Hello Blogging World!Jonny

Hey, I’m Jonny. Dead brides sound sooo creepy!

Iseult

Hi, I’m Iseult. I agree with Jonny. I don’t want to be in charge of keeping the dead brides in check!

This buddy read and rant is for Where the Dead Brides Gather by Nuzo Onoh.

Blurb:

A powerful Nigeria-set tale of possession, malevolent ghosts, family tensions, secrets and murder from the recipient of the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement and ‘Queen of African Horror’.

Bata, an eleven-year-old girl tormented by nightmares, wakes up one night to find herself standing sentinel before her cousin’s door. Her skin, hair, and eyes have turned a dazzling white colour, which even the medicine-man can’t heal. Her cousin is to get married the next morning, but only if she can escape the murderous attack of a ghost-bride, who used to be engaged to her groom.

Through the night, Bata battles the vengeful ghost and finally vanquishes it before collapsing. On awakening, she has no recollection of the events. And when the medicine-man tries to exorcise the entities clinging to her body as a result of her supernatural possession, Bata dies on the exorcism mat. There begins her journey. She is taken into Ibaja-La, the realm of dead brides, by Mmuọ-Ka-Mmuọ, the ghost-collector of the spirit realm. There she meets the ghosts of brides from every culture who died tragically before their weddings; both the kind and the malevolent. Bata is given secret powers to fight the evil ghost-brides before being sent back to the human realm, where she must learn to harness her new abilities as she strives to protect those whom she loves.

GoodReadsAmazonBookshop.orgIseult

I’ve read a few books by Nuzo Onoh and I’ve loved them all. I was expecting a lot from “Where the Dead Brides Gather” because of this. Was this your first Nuzo Onoh book?

Jonny

I’ve actually never read a book by Nuzo Onoh before, so this was my first time. I’m kind of on the fence with this one. It was entertaining but it didn’t quite hit the way I was hoping it would. What about you?

Iseult

This book was a bit of a rollercoaster for me. I loved the beginning. I really felt for little eleven-year-old Bata, with her nightmares, and then the possession. After the first segment, I really didn’t know where the story was going to go next.

And then Bata went to Ibaja-La, the afterlife for brides who died before they got married, and I didn’t know if I could finish the book. That whole section almost killed the entire book for me.

What did you think of Ibaja-La?

Jonny

I agree! The beginning was interesting since it’s set in a different era and it was interesting to see Bata’s life and the culture in their small village. I think the world has come a long way, because some of the treatment of women in the book by other males was a little shocking to me.

I really loved the concept of Ibaja-La even though it was pretty heart-wrenching to hear how so many brides met their end. All the descriptions of the magical place kept me really intrigued. I’m not sure if it was made up or not, but kudos to the author for really detailing this place.

Iseult

I loved all the details about a little Nigerian village in the 1970s. Bata’s family life and the culture of their village was really interesting.

I don’t know if dead brides and Ibaja-La are traditional parts of Nigerian folklore or not, but the author certainly made it sound like that.

I’m glad it intrigued you. I really struggled to get through that part. I was almost going to message you and say let’s try another book!

I suppose it makes sense that Bata would love such a place. She had quite a difficult life, so a place where everyone was nice to her and she could do magical things was bound to entice her.

The book changes once again once Bata returns home. What did you think of this part of the book?

Jonny

Yes, totally! I really wanted some culture and I think the book really delivered on that.

I even tried Googling Ibaja-La because I was curious if it was a thing or not, but nothing outside of this book really came up. I think she got creative, and that part really shined for me. It kind of reminded me of “Lovely Bones” but in a prettier place where they could just exist in peace. I’m glad we were able to get through it for sure!

Right, I think it made sense that such a harmonious place would entice Bata. Heck I wouldn’t want to leave either. Reality is boring lol!

After Bata returns from Ibaja-La I really struggled. I wasn’t quite sure where things were headed, and being back in the normal setting just made me want to go back to the fantasy part of things. I was entertained by what happened after, but it couldn’t stack up to Ibaja-La in my opinion.

Iseult

That’s so interesting! I love how differently the book hit with both of us.

While I enjoyed the cultural aspects of the rest of the book, especially the differences in the role of women and men, I was disappointed that it wasn’t the horror book I was expecting.

Bata’s silvery eyes and multiple voices certainly had a tinge of horror to it, and horrible things happened, but it wasn’t like Onoh’s other books and it didn’t come together for me in a satisfying way.

The end was unexpectedly sweet.

Would you classify this book as horror?

Jonny

Yeah! I knew we were bound to have some differing opinions on certain parts and that’s what makes these buddy reads so much fun.

