Author Spotlight: Marissa Gilbert

This is my third Author Spotlight. The intent is to shine a spotlight on some of my favourite authors. This time I’m choosing to highlight author Marissa Gilbert.

Who is Marissa Gilbert?

Marissa is a romance fantasy author who loves building complex worlds with hidden clues about what’s to come. She loves stories with strong female leads (think Buffy the Vampire Slayer). One day, unable to find a new story she liked, she decided to try writing her own story. She uploaded the first chapters of her debut novel to the Dreame app (pay-per-chapter) and now looks to self-publish her books through Amazon.

Marissa Gilbert’s first published story

Also the first story I read by the author, The Perfect Luna is book 1 in the Divine Wolves series.

Blurb:

Riannon stood in the middle of her living room, watching her husband of six years, Brayden, introducing his true mate, Roxy, to their pack members. Although he insisted that little cute Omega was there only to appease his wolf and would not affect their marriage, Ria knew the sad truth. In less than a year, Roxanne would destroy everything she loved and cherished. Being the perfect Luna was simply not enough for her beloved husband when his mate bond kicked in. Just like their divorce was not enough for the vicious Omega. Right before her own Luna crowning ceremony, Roxy ordered to brutally kill Riannon and everyone who was still loyal to her. However, the Moon Goddess had other plans, and Ria was returned to the precise moment her life turned upside down with a chance to change everything—the chance she was not going to waste.

Her revenge was going so well, but Ria did not expect the changes she made to create a chain reaction, unlocking events that never happened before. Thanks to that, she soon discovers her own true mate—the Lycan King. And that’s when her story truly begins.

The Perfect Luna was the winner of the Stary Writing Academy III competition and Dreame ACE book contest.

My favourite story by Marissa Gilbert

I find the main character of this story slightly more “kickass heroine” than Riannon from The Perfect Luna, purely because Savannah isn’t so perfect. She’s a bit more relatable, even if she is a princess.

The blurb reads:

After Savannah’s mate turned out to be a traitor who tried to kill her family, she decided she did not want to love or feel anything anymore. So, when the Lycan King of the Northern Kingdom comes to her brother to demand her hand in marriage in return for his support, she decides to make the ultimate sacrifice and accept the proposal.

However, when she arrives in the North, she has the shock of her life finding out that the King did not count on her agreeing to become his wife. Moreover, to avoid marrying her, he invited twelve other brides to compete for the title of The Luna of The North.

Now just a contender in The Luna Trials, Savvy has to choose whether to take the insult and leave… or stay, making the North King regret the day he asked for her hand. She will have to become a rival of twelve gorgeous women who would stop at nothing to get the crown on their pretty heads. The North is a rough place, and some of the competitions are dangerous, to say the least. The northerners will only accept the Luna that is worthy.

Everything gets even more complicated when Savannah starts falling for a stranger, who is the only person nice to her in this foreign place. Her mate suddenly appears back in her life, and the enemies of both kingdoms start to act, endangering everyone and everything.

The Luna Trials is the second book in the Divine Wolves series, and is currently only available to read on Dreame.

My favourite character written by Marissa Gilbert

Savannah, also known as Savvy, is my favourite character written by Marissa Gilbert so far (in saying that, I haven’t read the third book in the series yet, The Alpha God’s Luna, which is a work in progress on Dreame).

Savannah suffers deep heartbreak at the hands of the man destined to love her. To get over him, she agrees to marry the King of a neighbouring land. Unfortunately, he has other plans for her, leaving her humiliated.

Heartbroken and humiliated, Savannah doesn’t let that beat her. She uses the pain to make herself stronger, and becomes a true leader. Almost inspirational, one might say.

---

Have you read any stories by Marissa Gilbert? Leave your thoughts below – I’d love to hear them!