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hane_'s review against another edition
3.0
"Sleep well, and stay where I put you."
This novel follows Rebekkah Barrow as she returns to her hometown after her grandmother dies. It would seem however there is a lot more to getting her affairs in order than just a funeral service...and Rebekkah may never leave Claysville again.
This book has such an interesting world, and I was so excited to learn more about the dead world and follow Rebekka and Byron to navigate their newfound, unwanted, roles in it. The book falls short for me, however, with the tedious nature of Rebekkah rejecting Byron even though she loves him. There are only so many times I can hear her say she wants him but can't have him because xyz before it is too much, especially when there is a seeming lack of tension keeping them apart in the first place. The actual storyline is exciting to me and I wish the "romance" had been a bit more nuanced for the reader to dissect instead of so in your face.
This novel follows Rebekkah Barrow as she returns to her hometown after her grandmother dies. It would seem however there is a lot more to getting her affairs in order than just a funeral service...and Rebekkah may never leave Claysville again.
enoughhope's review against another edition
3.0
"Some mortals - like you - are already half in love with death. It is who you are-"
3 stars.
The plot of this novel is unique and definitely a refreshing read. After finishing my final year of uni last month I'd been hoping to find a book to get me out of my reading slump and I think it did just that.
Bek and Byron were refreshing characters that I really couldn't fault, and the storyline flowed nicely by swapping between different character perspectives throughout.
However, my issue with this book is that the first 60% of it was world building. This lead me to believe this would be an ongoing series surrounding Bek and Byrons jobs as the graveminder and undertaker of Claysville. However the book is essentially a stand alone as the following in the series mostly centre around other characters which left me disappointed as I feel as though I've only just become to feel connected with the world it is set in and that the storyline throughout felt like just the beginning. I also found that the big reveal and ending was very predictable and could be foreseen from the first quarter of the novel and therefore was quite disappointing.
I REALLY wanted to love this book, I just feel like it had the potential to be so much more than what was delivered... thus, 3 stars seems appropriate.
3 stars.
The plot of this novel is unique and definitely a refreshing read. After finishing my final year of uni last month I'd been hoping to find a book to get me out of my reading slump and I think it did just that.
Bek and Byron were refreshing characters that I really couldn't fault, and the storyline flowed nicely by swapping between different character perspectives throughout.
However, my issue with this book is that the first 60% of it was world building. This lead me to believe this would be an ongoing series surrounding Bek and Byrons jobs as the graveminder and undertaker of Claysville. However the book is essentially a stand alone as the following in the series mostly centre around other characters which left me disappointed as I feel as though I've only just become to feel connected with the world it is set in and that the storyline throughout felt like just the beginning. I also found that the big reveal and ending was very predictable and could be foreseen from the first quarter of the novel and therefore was quite disappointing.
I REALLY wanted to love this book, I just feel like it had the potential to be so much more than what was delivered... thus, 3 stars seems appropriate.
jgintrovertedreader's review against another edition
2.0
Rebekkah Barrow has left the town of Claysville behind. She keeps in touch with a few people, including her "adopted" grandmother, but otherwise she's a free spirit roaming the earth. One day she gets a phone call that her grandmother has passed away. She heads back to Claysville for the funeral and learns that her grandmother was actually murdered. There's more to it than that though; Rebekkah and her on-again-off-again boyfriend Byron both sense it. There are secrets in Claysville, and Rebekkah and Byron must learn them before time runs out for everyone.
This could have been so good. I loved the idea. The Barrow women are graveminders, assiduously tending the graves of the town residents. It's obvious from the beginning what is going on and I liked it. But the story just kept circling around and around and around the why of things. There's a lot of drama between Rebekkah and Byron, both in the past and their present. They fight, they make up, they decide they don't have time for fighting, and then they disagree again and have to have another "discussion." It was exhausting! But not in any kind of interesting way. Just in an "Oh my gosh, can we please just get back to the dead people now?" kind of way.
I did actually like Byron. He was trying his very best to figure out what was going on, take care of Rebekkah, and respect her wishes.
Rebekkah was my downfall. Deep down, she knew what she wanted but she kept fighting it and fighting Byron and I just got so tired of it. I didn't really care about her or her personal drama. I wanted to know why these crazy things were happening.
The ending slightly redeemed it because it was fairly horrifying. There had been enough hints throughout that I wasn't surprised, but I guess I was still hoping that I was wrong.
The narrator, Emma Galvin, was absolutely perfect. I wasn't sure what to think of her at first. Her tone was a little flat, but then it quickly came across as eerie as I learned what was going on in this quintessential small town.
