No Mortal Creature

Vanessa Bettencourt
Oct 7
1 min read

4 stars

My favorite part of this fast-paced journey of healing trauma and grief is that ghosts can have ghosts too. The afterlife has levels and realms, and this creates a tense, high-stakes quest with a dual timeline. Very interesting romance as well.

A teen girl with the power of resurrection must venture into the afterlife, but to survive the death realm, she’ll need the help of her two mortal enemies–both of whom she is inexplicably drawn to–in this romantic, gothic fantasy inspired by Wuthering Heights.

When Jia Yi finds herself alive again after being killed by an enemy’s sword, she realizes she possesses a rare power: the ability to move between life and death. With her new gift comes the discovery of a mysterious spirit realm teeming with ghosts like herself—and Lin, the boy she once loved before his betrayal tore them apart.

At first Jia wants nothing to do with any ghosts, metaphorical or otherwise. But when her beloved grandmother dies under suspicious circumstances, Jia is forced to follow in an attempt to save her. In the death realm, though, even ghosts have ghosts. The afterlife is more complex than Jia ever could have imagined—and no one knows what lies at its end. To survive, Jia must rely on both Lin and her longtime enemy, the cold and enigmatic Prince Essien. The problem? She can’t trust either of them. With tensions high and new and old connections blossoming, Jia must confront the ghosts of her past . . . or risk remaining one herself.