"Dearly, Departed" offers a fresh take on the zombie genre, transporting readers to a captivating world where Victorian elegance meets futuristic technology. Lia Habel's ingenious spin on zombies transforms them into charming characters with unique traits, making them unexpectedly endearing. The multi-dimensional characters, led by the spirited Nora and the adorable zombie Bram, navigate a thrilling narrative filled with action, romance, and humor. Despite its multiple perspectives, the story remains engaging, immersing readers in a darkly beautiful world of politics, rebellion, and undead intrigue. With its perfect blend of genres, this novel is a must-read for fans of YA fiction seeking a truly original adventure.

Dearly, Departed
by Lia Habel
October 18, 2011

Dearly, Departed is a Victorian-esque, steampunk zombie romance novel. The year is 2194, Nora Dearly is the main character.
I loved this book, there was so much going on in this book, it was fantastic.
The cover is spectacular. I love everything about it.

Thank you to Del Rey and NetGalley for the e-copy in exchange for my honest opinions.

Dearly Departed is one of the most enjoyable steampunk novels I've ever read, as the author skillfully puts Victorian customs down in a futuristic setting and then throws the crazy addition of zombies into the mix! It is, unfortunately, also a very frustrating novel in many ways, mainly because it has major flaws that stand in the way of a really terrific story.

For some reason (not a big Zombie fan could be the deciding factor) I just wasn’t captivated by this work. I gave it a go but in the end found the story difficult to identify with and dnf.
Others obviously really enjoyed.

Random House Arc via NetGalley

This has been on my to-read for way too long, and I'm so glad that I finally read it. It felt oddly timely, since the world has been mostly destroyed by a virus and other natural catastrophe. Civilization has rebuilt in South America, and has fallen back to Victorian times. But with zombies and technology.

There are five narrators here, which always makes me suspicious. It usually means that someone is going to die or that they're a mole. I'm not saying that this is what happens, but, lots of perspectives. Captain Wolfe only has two short chapters, and they're nonessential. Nora's not really dead father has a handful of chapters as well, but those easily could have been a recap saved for when he was rescued near the end. It also would have allowed for a good plot twist of revealing he's alive 300 pages in rather than 30 pages.

Our main characters are Nora and Bram. Bram kidnaps Nora to save her from being kidnapped by someone even worse. And he is one of the undead who retained their personality and brain functions. She's the daughter of the scientist who has been working on a vaccine for the Lazarus virus. Our secondary character, Pamela, is Nora's best friend who's stuck at home during a zombie invasion and allows us to see what's going on in the real world while Nora is being held with the zombie army.

This book is 470 pages, which is quite long for a YA novel, but I was never bored. Oddly, it took be nearly 2/3 of the book to even realize that nothing important had been happening. I was just enjoying it so much! The relationship between Nora and Bram and the other "good" zombies reminded me of that Disney Channel movie, Z-O-M-B-I-E-S. It was just fun, despite all of the violence and gore. A very strange combination, but it worked.

Ultimately, I just really enjoyed Dearly Departed. I normally don't like Steampunk, and zombies tend to be hit or miss, but this one was 100% hit! While this could work as a standalone with a bit of an opening ending, I'm eager to find out what happens next.

This was a DNF for me unfortunately and because of this I did not review it as I only review books that I have completed.

I wasn't able to get into this book at all. Sadly I thought that I would like it but it didn't connect with me.

Really 3.5 Stars

I have to admit that I wanted to read Dearly, Departed first because of the cover. I wasn't sure how I felt about zombies, but I love Victorian novels and heard good things about this book, so I decided to give it a shot. While there were some aspects of the book that I really enjoyed, there were others that left me wanting more.

