Review: 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. (YA)

Review:

If your looking for a truly unique take on the zombie genre, love the Victorian era and steampunk then this is probably the book for you. Fans of Gail Carriger's Souless series will find its YA equivalent with Dearly Departed.

Dearly Departed is a combination of so many things that it's hard to describe. The blending of future technologies, history, politics, and Victorian mannerisms was just unlike anything I've read before. There is even a touch of dystopian. Add in a zombie plague called the Lazarus virus and you're in for one hell of a ride.

Mourning the loss of her father, Dr. Victor Dearly, Nora Dearly finds herself pulled into a world completely unknown to her after she is kidnapped by a group of soldiers who hope to use Nora to find a cure for the Lazarus virus due to the unique qualities of her blood. Her father had been working on a cure before his death.

Nora forms a bond with one of her "captors", Bram, and with his help will uncover painful secrets, fight for survival and find love…with a zombie.

Yes, Bram is a zombie. I absolutely LOVED Habel's take on zombies. Habel gave the Lazarus virus a scientific explanation that really set this story apart for me. Some of the infected can retain part of their humanity with treatments and maintenance from scientists who had worked with Dr. Dearly. It won't last forever, they will still slip away over time, but they are living in the moment now. Bram and his ragtag team of zombies are so well written. They are brave, sensitive and kind. It was so interesting to read how they are viewed by society as dead and cold with no emotions or feelings vs the reality. Don't worry, there are still creepy brain eating zombies too!

Nora and Bram's relationship did kind of disturb me at times….he's dead after all. And not swoony- YA book dead. He's healthier looking than most but he's still dead…pale, cold skin, and cold eyes. Some of Bram's friends having skin falling off, metal jaws and missing eyes as they decompose over time. I loved Bram though and he and Nora's relationship is just too sweet. He admires her intelligence and goes into battle with her by his side. Other than the itsy- bitsy problem of him being dead, he's pretty much perfect.

Dearly Departed has a touch of whimsy combined with a dose of horror and plenty of twist and turns.

Despite my love for the world Lia Habel created and for all of the characters, the shifting narrative kept pulling me out of the story time and time again. There were five different POV's that I counted. (Nora, Bram, Victor, Pamela, Wolfe) Although this is primarily Bram and Nora's book. I will say that every single one added to the overall story, these were not filler chapters. Each character has something that helps propel the story forward but some chapters flowed more seamlessly together than others.

The problem I had was that each one was so good and ended in something of a cliffhanger, so I felt continuously pulled in and out of what seemed like mini stories. By the time I finally got back to say…. Nora's perspective, I was now caught up in her best friend Pamela's dilemma. This might not bother most readers but I found myself frustrated.

My only other minor complaint would be the ending. A few things wrapped up a little too easily along with a tacked on epilogue that seemed to set up the next book in the series. The last chapter felt like an end to me so I was surprised to see the epilogue and I'm not sure how much it really added.

Rating: 3 out of 4 - I loved everything about how the story and world were written. It would have been a solid 4 except for the the shifting POV's. They almost did me in several times. If that sort of thing doesn't bother you I would definitely recommend Dearly Departed.

My friend Tori (The Book Faery) wrote a 5 star review for Dearly Departed over on Goodreads. Check it out if you're still undecided.

Find the author: Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads
Buy the book! Pre-order - Release date is Ocotber 18th
Publisher: Del Rey - October 18, 2011
Source: ARC provided by Amazon Vine for my honest review