Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi

30 reviews

totallypercyjackson's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

review to come :)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

saliwali's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective relaxing 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, and Alcohol

Minor: Medical content, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

blackcatkai's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

CW: toxic friendships/relationships, ableism, emotional as well as physical abuse (against children and adults), gaslighting, death, violence, alcoholism, disordered eating, body/fat shaming, classism, sexual assault of a minor (mainly implied/mentioned: not overly graphic throughout majority of story), abandonment, trauma/mental illness, body horror

this was so beautifully written and really did feel like a faerie tale. it is very much a slower gothic read so definitely set expectations accordingly. its a story that deals with a few very heavy topics so heed any content warnings beforehand, as well. i really enjoyed the way chokshi interwove two main stories together with a common thread tying them together. you feel a lot for azure if no one else and really root for her against all odds. the bridegroom is a very interesting perspective to read from, especially as his sections are more in the now while azures are in the past until they both crash together in the end.

now some people will probably see the twist coming before you actually get to the reveal, but i dont think that necessarily takes away from the story as a whole. IS there magic? is it all just a ruse? ultimately its left a bit open-ended for the reader to decide and i really liked where it went in the end, it really got quite the roller coaster of emotions out of me. will definitely read more of chokshi's adult work going forward, shes a master!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Medical content, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Ableism

not_asha01's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

mbmayo's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Indigo and Azure are inseparable childhood friends, two halves of the same soul. Until the end of childhood, when the pair walks into the Otherworld and only one returns. Years later, Indigo's husband accompanies her to her childhood home, The House of Dreams. The House, a character in its own right, urges him to unearth his wife's secret and discover what happened that fateful night.

The book is told from two perspectives, the bridegroom tells the tale of meeting Indigo, their marriage and the unravelling of her secret. Azure tells the story of their childhood. The bridegroom was a scholar, and his chapters read almost as though Chokshi imagines as all children do that teachers do not exist outside their classrooms. In his relationship, he likens everything to the fairy tales he studies. In his recanting of the relationship he explains how each part matches with a particular trope found in fairy tales. Not even his childhood memories made him more real or human to me. 

Azure, on the other hand, told a story I was eager to return to. She and her world and everything at stake for her felt real. I loved that the House loved her, and her struggle between the real world and the Otherworld; between being an individual or sharing a soul.

Lastly, it took me way too long to realize that Indigo was a villain. The bridegroom, Azure, Tati, everyone gave loved her. I thought we, the readers, were meant to as well. But, she bullies and manipulates so many characters you begin to wonder why they can't see it. She would have made an excellent cult leader.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Animal death, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Gaslighting

anni_swanilda's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Violence, and Alcohol

Minor: Death of parent

modernmatilda's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Was the twist worth it? Mostly. Was it a little slow and repetitive? A little. But was it still a solid ride? Yes. 

More Mexican Gothic, less House of Hollow. Probably predictable for other readers, but I like being caught up in the ride. Had GORGEOUS lyrical writing and some lines I underlined in pen. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual assault

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, and Rape

danidella's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

maeverose's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.75

So close to being five stars

TL;DR: The writing and gothic atmosphere are a 10/10. Gave me Rebecca vibes. So satisfied with the ending.

I love how gothic and atmospheric this book is. I loved the dreamlike magical realism elements. I almost want to immediately re read this and annotate it. I didn’t even realize until I finished it and I don’t know if it was intentional (since I’ve heard this is a bluebeard retelling) but Bridegroom’s pov felt very reminiscent of Rebecca. With his quick marriage to Indigo and her secret past with Azure, who’s almost supernaturally tied to the house. And him being unnamed throughout the whole book (which I love).

I found zero objective flaws with this book (outside of the unnecessary body shaming of one of the antagonists), but the main thing that makes me hesitant to give it five stars is that at a few points it triggered my anxiety a little bit (it might’ve just been because I had too much caffeine that day honestly lol). I also really don’t like to read about toxic friendships, which is a big part of this book.

But mostly I loved it

“Too often the truth of a memory lives not in the mind but in the heart, in the subtle and sacred organization that makes up one’s identity. But it is a tender place to reach, and I am wounded by touching it.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cursing and Fatphobia

Graphic: Animal harm, suffocation, cult behavior Moderate: Delusions/Unreality, step father grooming his step daughter, as for the gore, most of it is kind of metaphorical or in the fairytales, so it’s not super descriptive but it’s brought up a lot so I put it in moderate.

shrands's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

4.0

A bit of a slow starter for me - I really loved the writing style in places, but it could get slightly too flowery in places which made it hard to get into the plot.

It did really pick up though - this gave me Crimson Peak/Hill House vibes with added glamour. It's funny because I think if I had more experience with gothic novels I'd love this even more - but even with my limited experience with the genre I enjoyed it. 

It really took an extremely dark turn near the end, which is when it finally started to click to me that all of the magic and escapism is just the main characters' delusions in order to escape their own trauma.

Indigo - abandonment and loneliness, a desire for control over death and family that was taken from her when her parents died.

Azure - escapism from her home life with a mother who devalued her and a predatory stepfather

The Bridegroom - escapism from an abusive home and blocking out the trauma of losing his brother. 

Another detail I loved is that we never learn the name of The Bridegroom - as detailed in the book, names have power, and give people ownership over you. Also, the story isn't really about him in the end. It's about Indigo and Azure. 

Really great subversion from Chokshi as well, because I suspected they had switched places but then was like 'nah that can't be right, people would notice the difference' 

The more I think about the book the more I love it tbh

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment