Scan barcode
kosmond's review
3.0
It took me a while to get into this book I must say. The cover is gorgeous and it has a very interesting and original premise, but every time I took it out to read, I just found myself reading the same sentence over and over and just wanting to read something else. But I kept at it, and I'm pretty happy that I did. It ended up not taking too long for me to get into the book once I got started.
The whole human and zombie romance is very new to me, actually, the whole zombie thing is new. (I haven't been able to get into the zombie books out there, for some reason they don't appeal to me that much) But this zombie book had more of a storyline to it, instead of just fighting, blood, guts, and gore so that maybe helped keep things lively for me. Who knows, this may be the start of a whole new genre for me to read!
The year is 2195, and the way that Lia Habel describes it is very unique. Her future world, called New Victoria is basically just as it sounds, a Victorian, antique era mixed with crazy new technology and cell phones. I really enjoyed this aspect of the book, I think it was very intruiging and had me wondering what it would be like to live like that. (The only thing I couldn’t wrap my head around was the fact that in Dearly, Departed women were just objects basically. They were married into money and status and told to sit and look pretty and don’t say a word unless invited. I think (we) women would have a hard time going back to those ways again in the future.)
The main characters in Lia Habels Dearly, Departed are Bram and Nora. Nora being the human girl and Bram being the zombie. I instantly connected with Nora, she a strong character who perseveres through so much and she doesn't give a hoot about what people say in the long run. With her being a "young lady" in the New Victorian age, she has rules to follow and standards to live up to. But she follows the beat of her own drum, and she is witty! She had me laughing out loud a few times while reading. And Bram, whodathunk!? A zombie who is respectful, charming and good-looking? He was the point of view that I enjoyed reading the most. The way he tells the story was to me what made the book as good as it was.
Dearly, Departed is read through five different narratives, and at first that was challenging but proved to be fine later on. I really enjoyed reading Nora and Bram's POV's. I couldn't get into Victor's point of view, but that was just a minor detail in the grand scheme of things in my opinion. Habel's writing is enjoyable and descriptive. I was able to paint the story in my head which to me is a huge deal. Habel is able to take this zombie love story and make it work somehow. You may even forget that Bram is a zombie and not some laid back alive human!
Dearly, Departed was a good read, after I was able to really get into it, it was worth it. I cannot wait to see what’s instore for Nora and Bram in Dearly, Beloved.
The whole human and zombie romance is very new to me, actually, the whole zombie thing is new. (I haven't been able to get into the zombie books out there, for some reason they don't appeal to me that much) But this zombie book had more of a storyline to it, instead of just fighting, blood, guts, and gore so that maybe helped keep things lively for me. Who knows, this may be the start of a whole new genre for me to read!
The year is 2195, and the way that Lia Habel describes it is very unique. Her future world, called New Victoria is basically just as it sounds, a Victorian, antique era mixed with crazy new technology and cell phones. I really enjoyed this aspect of the book, I think it was very intruiging and had me wondering what it would be like to live like that. (The only thing I couldn’t wrap my head around was the fact that in Dearly, Departed women were just objects basically. They were married into money and status and told to sit and look pretty and don’t say a word unless invited. I think (we) women would have a hard time going back to those ways again in the future.)
The main characters in Lia Habels Dearly, Departed are Bram and Nora. Nora being the human girl and Bram being the zombie. I instantly connected with Nora, she a strong character who perseveres through so much and she doesn't give a hoot about what people say in the long run. With her being a "young lady" in the New Victorian age, she has rules to follow and standards to live up to. But she follows the beat of her own drum, and she is witty! She had me laughing out loud a few times while reading. And Bram, whodathunk!? A zombie who is respectful, charming and good-looking? He was the point of view that I enjoyed reading the most. The way he tells the story was to me what made the book as good as it was.
Dearly, Departed is read through five different narratives, and at first that was challenging but proved to be fine later on. I really enjoyed reading Nora and Bram's POV's. I couldn't get into Victor's point of view, but that was just a minor detail in the grand scheme of things in my opinion. Habel's writing is enjoyable and descriptive. I was able to paint the story in my head which to me is a huge deal. Habel is able to take this zombie love story and make it work somehow. You may even forget that Bram is a zombie and not some laid back alive human!
