Dearly, Departed

Not a fan of zombies but I loved this one

I wasn't overly sure if I was going to like this book or not. I definitely wasn't planning on falling in love with it. I have been sort of feeling like YA is going down a very boring and sugar coated slope. On top of that Zombies make me VERY squeamish, but it's coming up to Halloween and it seems like Zombies are the new big thing, so I decided to give this book a shot. Even though parts of it were a little creepy with the rabid zombies, I felt that the author wrote a very good YA book that sort of touched base with the whole "cannibalism" without actually going into detail of them eating Brains. Which is okay with me since, like I said before, Zombie freak me out. A vampire, ghost, even a mummy, NO PROBLEM but the second those reanimated decomposing corpses start hauling butt towards me with hunger in their eyes, I am out of there!

Which brings me to the romance of the book. A human and a zombie...? It helped that Bram wasn't falling apart and had all of him original body parts still intact but it took a little bit to convince me. They didn't automatically fall in love, in fact Nora was freaked out by Bram being a zombie when he saved her and fainted, when she awoke she was in his room at the Z base and quickly locked herself inside. By talking through the locked door to Bram and making a deal that every time he answered one of her questions, she would unlock one of the 10 locks on his door, she slowly started to trust him. Eventually she came out of the room but by that time, I wasn't so weirded out by the civilized zombies because by that point Bram had humanized himself in my mind.

The book is split primarily into Nora, Bram, Pam and Victor's point of view. It helps to give you a sense as to what is happening out in the world where the rabid zombies are terrorizing the streets and slowly taking over. Even though things are sort of calm at the Z base, back in Nora's neighborhood all hell is breaking loose and she has no idea that it's happening. Pam's story is by far the scariest parts of the book because she is dealing with the rabid zombies and trying to convince her family that it isn't safe. I will be honest that while reading the book she reminded me a lot of Katniss from the Hunger Games. It wasn't just her use of weapon (a bow) but just the way she carried herself and stepped up and took control of protecting her family.

One last thing that I want to touch base on before I leave you with an ending quote... this book is pretty funny. The civilized zombies are like normal people and the ones in Bram's close unit all joke around and act as if they are best friends or even siblings. They squabble and joke around a lot throughout the book.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Undead romeo and juliet

I honestly loved this book more than I thought I would! It was absolutly amazing. The mix of past and future for the sretting is so unique and workks. The romance between nora and bram is like a supernatural romeo and juliet; so wrong that its right! Great plot, aawssome story idea, cant wait for a sequell!
I recomend it for teens whho like something a little on the odd side:)

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Recommended

Lia Habel does for zombies what Stephanie Meyer did for vampire--humanized them. Even though dead, the undead have memories, feelings, and desires. Nora and Bram are an attractive couple--young, charming, dedicated to family and each other--however, Pamela is a wasted narrator. The use of her to show the entrenched societal values of New Victoria is unnecessary, a distraction from the flow of Nora and Bram. Interspersing Pamela and Victor, while giving a view of what was happening in different sites, slowed the narrative to a crawl. Other characters were stereotypical snobs: Aunt Geneva, Vespertine Mink, and Michael Allister. Growth in their lives would have strengthened the story, just as the acceptance of Nora by Z Company did. Overall, not a waste of time, and zombie lovers will like the action and gore.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Don't waste your time!

I am really disappointed with the ratings on this book. I picked it up and read the discription and thought, "This isn't a book for me," but the one exerpt from the back of the book caught my attention. I read the reviews and decided to take a chance, but I wish I'd saved my time and my money on this one. The writing was fine, but the story was really lame. I guess I'm just not into the whole zombie thing, but aside from that, the love story was really lacking and the whole book just seemed really juvinile. I know this is a teen book, but really, I'd lable it a tween book. If you want a good book with some teeth to it, ready Hunger Games or Divergent. Both are great books!

