Step into a hauntingly gothic mystery in The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo, where a young bride and a curious cleric uncover dark secrets of a crumbling estate and its eerie inhabitants.

Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. This post contains affiliate links. That means we receive a small commission at no cost to you from any purchases you make through these links.

A mysterious new entry in the Singing Hills Cycle set in a fantasy world inspired by Vietnam.

Cleric Chih joins a beautiful young bride as she arrives at a crumbling estate to have marriage negotiations and get married. In the middle of extravagant events, Chih also sees frightened servants and cryptic warnings from the lord’s mad son. The cleric and the bride-to-be explore the mostly-empty estate and get drawn into the mystery of what became of Lord Guo’s previous wives and the history of the estate. But as monsters are revealed, Chih realizes it’s more dangerous than they thought. 

I’ve enjoyed every book in this series, and this is another great installment. I liked that this one takes the form of a gothic mystery, giving it a bit of a different feel from the other books that chronicle Cleric Chih’s travels. The writing, as with all of Nghi Vo’s books, is lyrical and really makes you feel immersed in a fairytale. 

For whatever reason, this more mysterious book didn’t hit quite the same for me as most of the others in the series. I think this is perhaps because this story does not lend itself quite so well to a fairytale-like writing quality. The mystery element meant that I felt like I had to predict what would come next rather than just being along for the ride. However, it was still very good.

Overall, if you’ve enjoyed the other tales in this series, this one is also excellent and I would recommend it. I don’t think this is the best place to start the series, but it is a perfect spooky read to enjoy with a cup of tea.

Read More

• Books by Nghi Vo
• More in the Singing Hills Cycle series
• Gothic book recommendations
• Find the perfect book for your mood