the danger. Also, her issues with Byron. Initially it seemed understandable, if frustrating, for her to resist her attraction to him out of guilt over her sister. But once that misunderstanding is taken away, she just immediately falls back into her old habit of pushing him away without even a thought about her changed understanding.
I have to admit, this is the moment I gave up on this book. I was listening to the audiobook and normally I let those go on to the end even if I don't like it much because I listen at work and it's nice to have something different to listen to. I was so annoyed by her at that point that I wanted to shake her, and I was so bored by how whiny and pointlessly obstinate she was that I didn't even care what happened to her.
In my head, Daisha bites Rebekkah's face off, Byron goes back to Amity who was actually kind of interesting and not in the least someone I wanted to slap at any time , and they leave Claysville to the zombies they are dead people who rise from their graves and eat people. It makes me sad to give such a negative review since the story had such potential. Truth be told, when I first heard Melissa Marr had a new book out, I wasn't going to read it.
As much as I enjoyed her Wicked Lovely series she did after all give us the glorious Seth I was equally frustrated and fascinating at the same time and I wasn't sure I wanted to invest the same energy into something that could potentially be the same way. So, thanks Crystal for sharing your copy and Arlene for sending it. I actually really enjoyed myself with this one. I'm gonna keep this short and swe Truth be told, when I first heard Melissa Marr had a new book out, I wasn't going to read it.
I'm gonna keep this short and sweet. I really liked the way this was delivered, it was in multi-pov's and I was worried that I would be a little lost, but Marr really strings the characters thoughts quite nicely, bringing in a nice flow and pace to the storyline.
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And wow, what a storyline! I can't say that I'm a huge fan of Zombies, but the few books I've read from this element I liked. Graveminder definitely adds to that list. It's very well crafted, unique and shutter-worthy.
Graveminder
Great great cast of characters who were all very well developed and likable. From the contract to what it entails to the inevitable bond they share. It was all very different from your usual paranormal storyline so I give kudos to Marr for her use of imagination and creativity. Bottom line, I loved this book. It was fun and freaky and while I'm not sure if we're getting any more books from this world, I would love to see where Marr takes it!
View all 48 comments. Feb 01, Sarah Mac rated it it was ok Shelves: But in this case, my reasoning is clear. I liked Marr's YA faery series. I like modern gothic. I like small-town horror with paranormal elements.
And yet this book was a fail. But even when things began to make sli In a word: The only characters that inspired any spark of interest were Charlie aka Mr D. The hero, Byron, was a non-entity beta with zero personality, zero believability, zero anything aside from riding a badass motorcycle.
As for Rebekkah -- I hated her. As other reviews have pointed out, the concept is pretty cool. But the execution is terrible. Characters have no substance, so why should I care about anything that might happen should Moo Rebekkah fail to perform Why does nobody tell them anything? Why is the town not allowed to know what's going on? And headaches whenever you veer too close to the truth For god's sake, you're not Imagine the shock when these oblivious knuckleheads learn that her stepsister's suicide was not because they kissed as lovelorn teenagers. View all 4 comments.
Right now I don't have time to do a proper review so I'll be brief. There are some books that are so good that you can't put them down and read them until your eyelids close on you. There are books that you try to read fast because it grips you so tight that you wanna get to the end and then when it ends you wished you'd read slower just to draw it out. This is one of those books. I woke up this morning with 40 pages left and it killed me all morning to sit at work. Thank the gods for lunchtime.
Now I'm wishing that I hadn't devoured it so quickly because I wasn't ready to say goodbye to the world. Guess that means I'm gonna have to re-read it. It did not disappoint. The world she has created is unique, the characters are brilliantly written, the romance between Rebekkah, the Graveminder and Byron, the Undertaker, was hauntingly beautiful and I really hope this is only the beginning. Way to go, Melissa! Your first adult fantasy novel was spec-frakkin-tacular! Jul 14, Underpressure rated it did not like it Shelves: I was really excited about this book; 'was' being the operational word in this sentence.
Although Marr is clearly not the new Hemingway, or Harris for that matter, I followed the Wicked Lovely series in appreciation of the lush world she had created. So, I was looking forward to reading her first foray into adult lit to see what she could cook up on the adult side of the fence. Let me just say, I tried to like this book. I had earmarked it for a weekend when I knew I would be doing I was really excited about this book; 'was' being the operational word in this sentence. I had earmarked it for a weekend when I knew I would be doing a lot of travelling and yet the boredom of spending 12 hours on a train did not entice me to continue reading it.
My boredom was more interesting. In fact, I had a hard time making it to past the first couple of pages. There was no hook and I felt like I was watching a poorly-acted play. All of the characters are stiff, wooden things and I felt not an ounce of love or interest for one of them. Ok, maybe Byron showed some prospects but even then, not enough for me to keep going.
