Graveminder by Melissa Marr

The 411:
I was so excited for the opportunity to read and review Graveminder. I loved Wicked Lovely and it still remains one of my favorite young adult books.

In Graveminder we meet Bek who returns home to bury her beloved Grandmother Maylene. What she doesn't know is that her grandmother was murdered and she will be expected to take her place as the Graveminder. When the dead pass they need someone to mind them (provide them with food, drink and a story and to bring them where they need to go) and make sure that they stay dead. The world of the living and the dead is connected and the folks who keep the threads from fraying are the Undertaker and the Graveminder who work in conjunction to make sure the dead's needs are tended too. Without these two doing their very hush hush jobs the dead will walk and search for blood and flesh. A treaty with the townsfolk was made, contracts were written to protect the dead and the living. While only the Undertaker and the Graveminder know the details, others know they are doing this work.

When Bek returns to town for her grandmother's funeral it is Byron (a man from her past) and his father William (the Undertaker) who handle things and comfort her.

Without getting into the specifics...Byron and Bek have been predestined to be together. His father, William is ready to join Maylene and another Undertaker and Graveminder must take position as the protectors of the living and the dead. Are Byron and Bek ready for this connection? Can they work together? Will Bek like her sister and be unable to fight the temptation of the underworld?  Can they trust the dead who are currently walking? All will be revealed in this wonderfully creepy and creative story.

I read this in two days with the kids and life always in the way. I wanted to read it every chance I got and was able to jump back in whenever the time was right. As someone who cannot read with too much going on around them, this was not the case. I read this during soccer, cub scout meetings, and TV time with the husband and kids making noise as usual.   

Hearing that this book is currently in the works to be made into a TV Series makes me very happy. Can't wait to hear more. It sounds like a cross between Ghost Whisperer and The Walking Dead

Who knows, maybe this is the way it works!!! If it is, I am thankful that my lineage keeps me from being a Graveminder. I would prefer to simply be ignorant and pray that there is a Graveminder around when I pass to make sure I sleep forever.

This is a must read for paranormal lovers.