The Brides at High Hill

"* Doesn't fit with the series, or Chih's personality

* Very twist ending"

3.5

I am finally caught up with this series and I am so happy to have read this installment in the Singing Hills Cycle. It's one of my favorites for sure.

The Bridges of High Hill is the 5th installment of the Singing Hills Cycle. This is a group of novellas which follow a non-binary cleric named Chih. The world feels a lot like ancient Imperial China, but with magic. Chih's main work as a cleric is to collect and record stories, and this serves as the basis of all of the novellas.

I have really enjoyed this series (although the author claims you can read them in any order, so I'm using the word “series” lightly), and this book was no exeption. In this story Chih has met a young woman who is going to meet a suitor who might end up being her husband. However, it becomes quickly apparent that not all is what it seems. This story is a meditation on truth and how to know who you can trust. Maybe because of this it read a little darker than the other books in this series, which I think I enjoyed? Things felt a little more suspenseful and surprising.

Anyway, I love all these books, and they are so short that if you're looking for something different this is a great book to try!