Scan barcode
A review by dmniccoli
The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
4.5
4.5/5. Listened to the audiobook for this one. While I can’t speak to the representation of 1893 Malaya, or its port city Malacca, the writing was so beautiful and seemed every bit to me a love letter to the setting, the history, the traditions and blending of cultures in that region. It was so vibrantly described—a true masterclass in how setting can enrich a book.
“It seemed to me that in this confluence of cultures, we had acquired one another’s superstitions without necessarily any of their comforts.”
The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo is historical fiction with strong supernatural elements and light romantic ones—and has a murder mystery! All my favorite things. The dream and spirit worlds are haunting, eerie, and at times unsettling in their depiction, and I loved that, too.
I felt that the ending and resolution of the mystery was a bit rushed, but *mild spoilers* as an adoring monster/paranormal romance reader, Li Lan’s decision, and the final lines of book, had me exploding with joy:
“When [redacted] comes for his answer, I will tell him that I’ve always thought he was a monster. And that I want to be his bride.”
Content notes: opium, addiction, death/afterlife, torment and strife in the afterlife, death of a loved one, mentions of suicide, attempts at a forced marriage, some fat phobic comments
“It seemed to me that in this confluence of cultures, we had acquired one another’s superstitions without necessarily any of their comforts.”
The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo is historical fiction with strong supernatural elements and light romantic ones—and has a murder mystery! All my favorite things. The dream and spirit worlds are haunting, eerie, and at times unsettling in their depiction, and I loved that, too.
I felt that the ending and resolution of the mystery was a bit rushed, but *mild spoilers* as an adoring monster/paranormal romance reader, Li Lan’s decision, and the final lines of book, had me exploding with joy:
“When [redacted] comes for his answer, I will tell him that I’ve always thought he was a monster. And that I want to be his bride.”
Content notes: opium, addiction, death/afterlife, torment and strife in the afterlife, death of a loved one, mentions of suicide, attempts at a forced marriage, some fat phobic comments