"Dearly, Departed" by Lia Habel

From Goodreads: "Love can never die.

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.

In Dearly, Departed, romance meets walking-dead thriller, spawning a madly imaginative novel of rip-roaring adventure, spine-tingling suspense, and macabre comedy that forever redefines the concept of undying love."

Starting this book I had no idea what this book was about (I really must learn to read synopsis's synopsi?), I had only seen that it had been quite well received in the blogisphere world- had I known that it was a dystopian novel set in the twenty-second century/ a revival of the Victorian Era, that this New Victorian Era has more advanced technology than we currently have, and that zombies played a major role in it, I must admit, that I probably would have passed on it- I am glad that I didn't.

I don't think it possible for me to eloquently sum up my feelings for this book, so I must as well just go for it: OMFG THIS BOOK IS AMAZING! IF YOU DO NOT READ IT YOU WILL REGRET IT. Admittedly I had had this book on my Kindle for a couple of months before I decided to read it, and I am kicking myself for having waited for long to do so. Not only is this such a satisfying read, but it is also the best book that I have read to date in 2012 (had I read this book in 2011 I am sure that it would have topped many of my Top 10 of 2011 lists).

This book was so successful for a number of reasons, it possesses one of the strongest (both physically and emotionally) female characters I have ever had the pleasure of reading before (not to mention a female character who isn't afraid to be snarky), it has one of the most selfless and swoon-worthy male characters I have ever had the pleasure of reading before, it was legitimately funny (Chas, Tom, Bram and the gang? Pure genius), and it possesses an entirely unique storyline (like I said, the combination of the Victorian Era/ technology/ zombies is unfathomable in my opinion but it works).

All in all, I highly recommend this book! I cannot wait to see what Lia has in store for us in "Dearly, Beloved"!

Rating: 10/10

I received this book from the publisher/ NetGalley to read and review. I was not compensated in any way for said review.