Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi

52 reviews

gracescanlon's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual harassment, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, Domestic abuse, Death, Bullying, Alcohol, Child abuse, Abandonment, Infidelity, Grief, Physical abuse, Body horror, and Sexual content

Minor: Incest and Violence

callistag1's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Violence, Bullying, Child abuse, Infidelity, and Pedophilia

Minor: Death of parent, Sexual content, and Death

reddsb00ks's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Loveable characters? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Murder, and Bullying

startjpw23's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is a dark fantasy. It centers around a woman named Indigo. People are strongly attracted to her. The story is actually told in the first person by the two other main characters in the book. The first is never named. He is called the Bridegroom in the chapters he narrates. Early in the book, he and Indigo are married. The other main character, Azure, is a childhood friend of Indigo's. The Bridegroom's chapters are in the present time. Azure's chapters are set in the past. They detail Indigo's and Azure's friendship during their youth. All three main characters have a love of fairy tales. I was kept off balance by magical occurrences in the story. I often wasn't sure if an occurrence was actually magical, if it was in the imaginations of the characters, or if it was wishful thinking. This book has a lot of dark moments. I have heard that expression that a book is vibes. I think this book is partly vibes. I loved the dark atmosphere the author created. I didn't like 2 of the 3 main characters. But I always wanted to know what happened next. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a dark fantasy that kind of keeps you off balance. And pulls the reader in.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Toxic friendship, and Animal death

foxwish's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Grief, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Bullying, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Death

volanscore's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

I enjoyed some bits of it but wholly, it was like drinking water that couldn’t quench my thirst. There are only two narrators and one (the bridegroom) has such an underdeveloped story that I felt I’d rather read without his chapters. There was so much to be explored about the state of his memories, what happened to him, his escape, but really, there was no development because the story was all about Azure so then why waste time even giving us morsels of another character’s story. The plot-twist was much more disappointing than I’d hoped for the ending. There were so much language that made Indigo seem satanic (references to horns on her head,, it’s obvious really) that I’d imagined that there would be even a small turn with dark fantasy where Indigo was actually some sort of fairy grim reaper or something like that. It really fell apart for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying

Moderate: Abandonment and Animal death

Minor: Sexual harassment, Pedophilia, Child death, and Child abuse

gmrickel's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Told in alternating perspectives between the "Bridegroom" (set in the present) and "Azure" (the Bridegroom's wife's childhood best friend, set about 20 years in the past), this tale winds around various mysteries and secrets. This has the cruelty of a dark fairytale, mixed with desperation, obsession, and dangerous imagination. Suggested for fans of toxic friendships, atmospheric settings, and lush writing. I also think fans of dark academia who are willing to set aside the lack of "academia" would enjoy this book.

On a personal note, I saw the twist coming but still enjoyed the ride. I don't think the view on marriage (the Bridegroom's perspective) was nearly as well done as Azure's. Big content warning for the looming threat of sexual assault in Azure's perspective, child abuse and neglect, and bullying. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying

Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual assault

aliyachaudhry's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

sometimes being delulu is NOT the solulu

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Alcohol, Blood, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Pedophilia, Child abuse, Bullying, Incest, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent

sunnydale's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

i checked out this book just because it was available on libby, and after the first few chapters, i was debating whether i wanted to continue. the bridegroom's perspective didn't hold much appeal for me. once azure's perspective was introduced, i was much more engaged—although i had to take some breaks when i realized what jupiter was. ultimately, azure's story was so compelling that i had to follow it through to the end. 

i enjoyed the fairy tale references, the haunted house, the theme of self-deception through personal narrative, and the girls' desperation to believe in magic. i still found the bridegroom's chapters uninteresting except as a framing device for azure's narrative, and i didn't enjoy the feeling of dread built around jupiter's predatory behavior. i ultimately found this to be a really satisfying story, but i'd be hesitant to recommend to readers i don't know well.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Toxic friendship, Incest, and Animal death

Moderate: Medical content, Child death, Chronic illness, and Child abuse

Minor: Blood, Alcohol, Body shaming, and Eating disorder

Pedophilia/incest/sexual harassment details:

Azure's stepfather is sexually predatory throughout the book. He touches her in ways she does not like and tries to avoid, although his attempts at obviously sexual contact are thwarted. Azure is not supported by her mother or Indigo, who blame her and dismiss her fears, respectively. The increasing sense of dread culminates in a scene where Azure, having been drugged and stripped by Indigo, awakes to hear Indigo claiming to have walked in on Azure and Jupiter having sex. This did not happen, although later Indigo admits that Jupiter saw Azure naked and masturbated over her.

There is one chapter where Indigo bullies another girl over a period of time; many examples are given. Multiple sex scenes, mostly between the Bridegroom and Indigo within the first few chapters. One more occurs later in Azure's chapter about Lyric. Several dead starlings are described in detail.

mariavdl's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, and Bullying

Moderate: Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, and Child death

Minor: Animal death, Death of parent, and Blood