Dearly, Departed was a good read, after I was able to really get into it, it was worth it. I cannot wait to see what’s instore for Nora and Bram in Dearly, Beloved.
rahnawyn's review
3.0
This is really a 2.5.
Mmkay. I'll try to say something about the good parts of this book.
Most of the characters were well-written and well-rounded. It seemed as though every one of the named characters had a distinct personality, and that was really well done. I easily hated some of them and loved the others. If Bram wasn't a dead and decaying zombie, I'd fall in love with him too.
And honestly, that's about all I liked about this book.
The worldbuilding: This could have been amazing. The problem is, I just couldn't believe it enough. It's not enough just to set Victorian society in the future and throw in some fancy gizmos. It's really not. Plus, it's hard for me to see society regressing so much that women completely decide to lose many of their rights and the only thing they live for is marrying up and going higher within the class ranking system.
The zombies: I've never read a zombie book before, so I wasn't really sure what to expect. I think it started off well enough - creepy zombies, main girl character is completely freaked out, etcetc. But by the end of the novel (actually, in about a day or two) she had gone to being made-over by a zombie girl and being protected by a zombie boy.
The romance: Okay. I'm a sucker for a cute romance story. But I cannot get over the fact that Nora is falling in love with what the book calls a 'dashing zombie'. One: There were scenes in this reminiscent of Twilight, with Bram (the zombie) declaring how dangerous it would be for them to get together. He isn't human! He's a zombie, with a five year life span. But no. It's a book, and Nora is trying to find true love. I just can't, okay? >>
The POV: I think this book is written from a total of five POVs, only two which were completely necessary. It was absolutely ridiculous how confused I'd get at times because I hadn't been paying close enough attention to who was saying what. Pamela was an interesting character, but she wasn't really needed. The villain got about two chapters it seemed, and they were completely unnecessary and the information gained from them would have been a lot better done some other way.
The phrase "naughty amusement" coupled with something about "demerits" made me cringe. I'm sorry, but that's not flirting. It's like a line from...well, yeah. >_<
All in all, I think this book could have been written better, but at the same time I don't think zombies will ever be my cup of tea.
Mmkay. I'll try to say something about the good parts of this book.
Most of the characters were well-written and well-rounded. It seemed as though every one of the named characters had a distinct personality, and that was really well done. I easily hated some of them and loved the others. If Bram wasn't a dead and decaying zombie, I'd fall in love with him too.
And honestly, that's about all I liked about this book.
The worldbuilding: This could have been amazing. The problem is, I just couldn't believe it enough. It's not enough just to set Victorian society in the future and throw in some fancy gizmos. It's really not. Plus, it's hard for me to see society regressing so much that women completely decide to lose many of their rights and the only thing they live for is marrying up and going higher within the class ranking system.
The zombies: I've never read a zombie book before, so I wasn't really sure what to expect. I think it started off well enough - creepy zombies, main girl character is completely freaked out, etcetc. But by the end of the novel (actually, in about a day or two) she had gone to being made-over by a zombie girl and being protected by a zombie boy.
The romance: Okay. I'm a sucker for a cute romance story. But I cannot get over the fact that Nora is falling in love with what the book calls a 'dashing zombie'. One: There were scenes in this reminiscent of Twilight, with Bram (the zombie) declaring how dangerous it would be for them to get together. He isn't human! He's a zombie, with a five year life span. But no. It's a book, and Nora is trying to find true love. I just can't, okay? >>
The POV: I think this book is written from a total of five POVs, only two which were completely necessary. It was absolutely ridiculous how confused I'd get at times because I hadn't been paying close enough attention to who was saying what. Pamela was an interesting character, but she wasn't really needed. The villain got about two chapters it seemed, and they were completely unnecessary and the information gained from them would have been a lot better done some other way.
