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snemes's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I loved learning about the afterlife from a different cultural perspective, but this book has quite a bit of fat shaming in it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia
beatriceb_'s review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia
noxxmog_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use
Minor: Fatphobia, Abortion, and Murder
saphfics's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This is not tagged as romance but the romance part of the plot is very prevalent. Even more than the ghost bride part of the stories at some times. So if you are not interested in romance be warned.
The world that Yangsze Choo has crafted was very colourful but I feel like at times, the story focused on less interesting things.
The world that Yangsze Choo has crafted was very colourful but I feel like at times, the story focused on less interesting things.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
Minor: Fatphobia and Misogyny
antivancrowe's review against another edition
I did not care for some fatphobia elements.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia
kappafrog's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Pros: I loved the worldbuilding. 19th century Malaya was a cool setting, and I appreciated all the little historical details that went with it like the Dutch ghost, all the Malay folklore, and Tien Bai's education abroad. What I liked most about this book was the way Choo built the afterlife world. It was very spooky and atmospheric. All of the rules and restrictions were interesting. The bond between Li Lan and her horse was really nice. My favourite characters in the book were Amah and Old Wong. This was a really cool imagining of what life would be like for someone in her time and place being caught between life and death.
Cons: The plot was really meandering. There was a lot of time spent with Li Lan wandering around aimlessly, and while it showed off the cool worldbuilding, it left her motivations often muddled. She was a very weepy character which was all right but sometimes got a bit repitive. It was sometimes frustrating as a reader how big the disconnect was between what she was thinking and how she acted - she was often very passive in her conversations compared to what she was thinking. It wasn't unrealistic, but it did make her grate on me a bit. I was also never fully sold on Er Lang as a love interest. He was quite misogynistic and while this is true of most of the male characters in the book, which is appropriate to their place and time, it didn't make him seem that appealing.
Cons: The plot was really meandering. There was a lot of time spent with Li Lan wandering around aimlessly, and while it showed off the cool worldbuilding, it left her motivations often muddled. She was a very weepy character which was all right but sometimes got a bit repitive. It was sometimes frustrating as a reader how big the disconnect was between what she was thinking and how she acted - she was often very passive in her conversations compared to what she was thinking. It wasn't unrealistic, but it did make her grate on me a bit. I was also never fully sold on Er Lang as a love interest. He was quite misogynistic and while this is true of most of the male characters in the book, which is appropriate to their place and time, it didn't make him seem that appealing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Grief, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Animal death, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation
amuta's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The love story is kind of rushed if you ask me. But I liked all those explanations about the after life and the vivid descriptions.
More spoilers about the romance part: The love story between Er Lang and Li Lan is kinda cute, but it is also very fast and we don'tget to see it play out.
More spoilers about the romance part:
Content Warnings
Minor: Fatphobia
_fallinglight_'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
I still like Yangsze's writing but I couldn't get into TGB as I did with TNT bc Li Lan wasn't very likable and the part where she's in the Plains of the Dead is a boring chunk of the book and Li Lan's thirsting over Tian Bai and then, out of the blue, Er Lang took me out. Like I get it, she's repressed and all but not every random dude you see is a snack calm down! Also either I'm misreading these blurbs or they're misleading ASF
bc this book went in such a different way from what I had thought lol But still, the afterworld's world building and the richness of the different folk beliefs, culture and heritage, and Malaysian and Chinese history throughout the story make it worthwhile to stick around. And the whole messiness with Fan and the Third Concubine and Madam Lim and Yan Hong gave it the Telenovela feels (tm) and I love that ish so much lmao. And Er Lang his character did nothing for me for the most part but I'll admit he was sexy with Li Lan and I liked that, I guess. The last 20% was fun though, it was ok, I enjoyed reading it but is not its best xoxo
bc this book went in such a different way from what I had thought lol But still, the afterworld's world building and the richness of the different folk beliefs, culture and heritage, and Malaysian and Chinese history throughout the story make it worthwhile to stick around. And the whole messiness with Fan and the Third Concubine and Madam Lim and Yan Hong gave it the Telenovela feels (tm) and I love that ish so much lmao. And Er Lang his character did nothing for me for the most part but I'll admit he was sexy with Li Lan and I liked that, I guess. The last 20% was fun though, it was ok, I enjoyed reading it but is not its best xoxo
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction and Death
Moderate: Body shaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Mental illness, and Sexism
Minor: Suicide, Vomit, Abortion, and Pregnancy
nannahnannah's review against another edition
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!).
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. :)
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. :)
Content Warnings
Minor: Drug abuse and Fatphobia
kaneebli's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Fatphobia, Death of parent, and Classism
Minor: Drug abuse, Abortion, and Murder