by Yangsze Choo
First published 2015
Li Lan faces her father's unexpected question one evening: would she consider becoming a ghost bride? The year is 1893, and this educated young woman watches her family struggle after financial ruin. When a wealthy family offers her marriage to their deceased heir, Li Lan must weigh desperate circumstances against an otherworldly commitment. The practice of ghost marriages aims to calm restless spirits while providing security for living women who accept dead husbands. But Li Lan discovers that saying yes to a corpse groom carries consequences she never anticipated. As she navigates the supernatural realm her decision opens, Li Lan encounters spirits, family secrets, and forces that blur the line between the living and the dead. Her journey becomes one of survival and self-discovery as she learns the true cost of her ghostly marriage contract.
Genres: historical-fiction, fantasy, paranormal, 19th-century
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: self-discovery, supernatural-elements
Setting: China, 1893
Period: 1893
360 pages · Hardcover · DarkSide Books