An orphan in New Victoria, Nora Dearly is at the mercy of her last remaining relative, her aunt. Nora's father was an important scientist in New Victoria, but her aunt has spent most of the family money and plans for Nora to marry well and ensure the family's financial security. But there was more to her father's research than Nora knew - much more. Instead of enjoying her holiday break from school, Nora is kidnapped by an army. And not just any army - an undead army. Nora, thinking all zombies are alike, is overwhelmed by her new surroundings, and terrified of the zombies. But after spending time with Bram, she comes to see that Bram is different. Bram is a friend...and maybe more. However, not all zombies are good, and some are certainly out for destruction. Will Bram's army, along with Nora, be able to do anything to save Nora's home from infection and death?

From the beginning, I liked Nora's character. She lived in a Victorian society, but she certainly wasn't demure or a conventional Victorian girl. For instance, she loved war holograms and her sarcasm and wit were amusing throughout the book. Nora had to deal with a lot of tragedy in her life, but rather than withdrawing, she let the losses make her stronger. She isn't willing to be a pushover, and that extends to her best friend, Pam. Their strong friendship was refreshing to see - not even romantic pursuits damaged their friendship. In addition, even though it was a culture shock for Nora when she was kidnapped, and she was always distrustful of the zombies, she was eventually able to give them a chance. And Bram certainly deserved one. He had his own share of suffering, but despite being a zombie he is always such a gentleman. Even though it seemed to happen suddenly, I loved watching Nora and Bram fall for each other. And some of Bram's fellow zombies were extremely entertaining.

In addition to a wide cast of characters, Dearly, Departed had more points of view than most. Five different characters share their perspective, though Nora and Bram are the main focus. While it was nice to see the complete picture of the story, occasionally it was difficult to follow the story trajectory when some characters had very few chapters from their perspective. However, in spite of this (or perhaps because of this), I felt like the middle of the book dragged. This book is on the long side, and while I loved the beginning - getting into the world and learning the characters - and while I did enjoy the romance aspect that was carried throughout and then the ending of the book, the middle lost my interest. Even still, I think the continuation of this story has definite potential.

Dearly, Departed is a different, unique story with a memorable voice for the characters. If you like zombie novels, Victorian romance, or steampunk books, Dearly, Departed is certainly worth reading.

Sorry, requested but did not get around to reading.

Here's the thing, I adored this book. It's crazy because the first time I attempted to read it was as an eARC from NetGalley and I just could not get into the story. I put it down with thoughts of trying again soon, but then my ereader died and I couldn't get it to sync to my new tablet. And then it was forgotten, until a roadtrip happened and I needed some audiobooks - my library had this as a featured audiobook to try. I am so glad I tried again with this title... I'll be checking out the next book for this year's Goodreads challenge.

The dystopian/steampunk world building in this novel is amazing, not only is it a shout out to the Victorian era that the characters world is emulating, but it's the beginning of a zombie outbreak. I would never have through to cross these things together, but it works!

Nora is a great character. Growing up in a Victorianesque world, she should be demure, lady-like and acquiesce to the men, but she is her own person and thinks for herself. I love how she didn't completely judge Bram and his fellow zombies and was more accepting of them and what they are trying to do. She was terrified at first, but made the best of a crappy situation. She has a lot of great qualities that made her a character to root for.

Bram is pretty swoonworthy for a zombie. He still retains things that make him seem human still. The virus hasn't taken him over and made him a monster, so he functions like any man, but just falls apart sometimes. His chapters were fun to read because he struggles internally with his feelings for Nora and his need to control the Laz virus so he doesn't attack her. Gah, his sections were great!

And my favourite person by far was Nora's best friend, Pamela, who was the delicate girl you'd expect for Victorian times. She surprises you by being stronger and resourceful in the face of death. She takes charge and won't stop until she reaches the goal she has in her mind.

I love how the story alternates between Nora, Bram, Pamela, Victor (Nora's father) and Wolfe (a general in the army) and we learn all about the Laz virus, the dystopian world they live in and follow a romance. I loved Ms. Habel's take on how people become zombies and that not all become the drooling, mindless monsters we are used to seeing in books and movies. The only thing I might have changed was leaving out the chapters by Wolfe and some of Victor's as they may not have been needed. Still a really great book. I cannot wait to pick up the next book to see what happens to them all.