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sarahb919's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Loved the ghost world! Loved the stories rich landscapes and how the lands of the living and dead reflected each other
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Violence, Misogyny, Blood, Stalking, Drug use, Mental illness, Chronic illness, Sexism, Drug abuse, Abortion, Addiction, Classism, Death, Infidelity, Body horror, Murder, Child death, Colonisation, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Gaslighting, Self harm, Death of parent, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, and Bullying
Minor: Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, and Pregnancy
book_gremlin42'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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, and Drug use
Moderate: Stalking
legs_n_chins's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
I was eager to finish this, but I don’t know if that’s because I simply wanted the answers so I could know and move on, or if I was genuinely interested in how it would end. And I think it’s weird, and maybe telling, that I can’t honestly say which is more true.
I hoped I would enjoy this more. The world building was fascinating and I loved all the descriptions of the world of the dead and the Chinese folklore woven throughout. The parts in the world of the dead were certainly my favorite, and I think the most successful parts of the book when it came to the mystery and tense situations. The build up to that, I thought, was also very good, setting the stage well and teasing a lot of the world of the dead without giving everything away. But the final part of the book just didn’t capture me. The climax was surprisingly underwhelming and everything after that just felt like it dragged. I guess there were sort of two climaxes to tie up the two ends of the two plot lines that were introduced, but neither of them really felt like they lived up to what I had been hoping for.
Overall, I liked the characters. Though, mostly the secondary characters. Li Lan as a main character was perfectly serviceable, I didn’t hate her, but I didn’t like her as much as, say, Old Wong or even Yan Hong. I understand a lot of her actions were dictated by the context of her being young and sheltered and lacking a lot of worldly experience, but sometimes I just felt like she lapsed back into total helplessness. Most of her choices made sense, but some of them still felt like they were stupider than they should have been, even considering that she’s working with a serious lack of information and youthful impulsivity. I didn’t find it onerous to read from her perspective, but she did frustrate me sometimes.
I appreciated learning more about Chinese culture and folklore through this book, though. The author was clearly aware that some of her audience wouldn’t have a lot of familiarity with the culture and really aimed for clarity. (Sometimes it did take me out of the story when she would define the Chinese words. I don’t speak any Chinese, so it was welcome, but it still was like a sort of record scratch in the middle of a sentence.) My experience with Chinese tradition surrounding death is mainly regarding funeral offerings and a little vague understanding of the afterlife, so I liked learning more about that through this story.
I don’t know if I’ll pursue other books by this author, but for the most part I did enjoy reading this. It was definitely a uniquely Chinese story and that’s a lot of what I’m looking for these days.
I hoped I would enjoy this more. The world building was fascinating and I loved all the descriptions of the world of the dead and the Chinese folklore woven throughout. The parts in the world of the dead were certainly my favorite, and I think the most successful parts of the book when it came to the mystery and tense situations. The build up to that, I thought, was also very good, setting the stage well and teasing a lot of the world of the dead without giving everything away. But the final part of the book just didn’t capture me. The climax was surprisingly underwhelming and everything after that just felt like it dragged. I guess there were sort of two climaxes to tie up the two ends of the two plot lines that were introduced, but neither of them really felt like they lived up to what I had been hoping for.
Overall, I liked the characters. Though, mostly the secondary characters. Li Lan as a main character was perfectly serviceable, I didn’t hate her, but I didn’t like her as much as, say, Old Wong or even Yan Hong. I understand a lot of her actions were dictated by the context of her being young and sheltered and lacking a lot of worldly experience, but sometimes I just felt like she lapsed back into total helplessness. Most of her choices made sense, but some of them still felt like they were stupider than they should have been, even considering that she’s working with a serious lack of information and youthful impulsivity. I didn’t find it onerous to read from her perspective, but she did frustrate me sometimes.
