Dearly, Beloved by Lia Habel

Dearly Beloved by Lia Habel
Release Date – September 25, 2012
Publisher Website – Del Rey/Random House
Publisher Social Media -Twitter
Pages -  496 pages
My Rating- 3.5/5
**obtained from publisher for an honest review**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

Can the living coexist with the living dead?

That’s the question that has New Victorian society fiercely divided ever since the mysterious plague known as “The Laz” hit the city of New London and turned thousands into walking corpses. But while some of these zombies are mindless monsters, hungry for human flesh, others can still think, speak, reason, and control their ravenous new appetites.

Just ask Nora Dearly, the young lady of means who was nearly kidnapped by a band of sinister zombies but valiantly rescued by a dashing young man . . . of the dead variety.

Nora and her savior, the young zombie soldier Bram Griswold, fell hopelessly in love. But others feel only fear and loathing for the reanimated dead. Now, as tensions grow between pro- and anti-zombie factions, battle lines are being drawn in the streets. And though Bram is no longer in the New Victorian army, he and his ex-commando zombie comrades are determined to help keep the peace. That means taking a dangerous stand between The Changed, a radical group of sentient zombies fighting for survival, and The Murder, a masked squad of urban guerrillas hellbent on destroying the living dead. But zombies aren’t the only ones in danger: Their living allies are also in The Murder’s crosshairs, and for one vengeful zealot, Nora Dearly is the number one target.

As paranoia, prejudice, and terrorist attacks threaten to plunge the city into full-scale war, Nora’s scientist father and his team continue their desperate race to unlock the secrets of “The Laz” and find a cure. But their efforts may be doomed when a mysterious zombie appears bearing an entirely new strain of the virus—and the nation of New Victoria braces for a new wave of the apocalypse.

Lia Habel’s spellbinding, suspenseful sequel to Dearly, Departed takes her imaginative mash-up of period romance, futuristic thriller, and zombie drama to a whole new level of innovative and irresistible storytelling.

Romance and zombies. If you read Dearly, Departed you will know why those two words should be put together. Lia Habel has manged to not only make zombies romantic, but desirable as well. Dearly, Beloved not only reminds us of this, but deepens the world of the characters at the same time.

This is a story about living. It's also a story about intolerance and doing something to stand up for what you believe in. Many of the zombies we met and cared about in Dearly, Departed are faced with the certainty of their not too distant deaths, and are having to consider what that might mean. Many of them want to do something worthwhile with the time they have left, not only for themselves, but for others infected with the Laz. It provides a moving, and gentle, reminder to make the moments count. 

Tension, fear, and anti-zombie attacks are rampant. This constant state of heightened alertness felt authentic and captivated me. I was lost in the story during these parts. Everyone had an agenda, everyone was invested in certain outcomes. The outrage I felt at the group known as The Murder is a testament to how well Lia wrote these parts of the story.

The romance in this series is much reserved, almost like courting. It was a breath of fresh air from the usual overtly sexy interaction found in most novels. Bram is an officer and a gentleman to his core, and Nora for all her denials, is a proper lady. Their romance is sweet, and blossoms naturally. They have their sexually charged moments, but even those are filled with tenderness.

The friendship between Nora and Pam was one of my favourite parts of Dearly, Departed. They are there for each other, and forgiveness comes easily to them.The impact of the events in book one has changed Pam greatly. She and Nora need each other's support more than ever, especially as sinister events begin to unfold. 

This novel has a lot of storylines going on all at once. It felt a little disjointed at first, but they do interconnect and flow together by the end. Each of these storylines serves the greater arc of the entire story. The amount of action does limit the character development, but what is there comes directly from the storyline.

A romantic, ultimately life affirming story about death and living each moment while you have it. This series has impressed me, however, I did find the first one a stronger read. If you loved Nora and Bram in the first installment they will certainly charm you again in this follow up.

Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel

Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel
Release Date – October 18, 2011
Publisher – Random House
Publisher Social Media - Twitter
Pages - 480 pages
My Rating- 8.5/10
**obtained from the publisher for an honest review**

Here is the 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 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.

Ever think you would fall in love with a zombie? I never thought I would. Lia Habel has managed to make me do just that with her fun, intense debut novel.

Lia Habel’s writing is addictive. She hooks you right from the beginning and keeps you invested to the very last page. She has incredible descriptive narrative that helps with her world building. The world Lia’s created is so complex, and complete. It’s easy to imagine it. I loved that society decided to go back to a simpler time in some ways when they were rebuilding. It gave the story a little something extra and I enjoyed learning about New Victoria. This novel has it’s funny moments, it’s touching moments, moments that will scare you and others that will make you sigh.

The characters were interesting. Nora, a young high society lady who is more comfortable studying military history than preparing for parties. I loved her. She was funny, had fire, and I adored that she was short (like me!). She gave the impression of being delicate in looks, but was someone that was capable of taking care of herself and others. She is also someone who is willing to get to know someone before making decisions about them.

Her love interest Bran Griswold is infected with a virus that causes it’s victims to come back as “zombies”. With help from doctors, and modern science he is able to live a pretty decent life. Bram is a soldier, and can only be described as a gentleman. He’s so gentle, and understanding. He gets why Nora might be apprehensive and tries to make he feel at ease. He is the type of guy you will swoon over. I can already tell you I will be bawling when it comes time to say goodbye to him (hopefully some cure can be found). I just loved how his and Nora’s relationship progressed without it happening too fast. She learned to trust him, and THEN she fell for him. The lock game made me chuckle!

The other characters are just as well developed and charming. The bad guys are ones you really love to hate, but still very well developed. I am looking forward to getting to know each of them more. Nora’s best friend Pamela was one of my favourites. I kept picturing this proper lady in full gown rushing a zombie with her parasol. Bad ass, and awesome. Chas, a female zombie who is a soldier with Bram, is also awesome. She loves giving people a make over, but can shoot a gun with the best of them. I found the women to be really powerful, and that was awesome to read.

Lia Habel has made me want to fall for a dashing zombie, and has left me anxious for the follow up book in this series. If you’re looking for beauty, and something unique in your next zombie book than this is one you should pick up!

In My Mailbox

This is a weekly meme hosted by the awesome Kristi at The Story Siren. It gives us a chance to showcase the books we got during the week.

I got a few fun things in my mailbox this week.

3 books in total, so I am insanely happy.

First I have two purchased books





Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins (goodreads)
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin (copy #2)(goodreads)

I also got one book from the library

Wildefire by Karsten Knight (goodreads)

I am super excited that my local bookstore Chapters put out a few copies of LOLA early. SO EXCITED. Today is going to be spent reading it.

I got my second copy of MARA in the mail this week as well.

Lastly, I have heard such amazing things about Wildefire and I am excited to get to it.

I also got a package from Lia Habel this week. I had answered her tweet about some postcards for Dearly, Departed (goodreads) and I was sent a package of them as well as some cute bookmarks and stickers. I am going to include a few of them in future giveaways.



What books did you get this week? Leave me a comment and I will check it out.

Happy reading everyone!

In My Mailbox

This is a weekly meme hosted by the awesome Kristi at The Story Siren. It gives us a chance to showcase the books we got during the week.

Here is what I got this week -

I only got one book this week, but it's insanely awesome.



Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel (goodreads)

Thank you Random House for the nice surprise! I wasn't expecting this at all.

What books did you get this week? Leave me a comment and I will check it out.

Happy reading everyone!