1 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Characters This book is told from 5 alternating perspectives. Wh

Characters This book is told from 5 alternating perspectives. Which I have come to learn some people enjoyed and others found overwhelming. I am of the latter opinion because I was not a huge fan of all of the characters. I had a hard time connecting with some of them, and jumping inside of their heads during certain chapters I came to find my mind wandered more often than others.

Originality As somebody who just recently read the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies trilogy I found myself flashing back on bits of those stories as I read through this one. But in Dearly Departed we are in a futuristic world of 2195 in which advanced technology and the re-immersion of the Victorian Era etiquette has reestablished itself in society. Then the added bonus of Zombies, but these zombies are technologically advanced as well. These twists is what brings the uniqueness to this story that is unlike anything else that I have read.

Plot In 2195 after world wars and destruction, the United States no longer exists as well as several other countries. Survivors forced to reform societies and relocated closer to the equator. They have also come to reestablish the Victorian Era etiquette as standards to live by, but still maintain and advanced upon the technology we know today. The city we are introduced to is New Victoria, where war is common and the zombies (aka the Greys) are a common danger in the new world.

Writing: With this type of setting for this story there is no real boundaries when it came to sticking to a writing style. There is a mixture of proper English usage mixed with some more modern day speak. Not all of the characters are schooled in the “proper” way of behavior and speech as Nora is. With the combination of several different characters telling the story, there comes with that a variety of speech and behaviors that become accepted through the story. This perhaps is why in a society in which the female has been set back to having to marry to gain social status, we cheer when Nora picks up a gun and fights with several different types of weapons.

Krista's Rating: I really had high hopes for this story. Although I know that it was a personal preference on why overall I did not fall in love with it. I found my mind wandering in several places throughout the story. The story is not told from the same perspective, and I usually love alternating perspectives but some of the characters I did not like and could not get myself to care about what was happening to them, or having to read about what they personally about what was happening to them. The thing that did keep me reading and wanting to find out how it ended was the zombies, and I'm not even a big fan of Zombies. But the author was able to put such an interesting twist on the idea of how they become zombies and the wide range of differences between them that I found intriguing.

Review: Dearly, Departed

While describing this to a friend, I realized there's a lot of interesting elements to the story. And under most circumstances, I don't think it would work. But, for me it did. There's something about a post apocalyptic, Victorian society and zombies that just clicked with me.


When I first added this book to my list, I had a feeling it was going to be more steam punk. Which made me apprehensive because I haven't had the best of luck with steam punk. I was completely wrong to think that. While society is modeling the Victorian era, it has completely modern (and futuristic) technology. Nothing seemed foreign to me. I really liked how the whole society was set up. The Victorian age is one that I enjoy reading about, and I don't think I've read anything (besides Incarceron) were society has purposely mimicked that time period.


I especially enjoyed Nora. She's a fireball for a lack of a better term. She's grown up a little bit on the privileged side. But, she has no problems with those of lower rank (her best friend is). When she's kidnapped she shows appropriate behaviors, but also regroups and thinks for herself. There's never a time when she acts like the damsel in distress. I loved that she gets mad at her dad, but yet desires to understand what's made him this way.


I enjoyed the subtle romance in the story. It never felt like it was being shoved in my face. Both characters actually spend part of the book denying their feelings, which is a change from the confession your undying love lines. I also loved the inclusion of good and bad zombies. It was light-hearted and fun, but not overly campy.


I just really enjoyed this story. I'm looking forward to the next in the series!

Oh why, oh why, oh why? I received this book as an ARC way back

Oh why, oh why, oh why?
I received this book as an ARC way back when (October last year!). I loved the cover, thought the story sounded interesting, tried to read it and fell flat. I tried it 3 or 4 times but was almost always distracted by another, more favoured book just released that I wanted to review more.

I wish I'd stuck with it in the first place! I set myself 3 hours to get into the story before finally giving up and marking it as a DNF. By 3 hours I was already half way through the book and LOVING it!

I wasn't keen on the different POV's (there are a few), I think that's been most peoples gripe about it, however when you finally reach the end of the book you realise how the story fell into place WITH the different POV's that couldn't have happened any other way. Sure, I wanted to read about Nora and Bram more than Victor or Wolfe but once I sucked it in and plowed through, the story was absolutely fantastic.

