Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - The Last Tale of the Flower Bride

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride is a lyrical read with beautiful prose. The setting is steeped in magic, and I loved the contrast of the House of Dreams with the outside world. The novel is inspired by gothic works such as Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca and Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber. I love a Bluebeard retelling, and the folkloric imagery was a treat. I am sure that a reread would peel back layers that I didn't notice on the first read.

That being said, the novel's gothic nature relies on the power balance between the bridegroom and Indigo. The sense of fear and powerlessness is what imbues gothic novels with horror, which is vital for the genre. The Bluebeard tale relies on the isolation and vulnerability of the main character, and I felt that very strongly in the tale of Azure and Indigo. But in the Bluebeard-inspired framing story of the bridegroom and Indigo, I felt the gender reversal didn't have quite the same weight as it lacked the societal mirroring of powerlessness that is present in the patriarchal concept of the wife as property. Some of the horror moments-

such as the hair in the bridegroom's mouth or the starlings in the fan

felt a bit gimmicky. Even on reflection, as I learned more about the story, they seemed tacked on for the sake of it.

Azure and Indigo's story is where the story really shines. The slipperiness between reality and magic was intriguing and fit the author's prose style like a glove. The Otherworld was beautiful, and I ached to be able to walk into the magic of childhood myself. The House of Dreams was a beautiful setting, and the characters' interactions with it were a great use of imagery and foreshadowing. I enjoyed the escalation of tension, the ticking time bomb. Azure's loneliness and fear of abandonment were heartbreakingly realised. The author's depiction of Indigo was unsettling. The toxic friendships, manipulation, isolation and emotional abuse were often difficult to read.

The framing story of the Bridegroom had less impact on me. In the tradition of Rebecca, the nameless narrator is mysterious and out of reach. The duality of his memories and his questioning of what he remembers and what he has been told were emotional for me as someone who has also

lost a brother.

That being said, some of his character development fell flat. He's a researcher, a well-educated scholar used to tracking down information from archives, but hasn't

looked up the birth records? Apologies if I misremembered that fact.

I didn't feel I knew much about him and found him quite empty as a protagonist and perhaps too passive. I felt quite distanced from him, in much the same way he was when

he watched the ants eating the bird alive without stopping it.

The openings of his chapters mimicked the formulaic style of oral histories and folklore, but it also made it easy to skip past those paragraphs as they were repetitive. Some of the folklore and images included felt like they were included for aesthetics and vibes instead of symbols, which lost some of the impact when they were relevant.

Overall, a good read with beautiful prose; the gothic and folklore elements were intriguing, and Azure's story was worth reading!

Content Warnings

booksbutmakeitgay's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.5

Content Warnings

natashaleighton_'s review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Words cannot do justice to how breathtakingly atmospheric and beautiful this was! The prose and world-building was gorgeously lush— in a dark fairytale-esque, House of Hollow meets Mexican Gothic way that had me utterly hooked from start to finish!

It’s told through a unique, dual POV narrative that spans two timelines and was really intrigued by the decision to not give a name to our first (and only male) protagonist who is referred to as The Bridegroom—and even then only in the chapter headings. To me, it felt like it was harkening back to the early gothic/ horror genre, where unnamed characters added an aura of mystery and unease to the plot, which I really enjoyed.

It also worked perfectly with the hauntingly lyrical prose and descriptions that weaved a sinister sensualness into very scene. I know not everyone is a fan of this type of prose, but Roshani Chokshi’s darker, intricate and ethereal overtones felt like an homage to traditional fairytales (which have always been seen as rather macabre to modern audiences) adding a fabulously unnerving sense of foreboding that kept the plot moving.

The plot twists were also fantastic! I was really wasn’t expecting any of the reveals that occur and really enjoyed trying to piece together the breadcrumb-like clues to unravel Indigo’s mysterious back story.

Overall, a beautifully crafted and decadently suspenseful gothic novel full of twists, turns and unreliable narrators that made this a truly unputdownable read.

Content Warnings

scarlett_f's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

just_one_more_paige's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

An adult fiction fairy tale from a beloved YA author, described as "a sumptuous, gothic-infused story about a marriage that is unraveled by dark secrets, a friendship cursed to end in tragedy, and the danger of believing in fairy tales." Yes, please. And bonus, I had access to the audiobook thanks to Libro.fm, which had a full cast (does it count as "full cast" if it was just two narrators, one for each POV?) narration with just the right vocal ambiance.

