From the Stacks: Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard

Today's From the Stacks review is Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard, which was an unexpected surprise. Seriously, I enjoyed this way more than I initially thought I would.

Sixteen-year-old Eleanor Fitt’s brother is missing. And when she discovers that the Dead are rising in Philadelphia and wreaking havoc throughout the city, she knows that her brother is involved.

So Eleanor enlists the help of the Spirit-Hunters. This motley crew, hired to protect the city from supernatural forces, is after the necromancer who has been reanimating corpses. Their skills can save her brother. But as Eleanor spends time with the Spirit-Hunters, and their handsome inventor, Daniel, the situation becomes dire. Now not only is her reputation at risk, but her very life may hang in the balance. 

In Something Strange and Deadly, the first book in a trilogy, Susan Dennard weaves together vividly imagined scenes of action, adventure, and gorgeous Victorian fashion to create an entertaining steampunk tapestry of humor, horror, and romance. Readers who love Cassandra Clare’s Infernal Devices series will be intrigued from the start.

Overall rating: 5 stars

Let me start off by saying one thing: I am not a fan of zombies. Okay, yeah, in horror they work out quite well and such, but I remember trying to read a couple different zombie romance books in the past couple years and I just couldn't do it. 

But, I heard such wonderful things about this trilogy, and I follow Susan Dennard on Twitter and she seems completely awesome, so I pushed aside my thoughts on zombies (which was a bit easier thanks to an immense enjoyment while watching the show iZombie) and gave Something Strange and Deadly a chance.

I did not want to put this book down. It is no lie to say that I read this book in a couple of days, even while knowing that I should be writing for Camp NaNoWriMo, and that I had a stack of other books on my currently reading list. But the story and the characters and the concept were all so well done that I was sucked into the pages and could not find my way out until I reached the end of the book.

The characters practically jumped off the pages, and I even enjoyed some of the snobby wealthy characters. They are all just so well done. Eleanor is a strong heroine in character, but obviously she has a lot to learn when it comes to the Dead...and dealing with people such as Daniel, who was a delight even when he was being a pain in the butt. 

I should have guessed who the necromancer bad guy was long before the reveal, but I hoped everything would work out. The book ends with a decent enough wrap on the current story, but also leaves plenty of room and interest in the second and third books...which I will be reading in the near future. 

I absolutely have to applaud Susan Dennard for staying true to the danger presented by the Dead and having some characters die, some characters become injured, and not just miraculously having every hero survive unscathed. I'm really trying not to do any spoiling (even though the book is a couple years old). Anyway, what I want to say is that I immensely enjoyed reading this book and will be reading not just the rest of the trilogy but also any other book released by Susan Dennard in the future.

Why are you people giving me good zombie books and shows? I was fine ignoring zombie culture until you give me these addictive adventures. Grr.