Reviews with content warning for Emotional abuse - The Last Tale of the Flower Bride

Loose retelling of Bluebeard with lush writing and a mystery at its heart. You get alternating chapters from the perspective of the bridegroom in the present and the childhood best friend in the past. There is some truly beautiful writing, but I was ultimately left wanting a little more depth on the character of Indigo.

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mariavdl's review against another edition

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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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mad_books_'s review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

Great plot twist. Toxic girlhood meets fantasy. The two different timelines created good tension

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scrubsandbooks's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-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

3.5

The prose was a bit much at a few parts but not so overwhelming that you have no idea what's going on. This was positively mysterious, kept me gripping the pages to find out what was really going on. Both moving and bone-chilling.

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erinreadsbooks's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Gorgeous imagery and evocative, atmospheric writing. The beginning was not my favorite and the rapid development of the relationship between the protagonists made me a bit wary but the last 3/4 of the book (basically when we started seeing the past) was gripping and very enjoyable as the creeping sense of horror began to seep in. Recommended for those who like dark fairytale vibes and writing that makes you question what is reality and what is imagined.

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areen's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

I'm beyond impressed with how this story was told. the way it reads like a Grimm's fairytale while having no fantasy or magic at all but how it expects you to assume and feel. there's also something about same-sex toxic codependent relationship for me...🧐

I'm still digesting that plot twist at the end and can't say I appreciate it. I feel the need to reread to fully experience the story and understand the gravity of that plot twist but idk maybe I'll come back to it one day, maybe I won't. either way I really enjoyed it.

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linnybear's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.5

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dragonwriter's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious 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

The Bridegroom swears he had a brother that vanished one day, disappearing from the world as though he’d never inhabited it in the first place. This phenomenon sends him on a search through fairytales and folklore, trying to find the secret to crossing over to the Other World to find his brother, and spinning into the arms of the mysterious and mythical Indigo. She is a fairytale creature in itself, wrapped in magic and mystery, and she warns him not to go poking into her past, for the secrets there will destroy them. Enchanted by this fairy tale challenge, the Bridegroom agrees, but all too soon he learns that secrets whisper to you at night, begging you to unlock their mysteries. Is Indigo’s warning merely a quirk of her fairytale existence, or is there something much darker locked in his beloved’s past? And who is Azure, the mysterious ghost who’s left her own mark on his bride?

This book was so dark and SO brilliant! The mystery of Indigo really draws you in, enchanted by the way her life and world revolves around fairytales and the fae, and you really wonder if she IS a fairy herself, walking among mortals. You totally understand how the Bridegroom could love her so wholly, even with so much of her wrapped in secrets. Then, you start to get Azure’s side of the story, and you start to root for both the Bridegroom and Azure to escape this person who is so wrapped in the perverse nature of fairytales. I’m normally really good at figuring out where a story is going to go and how things will play out, but I had NO CLUE the entire book until I reached the end, where all I could say is, “Oh. Oh! Oooooooohhhhh.” This is definitely the kind of book that will hold a different story the second time around.

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