I am sure there is an audience for this book. I know it's marketed for adults but older young adults might like it. Rebekkah and Byron have a lot of the same issues that turn me off contemporary young adult novels, so it could be a good fit for readers who do enjoy them. Just remember that there is a touch of horror here. Readers looking for a strong horror read should probably skip on this one.
This could have been so good. I loved the idea. The Barrow women are graveminders, assiduously tending the graves of the town residents. It's obvious from the beginning what is going on and I liked it. But the story just kept circling around and around and around the why of things. There's a lot of drama between Rebekkah and Byron, both in the past and their present. They fight, they make up, they decide they don't have time for fighting, and then they disagree again and have to have another "discussion." It was exhausting! But not in any kind of interesting way. Just in an "Oh my gosh, can we please just get back to the dead people now?" kind of way.
I did actually like Byron. He was trying his very best to figure out what was going on, take care of Rebekkah, and respect her wishes.
Rebekkah was my downfall. Deep down, she knew what she wanted but she kept fighting it and fighting Byron and I just got so tired of it. I didn't really care about her or her personal drama. I wanted to know why these crazy things were happening.
The ending slightly redeemed it because it was fairly horrifying. There had been enough hints throughout that I wasn't surprised, but I guess I was still hoping that I was wrong.
The narrator, Emma Galvin, was absolutely perfect. I wasn't sure what to think of her at first. Her tone was a little flat, but then it quickly came across as eerie as I learned what was going on in this quintessential small town.
I am sure there is an audience for this book. I know it's marketed for adults but older young adults might like it. Rebekkah and Byron have a lot of the same issues that turn me off contemporary young adult novels, so it could be a good fit for readers who do enjoy them. Just remember that there is a touch of horror here. Readers looking for a strong horror read should probably skip on this one.
thatnerd's review against another edition
4.0
Quick read. Three stars for the story and another one for the fact that the author managed to wrap it all up in one book instead of dragging it out into a three or four book series like you see so often now. This was my first read by Melissa Marr and I enjoyed her writing. I'll be reading more by her.
whatsmacksaid's review against another edition
3.0
I liked "Graveminder" well enough, but the beginning and parts of the middle were much slower than they needed to be. Questions are not answered for a hundred pages or more, and by that point a literal portal to the afterlife feels like a bit of a stretch. I knew something mystical was going on, but "Graveminder" is set in our world, roughly at the present day, but because of the lack of hints or answers prior to the introduction of the portal to the afterlife I wasn't at all prepared for something that big to happen. Up until that point I had thought "Graveminder" was more magical realism than straight-up, other-worlds-attached-to-ours, fantasy.
Other than the slow pacing and sudden jolt when things picked up, I enjoyed "Graveminder" well enough. My favorite thing was how the point of view continually shifted--I loved seeing how different Rebeckah and Byron viewed the world of the afterlife, how other characters (particularly Daisha, Rebeckah's step-cousin Liz, and the mayor) viewed Rebeckah and Byron's relationship, and how Daisha reclaimed her humanity. The whole story is told through third-person limited point of view, but with who the POV is limited to always shifting, the world of Clayville became far more robust. The cast was varied but interesting, and very few minor characters were anything but fully 3D.
All in all, well worth a read, but I'm very glad I got my (virtual) copy on sale. Don't pay full price for "Graveminder."
Other than the slow pacing and sudden jolt when things picked up, I enjoyed "Graveminder" well enough. My favorite thing was how the point of view continually shifted--I loved seeing how different Rebeckah and Byron viewed the world of the afterlife, how other characters (particularly Daisha, Rebeckah's step-cousin Liz, and the mayor) viewed Rebeckah and Byron's relationship, and how Daisha reclaimed her humanity. The whole story is told through third-person limited point of view, but with who the POV is limited to always shifting, the world of Clayville became far more robust. The cast was varied but interesting, and very few minor characters were anything but fully 3D.
All in all, well worth a read, but I'm very glad I got my (virtual) copy on sale. Don't pay full price for "Graveminder."
amym84's review against another edition
4.0
I was a little hesitant to read this book. It has a great premise and the blurb on the back really pulls the reader in and gets them interested. I was, however, one of those people that didn't like the Wicked Lovely series. I couldn't even finish the first book (that's saying a lot because usually i finish everything I read no matter what). But I thought that this concept was such an obvious departure from Wicked Lovely that I would give it a try.
