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bookreadingelf's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This book is about a girl who may be married to a dead son of an important family, becoming the bride of a ghost. I thought this would be a fine book until it really made me feel emotions ranging from really rooting for the main character to thinking ‘If she does not end up with a certain character, I will give this book 1 star’. I also liked the notes at the end of the book with extra information.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Death of parent
nodogsonthemoon's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Death, Infidelity, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Abortion, Drug use, Murder, Colonisation, and Death of parent
bookedbymadeline's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Pros:
World building and characters
Historical perspective
Well-written, captivating storytelling (especially as an audiobook)
Learned about Malay culture and folklore
Cons:
How some of the plot points were “solved”
Lagging at times during second half particularly in the spirit realm
Ending felt very quick, feel like more could’ve been done with it
Overall I loved learning about the history, language, and culture of Malay! Wonderful historical fantasy novel that was good but not great-there wasn’t a “wow” factor for me. I enjoy learning about other cultures and beliefs so I’m happy to have read the book but it won’t be memorable unfortunately. Maybe because I’m not a big fantasy reader that “took away” from my experience compared to other readers?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Grief, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Murder, Misogyny, Abortion, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Suicide
replaceblue's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Death of parent
Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use
Minor: Fatphobia
podanotherjessi's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Picked up this book from a blind pick at the library, and the description had me intrigued but not particularly interested. Reading it, however, I was captivated. I love the world Choo has built by mixing the real worl with folk lore and some of her own spin. It was sweet and sometimes surprising. I genuinely enjoyed the experience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Abortion
Minor: Suicide
beingsimba's review against another edition
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Death of parent and Suicide
lunaphorie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This story was a beautiful mix of historic fiction and an eerie ghost story.
I loved the writing style of Yangsze Choo, who managed to paint a vivid picture of Malakka of the 1890s while introducing the reader to the rich culture of Malaysia, with the colonialism effects of the British and Dutch, as well as the strong link to Chinese culture and descendance. I've learned a lot about Malaysia throught this book and I felt like it was done in a very entertaining way. While the main character strolls through the city, she effortlessly explains cultural aspects of Malaysia, without it interfering with the flow of the story. I really enjoyed that.
The ghost city was very entertaining too, and the author was able to transmit that eerie, frightening but at the same time fascinating world of the (Un)Dead. My critique here is that I felt like there was too much time spent on the first parts of Li Lan entering the Ghost World, while other parts of the story towards the ending felt extremely rushed.
I also felt a lack of secondary characters, since Li Lan spent most of her time wandering the Ghost World by herself which at one point became very dragging. The character of Er Lang was extremely fascinating and I kept hoping for him to make more appearances. It left me with an unsatisfied feeling because we didn't get enough scenes with him, while Li Lan spent SO MUCH time walkind around alone, which could have been cut shorter.
Aside that, the characters were interesting and well done, except for Tian Bai which was extremely confusing and it also felt like we never got to really know who he was; this also contributed to the feeling of a rushed ending. The middle of the story dragged while the ending left many things open in an unsatisfying way.
Li Lan was not really that likeable to be honest, which also made me rate the book less high. She is of course very young (she turns 18 throughout her adventure), so I can understand her infatuation with Tian Bai, even though it seemed a bit superficial to me and didn't make me feel interested in their love story. She fell very quickly for Tian Bai and then also very quickly for Er Lang. I would have enjoyed the book more if the love stories would have gone a bit deeper, especially since her final decision was very dramatic and different.
I usually enjoy open endings, but in this case, due to the fact that the ending felt rushed, it was especially unsatisfying. It would have been nice to explore Li Lan's chosen love interest a bit more, but that didn't happen.
In any case, it was an interesting book and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys ghost stories and historic fiction.
I loved the writing style of Yangsze Choo, who managed to paint a vivid picture of Malakka of the 1890s while introducing the reader to the rich culture of Malaysia, with the colonialism effects of the British and Dutch, as well as the strong link to Chinese culture and descendance. I've learned a lot about Malaysia throught this book and I felt like it was done in a very entertaining way. While the main character strolls through the city, she effortlessly explains cultural aspects of Malaysia, without it interfering with the flow of the story. I really enjoyed that.
The ghost city was very entertaining too, and the author was able to transmit that eerie, frightening but at the same time fascinating world of the (Un)Dead. My critique here is that I felt like there was too much time spent on the first parts of Li Lan entering the Ghost World, while other parts of the story towards the ending felt extremely rushed.
I also felt a lack of secondary characters, since Li Lan spent most of her time wandering the Ghost World by herself which at one point became very dragging. The character of Er Lang was extremely fascinating and I kept hoping for him to make more appearances. It left me with an unsatisfied feeling because we didn't get enough scenes with him, while Li Lan spent SO MUCH time walkind around alone, which could have been cut shorter.
Aside that, the characters were interesting and well done, except for Tian Bai which was extremely confusing and it also felt like we never got to really know who he was; this also contributed to the feeling of a rushed ending. The middle of the story dragged while the ending left many things open in an unsatisfying way.
Li Lan was not really that likeable to be honest, which also made me rate the book less high. She is of course very young (she turns 18 throughout her adventure), so I can understand her infatuation with Tian Bai, even though it seemed a bit superficial to me and didn't make me feel interested in their love story. She fell very quickly for Tian Bai and then also very quickly for Er Lang. I would have enjoyed the book more if the love stories would have gone a bit deeper, especially since her final decision was very dramatic and different.
I usually enjoy open endings, but in this case, due to the fact that the ending felt rushed, it was especially unsatisfying. It would have been nice to explore Li Lan's chosen love interest a bit more, but that didn't happen.
In any case, it was an interesting book and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys ghost stories and historic fiction.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
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