A review by readwithhugo
The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo

5.0

The Ghost Bride follows Li Lan, a young woman in 1890s Malacca as she receives an offer to become the ghost bride of a rich family’s recently-deceased heir. Li Lan is haunted by her would-be betrothed and is eventually drawn into the world of the Chinese afterlife. She needs to figure out who to trust in order to reunite her spirit with her body before it’s too late.

I’ve found myself in a bit of a reading rut lately so I wanted to step outside of my genre comfort zone. This book was something that I picked up on a whim via Kindle Unlimited and I’m truly glad that I did. I legitimately could not put this book down; I started it around 10am and had finished it by the time I went to bed that same day. I learned so much about Chinese folklore, superstitions, and afterlife while reading this novel. There are parts of the story that move a bit slow and probably could have been omitted or at least abbreviated, but the way the author weaves a story is so riveting that I didn't mind. The ending manages to be both conclusive and open-ended at the same time, and I am chomping at the bit for any sequel or prequel to this book that the author may write.