Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi

43 reviews

cheye13's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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

2.0

The best thing I can say about this book is that the writing is beautiful. Stepping back, I can see what it was going for, but ultimately, I think it should've been a novella, or even a short story.

A big part of my disappointment is the fault of the synopsis. I had expected a bluebeard-like tale featuring the Bridegroom as a main character, but as is, he could've been removed from the story entirely. In actuality, this is the story of Indigo and Azure growing up together, and the all-encompassing nature of their friendship and the world they create together. It's an interesting story, but simply too long. Every element of the tale is overdrawn to the point that any initial tension dissolves.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Gore, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Alcohol, Child death, Dementia, Gaslighting, Grief, Sexual content, and Suicide

Minor: Death of parent, Dementia, Gun violence, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, and Pedophilia

a myriad of standard old-style fairytale content warnings, not graphically described, but consistently mentioned: rape, incest, murder, etc. A persistent predatory stepfather and an off-page sexual assault involving blackout drinking.

displacedcactus's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-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

You can really tell this is the first "adult" novel from a YA author, especially since one of the dual timelines involves teenagers. If the idea of a story inspired by Gothics and fairy tales/folklore but set in modern times, but everything is so overwrought that nobody talks or acts like a normal person, you will probably enjoy it! I found the overwrought dialog really pulled me out of the story and the middle really sagged, but I understand why some people love it.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Child abuse, Child death, Pedophilia, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Animal death, Blood, and Death of parent

The toxic friendship crosses over to abusive territory, IMHO.

moonchild_cos's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Animal death

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Child death, Pedophilia, and Terminal illness

Minor: Death of parent, Medical content, and Sexual content

prairieraven's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Body horror, Sexual content, Bullying, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Pedophilia, Violence, Blood, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Incest, Infidelity, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, and Rape

ctara2123's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Animal death

Moderate: Child death, Death, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Minor: Murder

acogna's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad medium-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

3.0

This story in and of itself was good Gothic fairytale—dark, cruel, mesmerising, heavy.

Like, that twist. Damn.

However, its quality is extremely held back by the prose. It was my main struggle; it attempts to write in that poetic, lyrical style of magical realism. But I could clearly tell that this is Roshani Choski's first foray into writing like this. Where at times the prose is lilting and beautiful, there are more instances where it's jarring, repetitive for no reason, nonsensical with its metaphors, clunky, obstructive, meandering, pretentious. It does not feel nice to read.

The House of Dreams, for instance, is characterised simply in its personification as a house: it sleeps, it favours people, it hates guests, it listens. It doesn't feel like a character, but it tries to be by way of being given personification. In comparison to the houses of Jackson, who are barely even personified in prose, but their foreboding presence, their dominance over the story, their Voyeuristic ghosts and cruel angles, are what make them characters.

The author sees how prose like this should work (it's obvious from the novel she's been inspired by a lot of good Gothic fiction, and it shows) but she doesn't seem to understand how to apply the prose in the way that best fits it. And it's a shame because of how good the story it's telling is.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Pedophilia, Child abuse, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Animal death

katmystery's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

2.5

Fairytale-inspired horror about toxic relationships and self-deception. It wasn’t quite horror in the violence sense- it wasn’t too gory or icky- but in the atmospheric sense. It had a pervasive bleak, unpleasant, and sickly mood, which is typical for the horror genre and something I personally do not enjoy. Recommended to fans of the original Grimm’s fairytales, in all their messed up glory.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Death, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Blood, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Murder, Gaslighting, and Animal death

Moderate: Grief and Pedophilia

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Gaslighting, Grief, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, and Violence

uncreativeoops's review against another edition

mysterious slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Infidelity, Sexual harassment, and Toxic friendship

melodyseestrees's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Death, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Child death, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, and Sexual content

Minor: Abandonment, Terminal illness, and Pedophilia

There is implication that Azure's mom's partner has or wants to get sexual with Azure but few explicit details are given. It is mostly subtextual so those who get it get it and those who don't will probably just find the character super creepy.