Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi

21 reviews

anreesez's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

3.0

This is beautifully written, excellent world-building and characters, but it fell a little short in the conclusion. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, and Gaslighting

joisaddler's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, and Mental illness

klsreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

4.0

Wow, does Roshani Chokshi know how to write a beautiful sentence. You can really feel the world she crafted, which is no small feat as she jumps between whimsical and brutal realities. I love a coming of age story. I love a dark fairy tale. I love a personified house. I love a weird marriage with secrets. 

As always, check the TW's. There's nothing overly graphic, but plenty of unsettling, nasty things.

1 star docked because while this was stunningly beautiful and filled with fairy tale lore from around the world, the plot was quite slow and sometimes got lost in all the metaphors and similes. Because of that, I think it dragged and it took me a while to get through (though I am silly, silly busy right now). I'm a bit torn saying this, though, because I adored the character development in the backstory and am unsure if this could've been done at a faster pace. I wasn't as interested in the present-day story in the book, though the twists and turns hit some emotional slam-dunks. 

I will absolutely be reading more from Chokshi. Her writing is gorgeous! Highly rec if you like dark fairy tale, slow-burn, coming of age stories. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Dementia, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Animal death, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, and Grief

shubka's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Blood, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Mental illness, Murder, and Sexual harassment

jeyjeyyy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Blood, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

mariavdl's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Animal death, Blood, and Death of parent

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

wrensreadingroom's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

solntse's review against another edition

dark emotional

• 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? It's complicated

4.0

<i>The Last Tale of the Flower Bride</i> 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 <i> Rebecca </i> and Angela Carter's <i>The Bloody Chamber.</i> 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 <i>Rebecca</i>, 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!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Mental illness, and Sexual harassment

booksbutmakeitgay's review against another edition

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism