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elisanakamura 's review for:
The Ghost Bride
by Yangsze Choo
3,75+
Read Around the World Challenge : Malaysia
Really liked it, but turned out different than what I had expected from the description. It's classified as adult fiction so I thought it would be more horror focused, but the writing was very YA-like and it felt very similar to other YA novels with Spirited-Away vibes I've read (like The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea). Nonetheless it was a very nice read.
I really liked the Chinese mythology inclusions (the plains of the dead, the burnt offerings like horses & houses manifesting in the world of the dead, the corruption of border officials/investigations by heaven officials, the power of ghosts to provoke epidemics, the concept of ghost marriages) and the references to the diverse people of Malaysia (which I felt could have been even more developed). I would have wanted a bit more from the investigation, as we do not know the results of it ; why not a scene at the trial with Li Lan as a witness ? The plot was really influenced by the saying that "you can't trust ghosts" (like the betrayal of Fan and the possession of her body, or the evil master in the plains of the dead).
It was so obvious that Auntie 3 was her mother (even if she looked old -> because she traded it for Li Lan to recover) I wanted to shake the heroine.
I liked the idea of Li Lan realizing that her first crush was not the right choice, that she didn't know Tian Bai and were not compatible, that it was mainly physical attraction after being sheltered from man all her life. However, that realization came a bit late and I was disappointed that she did not confront Tian Bai to explain it to him. The whole plot around the murder of his cousin (who he the ghost obsessed with marrying Li Lan) was a bit unclear, as we had many hints of Tian Bai's implication (what about the cold face he made when he spoke about it to Fan in Li Lan's body) only for him to be declared innocent (it was the cousin Yan Hong who wanted to take revenge on him and the treatment of her and her mother in this family).
I really liked Er Lang and Li Lan together, their banter was really sweet. I did guess he was a dragon from the moment he gave her a scale to call him, but I like that he was a mythological creature. How he saved Li Lan's life > ("giving her his breath" of course with a kiss). I wish they would have had a final scene together in which she told him that she chose him.
Read Around the World Challenge : Malaysia
Really liked it, but turned out different than what I had expected from the description. It's classified as adult fiction so I thought it would be more horror focused, but the writing was very YA-like and it felt very similar to other YA novels with Spirited-Away vibes I've read (like The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea). Nonetheless it was a very nice read.
I really liked the Chinese mythology inclusions (the plains of the dead, the burnt offerings like horses & houses manifesting in the world of the dead, the corruption of border officials/investigations by heaven officials, the power of ghosts to provoke epidemics, the concept of ghost marriages) and the references to the diverse people of Malaysia (which I felt could have been even more developed). I would have wanted a bit more from the investigation, as we do not know the results of it ; why not a scene at the trial with Li Lan as a witness ? The plot was really influenced by the saying that "you can't trust ghosts" (like the betrayal of Fan and the possession of her body, or the evil master in the plains of the dead).
It was so obvious that Auntie 3 was her mother (even if she looked old -> because she traded it for Li Lan to recover) I wanted to shake the heroine.
I liked the idea of Li Lan realizing that her first crush was not the right choice, that she didn't know Tian Bai and were not compatible, that it was mainly physical attraction after being sheltered from man all her life. However, that realization came a bit late and I was disappointed that she did not confront Tian Bai to explain it to him. The whole plot around the murder of his cousin (who he the ghost obsessed with marrying Li Lan) was a bit unclear, as we had many hints of Tian Bai's implication (what about the cold face he made when he spoke about it to Fan in Li Lan's body) only for him to be declared innocent (it was the cousin Yan Hong who wanted to take revenge on him and the treatment of her and her mother in this family).
I really liked Er Lang and Li Lan together, their banter was really sweet. I did guess he was a dragon from the moment he gave her a scale to call him, but I like that he was a mythological creature. How he saved Li Lan's life > ("giving her his breath" of course with a kiss). I wish they would have had a final scene together in which she told him that she chose him.