I appreciated learning more about Chinese culture and folklore through this book, though. The author was clearly aware that some of her audience wouldn’t have a lot of familiarity with the culture and really aimed for clarity. (Sometimes it did take me out of the story when she would define the Chinese words. I don’t speak any Chinese, so it was welcome, but it still was like a sort of record scratch in the middle of a sentence.) My experience with Chinese tradition surrounding death is mainly regarding funeral offerings and a little vague understanding of the afterlife, so I liked learning more about that through this story.
I don’t know if I’ll pursue other books by this author, but for the most part I did enjoy reading this. It was definitely a uniquely Chinese story and that’s a lot of what I’m looking for these days.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, and Drug use
Moderate: Suicide
rafacolog's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Addiction, Drug use, and Death
calmcozycorner's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Drug use, Murder, and Death of parent
Minor: Suicide
lectora21's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Death of parent, and Drug use
Minor: Abortion, Infertility, and Murder
_fallinglight_'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
I still like Yangsze's writing but I couldn't get into TGB as I did with TNT bc Li Lan wasn't very likable and the part where she's in the Plains of the Dead is a boring chunk of the book and Li Lan's thirsting over Tian Bai and then, out of the blue, Er Lang took me out. Like I get it, she's repressed and all but not every random dude you see is a snack calm down! Also either I'm misreading these blurbs or they're misleading ASF
bc this book went in such a different way from what I had thought lol But still, the afterworld's world building and the richness of the different folk beliefs, culture and heritage, and Malaysian and Chinese history throughout the story make it worthwhile to stick around. And the whole messiness with Fan and the Third Concubine and Madam Lim and Yan Hong gave it the Telenovela feels (tm) and I love that ish so much lmao. And Er Lang his character did nothing for me for the most part but I'll admit he was sexy with Li Lan and I liked that, I guess. The last 20% was fun though, it was ok, I enjoyed reading it but is not its best xoxo
bc this book went in such a different way from what I had thought lol But still, the afterworld's world building and the richness of the different folk beliefs, culture and heritage, and Malaysian and Chinese history throughout the story make it worthwhile to stick around. And the whole messiness with Fan and the Third Concubine and Madam Lim and Yan Hong gave it the Telenovela feels (tm) and I love that ish so much lmao. And Er Lang his character did nothing for me for the most part but I'll admit he was sexy with Li Lan and I liked that, I guess. The last 20% was fun though, it was ok, I enjoyed reading it but is not its best xoxo
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction and Death
Moderate: Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Body shaming, Drug use, and Sexism
Minor: Vomit, Pregnancy, Abortion, and Suicide
plantybooklover's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I have really come to love audio books this year, and so when I saw The Ghost Bride was available at my library on the libby app, I opened it up.
I really was enchanted. I found myself thinking about "what progress has LiLan made?" as I was doing other things, and got through the audio version (read by the author) pretty quickly.
The essential premise is that LiLan- a very well educated (for a woman of that time) 18 yr old in British Malaysia (circa about 1890-1910?) has not yet been married. Her father, once prosperous has sunk into an opium addiction after SmallPox wreaked havoc on the family, killing the mother, and severely affecting her father's appearance. LiLan had once been promised to be married, but with their turn down in status, no one is quite sure that marriage promise still stands. One day her father offers her an opportunity to become the "Ghost Bride" of a recently dead young man. She's understandably not too keen on this. And thus, some adventure begins involving the world of the living and the dead.
I thought this was a fantastic story and I hung on every word. Interestingly, I never grew extremely fond of LiLan the main character. I think she was meant to be clever, but much of the plot and story shows how she wasn't. She made many costly errors, and impulsive moves, and never seemed to learn to be more cautious as she continued on. In the end, I was left thinking- she must have been extremely pretty because - although she was sort of advertised as being educated, she didn't really show it beyond her ability to read. I was left wondering what was so special about her that even a dragon had taken interest.
Regardless of my not really liking the main character, I so loved this entire story, and highly recommend it, especially during spooky season! I guess not all characters are to be loved!
I really was enchanted. I found myself thinking about "what progress has LiLan made?" as I was doing other things, and got through the audio version (read by the author) pretty quickly.
