Dearly, Beloved by Lia Habel

Book Blurb:

Can the living coexist with the living dead? 

That’s the question that has New Victorian society fiercely divided ever since the mysterious plague known as “The Laz” hit the city of New London and turned thousands into walking corpses. But while some of these zombies are mindless monsters, hungry for human flesh, others can still think, speak, reason, and control their ravenous new appetites.

Just ask Nora Dearly, the young lady of means who was nearly kidnapped by a band of sinister zombies but valiantly rescued by a dashing young man . . . of the dead variety.

Nora and her savior, the young zombie soldier Bram Griswold, fell hopelessly in love. But others feel only fear and loathing for the reanimated dead. Now, as tensions grow between pro- and anti-zombie factions, battle lines are being drawn in the streets. And though Bram is no longer in the New Victorian army, he and his ex-commando zombie comrades are determined to help keep the peace. That means taking a dangerous stand between The Changed, a radical group of sentient zombies fighting for survival, and The Murder, a masked squad of urban guerrillas hellbent on destroying the living dead. But zombies aren’t the only ones in danger: Their living allies are also in The Murder’s crosshairs, and for one vengeful zealot, Nora Dearly is the number one target.

As paranoia, prejudice, and terrorist attacks threaten to plunge the city into full-scale war, Nora’s scientist father and his team continue their desperate race to unlock the secrets of “The Laz” and find a cure. But their efforts may be doomed when a mysterious zombie appears bearing an entirely new strain of the virus—and the nation of New Victoria braces for a new wave of the apocalypse.

Review:

Lia Habel has done it again with this second addition to the “Gone with Respiration” series. The book starts off a bit after the events from Dearly, Departed. Nora’s father is still working hard for the vaccine of the Lazurus infection, but upon encountering a new zombie with a new strain of the Laz infection, everyone is wondering what will happen next, if the vaccine Dr. Dearly has created can not cure the new strain will they be set behind or will another uproar occur?

I was fortunate enough to receive an ARC of Dearly, Beloved, I was already eager to dive into the pages and read what Lia Habel had in store for us. First I would like to give praise to the cover of the book! It is simply gorgeous and suits the series quite well, It is a bit different since Dearly, Departed used more reddish hues while for Dearly, Beloved the use of more blue/green hues have been used. Each demonstrating a different emotion you can take from the book, When I look at the color scheme used for Dearly, Beloved it really speak a sense of motivation, calmness, truthfulness, healing. After reading the book I see a lot of motivation through Nora and Bram and also the truth being brought to the surface slowly but surely.

Now to review the content of Dearly, Beloved…

This book did not disappoint! I was captivated by just the first page alone, We see how our character’s have each developed and it is easy enough to get caught up in the world that Lia Habel has created for us since the first book. I found myself more in love with Bram and Nora’s relationship, their interaction and how Lia Habel is able to portray such affection between the two of them in a way that does not necessarily have to be expressed in a strong, sexual way.

The plot for this book was hard to figure out, and I liked it, it kept me in suspense as to what to expect, because your just interacting with different scenes that involve different characters from chapter to chapter, and to be quite honest that is one thing that I think makes Lia Habel’s book in a way quite unique because she is able to transition from character to character in a way that does not leave you confused or feeling out of place. Each transition is smooth, and is written well so that you don’t fall behind or get confused, you can read with ease and you get to interact with all the characters and not just Nora or just Bram.

Overall I was highly satisfied with Dearly, Beloved, and absolutely loved the ending! I couldn’t help but smile, laugh and be in awe of how the book ended, and of course it has left me wanting more and I cannot wait to see how Lia Habel further develops the series.

 5/5 Bats.

~Marie

Review posted on Goodreads as well > Dearly, Beloved by Lia Habel

Be sure to check out Lia Habel's website > http://liahabel.com