I really did end up enjoying the book. Even though there were times that I wish everyone would have stopped being so secretive towards Rebekka and Byron. Regardless, usually those moments made me continue reading past when I said I would stop just so I could figure out what was going on.
Melissa Marr really created a wonderful world with Graveminder. There are so many possibilities here, and even though I've heard this is a stand alone book and will not be a series, there's still room for her to revisit if she so chooses. I, probably like many others, would have liked to spend more time in the world of the dead. While I do think that Rebekka and Byron's stories are complete in this book, there is a whole world she can explore.
While I did overall really like the story there were things that irritated me a little. Rebekka for one. I know she's that main character, but I would have liked her to admit her feelings for Byron (and not just to the reader, which she does quite a lot) a lot earlier in the book so we could kind of their realtionship growing throughout the book instead of relying on the fact that they will remain together and work through the past. I think maybe this would have been different if we, the readers, didn't already know how she felt for Byron from the beginning, if it was a realization she came to herself throughout the occurrances in the book.
I really like Byron's character and his loyalty towards Rebekka. I liked that he never gave up even though she gave him plenty of opportunites. He also seemed to go into his role smoother than Rebekka (if that's the right way to say it). I mean niether one was going to shirk their responsibilties, but as soon as Byron stepped back into the real world and his father stayed he was on a mission to do his job.
I liked all the side characters of the town. I think Melissa Marr wrote those the best. Just such a colorful cast of characters that we meet. This made me appreciate the third person point of view that the story is told in. We don't have to spend all of our time with just Rebekka and Byron (although they are the main characters), but we get to experience other views of the town.
The story definitely ends for Rebekka and Byron. This story is about their journey to accept their fate and the job the town (and townspeople) needs them to do. It's their journey to figure out basically where their lives will lead in the future. So for that this story definitely ends, but I felt that there were a few unexplained storylines that could be picked up for another novel or even a short story in this world (I know she does have one such short story in [b:Naked City: Tales of Urban Fantasy|9727729|Naked City Tales of Urban Fantasy|Ellen Datlow|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1312232941s/9727729.jpg|14616573]). While I would definitely read something else in this world I am glad there was a definite ending.
I really did end up enjoying the book. Even though there were times that I wish everyone would have stopped being so secretive towards Rebekka and Byron. Regardless, usually those moments made me continue reading past when I said I would stop just so I could figure out what was going on.
Melissa Marr really created a wonderful world with Graveminder. There are so many possibilities here, and even though I've heard this is a stand alone book and will not be a series, there's still room for her to revisit if she so chooses. I, probably like many others, would have liked to spend more time in the world of the dead. While I do think that Rebekka and Byron's stories are complete in this book, there is a whole world she can explore.
While I did overall really like the story there were things that irritated me a little. Rebekka for one. I know she's that main character, but I would have liked her to admit her feelings for Byron (and not just to the reader, which she does quite a lot) a lot earlier in the book so we could kind of their realtionship growing throughout the book instead of relying on the fact that they will remain together and work through the past. I think maybe this would have been different if we, the readers, didn't already know how she felt for Byron from the beginning, if it was a realization she came to herself throughout the occurrances in the book.
I really like Byron's character and his loyalty towards Rebekka. I liked that he never gave up even though she gave him plenty of opportunites. He also seemed to go into his role smoother than Rebekka (if that's the right way to say it). I mean niether one was going to shirk their responsibilties, but as soon as Byron stepped back into the real world and his father stayed he was on a mission to do his job.
I liked all the side characters of the town. I think Melissa Marr wrote those the best. Just such a colorful cast of characters that we meet. This made me appreciate the third person point of view that the story is told in. We don't have to spend all of our time with just Rebekka and Byron (although they are the main characters), but we get to experience other views of the town.
The story definitely ends for Rebekka and Byron. This story is about their journey to accept their fate and the job the town (and townspeople) needs them to do. It's their journey to figure out basically where their lives will lead in the future. So for that this story definitely ends, but I felt that there were a few unexplained storylines that could be picked up for another novel or even a short story in this world (I know she does have one such short story in [b:Naked City: Tales of Urban Fantasy|9727729|Naked City Tales of Urban Fantasy|Ellen Datlow|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1312232941s/9727729.jpg|14616573]). While I would definitely read something else in this world I am glad there was a definite ending.
pnwtinap's review against another edition
4.0
I admit that I had a hard time getting into this book and this world yet somewhere about 30% of the way through I did. I grew to route for Bek and Byron and how they would figure out their connection and what it meant.