Dreadfully Ever After was exactly what I wanted it to be. It was exciting, fun, and full of zombies! It had most of the characters I wanted to see and some that I was surprised with. I loved Kitty. Who expected her to grow the way she did? Without Lydia around, she became her own person. Though I loved Lizzy and Oscar Bennet, Kitty stood out for me. I found Mary more predictable, her journey based on her experiences in Dawn of the Dreadfuls, was what I thought it would be. I was a little sad that there were no real interactions with Jane and Lizzy, though. I keep coming back to Kitty. She really held my attention. She broke out from what people expected her to be, what they wanted her to be. She became her own person. Steve Hockensmith created a Kitty I could love.
Darcy's family was a little crazy. More than a little. Dreadfully Ever After starts out with Mr. Darcy being bit. This is not a spoiler, it's on the back of the book. Mrs. Elizabeth Darcy can't let her beloved husband turn into a dreadful and she can't cut off his head either, so she sets out on a quest to find the rumoured cure. The only way to do this is through Lady Catherine. The same Lady Catherine who tried to kill Lizzy with ninjas in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Knowing that Lady Catherine prolonged Charlotte's life, Lizzy has no one else to turn to in order to save her husband. Lady Catharine sends Lizzy off to London and away from Darcy, leaving him vulnerable to Anne. I saw what what coming with Anne, from the first time Darcy touched her hand. On the topic of Darcy's family, I wish we had more time with Georgiana Darcy, how would she have reacted to Anne and Lady Catherine's revelation? She seemed to have a great relationship with her brother and his wife and I wish that we could have seen what her journey in Scotland was like. It wouldn't have had to be long. Just a chapter, maybe.
The Bennets went through some ups and downs looking for the cure. There were dreadfuls, children, dandies and ninjas. I think the man in the box redeemed himself, but I would have liked a closer look; naturally, it was Mary who found him. They struggled to do what they thought was the right thing, with ninjas constantly hovering nearby. I really enjoy Nezu, my favourite ninja. It's another reason I would have liked to see more Georgina, she spent a lot of time with ninjas too.
The characters are really what made the story for me. There was growth, doubt, sadness, tragedy and love. I was up late many nights because I had to know what happened next. Lizzy was caught between two worlds. So was Darcy. So was Anne. And Kitty. And Nezu. They all had to make choices. Making those choices was difficult. I enjoyed reading about their struggle and following them on their journeys to the end. Also, the chapter with the king, fantastic!
I suppose that's it for novels in the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies series. There's really not much left to say in the life of Lizzy (Bennet) Darcy. If Steve Hockensmith wrote another one, I would definitely read it though. Maybe there will be one about Kitty or Georgiana. If not, that's okay too, because those "dreadful" books were wonderful.
