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howlinglibraries's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
You said: "If you pry, you'll destroy our marriage." But oh, my love, you lied.
I'm disappointed to say that I didn't enjoy The Last Tale of the Flower Bride until the final 15-20%, and even then, it never redeemed itself from a dreary, bland start and characters that I found it impossible to care about.
We start off with the bridegroom's POV as we learn how he and Indigo came to marry, and it is a painfully instantaneous romance that holds no chemistry or depth whatsoever. Instead of character development, the narrative was comprised primarily of one fairytale reference after another, and I felt like I was being beaten over the head with blunt metaphors. As someone who typically loves purple prose, this was a rare experience in which the writing veered far past whimsical and into the territory of downright pretentiousness for me.
After a bit, the story begins to alternate between the bridegroom and Azure, his wife's childhood friend, and while the plot developing within her segments was far more interesting, I struggled with the fact that the writing did not differ in any way whatsoever between their inner monologues.
On top of the previous issues mentioned, I feel obligated to mention how predictable the twist was; I literally guessed it within the first 10% of the book, even down to the outline of how it played out in the end. I typically don't knock off stars for predictability because I know I'm the type of reader who guesses twists often, and that doesn't always act as a negative against the writing; still, in this case, it only added to my boredom. I would have set this book aside early on, if not for the fact that I became determined to see if I had guessed correctly.
It genuinely hurts me to write this review because The Last Tale of the Flower Bride held so much potential and I think, in another writer's hands, it could have been a perfect read for me, but the writing is what held this story back in every possible way. I can fully understand how this book has been popular with so many readers in the brief time since it was released, and I expect it will find a great deal more fans from here on, but unfortunately, I'm not one of them.
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy! All thoughts are honest and my own.
✨ Representation: Indigo, Azure, and Tati are BIPOC (no specific mentions of their ethnicities, one brief mention of Azure being uncertain of her ethnicity)
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Terminal illness and Gore
scarlett_f's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Confinement, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness
Minor: Blood, Alcohol, Death, Death of parent, Child death, Animal death, Grief, Gun violence, Child abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, and Stalking
With a flower bride comes flowery language.bibookworm's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, Murder, Emotional abuse, and Blood
emmakchapman's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Pedophilia
victoriamark's review against another edition
4.0
Minor: Sexual harassment, Child death, Child abuse, Murder, and Death
itsalina's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Toxic friendship
Moderate: Abandonment, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Toxic relationship, and Pedophilia
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Murder, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
chaptersofamylea's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
3 ⭐️
The writing style was beautiful but I think in some ways it got lost within its purpose and made it a little hard to read. I did guess the ending and found it a struggle to read because I knew what was going to happen. I loved all the tid bits of all the fairytales though.
TWs: paedophilia, child neglect, death of a family member, depiction of injury, drugging, murder
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, and Murder
effy's review against another edition
4.5
Very early into my read, I was pretty convinced that
What I truly loved about this book was the way that trauma and the toxicity of relationships are portrayed within this book. I also feel as though this book gave a lot of the same vibes as Pan's Labyrinth, in particular the way that the whimsy and fairytale was expanded in the book.
I suspect that this is the kind of book that I will simply adore on re-read if for no other reason that I will be experiencing it with full knowledge of what I am going into.
The final chapter and epilogue were so incredibly masterfully done that, despite having a really hard time with this book, my lasting impression is a positive one.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Murder, Child death, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Pedophilia
not_asha01's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, and Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Murder, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Classism, Alcohol, Death, Blood, Animal death, Bullying, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, and Child abuse
theavidreader405's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Toxic friendship
Moderate: Violence and Murder