William Morrow The Ghost Bride

Set in Malaya (Malaysia before Independence) in 1893, The Ghost Bride fuses the varied cultures of that time, highlighting their roots as well as their compromises with each other. Primarily, the focus was on the immigrated Chinese under the British Rule. The heart of the story lies with a young Chinese girl named Li Lan who's placed in the awkward position of becoming a ghost bride to a dead man. It's a rare tradition for one to be living and the other to be dead and would lead to a childless, lonely life but Li Lan be well taken care of. The first complication strikes when she finds her heart yearning for the living nephew, Lim Tian Bai while suffering dreams from the dead Lim Tian Ching, his cousin. Revolted by the idea of being a ghost bride, Li Lan never suspected she may have an opportunity to find out what it meant to be both dead and alive. This then changes everything. The remarkable research and masterful storytelling made it hard to put down. I loved reading about the different cultures and seeing what changed because of the British and what still remained from the Islams. The superstitions, especially those from Li Lan's Amah (a type of nanny) were fascinating but also hinted at the seriousness of the afterlife. There are wonderful, well-rounded characters whose flaws and quirks make them so likeable you kind of wish you knew them. For me it was Amah. The Ghost Bride is a fresh take on the paranormal genre and I had a great time reading Yangsze Choo's debut. I'll definitely be watching out for future books by this author.

This book and character was a whole surprise for me... at first I was shipping Li-lan and Tian Bai until Er Lang comes... he was a 180 turn for me... the character was so good so charismatic then tension between the character and his boldness to go straight to point. He is one of the character that will leave a long lasting impression on the reader... I wish there was more of Er Lang and LiLan story but I am not disappointed with the story has for one.

Excellent ghost story of the "old school", with a very believable foundation in Chinese folklore. Writing is fluent and well-crafted, with some local flavour, but not overloaded with Chinese/Malay idioms. Looking forward to reading her other books.

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Li Lan is the seventeen year old daughter of a declining Chinese merchant family in colonial Malaysia. Her mother’s dead, the family business close to nonexistent, and her father’s addicted to opium. Then, Li Lan receives a marriage offer from the wealthy Lim family – for their dead son. Their marriage would placate his restless spirit. Li Lan refuses the marriage offer, but she soon finds herself haunted and drawn into an otherworldly realm. The Ghost Bride is a historical fantasy novel with an extremely vivid, atmospheric setting. While The Ghost Bride isn’t marketed as YA, I think it could make an easy crossover. The protagonist is a teenager, the writing is graceful but accessible, and to cap it all up there’s a love triangle. Luckily, it wasn’t a super angsty love triangle, but it was there. I liked Li Lan as a protagonist. From the very beginning of The Ghost Bride, it’s clear that Li Lan has a strong sense of curiosity about the world. Yet due to her gender and station in life, she’s constrained within the walls of her house. Thus when the supernatural events of the story begin to occur, a part of her sees it as an adventure. It’s a chance for her to explore and she learns about a part of the world she never knew existed. There’s many different elements making up The Ghost Bride. There’s the journey into the world of the dead, a ongoing romance subplot, and a murder mystery as well. I never had any trouble with the pacing and found myself drawn irresistibly through the story. Thankfully, there was also enough of the supernatural element to keep the fantasy fan in me happy. I would recommend The Ghost Bride for anyone looking for a combination of fantasy and historical fiction. Or to anyone else who’s simply in want of an enjoyable book.