Author: Lia Habel
Genre: YA, Horror, Steampunk, Dystopian, Romance
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... --Goodreads
Zombies, a new Victorian dystopian world, steampunk, and romance? Why yes please!
Dearly, Departed was a book I’d been anticipating for months--how could I not after reading the premise? I’m proud to announce that it did not disappoint me.
Lia Habel crafted a world that will knock you off your feet. It’s action-packed from the first page and leaves you stunned until the last. The characters were fantastically multi-dimensional. The striking reality of how our world came to be in the state is what grabbed me-- it wasn’t the least bit unrealistic, and I liked how much thought was put into the background of the story.
My only mild complaint? There are many shifts in POVs between characters and while there is no problem with that, it is written in first person POV-- so my opinion might have been that Dearly, Departed might have worked even better as third person with all the shifts. But maybe that’s just me. Other than that, I really had no other problems.
I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. I liked how well Pam developed as a character- how much she grew into a fighter throughout the story. Nora was lovable and her and Bram’s building romance wasn’t cheesy or overdone. In fact, it was so adorable and a nice blend with the story. No love triangles! No angst! I love that too!
I would most definitely recommend Dearly, Departed.
4.5 stars!
It so makes me want to read it. Nice review!
ReplyDeleteBeth ^_^
http://sweetbooksnstuff.blogspot.com/
I recently acquired a copy of this book. I'm glad to hear that you liked it, I'll have to move it to the top of my TBR pile.
ReplyDeleteI'm picking this one up next! It looks so interesting (and I've never read a zombie book before either, lol), so I'm super curious about it! I'm glad you liked it so much. Seems promising when I keep hearing so many good things. :) Great review!
ReplyDeleteI love that cover! It's so....purple and awesome!
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone for the comments! It's not often I get online to find my reviews commented on. :P I don't know how many other bloggers go through that as well--but it's not really all that bothersome. I do appreciate it when I do get them and I'm always happy when someone enjoys reading one of my reviews or ends up loving a book per my recommendation! ^^
ReplyDeleteThanks again for dropping by and leaving the comments. Hope you all enjoy as much as I did whenever you get around to reading. :)