Dearly, Beloved is set in the year 2195. The world has suffered disasters that have reduced the population, forcing the survivors to build settlements in South and Central America. The wealthy believe the Victorian time period is perfect and have adopted its etiquette. The Victorians have long despised the Punks, which are the poor, and have been at war with them. That is until the Laz disease begins to take hold of the surviving population. A disease that reanimates the dead turning them into zombies has forced the two parties to unite into a battle to help save the human race. 
 As with the first novel Dearly, Departed, this sequel is told from multiple points of view. 5 to be precise. I typically enjoy multiple pov's. They tend to give you details that you would have otherwise missed if only reading from one of the characters perspectives. Unfortunately, this aspect doesn't work for me in this novel. It was honestly the one thing that I had hoped would be different from the first novel. I had a hard time differentiating the characters and would constantly find myself going back to see which character's pov I was reading. 
 Dearly, Beloved touches more on zombie rights and the political machinations of each party. This is what kept me engaged in the plot. Much of the book is figuring out where to draw the line on what rights the zombies have. While this is important, it did slow the pacing. There just wasn't enough tension between the warring factions and the book didn't really take off until half way through. 
 The romance in this installment was a bit too formulaic for me. It seemed as though each character had a love interest, which made it feel like a soap-opera. The relationship drama was too excessive for me. I wanted more action, zombies and especially world building. I never truly grasped the New Victorian environment. The blend of steampunk and modern technology never fully combined to create a cohesive atmosphere. 
 Overall, I did enjoy this novel, but I had a difficult time getting into it. The pacing was off and the multiple pov's were really distracting for me. Despite all my criticisms, I'll still read the third book, since not everything is resolved in this one. If you liked Dearly, Departed and enjoyed it's many pov's then I recommend this read. If you had difficulties with DD, then I'm not sure if this sequel is for you. Also, (view spoiler)[if you're looking for a HEA, then don't continue this series. I've heard that there isn't one in store for Nora. (hide spoiler)]