I've never been one for zombie movies. I prefer the 'Shaun of the Dead' style rather than the others. 2 hours of playing Dead Rising on the PS3 also made me dislike anything zombiefied however thanks to the deft and art-like writing of Habel you get immersed in the lore and before you know it it feels like normal when a leg gets blown off or a bite meets flesh!

The steampunk, new Victorian world-building was slow-going to start with but again, like the zombie lore, exceptional once you got used to ultramodern versus victorian. The city of New London was almost a holograph behind my own eyes as the author takes us through the story of a New Victorian era.

And the characters are more than lifelike. Personally I loved Pamela, the BFF. She showed true courage, and who wouldn't love Bram. What a brilliant character that I'd even want to take him home and introduce him to my parents (despite the fact that he's dead). The slow burning romance between Bram and Nora was so lovely, I was just rooting for them from the first.

All in all, this is a brilliant YA-Zombie-Steampunk novel and the first of a new series. I can't wait to get my hands on more!

Dearly, Departed is an excellent display of genre-mashing. The

Dearly, Departed is an excellent display of genre-mashing. The very premise of the book is a paradox. It is a steampunk novel, but it is set in the future. The New Victorian society of parlor visits, poofy dresses, parasols and conservative morals co-exists with modern technologies like holograms, ID chips and mobile phones. The science fiction part of the novel rears its head with the unique take on zombies Habel adopts. I thought that Dearly, Departed was a very enjoyable book. It has a little bit of everything. It is steampunk, science fiction, Victorian, futuristic, full of adventure, laced with heart-pounding thrills, touched with horror, affected by betrayals, and marked with love and some teenage angst. It is a wonderful novel for fans of paranormal romance, science fiction, and zombies.

That said, however, there are a few things that kept Dearly, Departed from reaching its full potential pinnacle of excellence, as far as I am concerned. The biggest issue for me was the plethora of points of view. Each chapter alters the perspective to another character. At times, this flows very well. I found that it worked particularly well with Nora and Bram (her undead love interest). However, some points of view changes just seemed jarring, and didn’t add much, if anything to the story. I think it would have been best for Habel to eliminate Wolfe’s perspective entirely, as it didn’t add anything to the story for me. It disrupted my immersion in the story to suddenly be in the head of someone that was not at all sympathetic to the good zombies. The other points of view did add things to the story, but left me with a feeling of disconnect. While I really enjoyed the novel, when I saw that the next point of view switched to someone that was totally separated from the current action, I often felt like putting the book down. I believe the novel would have felt much more solid if the number of narrators had been restricted.

I will say, however, that the characters were my favorite part of the book. I really enjoyed seeing Nora’s reactions and responses as the biggest concern in her life changes from her unloving aunt trying to marry her off for money to dealing with the new world of living dead she gets thrown into. I loved Bram. His thoughts and actions as he realizes he is falling in love with a living girl, and as her struggles became his struggles were well-written and endeared me to him. He is such a caring individual that the reader sometimes forgets that he is a dead man, but his concerns, regret, and self-deprecating thoughts are a constant reminder of the fact. It makes him believable, and really shows that he is a great man. I enjoyed the other characters very much as well. Bram’s friends are quirky, and each have their own personality. I particularly like Chas, who is so unladylike and improper. She certainly infused a bit of humor into the book, and provides a respite from the upstanding proper New Victorian mores. I also like Pamela, Nora’s best friend. It was interesting to see the development of a potential zombie apocalypse from her eyes. I think these characters, and others I will not mention for fear of spoilers, really make the story what it is.

I’d recommend this novel to anyone that thinks it sounds like their cup of tea. I know I look forward to the next installment, Dearly, Beloved.

Great read.

