The Ghost Bride (P.S.)

by Yangsze Choo

Seventeen-year-old Li Lan lives in 1890s Malaya with her quietly-ruined father, who returns one evening with a proposition - the fabulously wealthy Lim family want Li Lan to marry their son. The only problem is, he's dead. After a fateful visit to the Lim mansion, Li Lan finds herself haunted not only by her ghostly would-be suitor, but also her desire for the Lims' handsome new heir. At night she is drawn into the Chinese afterlife - a world of ghost cities, paper funeral offerings, monstrous bureaucracy and vengeful spirits. Enlisting the help of mysterious Er Lang (a dragon turned clerk) Li Lan must uncover the secrets of the ghost world - before she becomes trapped there forever. Drawing on traditional Malayan folklore and superstition, The Ghost Bride is a haunting, exotic and romantic read perfect for fans of Empress Orchid and Memoirs Of A Geisha.

• ISBN10: 0062227335
• ISBN13: 9780062227331
• Publish Date: 5 August 2014 (first published 1 August 2013)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: Collins
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[nannah]

(4.5)

Oh, wow, I definitely didn't expect a paranormal afterlife adventure when I rented this! I was expecting more of a realistic historical romance or something? I'm so glad I was wrong, because this far exceeded any expectations I had (and I'm not that into paranormal books at the moment, either!).

Book content warnings
death (obviously)
arranged marriage
fatphobia mentions
drug abuse/use

Honestly, the book's tagline is the perfect introduction: "One evening, my father asked me if I would like to become a ghost bride...".

What's a ghost bride? In Malaya, even under British rule, the Chinese belief--or superstition--is that a ghost bride is a woman who marries a man already dead. She then becomes an immediate widow. As can be expected, it's a quite scandalous request to ask of someone.

The protagonist, a young woman named Li Lan, used to live comfortably before her mother died and her father squandered the family business. Now her arranged marriage to the heir of the rich Lim family is cut off, and the Lim family has a new offer for her: become the ghost bride of their dead son. She will become part of the Lim family, and well taken care of, but is it worth the price?

This starts her adventure into the afterlife, starting with the Lim family's son haunting her, her spirit's detachment from her body, and a dragon spirit guiding her through the Plains of the Dead to find out just what the Lim family may be hiding underneath that initial request.

The beginning is a tad slow only compared to the rest of the novel. It never failed to hold my interest, though. It's such a good and well-written book. It has a definite atmosphere and rich world building, and it's so easy to get lost within it. I think I stayed up till 4:00am reading this multiple nights, haha!

I think the only thing keeping me from giving this five full stars is the few mentions of fatphobia . . . even though later the protagonist does slightly scold some of the characters for treating one of the villains (yea . . . the villain is fat :/) badly when they were younger--and part of this was because he was fat. I'm not sure it's enough though to completely "fix" the beginning parts where she was just so repelled by him because of his "ugly looks" though.

Anyway, this book was so beautiful, and I'll probably buy it. :)

[brokentune]

‘If we’re going to have a wedding, maybe we should have an exorcism first.’
‘Are you mad?’ she said. ‘That’s the last thing anybody wants to hear before a wedding!’

Finally, finally, I got to read Ghost Bride. It's been on my kindle for such a long time, I nearly forgot about it.

I had tried to get into the book previously but never found a way into the story. This time the Malaysian setting, the excursion into the Chinese spirit world and the unlikely murder mystery grabbed me almost from the start.

Unfortunately, the book started to flag at the end of the first third and the love triangle in the last third had me roll my eyes so often, I nearly skimmed to the end.

What can I say, I can't stand love triangles and in this particularly one, I just wanted to shout at our heroine: "The dragon. Always choose the dragon."

[Angie]

The Ghost Bride sounded like it was going to be a very interesting read. I loved the idea of the combination of paranormal with ancient Chinese practices. Li Lan is told that she's wanted as a ghost bride for the Lim family's late son. She was supposed to be betrothed to his cousin, but plans have changed. Now, Li Lan is being haunted by her ghostly fiance, and while trying to ward him off, gets herself stuck in the spirit world. She has to find her way back or else lose her body forever and be bound to Tian Ching forever.

I really liked The Ghost Bride in the beginning and at the end. Unfortunately, the middle is extremely boring and not all what I was expecting to happen. Tian Ching is a spoiled, entitled brat, so it's no wonder that Li Lan doesn't want to marry him! But he tells her that he was murdered by his cousin, and at first it seemed like Li Lan was going to try to solve this while roaming in the land of the dead. Instead, she just wanders from place to place, trying to avoid Tian Ching and his minions. While I loved the set up of the after life, the plot was super slow and I simply didn't cared.

It wasn't until the fourth part when The Ghost Bride regained my full attention. Lots of stuff is happening! There's a murder mystery, body napping, and romance! I'm sad that it was all crammed into this last section, but it's what I had been wanting to read the entire time! I also want to know what comes next for Li Lan after that ending! The end was a bit predictable, but I really liked it!

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[sarahjay]

My only complaint is not enough Er Lang.

[Beth C.]

When you have few prospects for a marriage, and your father is so addicted to opium that those prospects get fewer by the day, is becoming a ghost bride really the worst that could happen?

Li Lan is the only daughter in a Chinese family in Malaya. Her family, once reasonably respectable, has fallen far after her mother's death and her father's ensuing addiction to opium. So when a wealthy neighboring family suggests Li Lan as a ghost bride for the dead son, her father mentions it to her in passing. Though she refuses, she soon finds herself haunted by the persistent bridegroom.

There are books I read because I'm sure I will like them (specific genre, familiar author). Then there are books that sound intriguing and reading them means possibly losing time I will never get back. This particular book falls in the middle. The story itself was interesting, with an ending that was somewhat ironic. The biggest issue I had with this book was the writing itself - I felt led around by the nose, as if everything had to be explained to me rather than letting the story do the work. For example (no spoilers), as Li Lan is ruminating about a mysterious stranger and the clothes he was wearing, she says, "I recognized this garb because it was used in books, paintings, and historic plays.". It just felt so out of place and unnecessary. Quite honestly, I think that the book, had it been edited stronger, could have been cut by several pages at minimum. That also plays into the fact that so many parts felt far too long and drawn out, leaving me just wishing it would "move on, already!".

Honestly, it's an interesting story if you can get past the rest. I enjoyed reading about the folklore within the story itself, and did appreciate the ending. But for me, this is a library book instead of one for my book shelves.
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