Jan 23, pdbkwm rated it did not like it. I haven't read a book in a long time. Somehow, I was busy with school and life to actually have the time to pick up a book and read it. The cover with the old house was creepy and the blurb sounded delicious. For the first time in a long time, I was truly excited to pick up a book. Then I started to read it. This is the first book of Melissa Marr that I've read, I know her by her Wicked Lovely series and can tell that she's a talented young adult novel.
The problem with this book is that it is marketed towards adults, but the writing sounds like something you'd find in teen fiction. Nothing wrong with that if done correctly, but it didn't work here. There are actually three issues I had with the characters: I felt suffocated just reading about how much Byron loved her but how much Rebekkah couldn't handle commitment, but still wanted him but couldn't. Add on to the fact that they are apparently destined for each other and this little reader couldn't handle it. It was just too much. The entire time they were together, I wished that either one of them died or they broke up.
The rest of the characters are very flat, with the exception of Daisha and Elizabeth. Daisha is shown quite a bit, but I wish we saw more of Elizabeth. From the two chapters that she showed up, she was a really interesting character. Her mother is power hungry, but she just goes with the flow afraid of the consequences. She knows her mother is wrong, but she's afraid. Except she doesn't show up and after all is said and done, she didn't even need to be in the book. No spoilers, but the villain was pretty bad.
The problem here is that I don't think I can, so here I go view spoiler [Cissy being a villain was predictable, but it made sense that she would do this given what we know about her. The only problem is that we see her in the beginning for a little bit and then at the end. The only thing she's known for is being spoiled and being a wakadoodle. From how she sounded in the beginning, I don't understand how she could kill one of her daughters just like that.
It didn't make sense to me. If she was shown more, maybe during an extra chapter with Elizabeth somewhere in the middle of the book, it might have worked better. As it stands now, it just didn't work for me. It just wasn't executed properly. Yes, I think Melissa Marr had a lot of great ideas in this book. Was the writing great? As an adult novel, it didn't work. Had this been written with teens I think I might have liked it a bit more.
Rebekkah and Byron's angst wouldn't have been as annoying, because I could blame the hormones. The premise of the book makes it exciting and when I picked this up, I felt that. Sadly, the execution and the characters are a different story. Wow, I really liked this book but it seems quite a few readers didn't or thought it was OK.
Here are my thoughts: Maybe I'm bias, but I grew up loving Stephen King novels.
This horror story had the-quirky-small-town-and-you-know-there's-something-amiss-vibe all over it. It was an easy read but I found the beginning pace slow. Long build ups are boring, however the mystery intrigued me and I couldn't put the book down. The premise is about a town where there is a magical divide between the living Wow, I really liked this book but it seems quite a few readers didn't or thought it was OK.
The premise is about a town where there is a magical divide between the living world and the dead one. There is a Graveminder always female who protects the town from the walking dead. What happens if she doesn't? The dead EAT the living. Don't worry, it wasn't graphic or really eww In some ways, I think the Graveminder is to the dead like Buffy was to vampires. Just the local girl who kept the peace of the supernatural. The Graveminder doesn't have a Watcher but has an Undertaker always male who protects and advises her. There is a romantic twist as each role is fated to be very much drawn to one another working together to fight baddies.
I have a philosophical conflict with this part as it brings up the whole predestination vs personal choice issue. Despite my hang up, Marr delivers a pretty solid horror story. The two worlds are well developed. Some small town stereotypical red shirt characters do die. Plot isn't overly detailed or complex, but engrossing and unique. No melodrama or extreme plot twists. No desperate cliche moves in romance. The story is also self-contained, therefore no cliff hangers.
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This novel stands out this year as one of my favorites. I gave it 4 stars disclaimer below on why it didn't get higher. Graveminder is considered an adult book, but I would say based on the YA books I've read out there, teenagers would like this book as well. For those who like audio, this is pretty decent on audible although the voice sounded very young.
If you can get over that, she does a good job overall. Disclaimer to romance readers: I get why people don't like the heroine. She's very indecisive and insecure when it comes to relationships. Rebekkah had potential, but the chemistry between Byron and her was annoying. There was no passion with way too much angst for an adult book. I was able to push beyond Byron and Rebekkah and enjoy it as a good horror story. Oct 13, Arlene rated it really liked it Recommended to Arlene by: ARC - Thank you Crystal!!
See, Marr happens to be one of my favorite authors and possibly the only writer who is able to captivate me with the concept of fairies and their opposing courts. Thank you so much Crystal! Okay, to say I really enjoyed this zombie-like adventure is an understatement. The only thing I could recognize in this book by this author is her fluid prose and captivating cast of characters. I could not recognize her voice or style one bit in this adult paranormal, so hats off to her for penning a book so unique in plot, structure and narrative. In this story, Rebekkah Bek Barrow is called back to the town of Claysville when her grandmother Maylene is murdered.