As many have said, i myself was a bit scepticle about whether i would like it or not. The idea of a zombie andnhuman romance was a little strange at first but made me want to read that mucg more. I wasent to keen on all the different perspectives but it helpeday the story out. In the end i LOVED LOVED LOVED thia book, and i hoooope there will be a sequil, however like the posibility of a sad ending. Bram is an amazingcharacter and his perspective was by far my favorite.

Captivating

This book was amazing and kept me captivated the entire time. Great read for those who love zomies like I do!

Out of all the books I have read in my whole life, this is my nu

Out of all the books I have read in my whole life, this is my number one favorite. This book is beyond amazing in my opinion. I saw the peoples comments who gave this book one star, and was completely confused. I don't understand how they could possibly find this book boring or juvinielle. This book puts you at the edge of your seat and keeps you there, it's full of suspence. It has a romance thing going on between Bram and Nora, but it doesn't fully go off the main story. I'm not going to lie though, the first 3 or 4 chapters are kind of slow, but after that it's non-stop suspence. If you love reading you have to get this book. I'm dying for the next book to come out. The author said it may come out on September 25th this year.

I admit, I have never read a book about zombies before Dearly De

I admit, I have never read a book about zombies before Dearly Departed. I will say that the storyline seems to have potential in it and for a very long time I was addicted and couldn't stop reading it. Maybe if the author or editor or both would have put more effort into this book, it would have been acceptible. I gave up on page 150 or 160 and even flipped forward a handful of chapters just to see if it got better. I found that the story continued to be boring--now I could have been wrong. I might have missed something that would have kept me going--but I didn't.
I think there's nothing I can say that's already been said by SherlocksLibrarian and lovin_er_books. But I would like to say that Nora, even though she's supposedly a teen, acts very much like a five year old. It's up to you if you want to spend your money on this book, but I reccomend you do not. Unless you like cheap literature that is only published for sake of profit by the author.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Oddly good

Not the type of book I normally read. I couldn't put it down after starting though. It was very good and if its not your normal read join me in being surprised on how good it is.

Zombie Steampunk Romance! With Action and Adventure!

The year is 2195. After being ravaged by war and harsh climate changes, humanity seems to have found some level of equilibrium in New Victoria. Desperate for a Golden Age to look back on at its founding, an ideal to strive for, New Victoria looked backward to the seemingly idealistic ways of Victorian society. And it is ideal, truly.

At least it is for most people. Nora Dearly should be happy with her position of mild importance in New Victorian society as daughter of prominent military doctor Victor Dearly. But she is more interested in politics and military history than she is in negotiating high society or being a proper lady. It all seems so pointless with her father dead and her finances in ruins thanks to an irresponsible aunt.

With so many problems, Nora gives the stranger with blind eyes outside her home little thought. That would prove to be a mistake.

Captain Bram Griswold never wanted to frighten Nora. He certainly didn't want to kidnap her. He just wanted to ensure her safety. Unfortunately it is difficult to appear non-threatening when you are a corpse. Like the rest of Company Z, Bram is still in control of his faculties even if he is infected with the Lazarus virus. He can walk, he can talk, he can reason. He is even relatively intact compared to some of his friends.

One day, as it always does, the virus will win. Bram will lose control and instead of working with the humans, he will want nothing more than to eat them.

Until that day, Bram will do what he has to do. He will keep Nora Dearly safe. He will fight the deranged zombies that are beyond help. He will ignore the feelings he is starting to develop for Nora because no good can ever come from that. As he keeps telling himself over and over.

But then Nora starts to trust him. And everything Bram thought he knew about the Lazarus virus and New Victoria is thrown into doubt. With the whole world changing maybe a human girl and zombie boy really can be together--for a little while at least in Dearly, Departed (2011) by Lia Habel.

Dearly, Departed is Habel's first novel. It is also the first book in the uniquely named "Gone with the Respiration" series.

Steampunk has been gaining lots of steam recently as a relatively new addition to the wide and wonderful world of Young Adult books. Like many other successful steampunk books, Habel puts her own singular spin on a newly imagined Victorian society with not only a post-apocalyptic world of the future but also a zombie apocalypse. Oh and a completely impossible, incredibly star-crossed romance.

