Dearly, Beloved by Lia Habel {Review}

Publisher: Del Ray

Publish Date: September 25, 2012

Source: Netgalley for honest review

Goodreads

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, ad 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 cross hairs, 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.

Dearly, Beloved started out a little slow for me, but that’s quite possibly because I was reading it on my Nook. Whatever it was, though, I ended up enjoying it in the end.

The unrest between the humans and the zombies didn’t quite get me the way it did in Dearly, Departed. The problem was still there and pretty much as bad as ever, but it didn’t have quite the same urgency as before. However, I did like all the characters and their individual stories. This time around we get more background on the ever jerktastic Michael and the oh so “lovely” Vespertine. Plus, there’s lots of relationship goings on and deep life thinking.

Plus, that ending? Totally swoontastic!

The Nutshell: Overall, Dearly, Beloved is a great sequel. It was a bit slow, story-wise for me, but I enjoyed all the characters and their growth. Well, I didn’t exactly enjoy Michael, but he was still an important character :P Definitely one to be read if you enjoyed the first in the series :]

Pages: 496? (Everything online says 496, but my e-galley only had 396.)

Series: Gone With the Respiration #2
Rating: Hit