★★★ 1/2
"In the darkness of a thousand withered souls, it was Er Lang's hand that I sought, and his voice that I longed to hear. Perhaps it is selfish of me, but an uncertain future with him, in all its laughter and quarrels, is better than being left behind."
"In the darkness of a thousand withered souls, it was Er Lang's hand that I sought, and his voice that I longed to hear. Perhaps it is selfish of me, but an uncertain future with him, in all its laughter and quarrels, is better than being left behind."
Li Lan, the daughter of a bankrupt family, receives word that she has been offered a proposal to be a ghost bride for the heir of the Wealthy Lim family. The marriage would guarantee Li Lan and her family a respectable future, but she would have to be the wife of the dead son. As Li Lan considers the options, she gets to know the Lim family and discovers their secrets. During the night, she is visited by the son's ghost and during the day, she begins to fall in love with Tian Bai, the new heir of the family. After a tragic accident, Li Lan finds herself trapped between this world and the next and struggles to survive before she is stuck as a ghost forever.
I have mixed feelings about this book. I really enjoyed the beginning. I loved the description of Malaya and it's traditions of marriage and family life. The author made the scenery and time period so real, I could picture myself right in the books. I thought that Li Lan's situation was really unique and couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen. Toward the middle of book, I got a little restless. Li Lan travels to the spirit world and I felt like this part of the book dragged on a lot. It was interesting at first, but I kept wanting to get back to Li Lan's life in Malaya. The ending was good, but the build up felt a little flat for me. All in all an interesting read though.
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