Basically, the appeal of this book can be captured in three words: Zombie Steampunk Romance.

As those words suggest, Dearly, Departed has a lot going on but it all works. Habel blends inter-connected story lines while managing to create a coherent, layered story with multiple unique narrators in a sleek, exciting story full of action and pathos.

Dearly, Departed stands out as a clever, funny spin on both zombie and steampunk conventions with a top-notch heroine and a zombie hero with a heart of gold.

Possible Pairings: A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray, Soulless Gail Carringer, The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson, Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, Peeps by Scott Westerfeld, All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin

Addicting from the very beginning!!

I was a bit skeptical of this book when I bought it but figured since I had read vampire books before I had to give zombies a try as well. I was hooked from the very beginning, the characters were relateable and the romance wasn't unrealistically fast moving. I can hardly wait for the sequel, I would recommend this book to anyone.

Dearly Delightful

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I read Dearly, Departed. Honestly, reading the synopsis, I was intrigued but at the same time terrified at the prospect. Zombie’s in love? What? But after I thought about it, it’s like Vampires in love so I decided to give this book a chance. I was pleasantly surprised.


The characters in this book are interesting. I like Nora and her fighting to be who she wants to be. She doesn’t take crap from people, she learns to fight, and she takes the whole zombie thing surprisingly well. The group of zombies that Nora is introduced to are a hoot. They really give the book a special touch. The one character that definitely makes the book for me is Bram. Except for the whole part where he’s dead, he’s the perfect guy. His character was the most liked out of all the ones I read. He even outshines Nora, who should have more points to her considering she’s actually the one with the heartbeat.
The world Lia created is appealing to say the least. The New Victoria is a unique twist to the steampunk novels I’ve gotten used to. The descriptions are vivid and believable. I enjoyed getting to discover the ways of 2195.
However, I have to admit the ever changing point of view almost drove me up the wall. While I really liked getting into the heads of Nora, Bram, and even Nora’s best friend, the others didn’t seem as necessary to me. I was a little confused at the beginning, thinking I must have missed something. In the end, I got a bit better grip on what was going on.
Overall, this book is definitely worth reading. Lia takes what is known in fiction and makes it her own: a world where death and decay may play a role, but love shines like the brightest star. I don’t know if I’ll be reading it again, but I most definitely will read what happens next. Dearly, Departed is out now, wherever the books are sold.

Zombies, romance, and action in a perfect balance!

Dearly, Departed is a prime example of why I don't like to give up on books if I have trouble getting into them at first. And I did have trouble getting into Dearly, Beloved. I was trying to read it in bits and pieces while reading other books and it just wasn't working. So, as 2011 drew to a close, I knew that this book needed to be a priority. I started over, set aside a few hours, and dove in. Let me tell you--I LOVED this book. It has a perfect mix of action and adventure with the detail and world-building of a well-written steampunk novel with an incredibly sweet love story thrown in.

Nora Dearly has a fairly normal life, despite being orphaned at age fifteen and having to deal with an over-bearing, social climber of an aunt as her guardian. Thankfully she has her best friend Pam to get her through. When she's approached by a blind man on the street one evening who attempts to take her and claims to be a friend of her deceased father, well, that is definitely a moment that Nora will never forget as what ensues is a story of kidnapping, adventure, war, love, ...and zombies.

Nora is a really fabulous MC to get to know. She has a very kick butt attitude and she's not afraid to put herself out there and make things happen. She's fiercely loyal to her best friend, despite their social difference. After she's kidnapped, I appreciated her fear and caution--signs of an authentic character who can't easily accept the things going on around her--as well as her boldness and honesty. I've been a tough sell on good characters lately, but Nora is definitely at the top of my list as an enjoyable, authentic heroine.

Nora wasn't the only character that I loved in this book either. Bram is absolutely wonderful. Chas, Tom, and Ren are a fantastic cast of side characters with well-defined personalities and roles. Dr. Dearly himself is sharp as a tack. Wolfe is the ultimate villan. Overall, this was a whole cast of characters that I found myself attached to. I honestly cared about what happened to each and every one of them.