I agree with you. Given all that we read in the book, nothing truly stood out to me as horror. Fantasy? Definitely, but while there were some creepy vibes here and there, it didn’t dominate enough to call this horror.

I really did love the multiple voices and silvery eyes, but it wasn’t enough horror elements and the ending was pretty sweet.

I also felt a bit disappointed in Bata’s character. I wish she would have progressed and grown a bit more. After all that she learned in Ibaja-La, I was hoping she would learn to stand up for herself, maybe even defy orders from men, but that didn’t happen. It made her seem a bit younger than she actually was.

Iseult

Yes, that’s true!

I agree, I think fantasy would be a better category for this book. Even though there are horror elements, they aren’t emphasized in a way to scare.

I liked Bata. I felt for her with her fears of being sent away and her difficulties with her family. I agree that she didn’t grow or change throughout the book. Her experiences in Ibaja-La and the changes to her life afterward didn’t bring about much difference in her character. She was very accepting of what happened to her, which is believable for a child. Children have very little control over their lives. It doesn’t make for the most compelling character however.

This book was full of dualities – life and death, Catholic religion and the traditional pagan beliefs, men and women, city life and country life, brides and non-brides. However, I’m not sure if I could identify any predominant theme.

What is your overall impression of this book?

Jonny

Yeah, maybe I didn’t truly grasp the difference in social norms for the time it was set in (I believe it was 70s). And even in her time in Ibaja-La she did kind of enjoy being the token little girl in the mix of dead brides, so that could justify her not changing too terribly much. It just didn’t resonate with me as strongly.

I did like the dualities present, but yeah, when I tried to think of one central theme I couldn’t really identify one.

I found this book entertaining, but nothing truly stuck with me, which left me on the fence. Overall, it was just kind of okay for me.

Iseult

I ended up enjoying the book, mainly because of the chance to experience another time and another life. It didn’t have the gripping horror and social commentary that I’ve enjoyed in the author’s other books, although there were echoes of both in this book.

Would you read another book by this author?

Jonny

Yeah, I love exploring different times and lives that aren’t familiar to me.

I’d definitely give this author another try sometime, though I might give the blurb and other reviews a look first to be sure it aligns with what I’m expecting. Not every book by an author is going to be a home run.

Iseult

That’s a good idea! Always do your research.

Thanks so much for reading this book with me. I love our buddy reads. It’s great to discuss books with you.

Jonny

Yeah, it never hurts to do some research, just make sure you don’t read any spoilers!

Of course, bestie! I always have fun doing these with you, and with a break in author events coming for me I should have time to do another one soon if you’d like.

Iseult

Yes please! I’d love that.

Jonny

Ooo, maybe we’ll find some holiday horror! Can’t wait!

Iseult

Neither can I!

That’s A Wrap!

Thanks for joining us on our buddy read and rant of “Where the Dead Brides Gather“! We had a lot of fun, and hope you did too! We will definitely be doing some more buddy reads in the future, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, why not check out Iseult and Jonny’s other fun buddy reads?

Buddy Read & Rant #18: Candy Cain Kills by Brian McAuley

Buddy Read & Rant #17: Melon Head Mayhem by Alex Ebenstein

Buddy Read & Rant #16: I Found Puppets Living in my Apartment Walls by Ben Farthing

Buddy Read & Rant #15: The Worm and His Kings by Hailey Piper

Buddy Read & Rant #14: The Forgotten Island by David Sodergren

Buddy Read & Rant #13: Stolen Tongues by Felix Blackwell

Buddy Read & Rant #12: Parachute by Holly Rae Garcia

Buddy Read & Rant #11: A Door into Evermoor by Kent Wayne

Buddy Read & Rant #10: The Haunting of Trinity House by Travis Liebert

Buddy Read & Rant #9: Dark Waters by Katherine Arden

Buddy Read & Rant #8: The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E Harrow

Buddy Read & Rant #7: Until Summer Comes Around by Glenn Rolfe

Buddy Read & Rant #6: Camp Carnage by Joshua Winning and Elliot Cross

Buddy Read & Rant #5: Dead Voices by Katherine Arden

Buddy Read & Rant #4: Small Spaces by Katherine Arden

Buddy Read & Rant #3: Trigger and Shutter by Courtney Alamada

Buddy Read & Rant #2: Thornhill by Pam Smy

Buddy Read & Rant #1: The Survivor Chronicles by Erica Stevens

One response to “Buddy Read & Rant #19 with Jonathan Pongratz: Where the Dead Brides Gather by Nuzo Onoh”Valinora TroyNovember 20, 2025

Thanks for another great buddy read! It’s really interesting reading your different takes, although disappointing in the end for both of you. I am interested in reading this author (after reading your review) but perhaps nt this book!

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