Dearly, Beloved (Gone With the Respiration #2) by Lia Habel

Title: Dearly, Beloved

Author: Lia Habel

Series: 2nd (Dearly, Departed)

Pages: 496

Published:  September 25th 2012 by Del Rey 

ISBN: 9780345523341

Source: Publisher via Netgalley

Description: 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. 

I Give This ...

 

I raved about Dearly, Beloved.  It was the right mix of different elements that I like in stories.  So, needless to say I was really excited to read this one.  Sadly, it fell flat for me.

One of things that irritated me the most was Nora.   It bothers me when a teen character decides that just because an absent parent comes back in the picture, their right to parent is null and void.  I'm not sure how that works.  Nora blatantly disregards everything that her father asks her to do.  A lot of the time, its simply because she wants to and thinks her father has no say in how she should spend her time.  Never mind that it might be for her own good and safety.   I find it ironic that sometimes even if Bram agreed with her father, it still didn't matter.   She wasn't going to listen.   Granted there were times I was glad that she went against everyone's wishes.

I was wondering when the subject of Bram's lack of a certain future might begin to effect their relationship.  As much as I love Bram, he's a zombie and not expected to live very long.  I wondered if Nora's "love" for him might be to flighty to commit to the time that they would have together.  I also wondered if Bram would let her.  He needs to be at the front and center protecting the people.  Something I understand, but think he needs to relinquish a little bit of that control. 

I found the parts focusing on the members of "The Murder" to be some of the best parts of the story.  They were so sinister and targeted.  I liked that the wore masks and left secret messages to keep the full membership in complete secrecy.  I was intrigued that Michael joined this group just to get back at Nora.

The major issue was the last of interest I had in this book.  It just did not hold my attention that way the first one did.  It took me forever to read.  I found that several different view points confusing at times.  There seemed to be parts of the story that could be cut because they offered very little to the overall plot.  I almost gave up on it.  The later half was better, but man was it a struggle to get there. 

I think this is suppose to be the final installment in this series.  But, I almost hope there is more just so the series can redeem itself!