The writing in this book is phenomenal. You will be pulled into this foreign world and you'll honestly feel at home. Ms. Habel's writing is beautifully descriptive without being completely overbearing. She gives the reader a perfect sense of this futuristic "New Victorian" world and its oddities without ever making it feel like an info dump. She had me mesmerized. Like I said, the beginning may have been a tad slow for me as you're getting to know the world and the characters, but when it takes off, it will take you on quite the wild ride. Be prepared for action and adventure, zombies, and a romance that swept me off my feet. I'll be anxiously waiting for book #2, Dearly, Beloved.

Great read, even for this non-zombie lover!

This was my first zombie book AND my first steampunk book. I always thought I would hate anything that had to do with zombies but with all the zombie craze I read in the blogosphere I knew I had to at least give it a try. To my surprise, I really enjoyed this book. I'm not going to re-summarize because the above synopsis is pretty thorough.

I loved both Nora and Pam. Two young girls growing up in a society that has the ideals of the Victorian era where the girls are expected to marry young and marry for money. They bucked the system and I like that. I also really loved Bram. Dead as he might be, he was incredibly loyal, and had a very kind heart.

I also really loved the whole steampunk thing. I figured I would, I love the wardrobe anyway, but it was really interesting to see the two themes combined.

One thing that I loved with this book is that I never got confused. When you are writing in a different time and almost a different world, it can be confusing. It helped that the girls were students and it really flowed for them to give us the "how we got here" explanation by way of school conversation.

I also really loved that they explained the zombie phenomenon as a disease. My only experience with zombie related entertainment was too stupid to be funny for me, and definitely too funny to hold any real terror.

A love story between the living and the walking dead, how do I start. When I first caught that this would be a love story I became incredibly skeptical. How? I didn't understand at all. The fact that they bring up the reality of the situation, acknowledging that there will be no forever and (thank god) that zombies can't be intimate helped me frame this in a way that I could still enjoy the book.

So while I can't say that I will now love all things zombie, I really loved this book. I look forward to reading the rest of the Gone with Respiration Series.

Omg

This book keeps me up at all hourd of the night. It is THE BEST book I've ever read. Lia Habel is one of the best authors of my time. I absolutelyblove her writing and can't wait until her new book comes out. (:

Original dystopian zombie novel!

A few years ago I saw a zombie movie and it gave me the worst nightmares. Ever since then, I have avoided zombie books and movies because they scare me like almost nothing else can. Lately, however, there have been a few books on the YA market involving more sophisticated, romantic zombies. This move towards the lighter, prettier side of zombies is perfect for me. Not to say Dearly, Departed is all romance because it¿s not. The brainless, flesh eating zombies are included as well, so it¿s a good mix of dark and light. Dearly, Departed is set in a dystopian future where climate change has caused survivors in North America to move to warmer climates in South America. While keeping their technological advances, these settlers have adopted a Victorian lifestyle in dress, speech and manners. I loved Lia Habel¿s world building. The book has a wonderful steampunk feel to it. Dearly, Departed is told from several perspectives including that of Captain Abraham ¿Bram¿ Griswold. Loved him! He is strong, funny, caring and very devoted to Nora. Even though Nora is brave, selfless and smart, her character fell a bit flat. I much preferred to read the portions of the story from either Bram¿s perspective or from the perspective of Nora¿s best friend, Pamela. Pamela¿s quick thinking and butt-kicking was much more entertaining than anything that was going on Nora. My other issue with the story is the romance. Nora and Bram are really sweet together but I could not get past the fact that he is dead, a while he is handsome, he looks dead. His skin is even gray! I have no idea why I feel this way as I have no issues with the vampire/human relationships in books and vamps are pretty much dead too. Dearly, Departed has a good amount of humor, cleaver world building and some exciting action scenes. This is a fun and original book. It¿s very cool how Ms. Habel put it together and I look forward to the sequel. Content: Kissing and violence.