In My Mailbox (43)

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Gifts The Diviners By Libba Bray The Casual Vacancy By JK Rowling Dearly, Beloved By Lia Habel Seraphina By Rachel Hartman
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Dearly, Beloved (Book 2)

Summary:

"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.
Lia Habel’s spellbinding, suspenseful sequel to Dearly, Departed takes her imaginative mash-up of period romance, futuristic thriller, and zombie drama to a whole new level of innovative and irresistible storytelling."

Plot: Talk about going darker. Habel couldn't have written a better sequel. When book one ended I wasn't sure what she was going to do with the story to make it better and man, did she write a story with so much depth and the perfect mix of creepy, mystery and love.

Characters: I was SO happy to see Nora and Bram again. However, there was a whole bunch going on. I enjoyed Pam's character, cause her evolution is a practical and logical one, as well her families and I applaud Habel for doing that, instead of taking the easy way out. I like the introduce of Edmund Lopez and Laura. Laura being a truly unique character, who has something sweet and young about her, while being morbid in her own way. I like seeing growth also in Vespertine and learning a new plot line for her. I would have enjoyed more Chas and I kept getting the Doctors mixed up. Also, Coalhouse's role in the book was unexpected and I went on an emotional roller coaster with him for sure and even shortly, with Mr. Delgado.

Pros: Great Sequel, Awesome writing, pure awesome!

Cons: NONE!

Final Thoughts: I stayed up till 5am to finish reading Dearly, Beloved and when I finished I was elated! There was SO much going on and it was SO worth it. Nora and Bram's relationship makes me all giddy inside and I just adore them as a couple. I have also just fallen in love with Bram. Which is weird, cause normally the whole Zombie thing would be hard for me to get past but Habel does such a good job and humanizing him. As I mentioned before this book is darker. That took me by surprise, once we started transitioning to Michael's character, I was so creeped out by him and his plot. I would just say that Beloved, makes Departed look like fluff when compared. Overall, I cannot WAIT for the third book! There is going to be a third book right?! I might die, if there isn't one! Also, I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend this book and series. I thought I loved Dearly, Departed but Dearly, Beloved opened up a whole new set of emotions for me.

Dearly, Departed

Summary:

"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."

Plot: The plot is a pretty cool and semi complex, but it comes together well, and explains any flaws that some people may find. I love the whole concept of a post war revenged world rebuilding themselves but taking on the old Victorian Policies. Then mix the zombies and you get AWESOME!
Characters: They are slightly one-dimensional, but still awesome characters who I LOVED. I mean I never thought I could grow feelings for Zombies, but Lia Habel made that possible.
Pros: Funny, Different,Romantic, Hard to put down,
Cons: Cheesy at times, last steam towards the end.
Final Thoughts:  AWESOME,AWESOME,AWESOME! Honestly, one of my favorite books of 2011! It is a Zombie book made for girls! After, listening to Brandon go on and on about Zombies, watching every related movie,show and video game with him. I was happy to have a more girly related version. Unfortunately, in his eyes it was unrealistic. Cause He is the expert Zombie, since they exist and all.. ANYWAYS, I loved the book, I am in love with Bram, I wish I was a beautiful as Nora and as talented and Pamela. I was SO into the book until the last 100 pages where, in my opinion it lost steam ( but was setting up for Book 2) The only other downside, is I felt some characters (in this book, maybe not 2) were kind of unimportant. Besides that I am in love with this book.

Want Want Want Wedneday (18)

American Heiress By Daisy Goodwin

"Be careful what you wish for. Traveling abroad with her mother at the turn of the twentieth century to seek a titled husband, beautiful, vivacious Cora Cash, whose family mansion in Newport dwarfs the Vanderbilts’, suddenly finds herself Duchess of Wareham, married to Ivo, the most eligible bachelor in England. Nothing is quite as it seems, however: Ivo is withdrawn and secretive, and the English social scene is full of traps and betrayals. Money, Cora soon learns, cannot buy everything, as she must decide what is truly worth the price in her life and her marriage"

I am a thing for anything Historical.. whether fiction or non-fiction and as of lately I have become quite interested in the East Coast Royalty. Vanderbilts, DuPonts,  Rockafellars..etc. Probably cause my wedding is kind of themed with that kind of ere to it.

Ripple By Mandy Hubbard

"Lexi is cursed with a dark secret. Each day she goes to school like a normal teenager, and each night she must swim, or the pain will be unbearable. She is a siren - a deadly mermaid destined to lure men to their watery deaths. After a terrible tragedy, Lexi shut herself off from the world, vowing to protect the ones she loves. But she soon finds herself caught between a new boy at school who may have the power to melt her icy exterior, and a handsome water spirit who says he can break Lexi's curse if she gives up everything else. Lexi is faced with the hardest decision she's ever had to make: the life she's always longed for - or the love she can't live without?"

Mermaids/Sirens? New Paranormal Genre, I am in! Plus, I have heard more then enough awesome buzz about this book, which sold me on it.


Dearly, Departed By Lia Habel

"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."

 Does this not sound epic and quite original? I am pretty stoked for the whole zombie thing. Especially, since my fiance is obsessed with zombies.