Publisher: Del Ray
Release Date: October 18, 2011
Format: ebook
Pages: 470 (Hardcover)
Source: Library Loan via Overdrive
Genre: YA Steampunk, YA Zombies
Review Date: July 8, 2013
Rating: 2 bookmarks

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.

Steampunk, dystopian-ish, post apocalyptic, Zombie book with futuristic technology and a twist of Victorian society (gas lamps, corsets and all). What a mash up.  To the authors credit, I've never read any thing like this. I feel like there was a ton of potential with this story, but unfortunately I thought there was a lot of room for improvement.

My major gripe would be the 5 different POVs. That really bothered me for some reason.  Maybe because the 5 voices weren't different enough for me. I found myself going back a few pages here or there to check out the header of the chapter, indicating whose narrating,  My second issue is the slow pace of the book.  It took me a long time to get through this book, something like 14 days. I would pick it up, read a half chapter or so, then put it down.  I hate when it takes me that long to complete a book.  I didn't want to give up because I was hoping that at any moment the book would pick up pace, sadly it didn't happen.  I was expecting a lot more.  

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Release Date: March 19, 2013
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 568
Source: Library Borrow
Genre: YA Steampunk, YA Paranormal
Review Date: April 30, 2013
Rating: 4 bookmarks

Synopsis: Tessa Gray should be happy - aren't all brides happy?
Yet as she prepares for her wedding, a net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute.

A new demon appears, one linked by blood and secrecy to Mortmain, the man who plans to use his army of pitiless automatons, the Infernal Devices, to destroy the Shadowhunters. Mortmain needs only one last item to complete his plan. He needs Tessa. And Jem and Will, the boys who lay equal claim to Tessa's heart, will do anything to save her.

Two words can summarize the ending to this trilogy, bittersweet and satisfying.  I don't know how I missed that the Infernal Devices books are a trilogy. I guess I just thought it'd be a longer series like the Mortal Instruments, but when I got to the Epilogue it was clear, this was the end.  I'm sad to see the end of this Shadow Hunter Steampunk journey, but it was fun while it lasted.   Even though both the Infernal Devices Trilogy and Mortal Instruments Series can be read independently of each other without spoiling the each other, I still recommend reading all the Mortal Instrument books first. because I enjoyed seeing things from the MI series show up in the ID series. It was very cool to see how things connected. I enjoyed having a point of reference that allowed me to have a few "Ah ha" moments.

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Release Date: December 6, 2011
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 502
Source: Library Borrow
Genre: YA Steampunk/Paranormal
Review Date: January 8, 2013
Rating: 5 bookmarks

Synopsis:  In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street—and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa’s powers for his own dark ends.

With the help of the handsome, self-destructive Will and the fiercely devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister’s war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal. He blames them for a long-ago tragedy that shattered his life. To unravel the secrets of the past, the trio journeys from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a manor house that holds untold horrors, from the slums of London to an enchanted ballroom where Tessa discovers that the truth of her parentage is more sinister than she had imagined. When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister himself knows their every move—and that one of their own has betrayed them.

Tessa finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, though her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will—the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do?

As their dangerous search for the Magister and the truth leads the friends into peril, Tessa learns that when love and lies are mixed, they can corrupt even the purest heart.

I decided to do a mini review this time because I really wanted to try to keep this spoiler free.  That detailed synopsis gives you a really good  idea of what the book is about.  Let me say, if you've read the first book, Clockwork Angel, you are in for a treat.  At first I saw strong parallels between Clockwork Angel and City of Bones. But after reading this book, I've changed my mind on that. I don't see those same similarities here.  I was so happy with the character growth and the plot for the main characters and sub-characters a like.  It well written and flowed easily. There was constant plot progression which made this a fast read.  I even found myself saying "Oh my" a couple times out loud, and that rarely happens.  After reading this book, I wanted to jump immediately into Clockwork Princess. Sadly, I have to wait a few more months for that to come out. Bottom line, if you've read Clockwork Angel, do read this installment. If you haven't read either book, pick them up today! After reading the Mortal Instruments series first. :-)

A few of my favorite quotes.

“We live and breathe words.” 
“God knows we’re all drawn to what’s beautiful and broken."

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Release Date: August 31, 2010
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 496
Source: Library Borrow
Genre: YA Steampunk, YA Paranormal
Review Date: December 19, 2012
Rating: 3 bookmarks

Synopsis: When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.


Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What’s more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own.


Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by—and torn between—two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length . . . everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world. . . . and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

Clockwork Angel was pretty much what  I expected. Good story, strong characters, development in both characters and plot.  We have our evil and sneaky villain, brooding leading guy and of course our heroine who just finds out she's not human.  I wanted to LOVE this book, but I ended up liking it instead. I wanted to feel the same excitement about this series that I felt for The Mortal Instruments series.  Instead of excitement, I almost felt like I was reading City of Bones in a different time.  I can draw similarities between Tessa and Clary just as I could between Will and Jace.   My main issue is that  I don't know if I like that the two books are somewhat similar in that manor.  I was hoping for a totally different experience, and to an extent, I got that.  In my opinion, the main two characters Tessa and Will seem way too similar to Clary and Jace. Not physically, as they don't look alike.  Emotionally, in their developing love/hate relationship, and even their personalities they seem somewhat similar.