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

I received this book as part of my subscription to FairyLoot.
"The Last Tale of the Flower Bride" follows a man who believes in fairy tales and his beautifully mysterious wife, Indigo. They believed they would have their happily ever after, as long as Indigo's Groom promised to never pry into her dark and elusive past. When they are forced to return to her childhood home, the lure of learning more about Indigo is too much, and he starts to investigate what Indigo is hiding, and what happened to her childhood best friend, Azure.
This book is beautifully written to be both hauntingly gothic and atmospheric. My favorite chapters were from Azure's perspective from when she and Indigo were young. Their magic and fairy games were so elaborate and the world they created was vivid and entertaining to read about.
Indigo is a highly unlikable character, in my opinion. She is a bully and manipulates those around her so that she can have the things she wants most. There are some scenes with Indigo, Azure, and a girl who just wants to be friends with them, and Indigo takes her eagerness to please the duo too far. Indigo is the epitome of a toxic friend, and it took Azure too long in my opinion to start to poke holes in Indigo's motives. I know they were young, but Azure and everyone else deserved better. Having an unlikely main character is always risky in my opinion, and in this case it slightly hindered my enjoyment of the story.
I think it is interesting to learn the stories of Indigo's and Azure's childhoods as her groom is uncovering the secrets of the house in the present, however, reading from his perspective was not my favorite. I felt like he was a flat character and did not add much to the story. Additionally, his motivation for snooping (trying to see his brother again) did not feel urgent or authentic enough to me.
Overall, this book was slightly higher than middle of the road for me. I am intrigued, and I am interested to pick up more from Roshani Chokshi in the future.

Content Warnings

bookcheshirecat's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark slow-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

“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.”

➽ The Last Tale of the Flower Bride was an intense, enchanting book! I know there are a lot of mixed opinions on it, but I personally found it very compelling. The story is all about the mysterious, wealthy Indigo Maxwell-Casteñada, who is forced to come back to her childhood home with her late husband. The husband is never named, but he gets a POV where he recounts his marriage to Indigo and her strange behavior. The second POV is set in the past as we follow Azure, Indigo's childhood best friend. Definitely check the content warnings for this book, as it has some very dark moments! I personally preferred Azure's POV as it was more interesting. We see her very unhealthy, codependent and volatile friendship with Indigo, which is meant to make us feel uncomfortable. Indigo's a complicated, twisted girl who can give you the world, but also tear it down if she feels like it. I loved how many morally grey characters were in the book and how the line between magic and reality began to blur! The ending had some amazing plot twists!

Content Warnings

sophmcgraw's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Content Warnings

deedireads's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75

All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/reads.

TL;DR REVIEW:

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride is a lush, delicious, completely enchanting (and short!) gothic fairytale with an ending I can’t believe I didn’t see coming. What more could you ask for?

For you if: You’re looking for the perfect book to gobble up in one sitting.

FULL REVIEW:

I haven’t read all of Roshani Chokshi’s books, but I did have fun reading the Gilded Wolves trilogy, so when I heard she’d written a standalone, adult, gothic fairy tale fantasy novel, I was ON BOARD. And my friends, this book is such a good time. I absolutely recommend.

The book has two narrators: an unnamed “bridegroom” married to a mysterious, possibly magical woman named Indigo (present day), and Indigo’s mysteriously absent childhood best friend Azure (flashback). Indigo married her bridegroom on the condition that he’s never ask questions about her past, but when she has to bring him to the (also possibly magical) house she grew up in, the threads begin to unravel. And then ending? Absolutely A+. Can’t believe I didn’t see it coming (and isn’t that the best kind)?

This is a standalone and not very long, but it’s super immersive and atmospheric, which makes it the perfect book to get lost in and finish in one sitting. The prose is absolutely delicious, lush, and enchanting. The kind of darkly romantic book where you aren’t sure who to trust and what’s real. As Alix Harrow put it, “fairy tale in the old bad sense, gothic in the new subversive sense.” I think I wish it had been a bit more fleshed out for this to become a true favorite, but I definitely loved it nonetheless.

Content Warnings