Book Review: Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel

 

Genre: Young Adult (Action/Paranormal Romance)

Nora is a teenage girl growing up in New Victoria, a world of the future where, society has decided to re-adopt some of the customs and fashions of the Victorian era with the added perks of technology. After the death of her parents, Nora is put under the care of her aunt who has spent all the family's money and now wants to marry off Nora in hope of gaining more money. Just when she though life couldn't get worse, Nora finds herself fighting the un-dead in her own home. When a second team of Zombies rush in to rescue her from the surprise kidnapping, she learns that not all zombies are crazy and ravenous.

When I learned that Dearly, Departed was a romance involving a human and a zombie, I didn't think it would be a book that I would remotely like. However, I kept seeing such good reviews for the book, and it's almost impossible for me to turn away from a pretty cover, so I gave it a chance. I was surprised at how fast I became involved in Nora and Bram's world. I'll admit the thought of a zombie romance was quite disturbing in the beginning, and when I really stop and think about it, I'm still a little turned off by the "zombie" idea, but I absolutely love Bram. I loved how their whole relationship developed through the story. It was a gradual process, and definitely not a love at first sight situation. Dearly, Departed is not solely a romance. The story has action, adventure, and bits of horror spread throughout it. While it had some slow moments, it was a very hard book to put down. I think people of all genders and tastes would enjoy this book.

To learn more about Lia Habel and her books, visit her website. You can also find her on  Facebook and Twitter.


Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel was provided to me by the publisher through Netgalley for review. The opinions are my own.

You can also see this review on Examiner

Teaser Tuesday: Dearly Departed by Lia Habel

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser this week is from Dearly Departed by Lia Habel:

This is what the illness did. The stories were true.
The shouting attracted the sick girl, and suddenly she was moving with lightning speed, honing in on me. She hit me before I could even think of running, forcing me to the ground, her teeth snapping at my head. She was like a mad dog.

Do you have a blog? Post a link to your Teaser Tuesday post in the comments. No blog? Post a Teaser in the comments anyway!