The essential premise is that LiLan- a very well educated (for a woman of that time) 18 yr old in British Malaysia (circa about 1890-1910?) has not yet been married. Her father, once prosperous has sunk into an opium addiction after SmallPox wreaked havoc on the family, killing the mother, and severely affecting her father's appearance. LiLan had once been promised to be married, but with their turn down in status, no one is quite sure that marriage promise still stands. One day her father offers her an opportunity to become the "Ghost Bride" of a recently dead young man. She's understandably not too keen on this. And thus, some adventure begins involving the world of the living and the dead.
I thought this was a fantastic story and I hung on every word. Interestingly, I never grew extremely fond of LiLan the main character. I think she was meant to be clever, but much of the plot and story shows how she wasn't. She made many costly errors, and impulsive moves, and never seemed to learn to be more cautious as she continued on. In the end, I was left thinking- she must have been extremely pretty because - although she was sort of advertised as being educated, she didn't really show it beyond her ability to read. I was left wondering what was so special about her that even a dragon had taken interest.
Regardless of my not really liking the main character, I so loved this entire story, and highly recommend it, especially during spooky season! I guess not all characters are to be loved!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use and Drug abuse
booksthatburn's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Li Lan finds out her father is considering a ghost marriage for her to the recently deceased son of a rich family, then she starts being visited in her dreams by the odious spectral suitor himself.
I like Li Lan as a protagonist. She seems practical and able to go with the flow, adapting to her very strange circumstances even though she's definitely stressed by what's happening. The worldbuilding flows seamlessly, giving context in a way that was appropriate to each moment without making me feel like it has paused for me to catch up. That's helped a great deal by the fact that much of the book functions as a tour of this book's version of the Chinese afterlife, and Li Lan is new to almost as much of it as I was. There's also a lot of detail about colonial Malaysia as a setting, focusing on what's most relevant to Li Lan's life.
The plot has remarkably few pivotal events, as much of it focuses on Li Lan's journey from place to place or her efforts to get some piece of information. It takes a very long time before she has what she needs to change anything, and even then she's trying to get back to the formerly unremarkable status quo of having her spirit reside in her body. Along the way she learns the messy history of her family and the Lim family, the ways they've been frustratingly entangled long before her father considered one of their sons as a potential husband for her. Keeping things complicated, the one he originally considered isn't the ghost suitor but his cousin. Technically by the end there are three different potential suitors, but that develops slowly throughout the book. It manages to not feel like a "girl has to pick between guys book" even though that's an integral part of the premise.
I especially enjoyed the lively cast of secondary characters, both the living and the dead. The tangle of their (after-)lives is a huge focus and was very intriguing (even if rarely happy).
I like Li Lan as a protagonist. She seems practical and able to go with the flow, adapting to her very strange circumstances even though she's definitely stressed by what's happening. The worldbuilding flows seamlessly, giving context in a way that was appropriate to each moment without making me feel like it has paused for me to catch up. That's helped a great deal by the fact that much of the book functions as a tour of this book's version of the Chinese afterlife, and Li Lan is new to almost as much of it as I was. There's also a lot of detail about colonial Malaysia as a setting, focusing on what's most relevant to Li Lan's life.
The plot has remarkably few pivotal events, as much of it focuses on Li Lan's journey from place to place or her efforts to get some piece of information. It takes a very long time before she has what she needs to change anything, and even then she's trying to get back to the formerly unremarkable status quo of having her spirit reside in her body. Along the way she learns the messy history of her family and the Lim family, the ways they've been frustratingly entangled long before her father considered one of their sons as a potential husband for her. Keeping things complicated, the one he originally considered isn't the ghost suitor but his cousin. Technically by the end there are three different potential suitors, but that develops slowly throughout the book. It manages to not feel like a "girl has to pick between guys book" even though that's an integral part of the premise.
I especially enjoyed the lively cast of secondary characters, both the living and the dead. The tangle of their (after-)lives is a huge focus and was very intriguing (even if rarely happy).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug abuse, Child death, Death, Blood, Body shaming, Drug use, and Medical content
Minor: Abortion, Child abuse, Excrement, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
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