Generational drama, Hollywood glamour, queer love interest, AND a gothic manor?! Count me in!!

This was a lot of fun, loved the house as a character - actively working against generations of people. The two timelines fully had me hooked, there was the right amount of tension pulling the story along.

I was super looking forward to this as a 2025 release and I’m stoked that it lived up to my expectations!!

I will admit, I love a haunted house story—even more-so when that haunting involves a creepy garden. However, my bias aside, The Manor of Dreams also expertly wields a dual-timeline to emphasize the effects of generational trauma, familial tragedy, and the cost of keeping long buried secrets.
Vivian Yin, a once famous actress, has passed away. Expecting to inherit their childhood home, her family attends the reading of her will only to find out that it has all been left to Elaine Deng, the daughter of the estate’s former housekeeper and gardener. Convinced of foul play, Lucille, Vivian’s eldest daughter, seeks to investigate her mother’s death before Elaine forces her family out of Yin Manor for good.
The narrative itself is told in multiple POVs over 2 timelines, the present and Vivian’s past.
Let me tell you, there were so many times in this story where I thought I had it all figured out—that I knew what had happened, and why Vivian would leave the manor to Elaine—but to my delight, I was always wrong! While now looking back, I can see the hints of things to come, the actual conclusion was so much more painful and beautiful than I could have ever imagined. Not to mention the red herrings! Normally, I am not one for filler used to pad out the suspense of a mystery, but all of the additional asides meant to divert your attention and make you question ultimately false possibilities, didn’t feel like filler. It served to ingratiate me to the characters, and build a better understanding of their emotions and motivations, as opposed to just being there to confuse the reader.
The Manor of Dreams has absolutely become a new favourite for me, and I am so thankful to have gotten an ARC copy so I might now bear witness to friends and family discovering this novel for the first time as well.

The Manor of Dreams was labelled as horror, but was more of a blend of gothic suspense and mystery with a horror-esque ending. To be honest, that part was a bit of a letdown for me and I never fully got over it 😥.

This book followed a dual timeline, but the past timeline was the clear standout for me. It focused on the family matriarch, Vivian Yin, and her rise to success in Hollywood as well as her subsequent marriage to a follow movie star/producer.

I also really enjoyed the infusion of Chinese culture into the storyline. It added a wonderful richness to the plot, and made it feel more unique. [3.5 stars rounded up to 4].

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for the opportunity to read this e-ARC!

Read if you like:

✨ Delapidated estates
✨ LGBTQIA+ representation
✨ Memoir-style books
✨ Family secrets

[arc review]
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
The Manor of Dreams releases May 6, 2025

4.5

<i>“If you could survive this place, you got to dream. That was the privilege you fought for.”</I>

In the 80s, Vivian Yin made a name for herself as a Hollywood actress, but quickly became a recluse at the height of her career.
In the wake of her death, it comes as a shock to her daughters that the estate they grew up in is bequeathed to the family that Yin formerly employed.

An ensemble cast comprised of two estranged families, spanning three generations, uncovers decades worth of secrets and the consequences of what it means to have ambition as a marginalized woman.

Li’s adult gothic horror debut has a bit of everything — murder mystery, a haunting setting, inherited history and trauma, sapphic love, and female rage.

cw: domestic abuse

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. So the summary and title of this book really made me excited to read it. I expected from the summary that there would be a bit of mystery with it and there wasn’t at all.
The book was ok but there was just nothing in it that I had expected to find. I kept reading expecting something to happen but nothing did. This one just wasn’t really for me.

Family drama and a touch of the paranormal all wrapped up into one. A then and now look at 2 families lives and how they are connected that will keep you hooked. Thank you to Simon and Schuster Canada and NetGalley for my arc.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon& Schuster Canada for access to this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

I cannot resist generational tales, strong female protagonists, familial conflicts and secrets, and creepy houses. The Manor of Dreams is all those things and more.

Our novel opens with the reading of the will of Hollywood starlet, Vivian Yin. Her daughters, Lucille and Rennie, along with her granddaughter, Madeline, attend. Also, in attendance are Nora and her mother, Elaine. At one time, Elaine's parents worked for Vivian and her husband, Richard, both accomplished in Hollywood. But it has been years since anyone has seen Elaine. Why is she at the will reading? Soon it is revealed that Vivian left money for her daughters and the house to Elaine. Angered by this, Lucille informs Elaine that no one from her family will leave until a further investigation is completed. But the greatest threat to all-just might be the house itself.


Wrapped in a gothic atmosphere with a whole of psychological tension, Christina Li weaves a slow burn of a tale as the narrative bounces from those present in the house to Vivian and Richard's tumultuous relationship. Once I began reading, I couldn't put this book down. As the vines from the garden began creeping towards the house, I was shaken by the growing fear of being claustrophobic and yet I couldn't look away.

A very chilling tale.




Expected Publication Date 06/05/25
Goodreads Review Date 06/03/25

Picture this: Hollywood's first Chinese American Oscar winner dies mysteriously in a decaying mansion. Her daughters start seeing things they can't explain. And suddenly, three generations' worth of family secrets start spilling out of the woodwork – literally.

That's the delicious setup of Christina Li's The Manor of Dreams, a ghost story less about things that go bump in the night and more about the shadows our families leave behind. Li ping-pongs between the glitz of 1970s Hollywood and present-day horror, following the legendary actress Vivian Yin and her daughters as they try to piece together why their mother really died.

