Till Death Do Us Part

Till death do us part...or may not if you live in Claysville.  Melissa Marr gives us a great concept with a town that has made a deal with Death and therefore requires a Graveminder.  While I love the concept, I'm going to start with what I didn't particularly like first.

Sometimes I had a problem with the chapter length.  Some of the chapter weren't even two pages on my Nook and on some of the really short chapters I was wondering if this info could just be cut altogether.  For instance there's a brief chapter with the mayor and a couple of council members and another scene between Mr. D and Alicia.  While the short chapters did make the book an easier read, I felt like it left me wanting more details and I got a bit frustrated with that.

The other thing I didn't like was Rebekkah's running away routine.  This might just be a personal issue I have because I am a commitment kind of person.  It just seemed really immature and then at the end of the book she does a complete 180.  This was really the only aspect of Rebekkah I didn't like.  Otherwise I love her and I love her with Byron.

So what I liked...I liked the concept of the land of the dead where all these different eras are mashed together.  I loved visualizing this in my head where there are modern buildings and people mixed with an western environment.

The twist with Cissy really caught me by surprise.  I really thought Cissy was the kind of person who wouldn't do the dirty work herself so I never suspected it.  I think part of me is kind of confused why she wanted the Graveminder position and this may be because we only see her briefly in the beginning.  She seemed like she was one that wanted a high position in the town and as Rebekkah described Maylene's life, it seemed the Graveminder position made you an outcast.

I also like that she brought up this question of if what Byron and Rebekkah had was really love if the Graveminder and Undertaker are always drawn together.  Byron made a good point that he was drawn to Rebekkah while Ella was still alive.  This question also applies to Maylene and William (and every Graveminder and Undertaker before them).  Does it make the love less real or sincere?  I don't know if I really have an answer to this but I loved that Marr explored this idea in the book.

I read on Melissa Marr's website that she is not planning on writing a sequel right now.  I'm kind of disappointed because I feel like this story of Rebekkah, Byron, and Clayville's contract with Death is not finished.  I would like to see if Rebekkah and Byron could break the cycle of the Graveminder or not.  I'd also like to see more of what Alicia has planned for Mr. D.