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A review by rahnawyn
Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel
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.