The phrase "naughty amusement" coupled with something about "demerits" made me cringe. I'm sorry, but that's not flirting. It's like a line from...well, yeah. >_<
All in all, I think this book could have been written better, but at the same time I don't think zombies will ever be my cup of tea.
demilee1369's review
4.0
This is a really strong and gripping story right from the start. My most fave part of it wasn't even in the story but the acknowledgement the author made to her mother, I mean how can you not love this "For my mother, who taught me early on that real ladies can give orders, real men can take them, and real zombies don't eat brains" How amazing is that alone but the author didn't disappoint in her story telling abilities either there was so much that had me bouncing like a child in my seat. I was just an amazing book with amazing characters in it. I nearly cried and lost my mind at some events in this book and its fast pace just keeps dragging you in.
shubba_the_emo_reader's review against another edition
I just didn't like this. there was nothing redeemable about it. it differently wasn't for me. :(
kara_jane's review
5.0
OMG this book is amazing! I loved it so much. Nora and Bram are so adorable. This book has two of my favorite topics the victioran era and Zombies all in one book. I can't wait till [a:Lia Habel|3353667|Lia Habel|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1276812869p2/3353667.jpg]comes out with "Dearly, Beloved" i don't think I can wait a whole year though :(
stephlunatic's review
3.0
I enjoyed this a lot more than I had thought I was going to, although it shouldn't have been a surprise. It's YA, so there's that, but the storyline was really compelling and the characters were well-rounded, including the secondary characters. I actually think my favorite character was Pamela, the female protagonist's best friend. She was awesome. But it was a good time all around.
iamhume's review
3.0
3.5 stars
I can't believe it took me two weeks to read this book.
TWO!
I got this as a Christmas present last year, at my request, and it sat on my bookshelf for nearly a year before I picked it up. It sounds really good, since the description says "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".
Well, I gotta say, I thought this was going to be a zombie gore-fest with YA romance and steampunk elements. The end result; not so much.
There's a great deal of world building that I enjoyed, getting me into the story and setting up the plot, but I found that the actual story dragged on far too much. Dearly, Departed has five different narrators, making it one of the most stretched out books I think I've ever read.
I liked reading from Nora, Bram, and Pamela's perspectives, but I couldn't stand Wolfe and Victor was just plain boring. Perhaps having adult narrators in a YA book was the main problem for me. Neither Victor or Wolfe had any real significance to their narration and I think the book would have flowed a lot better if they had been omitted.
And where was the romance? It was almost non-existent. Yes, the book only takes place over a week, or so, but when the book description says "romance", I expect, well, romance. Stolen glances and feelings of longing don't cut it for me.
The humour is probably what made the book enjoyable. That and Bram. He was by far my favourite character.
And the writing was really good, for the most part. My favourite line is this: "Around us, enemy soldiers dropped in mid-stride, gore starbursting from their skulls." Ooh! Very visual!
There was enough to the book that I will be picking up the sequel, Dearly, Beloved, but I'm not rushing to the store to get it just yet.
I can't believe it took me two weeks to read this book.
TWO!
I got this as a Christmas present last year, at my request, and it sat on my bookshelf for nearly a year before I picked it up. It sounds really good, since the description says "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".
Well, I gotta say, I thought this was going to be a zombie gore-fest with YA romance and steampunk elements. The end result; not so much.
There's a great deal of world building that I enjoyed, getting me into the story and setting up the plot, but I found that the actual story dragged on far too much. Dearly, Departed has five different narrators, making it one of the most stretched out books I think I've ever read.
I liked reading from Nora, Bram, and Pamela's perspectives, but I couldn't stand Wolfe and Victor was just plain boring. Perhaps having adult narrators in a YA book was the main problem for me. Neither Victor or Wolfe had any real significance to their narration and I think the book would have flowed a lot better if they had been omitted.
And where was the romance? It was almost non-existent. Yes, the book only takes place over a week, or so, but when the book description says "romance", I expect, well, romance. Stolen glances and feelings of longing don't cut it for me.
The humour is probably what made the book enjoyable. That and Bram. He was by far my favourite character.
