Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi

30 reviews

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

seforaflorian's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Gore, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

ducky_momo's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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

4.0

No me estaba gustando del todo hasta que en el último cuarto del libro todo cobra sentido, y no me puedo resistir a un cuento de hadas perfectamente construido. La verdad es que el libro me ha generado desasosiego mientras lo leía, y como no lo he "disfrutado" no le pongo más nota. Aún así, es una novela autoconclusiva tan buena, está tan bien articulada, que el final salva muchas partes intermedias y el hecho de que se pase un poco mal leyéndolo.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse and Sexual harassment

edgarallanh2o's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Physical abuse

kirstinlwx's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

… that - this singular truth that I am not alone - expands the universe in a way that faith never has. 

I tried to read this a while ago and couldn’t get started with it. This time, I was loathe to put it down.
Filled with purple prose, fairy- and folktale references, and a beautifully fleshed-out cast of characters, this book was the most lush escape I could have asked for.

I got an inkling about the blue-tones plot reveal about halfway through, and only became more certain once we got to the last scenes in the Otherworld, but even with being able to see the destination, that path was delightfully twisty.

I debated bringing this down below 5 stars, just to recognize some questions/potential plot holes, and my feeling of wanting more with certain characters in this book… but I think those feelings are by design, and just make me want to start from the beginning again immediately. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, and Toxic friendship

gracescanlon's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Deliciously eerie throughout with a wonderful ending.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Incest and Violence

liamliayaum's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

2.5

Verbose and lyrical. Twisty turny. What was the point? Young Indigo is a corrupted and manipulative person afraid to be alone who has the world at her fingertips. Young Azure is a scared girl looking for someone to love her. There were inconsistencies throughout, especially with the graduation timeline, as it would bend and morph like the house. Also, this is more mystery than fantasy. Overall, this was a gothic and atmospheric slog of a read.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Physical abuse

karapillar's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Self harm, and Murder

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Gun violence, Incest, Pedophilia, Vomit, Death of parent, and Alcohol

wishbea's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

kmmcghan's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Toxic friendship