Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi

9 reviews

ginamarie1283's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Spooky and intriguing. Intertwined myths and legends. Commentary on what makes a monster and the things we do to survive our trauma.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual violence

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

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

lotecider'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This book was poetic, haunting, it's writing as intricate and fine as lace made out of gold and diamonds. There is a gorgeous mix of tension, mystery and magic. Although classed as a fantasy, there is more mention of things typically associated with fantasy as opposed to actual elements. However, the writing does create the presence of magic where it needs to, in certain points where it'  needed, it does seem otherworldy. 

There is a plot twist, and whether you see it or not depends on you as a reader. I personally didn't see it coming, which is a first for me, so I found that a pleasant surprise. There's also a subtle hint st sexual assault against a minor so please be warned before reading! 

It is a relatively easy book to read, and very enjoyable. The only qualm i had was going in expecting it to be more fantastical than it was. Another review stated that it seemed more like children playing make believe than an actual fantasy story which I agree with, but it grew on Me and wasn't necessarily a bad feature- it just took a few chapters before I got accustomed to the worldbuilding 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual violence

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

kaylamoran's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.75

I was so excited for this book because I loved the Gilded Wolves so much.  But this was only okay for me.  The cover is honestly better than the book itself.
Everyone seemed so delusional, I had to suspend my disbelief so much throughout.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

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

emilydrojas's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

tinybluepixel's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Alcohol