Title: The Girl with a Thousand Faces
Author: Sunyi Dean
Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Historical Fiction, Gothic
Format: eARC
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4★)
Synopsis
Mercy Chan arrived in Hong Kong with no memories, no family, and no past. She survived the horrors of war by hiding in Kowloon Walled City, a place known for its restless spirits and haunted streets.
Now, years later, she works as a ghost-talker, helping deal with the angry and bitter spirits that linger there. But when a powerful ghost begins killing innocents and claims to know Mercy from before she lost her memories, everything begins to unravel.
At the same time, decades earlier, another story unfolds on a remote island haunted by tragedy, where a young girl and her mother seek refuge, only to find something far darker waiting beneath the surface.
My Thoughts
I have to admit, what made me request this ARC in the first place was the cover. I absolutely love it, to the point where I’m currently using it as my phone wallpaper. And then, of course… ghosts. A ghost-talker FMC? Say less.
Now, historical fiction, especially anything around war, is usually not my thing. But the combination of the premise and the atmosphere made me want to give this one a chance.
And I’m glad I did.
The premise itself is really strong. We get ghosts, legends, myths, all the good things, wrapped into a story that feels both eerie and emotional.
That said, I do think I expected a bit more when it came to Mercy’s life after she washed ashore. We do see her dealing with a case, but I thought we might get more glimpses into her day-to-day work as a ghost-talker.
What I struggled with the most, though, was the structure of the book.
The story is split into different timelines, first Mercy’s present, then the past set 33 years earlier, and then back again. I’ll be honest, at first I thought I wouldn’t enjoy the past storyline, but that ended up surprising me. As it developed, things started to make more sense, and the twist before returning to the present timeline was really well done.
Still, at times it felt like I was reading two separate books that shared a connection, rather than one fully blended story. I think I would have enjoyed it even more if the chapters alternated between timelines, building the connection gradually.
Despite that, I was completely engaged and ended up reading it in one sitting.
This is a heavy story, filled with grief, anger, revenge and generational trauma. But at the same time, it also explores resilience, healing, and forgiveness, especially toward the end.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I really enjoyed this.
It’s atmospheric, emotional, and layered, even if the structure didn’t fully work for me at times.
If you enjoy gothic stories with ghosts, folklore and deeper themes around memory and trauma, this is definitely one to check out.
ARC Disclaimer
Thank you HarperCollins UK for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.
No comments:
Post a Comment