And the writing was really good, for the most part. My favourite line is this: "Around us, enemy soldiers dropped in mid-stride, gore starbursting from their skulls." Ooh! Very visual!
There was enough to the book that I will be picking up the sequel, Dearly, Beloved, but I'm not rushing to the store to get it just yet.
gothiclibrarian's review
This book has been on my radar for awhile because of the Victorian elements but I was a bit hesitant about the zombies. Though after reading this post on Kristilyn's blog, I decided it was time I gave it a shot. While I liked the book, I didn't love it as much as I had expected; though I did like it enough that I am planning on reading the sequel.
I really liked the Victorian aspect and that there is such a thing as sentient zombies who are in control of their sickness and don't harbor cannibalistic tendencies and then there are other zombies that truly define zombie apocalypse. I thought that was absolutely brilliant.
The book was told from several different perspectives throughout the book which I liked for the most part. However, it was a bit confusing in the beginning until you started to really get a sense of who the characters were. It took me awhile to figure out that Victor and Mr. Dearly were the same person. My second qualm is that the perspectives weren't even.
I identified more with Pamela than with Nora (and I think Nora was meant to be the lead). I really liked that Pamela started out as a somewhat rigid Victorian girl who prided herself on following the rules and doing what was expected of her. Yet as the story starts to unfold, she starts going against societal rules to do what she thinks is the right thing, even if it is dangerous or her parents forbid it. I really loved her for that and liked that she started being a bit of a badass.
I liked the evolution of Nora and Bram's relationship, but Nora was just kind of blah to me. She was a bit too stubborn and whiny for my taste for too much of the book. She gets better near the end, but I preferred Pamela's storyline. Bram was the perfect Victorian gentleman, even though he was a good zombie. I really liked Bram and his backstory was fascinating. I love that he genuinely cares for people and wants the best for everyone and would rather die (again) than see good people (dead or alive) come into harm's way.
Though I did like a lot of the plot twists, the were some "surprises" that I was able to see coming. I felt like the story did drag some, but once it picked up again, it was impossible to put down.
Overall, if zombies are you're thing and you like Victorian or steampunk as well, this would be a great book to pick up. Though it wasn't exactly what I was expecting, I did like it quite a bit despite the flaws that I though it had. In the end, the flaws weren't that big of a deal and I am looking forward to the sequel because I genuinely came to care for these characters.
I really liked the Victorian aspect and that there is such a thing as sentient zombies who are in control of their sickness and don't harbor cannibalistic tendencies and then there are other zombies that truly define zombie apocalypse. I thought that was absolutely brilliant.
The book was told from several different perspectives throughout the book which I liked for the most part. However, it was a bit confusing in the beginning until you started to really get a sense of who the characters were. It took me awhile to figure out that Victor and Mr. Dearly were the same person. My second qualm is that the perspectives weren't even.
I identified more with Pamela than with Nora (and I think Nora was meant to be the lead). I really liked that Pamela started out as a somewhat rigid Victorian girl who prided herself on following the rules and doing what was expected of her. Yet as the story starts to unfold, she starts going against societal rules to do what she thinks is the right thing, even if it is dangerous or her parents forbid it. I really loved her for that and liked that she started being a bit of a badass.
I liked the evolution of Nora and Bram's relationship, but Nora was just kind of blah to me. She was a bit too stubborn and whiny for my taste for too much of the book. She gets better near the end, but I preferred Pamela's storyline. Bram was the perfect Victorian gentleman, even though he was a good zombie. I really liked Bram and his backstory was fascinating. I love that he genuinely cares for people and wants the best for everyone and would rather die (again) than see good people (dead or alive) come into harm's way.
Though I did like a lot of the plot twists, the were some "surprises" that I was able to see coming. I felt like the story did drag some, but once it picked up again, it was impossible to put down.
Overall, if zombies are you're thing and you like Victorian or steampunk as well, this would be a great book to pick up. Though it wasn't exactly what I was expecting, I did like it quite a bit despite the flaws that I though it had. In the end, the flaws weren't that big of a deal and I am looking forward to the sequel because I genuinely came to care for these characters.