139) Dearly Departed by Lia Habel

The Blurb :

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.

My Review :

Dearly Departed has been on my 'to be released' wishlist for a while and when I got the chance to get an early copy I couldn't stop myself from snapping it up. Something about the blurb spoke to me and the promise of a Steampunk and Paranormal mixed story really wasn't something I could pass up on. However when I started reading I have to admit I was ready to give up after the first few chapters. There was something about the story that kept making me think this wasn't going to be what I hoped for but I am extremely glad I held out and kept reading because Dearly Departed is one of those hidden treasures that makes reading a worthwhile hobby.

It seemed to take forever for anything really exciting to happen but once the ball got rolling it was action and excitement all the way to the very end. The Steampunk element shone through from the very start and as the author began building up the world I had to wonder what Paranormal element would appear (the original blurb didn't give as much away). The author set the scene so well that I could imagine actually being there with Nora. The history of how 'New Victoria' came about was interesting and well thought out.

For a debut this is an amazing book with a super plot. The concept was very original and once the story started moving along I was hooked. The only thing I wasn't too keen on was the constant character change. I am not a huge fan of the POV changing in books but sometimes it works well or is needed. In this case I think changing between Nora and Pamela was necessary and Bram's side of things wasn't too boring. However I could have done without the few other characters that put in an appearance in the driving seat.

All in all this was turned out to be quite a spectacular book. I wouldn't be surprised if this one ends up on the big screen one day. It would certainly make a great film. This is one to be enjoyed by all ages despite the young adult angle and there is much more to this story even if you don't really like zombies. I can only highly recommend trying this new author and keeping an eye on this series. It has all the makings of being a huge hit.