The Ghost Bride by Yangstee Choo, 3.2 stars

[Amy]

A solid three. Maybe even a 3.2. I know others have just loved this. I enjoyed it. Not my usual fare. Set in Malacca, a town in Malaya, (later known as Malaysia) Chinese families landed in this Brittish owned and controlled country. Li Lan is young, and she is haunted by a young man from the Lim family intending to make her his ghost bride. There is a romantic interest with his cousin. Li lan enters the ghost world to basically try to work out her issues, the haunting being one of them, and her past and future comprising her other journeys to work out.

I thought learning about the beliefs and rituals surrounding death from this culture were extremely interesting. I must admit prowling ghosts or almost ghosts are just not my thing. But I enjoyed it anyway.

[Book Concierge]

It was a 3-star read for me as well.

Excerpts from My Review
Choo’s debut novel is an unusual mix of historical fiction (set in 1893 Malacca), Chinese folklore, magical realism and paranormal romance.
I was totally immersed in the sights, sounds, smells of the culture and fascinated by the folklore and afterlife mythology. I thought Choo did a marvelous job setting the scene and bringing the colonial era to life.
However, I found Li Lan a frustratingly puzzling character.

[JoLene]

I gave it a 3.5 —- loved the historical/cultural stuff, but even though I like fantasy, this was a bit too muddled and some of the characters were one dimensional.