***Review*** Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel

 

Released : 18th October 2011

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group

Series :Yes #1

Format :Kindle

Source : Digital ARC from Netgalley

Buy at : Amazon - UK 
Authors Site:  Lia Habel

Rating: 5/5

Cover Rating: 5/5

Goodreads Synopsis:
  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 disease 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, steampunk meets 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.

 My Review:

I was given a copy of this book to review by Netgalley.

This book is set in the future the year is 2195.  After a volcano nearly wiped out mankind, the survivors flee to safe areas and a new world is formed.  Nora the main character lives in a region called The New Victorians, this society has be shaped upon the Victorian era but with a modern twist.  There are Victorian values but technology is futuristic.  Nora has been mourning her father after he passed away a year ago.  But a meeting with a stranger on her way home from school turns her world upside down and thrusts her into a world she knew nothing about.

Oh my goodness, I could not get enough of this book and the characters.  This is the second zombie based novel I have ever read and it was amazing.  I was a little bit sceptical of how the story was going to work, but Lia Habel wove a rich mixture of steampunk, romance and zombie apocalypse.  Before I started the book I was thinking, mmmm isn’t it a bit icky to have the main heroine falling in love with a zombie.... how exactly does that work?  But as the story progressed you could see that it was indeed possible and you put aside the doubt.  I was starting to fall for Bram myself, what a gentleman!

From the word go this book had me gripped from the start.  I liked the prologue and then right at the beginning the first few chapters explained the world in which Nora lived. I really liked the way the story told how the new world was formed, it explained how the new futuristic Victorian era was created. I liked the fast paced story and the way the chapters kept jumping from character to character; it was good to get different points of view.  I did have some heart in the mouth moments; it certainly kept me on my toes.  I was really sad to finish this book, as I was left wanting more.

There were several characters that I really liked, but I have to say Bram and Nora totally won me over.  They are very likable – which I have to say is a huge plus point – and you can see their devotion and loyalty to their family and friends.  I love the chemistry between these two characters.  

I can highly recommend this book, I absolutely adored it and I want to read more by this author.

My rating: 5/5 – this doesn’t get any better for me, I loved it!!

Cover Rating: 5/5 – Such a pretty cover, I think it is so eye catching.  The colour scheme is dark and brooding and you can see a Victorian element.

About the Author:

Lia Habel is in her twenties and lives in western New York State. She is fascinated by zombie movies and Victoriana, interests that eventually led her to write Dearly, Departed. When she first got an agent, she was literally opening envelopes for a living. By the time the auction for Dearly, Departed was held, she was considering food stamps. Now that she has a book contract, she is busy working on the follow-up to Dearly, Departed, entitled Dearly, Beloved. Lia Habel can be found on Facebook and Myspace, and she has a blog at liahabel.com.