Once upon a time...a man and a woman meet and get married. The man has researched myths and fairy tales for years, after a childhood memory (or was it a dream?) leaves him believing in the magical and unseen. The woman, Indigo, is an heiress with a dark secret, who, in exchange for her love, made the man promise to never dig into her past. Sounds like a fairy tale, no? As with all fairy tales though, secrets come out and promises are broken. After happy years together, the unnamed groom and Indigo must travel back to her childhood home, the House of Dreams, to say good-bye to the dying aunt who raised her. Within the grand and ancient halls of the House, the shadows of Indigo's past lurk, and despite his best efforts, the dying aunt, Tati, lures the groom into finding the truth of Indigo's secrets, and discovering what happened to her closest childhood friend, Azure, who disappeared suddenly and without a trace years ago. And his discoveries threaten to unravel not only the balance of their marriage, but perhaps even their lives.

Phew, this was atmospheric AF. Like, everything else (characters, plot, etc.) was fine, solid. Nothing spectacular, but definitely enjoyable. But damn, Chokshi casts a spell with her words. This novel is haunting from the very first page, even before you have any idea why/how you feel that way, and it never lets up. It's darkly mysterious and vibrantly magical. It's creepy and manipulative and gaslighting undertones slowly become overtones as the reader's anticipation of the finale(s) grows. And this is only enhanced by the way that Chokshi gorgeously blurs the lines between fantasy and reality, making the reader ask over and over if there is *real* magic in this story or if it all stems from an internal hope and childlike imagination and the power that people can have over one another. The writing and way the story unfolds left me on the edge of my seat straining for a conclusion/answer to this "is it magic or not" question up until the very end and I am so impressed by the way that line was walked with such perfect literary tension.

There is an incredible infusion of fairy tale references throughout, from myriad cultures and periods, and all of the darker variations and varieties. It was interesting because some references were explicit, naming stories and characters (some of which I knew and some of which required me to do some Googling, which I love), and some of which were more reflections on fairy tales as a genre/literature in general. I really enjoyed some of the literary theory and analysis included, as Chokshi explores some connecting themes in fairy tales, like the nature of oaths, where does the power of love come from (happiness and smiles or screams and fear), the casual cruelty of fairy tales juxtaposed with with the careful distance the story-tellings tyle keeps you at (which allows you to not be overly affected by it), and more. Plus, as the plot comes to a head - the reveals of the dark secret of Indigo's past, Azure's story, and the truth of the magical event in the groom's history that made him believe in fairy tales to begin with - we are treated to a front row seat unfolding of how fairy tales are our way of escaping reality, both for fun and as a refuge (for when we must escape reality in order to protect ourselves).

Like I said, the plot and character development are good - very much like a fairy tale in the way they are paced and built - a solid foundation, if not spectacular, foundation for an unfolding novel. But this book truly shines in the spirit and aura. If you are looking to fall completely into the energy and ambiance of a novel, to get lost in it and leave the "real" world behind, then let this be the one.

“Some individuals are like portals, the knowing of them makes the world a far vaster place.”

“…the lightless space between what you cannot believe is a truth and what you know must be a lie.”

“I have since learned that marriage is nothing more than a spell strengthened by daily ritual.”

“If you combed through enough fairy tales, untangled their roots, and shook their branches, you would find that they are infested with oaths. Oaths are brittle things, not unlike an egg. Though they go by different names depending on the myth - troths and gels, vows and tynged - there is one thing they all share: they must be broken for there to be a story. Only a shattered promise yields a rich, glittering yolk of a tale.”

“Only grief can make time change its tempo like that, expand seconds to centuries, with only our eyes marking the distance crossed.”

“There is always a peculiar distance to fairy tales. They are denuded of urgency, rinsed of true horror even as the words relish in gore. Love is presented to us as something that must be as vast as a horizon and just as unreachable.”

“Sometimes you are lured not by the promise of safety but the safety of knowing that here lies a sure thing.”

“That’s why magic kissed our bruises, coddled our hearts, and then sent us on our way. Magic hoped we would carry its echo out into the world, for we were never meant to stay here.”

“In the end, a fairy tale is nothing more than a sense of hope. Hope lures and tricks. It tempts with shining thrones, exquisite nectars, and loving arms. It whispers to us that we are extraordinary. Exempt. Thus lured, we follow its path. Sometimes we are led to riches. Other times, we are led astray. But this hope never hides its shape, and for its honesty we reach for it and pull its sweet and stinking furs up to our chins, for to live without it means living without magic.”

Content Warnings

saliwali's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious reflective relaxing medium-paced

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

3.75

Content Warnings

More...