The story is different from your typical haunted house tale. Li writes like someone who knows that the scariest ghosts aren't the ones in white sheets – they're the unspoken truths that follow families across generations. Her prose is beautiful without being pretentious, creating an atmosphere so thick you could cut it with a knife.

Sure, the middle section takes its sweet time, like a cat playing with its prey. But that slow burn pays off. Li uses this space to dig into what it really means to be "the first" – the first Chinese American to break into Hollywood's inner circle, the first to win that golden statue, and the steep price that comes with all those firsts.

The supernatural elements work because they're not just spooky window dressing. Every ghostly encounter, every inexplicable vision, serves the larger story about family, fame, and the darker side of the American Dream. This is the kind of book that makes you check over your shoulder while also checking your own family history.

The Manor of Dreams pulls off something rare: it's both a genuinely creepy ghost story and a powerful meditation on cultural identity. It's about the stories families tell themselves, the truths they bury, and how the past never really stays past.

Bottom line: This isn't just another haunted house story – it's a haunting one. Pack your bags for a stay at the manor. Just don't expect to sleep much once you get there.

3.5/5 stars

When I requested this book I thought the cover was cool and the plot interesting, and honestly did not expect to be blown away the way I was. The book starts a bit slow, but the writing is gripping had me interested and invested. I felt that the pacing was odd for the first half and most of it was context for the reader. The second half really picked up and had me engaged. I loved the switching between past and present and how neither felt like too much, they both made the story flow well. I honestly really enjoyed the past timeline and found the present one good but a bit boring. The present tense felt like it was mostly meant to be a reflection of past actions and the result of generational trauma.

I loved the main theme of generational trauma and how that manifested in the different ways it did. I felt the ending quarter was written very well, and had me frantically turning the pages. I love good symbolism and this book was full of it.

I would definitely recommend checking this one out!

Vivian Yin, the first Chinese actress to win an Oscar, is dead. And right before she died, she changed her will and left her manor to another family.

Now, her family is trying to figure out why and if there was a foul play behind this last minute change while the other family is trying to keep their new found home.

We follow three generations in dual timeline while the story unfolds and it was so fucking good! This is the kind of family drama horror I love! The writing was beautiful, the way multiple POV and dual timeline was used made the story flow so well that I could not put the book down, and the amount of horror vs family drama was just so perfect!

A tragic and haunting gothic thriller that exposes the truth behind the inheritance of a dead Hollywood star’s dark secrets.

Vivian Yin was an 80s starlet who eventually loses touch with reality and her daughters. In an attempt to right many wrongs, her life and legacy is left to the mercy of a house she desperately tried to make home.

Vivian Yin, an oscar winning actress captured the heart and married one of Hollywood’s leading men. Moving into her husband’s historical family manor, Vivian tries her best to raise her family and hold on to her declining fame. After tragedy strikes, she slowly disappears into the buried secrets that haunt the halls of the Lowell mansion. At the time of her death, ownership is contested when her daughters find out she willed the house to someone else. Eventually, the darkness that filled the walls of their childhood home comes crumbling down, bringing to light multiple tragic endings.

Written from the perspective of two Chinese American families and multiple POVs, The Manor of Dreams is packed with great storytelling. I especially enjoyed the dual timeline, because it gave us access to all of the challenges Vivian faced and how it ended up causing generational trauma for her daughters. Li covers abuse, LGTBQ+ relationships, identity and the intersection of expectations placed on the American born children of immigrant families. Throw all that under the roof of a colonial built house with a story of its own and you have yourself a tale that’s layered, complex and haunting. For me, Vivian is everything. I really felt for her and the hardships she had to endure, specifically because she was a product of her time, a Woman of Colour who was expected to bend a knee to her husband, motherhood and cultural expectations. And that plot twist, chef’s kiss.

The only thing I wish there could have been more of was background on Lowell and his family's history and legacy. I feel like there was so much history we didn’t have access to (including the history of Chinese railroad workers) and it would have filled out the story a bit more in understanding the genesis of the manor.

If you liked Mexican Gothic, I think you’ll love The Manor of Dreams

Thank you Simon & Schuster Canada and Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review

5/5 stars! I absolutely loved this book. I was very intrigued from the synopsis and was so excited to be selected for an arc of this book. I was hooked from the very first chapter and I couldn’t put this book down. I did not want this book to end. This book is releasing May 6, 2025. Thank you so much to Simon & Schuster Canada, Christina Li and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

The Manor of Dreams by Christina Li is a gothic story about the price of fame and the haunting secrets of a Chinese American family whose lives become entangled in a dark history that has threatened their family for generations.

The story follows Vivian Yin, the first Chinese American actress to win an Oscar and her tragic life as a once famous star, wife, and mother only to lose everything in the end, including her life. Her mysterious death and strange house in California beckons her family and friends back to the manor where unnatural things begin to occur. Soon, the family realizes that they have stepped back into a nightmare, built on the dreams of Vivian Yin and her troubled life.

The Manor of Dreams is a haunting story about family secrets and the immigrant experience that pulled me into its pages. It is very much a Gothic with a psychological horror aspect to it, with the explanations of what was really gone, never fully resolved. The juxtapositions between Hollywood glamour and Chinese culture was interesting and helped to highlight the challenges and bravery of Vivian Yin as she navigated the dark world of the entertainment industry. The story was a little slow paced at times but it helped to increase the tension and suspense, with the mystery deepening the further the story went along.

If you like Gothic stories involving generational trauma, I would recommend The Manor of Dreams by Christina Li.