Review: Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel

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Synopsis: 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.


Publisher: Del Ray

Page count: 470

Edition: Hardcover

Rating: 4/5 stars

Review: This book was good, but slow. I loved the plot. Seriously, dystopian world with Victorian zombies? Who wasn't drawn in by that? But the first 300 pages was just back story. There was little to no action at all. It was just the characters describing how the world got to where it was. It's not that I don't mind, I love seeing how a world can turn into one like in Dearly, Departed, but at times it was really slow. It took me a while to read it. It could be that the font was small and the book was huge. Dearly, Departed was slow in the beginning. But the last hundred some pages totally made up for the slowness in the beginning and middle. There was so much action. I was like, "Yes! Finally!".

Another thing I wasn't a huge fan of was the alternating perspectives. Some chapters were completely unnecessary. One chapter could end with someone asking a question and the next chapter starts with another character with a different story. Then the chapter after that the question gets answered. If it were just Bram and Nora I would understand.

Another thing I wasn't huge on was Nora's character. I understand that you are surrounded by zombies. I understand that ,basically, your whole life was a lie. But seriously, Nora threw a hissy fit whenever she didn't get her own way. She screamed and threw stuff every where. I did not agree with most of the things she did in this book. I liked her for the first one hundred pages then she kind of went downhill for me.


But, Bram and Nora's relationship was really sweet and awesome. I loved it. Bram was my favorite character. :)

 

Review: Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Long time no post. Here's a review though :D

Title: Beauty Queens
Author: Libba Bray
Summary: The fifty contestants in the Miss Teen Dream pageant thought this was going to be a fun trip to the beach, where they could parade in their state-appropriate costumes and compete in front of the cameras. But sadly, their airplane had another idea, crashing on a desert island and leaving the survivors stranded with little food, little water, and practically no eyeliner.

What's a beauty queen to do? Continue to practice for the talent portion of the program - or wrestle snakes to the ground? Get a perfect tan - or learn to run wild? And what should happen when the sexy pirates show up?

Welcome to the heart of non-exfoliated darkness. Your tour guide? None other than Libba Bray, the hilarious, sensational, Printz Award-winning author of A Great and Terrible Beauty and Going Bovine. The result is a novel that will make you laugh, make you think, and make you never see beauty the same way again.

Rating: 3/5 stars

Review: I liked this book. The characters were shallow, but they developed. I loved the writing style. But, at points in this book I was embarassed to be a woman. Especially at the commercial breaks. It was still a great riveting read and it made me feel like I was there. I didn't get the whole wild girl thing with Mary Lou though. Or the Petra Sinjin situation.

Review:Anna and the French Kiss

Anna is looking foward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris - until she meets Etienne St. Clair: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home.

As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near - misses end with the French kiss Anna - and readers - have long awaited?

Rating: 5/5 stars

Where has this book been all my life??? This was fantastic in every single way. I loved every bit about it. There really was nothing to hate. The characters, the love, the pain, the humor. I felt it ALL in this book. It was hilarious and deep at the same time. Anna, was the awesomenest character ever. Rashmi, sarcastic and hurt her best friend left her. Josh, sad that his friends are leaving. Mer, loving one of her closest friends. St. Clair, oh dear God, St. Clair. I can't put it into words how much I love him. Why can't all guys be like him, AND BE AMERICAN. He's American, British, French, all of the good countries mixed into one. I WILL KILL THOSE WHO MADE FUN OF HIM IN THE EIGHTH GRADE. Of course I remember that part. I remember EVERYTHING. This is one of the best books ever written and I can't wait for more of Stephanie Perkins writing.

Review: The Six Rules of Maybe by Deb Caletti

Scarlet spends most of her time worrying about other people. Some are her friends, others are practically strangers, and then there are the ones no else even notices. Trying to fix their lives comes naturally to her. And pushing her own needs to the side is part of the deal. So when her older sister comes home unexpectedly married and pregnant, Scarlet has a new person to worry about. But all of her good intentions are shattered when the unthinkable happens: she falls for her sister’s husband. For the first time in a long time, Scarlet’s not fixing a problem, she’s at the center of one. And ignoring her feelings doesn’t seem to be an option...

Rating: 2/5 stars

I came into this with high expectations. Those expectations, sadly, were not met. What else was I supposed to think when the summary was so good? When the author was highly appraised? The book did not get interesting until 150 pages in. Maybe I expected too much. I'm sorry for those who liked it.

Scarlet, even though she said she cared for others, I found that she cared for herself more than the other people. She was a complete beeyotch at the end. And Juliet, she couldn't pull herself together, even though she was going to have a baby! Everyone, except Hayden and her Mom, cared about themselves and didn't give a sh*t for the other people in the book. Juliet was married, and going to have a baby, and she was running after Buddy. She didn't care that it might be hard for her baby if she wasn't with the dad. She didn't care about the baby.

The ending was AWFUL. Scarlet KISSED THE GUY HER "BEST FRIEND" LOVED. I know Nicole said she didn't care, but HELLO!!! When a girl says she doesn't care, SHE CARES!! Scarlet took things WAY out of proportion. She was a total bi*** at the end. And she kissed her sister's HUSBAND! Oh good lord.

I can go on and on about how much I didn't like it. It was okay, but I didn't HATE it. It actually was kinda good at some parts. I am sorry that I didn't like it for those who did. Deb Caletti is an author that I definitly will not go back to for awhile.