Bek has spent the last nine years moving from city to city trying to escape her life in Claysville and her love for Byron. D if they go out walking. Inevitably, they must find a way to work together to keep Claysville safe and the dead where they belong. There were quite a few chapters that I sat there trying to figure out what in the wholly grave was going on. But as the pieces come together and story progresses my confusion transformed to amazement as a tale of town secrets, running from your past, and facing your fears is weaved in flawless perfection.
In the end, I was amazed. Very well done, and again congrats to Melissa Marr for stretching outside her comfort zone and authoring a novel that demonstrates writing is her true craft. View all 35 comments. Dec 16, Crystal rated it it was amazing Shelves: When I first saw this book I knew that I had to read it because Melissa Marr wrote and it and I believe that she is awesome.
Now that I have read it I think she is a genius. This story was so beautiful and horror filled that I am left wanting so much more. Imagine living in a town where everything stays quiet. There are no diseases to be a afraid of and town life is just simple. The town of Claysville is just this place. The people that are born here stay here not only because they want to but be When I first saw this book I knew that I had to read it because Melissa Marr wrote and it and I believe that she is awesome. The people that are born here stay here not only because they want to but because in their souls they know they have to.
A long time ago a contract was put together to ensure the safety of the town and it's people but with this protective bubble came certain complications. For instance, if a couple want to have a baby they must put in an order sorta speak. See the town has to maintain at a certain level, it can not get to big or to little so that life can stay quiet. Another bump in this contract is that when somebody from the town dies the Graveminder must "mind" their graves for three months to make sure that the recently deceased stay put.
If they don't then run because the dead are hungry. Most of the towns people are unaware of this contract with the exception being the council and the Priest and even they are limited in their knowledge. When the current Graveminder unexpectedly dies her Granddaughter, Rebekkah , must step in. The only problem is that Rebekkah has no clue what her Grandmother has been doing for all these years.
She knows that her Grandmother visited the dead, but as to why she chalks it up to Maylene just being eccentric. So, when Rebekkah returns home to bury her Grandmother her life literally gets turned upside down and she now must face her new future and for a woman who never likes to stay in one place too long this may just be the thing to kill her. This is only the basis for the story, Marr throws in zombies, a leading male hero, Charlie or Mr.
D if you will, and a town with many many secrets. I can not say how much I loved this book. I have never read a book about zombies and you can bet that I will venture into this new world more often. Marr creates such a vivid and frightening world that I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. The book can be gruesome but come on they are zombies gore is expected. I was completely shocked by the ending as well. Fans of Marr will love this new turn that she has taken from fae to zombies and I for one hope that she writes more about Claysville. Jan 27, Kristy rated it liked it Recommended to Kristy by: I can see why some people would gobble this up and fall into this world.
I can also see why some people would rip it to shreds and hate it. It is creepy, but not overly so. So, those of you wanting to be "pee-your-pants scared" you will be dissapointed. However, if you are a cowardly lion like me, you will be okay. I feel like this is a -not-for-me story, yet I know it still had it's shining moments.
I also hate how long it took to really get to the main story. There was so much world building an I can see why some people would gobble this up and fall into this world. There was so much world building and character backgrounds and love interests and this and that in the beginning, I was starting to get a little bored. I was about to the point of screaming at Melissa Marr. Get on with it already.
In the end, I found this to be: Rebekkah really got on my nerves at times. Especially regarding her relationship with Byron. She was so hot and cold it was hard to tell what she was thinking. It was interesting, but I was afraid Rebekkah was going to get tricked into staying there. Daisha, Maylene, Amity, Byron, Cissy The whole town contract deal was a pretty fun concept. I really wish we could have gotten more details. Jan 05, Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies rated it it was ok.
I thought this was an YA at first, and I think I can be forgiven for this error, since the main character behaves so much like a rebellious teenager. I didn't like it, even as a light read. I found Rebekkah self-centered and too willful, and Byron was a complete doormat. I found the actions of the characters unbelievable, and there were insufficient explanations as to what was going on. The mystery behind the town; the entire reason for the existence behind the characters of the Undertaker and t I thought this was an YA at first, and I think I can be forgiven for this error, since the main character behaves so much like a rebellious teenager.
The mystery behind the town; the entire reason for the existence behind the characters of the Undertaker and the Graveminder were poorly explained, also. I expected more about Mr. Charlie and the mystery of the town that lies underneath since the author built up to it. I was disappointed at the loose ends and the poor plot lines.
Apr 24, Natasha A. For anyone who loves: I had to see what Ms. Marr would do with an Adult rather than YA novel. And well, the premise, look at that blurb! I was very impressed with Ms. Marr's first venture into adult fiction. This was creepy and suspenseful, and had just enough secrets to make me keep reading and not too many that made me want to put the book down. In fact just in general, putting the book down was For anyone who loves: In fact just in general, putting the book down was VERY hard!!
I loved the interactions between all of the characters.