Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel

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.
In Dearly, Departed, romance meets walking-dead thriller, spawning a madly imaginative novel of rip-roaring adventure, spine-tingling suspense, and macabre comedy that forever redefines the concept of undying love.


Goodreads Summary



A futuristic setting combined with zombies and the Victorian Era? This novel can only be a steampunk. One of the most enjoyable qualities to this book is the research the author put into the novel, specifically about the Victorian Era. The reader will feel as if he/she can picture the scenes and characters perfectly, the author provides intricate details. The zombie portion of the novel serves to make the book far more exciting and fast-paced than it otherwise would be. The reader does not learn overly much about he zombies until further in the book, leaving the reader to anticipate and guess.

The characters were fun to read about. The author alternated between different characters' point of views, enabling the reader to feel as if he/she knows all of the main characters quite well. Nora is brave and smart while Pamela tends to err on the side of caution, but has a slightly rebellious glimmer every once in a while. Bram is by far the most stoic character of the novel and Dearly is too smart for his own good. The secondary characters are interesting, many have certain quirks or qualities that make them stand out to the reader.

The events of the novel are quick, the reader will be taken from one scene to the next, sometimes with no warning. The ending is perfect, the reader will look forward to the sequel. This book is highly recommended to young adult/adult readers.

4 Stars


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