The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo - Restarting March 1st 2022

[Betwixt the]

"One evening, my father asked me if I would like to become a ghost bride..."

Though ruled by British overlords, the Chinese of colonial Malaya still cling to ancient customs. And in the sleepy port town of Malacca, ghosts and superstitions abound.

Li Lan, the daughter of a genteel but bankrupt family, has few prospects. But fate intervenes when she receives an unusual proposal from the wealthy and powerful Lim family. They want her to become a ghost bride for the family's only son, who recently died under mysterious circumstances. Rarely practiced, a traditional ghost marriage is used to placate a restless spirit. Such a union would guarantee Li Lan a home for the rest of her days, but at a terrible price.

After an ominous visit to the opulent Lim mansion, Li Lan finds herself haunted not only by her ghostly would-be suitor, but also by her desire for the Lim's handsome new heir, Tian Bai. Night after night, she is drawn into the shadowy parallel world of the Chinese afterlife, with its ghost cities, paper funeral offerings, vengeful spirits and monstrous bureaucracy—including the mysterious Er Lang, a charming but unpredictable guardian spirit. Li Lan must uncover the Lim family's darkest secrets—and the truth about her own family—before she is trapped in this ghostly world forever.

Feel free to join Lindsey and I for this read! :)

[[deleted user]]

Chapter 2 (view spoiler)[ I have a weird feeling that she should not go to the mansion to watch the game. Something is going to happen I think. (hide spoiler)]

[[deleted user]]

Start of chapter 5 (view spoiler)[ So she is being courted by a ghost? Interesting.

I'm hoping the pace picks up. And soon. (hide spoiler)]

[[deleted user]]

Start of chapter 7 (view spoiler)[ ummm so she was supposed to marry Tian Bai? Maybe it could still happen....

to be his bride/wife does she have to die or does she just live alone during the day and than spend nights with him?

(hide spoiler)]

[Betwixt the]

Okay, I'm late, I know--I just finished a different buddy read, and will be officially diving in to this book tomorrow! :)

[[deleted user]]

Elizabeth wrote: "Okay, I'm late, I know--I just finished a different buddy read, and will be officially diving in to this book tomorrow! :)"

All good.

[[deleted user]]

End of chapter 9 (view spoiler)[ I like Amah. She really cares. Kinda picking up pace. (hide spoiler)]

[[deleted user]]

End of 10 (view spoiler)[ wait! What! She is dead. Because she took too much of the powder? Yikes.

Part two time. (hide spoiler)]

[[deleted user]]

Middle of 11 (view spoiler)[ wait. She is not dead. Just in a deep sleep. Now it's getting interesting and kinda confusing. (hide spoiler)]

[[deleted user]]

Middle of 15 (view spoiler)[ HE CAN SEE HER!!! (hide spoiler)]

[[deleted user]]

End of 19 (view spoiler)[ part two was interesting. Her in the after world. And she learned a lot too. (hide spoiler)]

[[deleted user]]

End of part 3 (view spoiler)[ wow. It picked up for sure during this part. So far my favorite part. the plains of the dead was intense. I'm glad she was able to see her mother and talk to her mother.

I just kept flipping page after page. I ignored everything going on at my house and my mom was watching a loud movie. I just spaced out and was into this part.

One part left wonder what's going to happen. (hide spoiler)]

[[deleted user]]

Ending (view spoiler)[ What a ride for me. I really thought that after part two that I was not going to enjoy this book but it picked up for the rest of the book.

And like part 3 with part 4 I was just pulled into it and did not want to stop. (Glad my test is this afternoon and not this morning.)

Overall I enjoyed the book and how it ended. (hide spoiler)]

[Betwixt the]

Chapters 1-4 (random thoughts/comments):

(view spoiler)[
--it's just so weird to me to think about being married off in this custom. Like...what do you tell people? "Yeah, I'm married. To a ghost." Crazy!
--she took a hair ribbon from her. Why do I get the feeling the hair ribbon is going to play a role in this ceremony somehow?
--this guy is...creepy! And awkward. And overall WEIRD. I dunno, he sort of gives me the heebie jeebies.
--also, I think the ribbon has something to do with her suddenly dreaming about the dude. Like, no, that wasn't just a coincidence.
(hide spoiler)]

[Betwixt the]

Chapters 4-8 (random thoughts/comments):

(view spoiler)[
--He is just soooooooo creepy! I don't even... He's got this sort of spoiled, righteous anger when Li Lan refuses him. Like...no, you weren't even promised her to begin with? Also, you're a ghost. What could you POSSIBLY do? Except that brings up the "sucking out her life force" thing. Is he a vampire now, on top of being dead and buried?
--I have the feeling her dad is going to break beneath the pressure soon and marry her off to the dead dude just for the wealth and physical comfort it'll bring her. He seems very...flaky, right now.
--I like Tian Bai so much better than what's his face ghost dude. The difference between their personalities is just...they're like polar opposites. At least, they SEEM at this point like it.
--Well, gee, that medium sure was all sorts of helpful.
(hide spoiler)]

[Betwixt the]

Chapters 8-18 (random thoughts/comments):

