a subverted version of bluebeard’s wives. creepy and unsettling.

many thanks to the publishers for giving me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo is full of riveting monsters and diverse characters. I really connected to the nonbinary cleric Chih and loved that the nonbinary pronouns were consistently used throughout the story. While Chih’s gender is not critical to the story, as someone who is nonbinary, I love having a story with a character that reflects my own nature.
I love how powerful the narrative is as Chih tries to help her bride and the cursed son and the impact when she realizes the monsters are not at all what or who they expect. The gut punch of that discovery is emotional, the story is intriguing, and I love the way stories are so critical to the novel and the ultimate resolution of the story.
If you love stories about riveting monsters, stories that illustrate different viewpoints, and nonbinary characters, you will love this story by Nghi Vo. The narrative is excellent, the characters are compelling, and the monsters will make you jump especially on dark nights.

I was a bit worried that I would find it hard to get into this story as it is the fifth of a series, but as the blurb said really these are standalone stories. As such, this one worked well.

Because I chose to read this purely because the author has been recommended to me in the past, I went into it kind of blind and I think that was the right way to go about it. This is only a novella, so it has to do quite a lot in few pages, but it does so eloquently and with a few twists and turns. I got dropped right into the story and it took me places I did not quite expect. Maybe I would have if I had read previous books in this series, but as it was the story surprised me and I enjoyed that very much.

The fantastical animals were well done, even if I maybe would have wanted a little bit of a better understanding what was going on. As it was, it worked and I think it just about gave me enough.

I found the main character very intriguing and I will definitely go back and read some of the other books to read more about them.

A very good reading experience and one that encouraged me to read more from the author for sure.

This series has always been so incredibly intriguing and the gothic atmosphere is something which keeps me coming back time and time again. The characters are well developed and each installment from the cleric gives us another glimpse into the world being created. I truly think I want to go back and reread the others again. I feel as though reading them one right after the other as one continuous story would put it into a new perspective.

Ahoy there mateys! Perhaps reading the synopsis would have helped but this book confused me quite a bit.  Cleric Chih was not acting like herself in this story.  I was also very much missing the neixin Almost Brilliant. The ending answered all my questions, however I was left mostly wanting more of the set-up for how this adventure really started.

That said, the setting of an impending wedding and the mystery of the mad son were very interesting.  I loved the rundown feel of the majority of the elaborate estate.  I liked how the soon-to-be bride and Chih interacted.  The tone of the story was creepy and unsettling.  I also appreciated the comfort and use of the teapot.

These stories are meant to be standalones but I wouldn't recommend this one as a place to start.  There may be at least three more novellas coming out in this world.  I am still excited to read them.  Arrr!

The fifth installment of Nghi Vo's Singing Hills books is once again so very atmospheric and gripping-- this time we're drawn into a setting of Something Isn't Quite Right Here, a horror-edged buildup much more than the folk tales of prior entries in the series. It's really good! It's also fun to see Cleric Chih be interested in someone more than just the value of their stories -- although stories are very valuable and I have appreciated that about the previous novellas, however, it was cute!

Even or novellas I'm not usually someone who finishes them in a day (too distractible but I am working on it) but I kept thinking about this even when I wasn't reading it and finished it quite quickly.

Having read the previous two books in the series recently now I'm definitely going to be looking forward to the next one (if there is one) like a kid at the window!

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group/Tordotcom for the eARC in exchange for review!

ARC was provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you NetGalley and Tor.

“The brides of High Hill” is the fifht novella in “The Singing Hills Cycle”. The novellas may be read in any order, each story can be enjoyed on it’s own. The novellas follow the adventures of Cleric Chih and his companion the bird Almost Brilliant as they travel trough a world inspired by asian hystory and mithology recording stories.

In this novel the cleric Chih accompanies a beautiful young bride to the decadent mansion of her much older future husband. As soon as they start to explore the estate they discover some creepy and unusual stuff and many things just don’t seem quiet right. A mistery start to unfold and you as the reader will want to get to the bottom of it. I don’t want to give away too much but let’s just say that the are some good plot twist eventi if it’s just a hundred page novel.

I really enjoyed the author style almost lyrical without ever being verbose, I think she’is really able to set a mood (mysterious with a gothic vibe) and create a world building using just a few sentences. It took me sometime to feel invested in the story and to understand the roles maybe because I didn’t read the other novels in the cycle. Still it was a wonderful reading experience.

This book is about how appearances can be deceptive, how things are often not what they seem and evil can hide in disguise. It’s also about the importance of storytelling, preserving and passing down traditions, culture before they are lost.

