Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel

  DEARLY, DEPARTED
  Author: Lia Habel
  Source: Amazon Vine
  Publisher: Del Rey
  (October 18, 2011)
  Language: English
  ISBN-13: 978-0345523310

SUMMARY:

Love can never die.

Love conquers all, so they say. But can Cupid’s arrow pierce the hearts of the living and the dead—or rather, the undead? Can a proper young Victorian lady find true love in the arms of a dashing zombie?

The year is 2195. The place is New Victoria—a high-tech nation modeled on the manners, mores, and fashions of an antique era. A teenager in high society, Nora Dearly is far more interested in military history and her country’s political unrest than in tea parties and debutante balls. But after her beloved parents die, Nora is left at the mercy of her domineering aunt, a social-climbing spendthrift who has squandered the family fortune and now plans to marry her niece off for money. For Nora, no fate could be more horrible—until she’s nearly kidnapped by an army of walking corpses. 



But fate is just getting started with Nora. Catapulted from her world of drawing-room civility, she’s suddenly gunning down ravenous zombies alongside mysterious black-clad commandos and confronting “The Laz,” a fatal virus that raises the dead—and hell along with them. Hardly ideal circumstances. Then Nora meets Bram Griswold, a young soldier who is brave, handsome, noble . . . and dead. But as is the case with the rest of his special undead unit, luck and modern science have enabled Bram to hold on to his mind, his manners, and his body parts. And when his bond of trust with Nora turns to tenderness, there’s no turning back. Eventually, they know, the disease will win, separating the star-crossed lovers forever. But until then, beating or not, their hearts will have what they desire.

MY THOUGHTS:

Many people have been reading and reviewing this book.  I was hesitant on reading it for a couple of reasons.  One reason is that I am not a huge fan of Steampunk and Victorian era books.  I am not really sure why, but for some reason they just aren't usually a big hit for me.  Another reason is that it involves zombies and I have also never been a huge zombie creature fan.  Lastly, there was so much hype and amazing reviews of this book that it made my expectations for the story unbelievably high for a new series.

I will say that the prologue of this book instantly captured my interest.  It gave us the feel of creepiness that was going to be the tone of this book.  The book is set in the year 2195 and the world is now living as a Victorian era.  The days of proper women, manners and society standards and classification is now the world that Nora is living in.  Not only is she living in this new world, but she is also hearing about the rise of people called "Punks" trying to convince everyone that we are repeating past mistakes. 

I was turned off by the overabundant amount of story set up that the first few chapters offer.  I felt I was reading a history textbook and just wanted it to end.  If the author could have woven some dialogue into the history it would have been much better.   I did like how the author gave the zombies a different name though calling them The Laz.   I was able to digest them being called The Laz better than zombies because it didn't creep me out as much.  Just a personal opinion on that and not a dig at zombies books in particular.  It just sits better in my mind.  After the book started to take off though, I found myself caught up in the new world from this authors imagination and the romance that was weaved within the mystery.

If you are a fan of the Victorian era with Steampunk thrown into the mix, then I have no doubt that this will be a book you will enjoy.  Throw in romance, mystery, conspiracy and zombies and you have one thrilling ride of a book!

MY RATING:

Very Good! I would recommend this book! 4 STARS

*I received this ARC free of charge in exchange for an honest review*