Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard

Hardcover, 388 pages
 Release Date: July 24, 2012
Published by: HarperTeen
Something Strange & Deadly, #1
Source: Own
For fans of: Zombies, Fantasy, Romance, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Spearkly Covers,YA

The year is 1876, and there’s something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia…
Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about. Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she’s just read in the newspaper—
The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.
And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor…from her brother.
Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she’ll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including their maddeningly stubborn yet handsome inventor, Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.

*MY THOUGHTS*
     I am ashamed to say I left this sitting on my shelf for over a year. I always knew I wanted to read it, but I just kept getting slammed with my TBR pile and it kept getting pushed back. And then the second book came out and I knew I messed up. If it took me this long to read the first one, how was I ever going to get to the next in the series?! But then I saw that Epic Reads  was reading this for their book club and I knew it was the perfect time for me to get started on it!
     The reason I let this sit unread on my shelf is I’m not a huge fan of zombies. I’m also not a huge historical fiction fan, so you can see where my doubt lied. I honestly just bought it because I thought the cover was intriguing. After reading this I wanted to hit myself. Both of those things (along with a fast moving plot) made this an amazing debut from Dennard.
     It honestly was refreshing not to read about things that are so common in the fantasy genre. Well I say that because I don’t read that many zombie books OR that many fantasy for that matter lol I loved seeing the imagination that Dennard put into the zombies to make them so frightening. That’s what I love abut fantasy. There’s no limits. The authors have free reign to make the world and its characters how ever they want. The more descriptive the better.
     As for the historical fiction part, I got it, but it wasn’t totally understood. For example, I KNOW what year it was and why they were treating Eleanor that way, but what about some mentions of how the building looked? Or things that were happening around them? Even things that were happening around the city.
     I really enjoyed the characters the most though. Eleanor was feisty and reminded me of me a little. I could definitely understand doing anything to help someone I love. Especially family! Even if it meant putting myself in danger. Then there was Daniel. I LOVED him. He was so smart but also had some “bad boy” qualities in him. Totally my style. Then there is Jie. One of my fave secondary characters ever. Smart, strong, and a fighter? What more can you ask for?!
     Unfortunately, the romance in this one isn’t really prevalent, but there is a big reason for it. The entire novel Eleanor and her mother are arguing about who will ask for her hand and why its such a big deal that someone with stature asks her to be his wife. Eleanor on the other hand doesn’t care to fall for whom her mother wants her to be with and she is falling for someone else… Someone who says they aren’t in love with her. Hopefully they can get that together in book two, because I really want that to happen. Like I’m already shipping them lol
     In short, I wasn’t expecting to love this book as much as I did. A huge thanks to HarperTeen (Epic Reads) for giving me the “epic” push that I needed into this frightening world of the “walking dead.”