Mainstream Review: Made For You By Melissa Marr

Made For You By Melissa Marr

Published September 2014 HarperCollins

When Eva Tilling wakes up in the hospital, she’s confused—who in her sleepy little North Carolina town could have hit her with their car? And why? But before she can consider the question, she finds that she’s awoken with a strange new skill: the ability to foresee people’s deaths when they touch her. While she is recovering from the hit-and-run, Nate, an old flame, reappears, and the two must traverse their rocky past as they figure out how to use Eva’s power to keep her friends—and themselves—alive. But while Eva and Nate grow closer, the killer grows increasingly frantic in his attempt to get to Eva.

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My Review

I'm sure we are all familiar with Melissa Marr. She is the bestselling author of the Wicked Lovely series and is known for her delectably fluid writing style. She has established herself as a fantasy author, however her newest novel, Made For You, falls in the contemporary genre. I read Wicked Lovely some time ago, but did not continue with the series. (This was during my less serious reading days.) However, I was very interested to see what this author had up her sleeve in the realm of a contemporary story-line. Made For You did not disappoint, and I am sure Melissa's die hard fans will be extremely pleased with the result. This book delivered the same edgy and slightly dark writing style as her fantasy work, while also excelling in its realism. Knowing that the plot of this story is possible, definitely had me cringing. Made For You is creepy folks. Just plain creepy. And once you start reading the compelling nature of this book will have you up late. 

If I ever have a chance to attend one of Marr's signings, there is one question I just have to ask her. Were you picturing Collin Hanks in his role as Travis Marshall when constructing the Judge's character? The Judge is the antagonist of the story, or a.k.a., really crazy-obsessed killer. In fact he has his own mini chapters. So, you really get to see just how loony-bin this person is. Multiple POVs is something that worked really well for this book. The majority of the chapters are from Eva's point of view, but you also get to see the story from her best friend's perspective and, of course, from the aforementioned bad guy, The Judge. For most of the time you do not know who The Judge is. This person could be anyone. There are clues along the way, and I really enjoyed being able to play the guessing game.

Marr really did a superb job with these characters. Eva is the star of Made For You. The princess of her town. She could have an inflated ego, and be a snot, but she isn't. This made me really happy. Her love interest, Nate, is a stand up guy. They fit together like ham and havarti. And THE JUDGE. If I haven't made my point yet, this character is CREEPY. And, as far as the romance goes, I loved it. It has a presence and gives readers just the right amount of sweet without overtaking the fact that this is a THRILLER. 

There is not a whole lot I would change about Made For You. The story is well fleshed out and really gives readers that darkness we sometimes crave. I suppose I would have liked to see things from Nate's perspective. In fact, Grace's POVs could be switched for Nate's entirely. Not that I didn't like Grace's character, I did. But Nate has a more prominent role to play. I would also say that the ending, as a whole, is a bit anti-climactic. Or maybe abrupt would be a better word. There is so much build up to the big reveal, yet when you get there, you really do not have much time to marinade in it. The book is over a couple short chapters later. I think I wanted a bit more for the grand finale. Or at least an epilogue? 

This was supposed to be a "mini-review." Guess that didn't happen. As you can see, I really enjoyed this book! GO READ IT.