The first book I ever read by Melissa Marr was discovered on the book shelf of my university's Barnes & Noble. I noticed the title first Wicked Lovely as the book was placed spine out and picked it up. My first thought was that the cover was gorgeous, which made me instantly weary because I didn't want to buy the book just because I thought the cover was pretty. I read the synopsis and was interested but still wasn't sure if I was being objective and placed the book down. The next time I returned to the store I picked up Wicked Lovely, read the first chapter, and bought the book.


Melissa Marr is one of my favourite authors because she writes books about complex characters set in modern day times that are enshrouded in worlds steeped in legend and folklore. Her Wicked Lovely series is about faeries that could be over nine hundred years old but don’t feel any less real then my friends and family because like us they have motivations, fears, desires and goals. They have pasts that shape them. Her Graveminder novel is about inhabitants of a town where certain rituals must take place or the dead won’t stay buried but what connects the reader to the story are the characters that tell it. Characters who have been thrust into roles they may not want to play but are the only ones who can.

Along with publishing novels Melissa has also published the manga series Desert Tales and has been published in several anthologies such as Teeth, Love is Hell, and Enthralled which she co-edited with Kelley Armstrong. Her latest YA novel Carnival of Souls will be released September 4th. From the information released so far this story sounds like it's going to be another fantastic world filled with an intriguing ensemble of characters.

Photo by Loch Marr
Melissa Marr grew up believing in faeries, ghosts, and various other creatures. After teaching college literature for a decade, she applied her fascination with folklore to writing. Wicked Lovely was her first novel. Currently, Marr lives in the Washington, D.C., area, writes full-time, and still believes in faeries and ghosts.