Reviews with content warning for Toxic friendship - The Last Tale of the Flower Bride

I can definitely see myself rereading this book. It's a bit of a fever dream on a first read, and knowing where it was going, I think it would make an interesting re-read.

A story that weaves together between chapters in the past and present all surrounding the life of Indigo Maxwell-Casteñada, told from her husband's pov and her childhood friend in the past. Very atmospheric and character driven, the plot is really just the mystery of Indigo as a person being unraveled. Super creepy, eerie and unnerving at parts. Like being in a nightmare (but it's not horror persay). I found I really couldn't put it down!

It's rather a hard book to describe, so if the synopsis sounds good I recommend you try it!

Content Warnings

stardust_heidi's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

4.0

I don’t even know how to put my feelings and thoughts about this book into words.

Maybe I’ll come back to update this later.

Content Warnings

edgarallanh2o's review against another edition

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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

Content Warnings

tamara_joy's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

Content Warnings

mrsjoellebell's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

oz2021's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad 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? Yes

3.25

Content Warnings

kirstinlwx's review against another edition

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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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