I started this book with mixed feeling specially because my relationship with Asian-inspired fantasy reading hasn’t always been the best. I really loved the cozy vibes of Elizabeth Lim’s Six Crimson cranes and Spin the dawn, but I was really disappointed from the morally grey characters of R. F. Kuang Poppy War and bored for how things turned out in She who became the sun. Luckily this one did not disappoint me and now I just want to listen all the stories Cleric Chih and Almost Brilliant have collected.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinion are my own.
This was another interesting installment, following Cleric Chih once again. I loved the Gothic feel, taking cues from Bluebeard, with the celebration for an impending wedding. There’s a lot of intrigue and even danger for Chih, more so than usual. It was also interesting to see Chih a bit more out of their element, especially without their companion, Almost Brilliant, by their side.

I truly enjoy this novella series. Getting to dip in and out of this world is such a treat every year and this time is no different.

Our beloved Cleric finds themselves involved in a marriage negotiation between two wealthy families, but things on the palace grounds are a little to suspicious and there are secrets to uncover, stories to be told.

I was not expecting this novella to be as creepy and unsettling as it turned out to be, but I loved it! These books are usually softer so to see the cleric in a higher stakes game with some truly gruesome results was a fun new side of this world. As always, these are fast, engaging reads with beautiful meditations on stories and words for those of us who are as addicted to stories as Chih.

"Aren't stories what got you into this mess?"
"And stories got us out of it, and they will help the survivors understand it, and they will warn others and comfort those who could not be warned in time."

Enjoyable series with an interesting world. I feel a bit slow that it took me as long as it did to figure out what was going on in the book but it my defense I was reading it at bedtime so I was tired…

I love this series so much and The Brides of High Hill is the best entry so far. We are following Cleric Chih as they accompany Phan Nhung and her family for marriage negotiations. This newest book has a more gothic horror feeling and is a tonal shift from the other books in the series. I loved how I felt uncomfortable and off throughout this whole book. Nghi Vo’s atmospheric writing really shines in this entry and makes you feel like you are in the middle of the story with Chih. The mystery element was very well executed, I was confused the right amount and really liked the reveals. I want this series to never end, each book is so unique and I’ve loved every single one of them.

Genre: East Asian fantasy

I love these weird little stories-in-stories from Nghi Vo. Concise arcs, storytelling, and thoughtful reflection combine to make a pleasant reading experience. For me, a strong novella is one that keeps the content of plot and character simple to let the ideas play out. This series has the same characters throughout, with a connecting plot arc across them as we are on a journey with Cleric Chih who is collecting stories, usually with the aid of their bird Almost Brilliant. Within each book, then, Nghi Vo can tell multiple stories, some plot and some allegory, to leave the reader pondering existence in a serene manner.

Brides of High Hill can be summed up in this quote:
“Aren’t stories what got you into this mess?”
“And stories got us out of it,” Almost Brilliant said crisply. “And they will help the survivors understand it, and they will warn others and comfort those who could not be warned in time.”

One of my most anticipated releases of the year was Nghi Vo’s next novella in The Singing Hills’s Cycle, The Brides of High Hill, which the synopsis described as a gothic mystery. I’ve enjoyed books of that type from time to time, so, going into The Brides of High Hill, I was interested to see what Vo’s interpretation of it would look like.

The latest adventure of Cleric Chih takes a slight detour from the typical structure of the series, and puts them right in the thick of the action. There’s still a story that’s being told, but its clues can be subtle and are deeply embedded in the occurrences of the novella, rather than a story that is being imparted, in pieces, to Cleric Chih by other characters. The switch, however, works well, when the mystery and gothic aspects are taken into account. Atmosphere can be key—sometimes—and getting to see the faded or outright eerie elegance as well as the dilapidation that make up Doi Cao was a crucial part of setting the stage for the story.

And what a story it was. The twist managed to catch me by surprise, because it subverted the way I thought the story was going to go. But hindsight is 20/20. However, the ending is part of what I love most about Vo’s handling of The Brides of High Hill. It could have been straightforward, but it wasn’t. And I enjoyed that direction at lot more than my guesses.

At the end of the day, The Brides of High Hill is another great installment in the series.

Disclaimer: this copy of the book was provided by the publisher (Tordotcom) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you!

<i>First, a thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an eARC of this book.</i>

I am such a fangirl for Vo - literally anything she writes, I will read. Hands down. And especially anything from <i>The Singing Hills Cycle</i>. Instant read/buy for me.

I love this series of short stories because each time, I know I am in for a treat when it comes to the prose and the storytelling. I think if you enjoyed [book:What Moves the Dead|58724626], you would especially enjoy this installment in the series.

Creepy and foreboding, I loved the storytelling in this one; initially I was on the fence between 4 and 5 stars, but I just love this series and the author so much, so it's a 5 for me.

Seriously, if you haven't read any of these yet... What are you waiting for!?

This was a great little gothic fantasy novella. Weighing in at only 77 pages, it's a good story to devour in a day or so. Vo does a great job building tension throughout the story, which is a Bluebeard-esque tale in which a young woman and her family and retinue have traveled to the home of an older nobleman for her to marry him. He's had several previous wives, who have all moved away, a son who is mad, and servants who seem terrified. The mystery unfolds predictably, and then very unpredictably. It was a cool setting, I will definitely be reading Vo's other works in The Singing Hills Cycle.