(view spoiler)[
--The demon ox head creatures are sort of creepy! I wouldn't want to meet one of them down a dark alley in the middle of the night.
--The idea of phantom strings attaching spirits to things of great emotional value is an intriguing one, and reminds me of a post I saw on tumblr a while back--of strings connecting us to different "soul mates" or important people in our lives. Love it!
--The shady dude she's following is shady. Also, Yan Hong seems shady, too--and she obviously hates the first wife/Lim Tian's mom. But for what purpose? And why does she have the missing teacup...unless she had a hand in his death? And will this information even matter in the end?
--What exactly ARE Lim Tian's goals? What is he doing, and why? And why does it seem to come as a relief to the shady dude that he's distracted by Li Lan?
--Also, is this why Li Lan can't return to her body? Because she has some part to play in the madness going on around her? Some way, perhaps, to escape Lim Tian's grasp that she can only accomplish as a quasi-spirit?
--I still like Tian Bai better. (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah Elizabeth]

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Date changed. Restarting October 24th 2019. Happy Reading ☺

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[Karen]

Date doesn't seem to have been reset. Not sure who set this up, but I love the idea behind this. Have listened to the first few chapters - narrated by the author. Quite absorbing so far. Mix of historical, paranormal and fantasy which perfectly captures my interest at the moment.

[Aneta]

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Date changed. Restarting March 1st 2022. Happy Reading ☺

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[Aneta]

I haven't noticed that restart wasn't here! I have to check the rest of my buddy reads :D

I'm going to start listening tomorrow :)

[Krystal]

Aneta wrote: "I haven't noticed that restart wasn't here! I have to check the rest of my buddy reads :D

I'm going to start listening tomorrow :)"

I started it yesterday but didn't get too far.

[Aneta]

I started a little bit later because of my job in the end.

Finished chapter 6
So far I like this. I like learning about new cultures so this is awesome. I heard abou ghost brides before but only a little bit and this concept is rather strange but I can't wait to find out more.

[Aneta]

Finished chapter 10
(view spoiler)[Did she just died!? I didn't expect that! (hide spoiler)]

[Karen]

Aneta wrote: "I started a little bit later because of my job in the end.

Finished chapter 6
So far I like this. I like learning about new cultures so this is awesome. I heard abou ghost brides before but only a..."

I listened to a couple more chapters yesterday. Obviously the young man she saw (and thought was a servant) is the heir to the fortune. The behaviour of the deceased man seems rather creepy.

[Karen]

Only up to ch8 (I find it so hard to get time to focus on audiobooks) but the dynamic between our main character and the nephew can't be denied. The link between their families is somewhat odd.

[Karen]

Up to ch16. Though a little different to what I expected, I'm really enjoying part two so far. The shift into something out of the ordinary is interesting.

[Aneta]

Finished chapter 18
(view spoiler)[I'm glad she isn't dead but it still feels like she is close. I'm interested in this new character - Er Lang. I wonder what his role in all of this is going to be. (hide spoiler)]

[Krystal]

Now that I'm finished with the 800 page book, I can focus on this one, lol

Up to chapter 3 (view spoiler)[ Sparks with the clock boy! (hide spoiler)]

[Krystal]

Aneta wrote: "I started a little bit later because of my job in the end.

Finished chapter 6
So far I like this. I like learning about new cultures so this is awesome. I heard abou ghost brides before but only a..."

Same, this is so neat if completely and utterly consensual.

[Karen]

Up to ch21. While the exploration of the ghost world is interesting, it’s not seeming to move the story on much. I can’t help but wonder what’s happening at her home.

[Aneta]

Finished chapter 31
(view spoiler)[What was happening when Li Lan wasn't in her body? And who is in her body right now? Is it Fan? I have so many questions! :D (hide spoiler)]

[Aneta]

Karen wrote: "Up to ch21. While the exploration of the ghost world is interesting, it’s not seeming to move the story on much. I can’t help but wonder what’s happening at her home."

I'm wondering as well and we don't know how much time actually past.

[Aneta]

Finished
(view spoiler)[That last part was so good! The ending is open and I didn't expect that and I would like to know how will Li Lan story continue. Especially because she chosen Er Lang! (hide spoiler)]

[Karen]

Struggling to get listening time in. Now at ch33, and I’m pleased she’s moved some relationships forward though there are definitely some odd things going on.

[Karen]

Am I right to assume someone has inhabited her physical body, leaving her trapped in the ghost world?

[Karen]

Finished (finally). Review on home page and definitely one I’d like to come back to.

[Krystal]

I'm trying to get back to this. It's not holding my attention like it did the first time.

[Karen]

Where are you up to? I found the middle section (on audio it was hard to tell) rather slow.

[Karen]

Aneta wrote: "Finished chapter 10
[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ I don't think she's dead. (hide spoiler)]

[Karen]

Aneta wrote: "Finished chapter 18
[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ I was surprised by the Er Lang character. I liked the fact that she went with her emotional reaction rather than what was expected. (hide spoiler)]

[Karen]

Finished. Review on home page. Want to read a physical copy of this and look in a little more detail at the middle section. I really liked the ending, and the way she learned about those she was trying to become linked to.

[Krystal]

Karen wrote: "Where are you up to? I found the middle section (on audio it was hard to tell) rather slow."

Still the beginning, lol. I read it so long ago that I'm starting to remember things but it's so slow!