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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
I enjoyed this way more than I expected to. I selected it for a reading challenge, and while it sounded interesting, I did not expect to become engrossed in the story. Nice character development and worldbuilding. I like the spiritual aspects, the blending of Buddhist beliefs and the Chinese ancestor worship. Looking forward to more from this author.
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
If you love Jane Austen and Chinese lore you should checkout this book.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
See my other reviews at Never Enough Books
Li Lan is the only daughter of a genteel yet bankrupt family. With few marriage prospects available, she is surprised when her father comes to her with a strange proposal. The only son of the powerful and wealthy Lim family has recently died under questionable circumstances. The Lim family wants Li Lan to become a ghost bride; a rarely practiced but very real ceremony used to placate a restless spirit. Were Li Lan to agree to the union, she would have a secure place in the Lim household for the rest of her days.
After a single visit to the Lim mansion, Li Lan finds haunted by her ghostly suitor in her dreams and by thoughts of the new heir to the Lim family during her waking hours. After an unfortunate accident, she is drawn in to the strange parallel world of the Chinese afterlife. With its ghost cities, vengeful spirits, and ghostly bureaucracy, Li Lan struggles to find her way home before it is too late and she is trapped forever.
The Ghost Bride is a stunningly beautiful book. With its descriptions of this world and the next, Choo evokes so many emotions with her words. In one chapter we are riding beside Li Lan across the Plains of the Dead, the fear churning in our guts as well as in hers. In another chapter we watch and feel the same fear as Li Lan sees the man she believes she loves wooed by another.
In many ways The Ghost Bride reminds me of the animated movie Spirited Away. In both the supernatural and the mundane walk side by side, sometimes overlapping but almost always separated by a thin barrier. In both a young woman crosses from one to the other and must find her way back to the place she knows. And in both, the main heroine is helped by another character wearing a human face.
The Ghost Bride is a tale that can be enjoyed by many. As Li Lan is only 17 in the beginning of the book, it can hold an appeal to younger and older readers alike. Readers who enjoy fantasy and excitement on every page will likely enjoy this one as well. I highly recommend it to all.
Li Lan is the only daughter of a genteel yet bankrupt family. With few marriage prospects available, she is surprised when her father comes to her with a strange proposal. The only son of the powerful and wealthy Lim family has recently died under questionable circumstances. The Lim family wants Li Lan to become a ghost bride; a rarely practiced but very real ceremony used to placate a restless spirit. Were Li Lan to agree to the union, she would have a secure place in the Lim household for the rest of her days.
After a single visit to the Lim mansion, Li Lan finds haunted by her ghostly suitor in her dreams and by thoughts of the new heir to the Lim family during her waking hours. After an unfortunate accident, she is drawn in to the strange parallel world of the Chinese afterlife. With its ghost cities, vengeful spirits, and ghostly bureaucracy, Li Lan struggles to find her way home before it is too late and she is trapped forever.
The Ghost Bride is a stunningly beautiful book. With its descriptions of this world and the next, Choo evokes so many emotions with her words. In one chapter we are riding beside Li Lan across the Plains of the Dead, the fear churning in our guts as well as in hers. In another chapter we watch and feel the same fear as Li Lan sees the man she believes she loves wooed by another.
In many ways The Ghost Bride reminds me of the animated movie Spirited Away. In both the supernatural and the mundane walk side by side, sometimes overlapping but almost always separated by a thin barrier. In both a young woman crosses from one to the other and must find her way back to the place she knows. And in both, the main heroine is helped by another character wearing a human face.
The Ghost Bride is a tale that can be enjoyed by many. As Li Lan is only 17 in the beginning of the book, it can hold an appeal to younger and older readers alike. Readers who enjoy fantasy and excitement on every page will likely enjoy this one as well. I highly recommend it to all.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is a story about a girl who is haunted by a fat, creepy, rich man-child. His family offers to seal the deal between them by giving her to him as a ghost bride. She's not thrilled by the notion; she'd rather get hitched with the skeezy ghost's living cousin.
When Undead Yuckster tells her that he's been killed -- probably by Living Hunk-a-Lunk Cuz -- she decides she's going to investigate. She's not, like, a particularly smart person. She's not good at it.
She winds up getting sucked into this ghost parallel universe where she goes on a DEEPLY TEDIOUS journey to find the truth and/or spy on her boyfriend and/or track down her dead mom.
Oh god. She's so dumb. She is the worst. She is a useless protagonist. The underworld conspiracy stuff she finds out is way beyond her comprehension. People keep caring about her and helping her and she doesn't deserve it at all.
The book had so many good ideas and pretty descriptions, but the protagonist was hell-bent upon ruining it for me, and mostly succeeded.
When Undead Yuckster tells her that he's been killed -- probably by Living Hunk-a-Lunk Cuz -- she decides she's going to investigate. She's not, like, a particularly smart person. She's not good at it.
She winds up getting sucked into this ghost parallel universe where she goes on a DEEPLY TEDIOUS journey to find the truth and/or spy on her boyfriend and/or track down her dead mom.
Oh god. She's so dumb. She is the worst. She is a useless protagonist. The underworld conspiracy stuff she finds out is way beyond her comprehension. People keep caring about her and helping her and she doesn't deserve it at all.
The book had so many good ideas and pretty descriptions, but the protagonist was hell-bent upon ruining it for me, and mostly succeeded.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book was captivating. I loved the world building of both colonial Malaya and the Plains of the Dead. I would have loved to see a little more at the end of the story. It ended with her decision about her future, but I desperately wanted to see what that future would look like.