I loved this. Finished in a couple hours today and it has got to be my favourite in the Singing Hills Cycle. They keep getting better and better.

The thrilleresque vibe that ran through the entire story, not knowing how to unravel the mystery of what was happening, who was evil and who was the villain. I just love how Vo weaves her tales. She infuses these novellas with as much creativity and attention to detail that most can't even get into a full novel. I will always be a fan of her works.

Another brief enjoyable installment of the adventures of the Monk of the Singing HIlls and their companion, Almost Brilliant. They do seem to get themselves into a lot of sticky situations. Vo has created an interesting, dangerous and myth-filled world that is always full of surprises. I find that author has still not topped her use of language as she did in her novel "The Siren Queen," which I found mesmerizing for the way she told the story.

The Brides of High Hill begins with The Cleric Chih accompanying a young woman and her family on the road to meet her betrothed. Chih is enamored by this young woman and gets caught up in her beauty and fun energy, despite a growing list of things that just don't quite add up. Once they arrive at the city, they and the young bride explore under the cover of night and gradually learn more about the cities history and the bride's bedrothed's long history of wives that have not been seen in many years. As the wedding night approaches, Chih becomes more protective of the woman while also starting to question the missing pieces to their current situation, and maybe the young woman and her family are not as they seem.

Spoilers below:

I have not ready any of the other Singing Hills Cycle stories, but even without that background I found this very easy to pop into. I initially was critical of the lack of established relationship between Chih and Pham Nhung, only to discover that that was in itself a clue to the deeper mystery. I found the way the mystery was crafted to be so artfully done, where I didn't even realize they were foreboding plot elements until later. The actual story is cleverly hidden just beneath the surface of the mystery of Nhung's betrothed's missing previous wives. I didn't feel tricked by the ending, but brought in and really enjoyed every minute of it!

Spoiler-section ended.

This reminded me of both Psalm for the Wild-Build by Becky Chambers and What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher, while still being wholly unique. I both recommend this one and look forward to picking up others in the series!

The Brides of High Hill is book five of The Singing Hills Cycle of stand-alone fantasy novellas set in an empire that resembles ancient China. I haven’t read the earlier stories, but that wasn’t necessary, although I might have appreciated some elements more if I’d read them.

Cleric Chih finds themself travelling with a family who is escorting their daughter, Pham Nhung, to be married to a wealthy man. The daughter has insisted they accompany her, and they have agreed. Their job is to collect stories, and this is a good opportunity, even though their neixing, a memory spirit that looks like a bird, isn’t with them on this journey to record the stories. The reader is given a notion her absence is meaningful, but nothing more is said about it, other than that Chih misses her.

The bride-to-be is in high spirits, both eager to be married and frightened of the prospect. Chih does their best to support her. But the moment they enter the estate of the groom who is several decades older than Nhung, Chih gets a notion things aren’t as they ought to be. Reader soon suspects this is a retelling of Bluebeard, with scores of missing wives. But when the monsters appear, rather abruptly, they come from a different direction entirely.

This was a delightful, slightly spooky novella, easily read in one sitting. Chih was an interesting character, even though we don’t learn much about them. They are a recurring character though, so earlier books might have more. Their struggle to get out of the web they don’t even know they’re in is fairly abrupt, and the reader is taken slightly by a surprise, but it worked for a story this length. The atmosphere could’ve been spookier though, as the novella is advertised as a gothic mystery. Now it was a fairly pleasant read with a gory end. But I’m intrigued enough to check out the earlier stories in the series.

i really love nghi vo and everything she creates, but this series takes up an extra big space in my heart. This series is all about story telling, and we follow cleric chih who is in the middle of documenting a new tale for us in this fifth installment. this novella feels very different than the rest, and i will let you know why in the next paragraph - but i highly recommend you don’t read it until after you’ve read the last page (and maybe even the acknowledgements - that made me tear up at the very end!!) but the bare bones of this story is that chih is traveling with the pham family to doi cao, a walled city with many stories of its own, where they are going to be having wedding negotiations with the lord of the city. chih becomes very close with the bride to be, and together they start to explore the grounds of what could be her new home, but there is also a mystery of lord guo, and his maybe cursed son, and whatever else lurks in the shadows.

that really is all you need to know, but the reason this story got a five star from me is because it really did something bold and different and really left me impressed. because ultimately, this is a story about lies and deception, and how sometimes people who portray themselves as docile and innocent can be the ones who hurt you the most. this really is a story about monsters, and how they come in many, many forms. this also touches on how people who wrong you will really have the audacity to be upset that you’re upset they wronged you. this 100 page story had better twists than 500 page mystery thrillers out there, and i am just very thankful for every sentence of magic nghi vo weaves.

trigger + content warnings: blood, spider mentions, mention of sickness in past (also regarding a child), captivity, drugging (sleep), power dynamic situations, manipulation, death, murder, talk of poisoning, abuse, body horror, violence