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A review by onthesamepage
The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Here's the most important thing to know if you're picking up this book: it's not a fantasy. It's not a romance. It is gothic literary fiction inspired by fairytales. Going in expecting anything else will lead to disappointment.
Why it's not a romance
To me, a romance book means that there is a focus on building a romantic relationship between (at least) two individuals that spans the entire story. That is not the case here. Our main character, known only as the bridegroom, falls for and marries a woman named Indigo within the first few chapters, and they've been married for a few years by the time we get to the actual story, which is unraveling the mysteries surrounding Indigo.
Why it's not a fantasy
To really explain why this doesn't count as fantasy, I have to talk about some things that could be considered spoilers. They won't reveal the plot, but will make certain things about the world clear that you wouldn't otherwise know for sure until the end, so I'll put it behind a cut.There is a lot of focus on fairytales throughout the story. When we meet Azure and see her with Indigo, we're seeing everything from Azure's point of view, and she believes in magic. There is an Otherworld that looks and feels special, the House of Dreams has feelings and shows her things, and Indigo firmly believes that they don't belong to this world and will be spirited away once they reach a certain age. There are also other off-hand mentions, like two types of whiskey, one that will fill your belly for the rest of your days but make you only able to speak the truth, and one that will leave you hungrier than before, but a polished liar. By the end of the book, it became very clear to me that there isn't actually any magic, and that almost everything can be attributed to a) childhood/teenage fancies, or b) introducing fairytale elements to their lives. The only thing that isn't clarified outright is whether the house is actually semi-sentient, but my conclusion by the last page was that it's very debatable that this is true, considering how unreliable our narrators are. This means that every single thing that would make this a fantasy book, is actually just people's imaginations. Hence, not a fantasy.
That's not to say I don't think the book is worth reading. I actually really liked the way fairytales were such a central theme throughout. It's more of a character study than a book with much of a plot, but it was interesting to see how the Indigo we see in Azure's chapters became the Indigo of the present. The pacing was very slow, however, and this has to do with the dual timelines. It bogged everything down, and every time I felt like we were getting somewhere in the present, we'd be back in the past for a significant chunk, which made the bridegroom's story lose its urgency. I also found parts of it to be overwritten—I had to reread a lot of paragraphs, sometimes more than once, because my mind kept wandering from the words.
Here's the most important thing to know if you're picking up this book: it's not a fantasy. It's not a romance. It is gothic literary fiction inspired by fairytales. Going in expecting anything else will lead to disappointment.
Why it's not a romance
To me, a romance book means that there is a focus on building a romantic relationship between (at least) two individuals that spans the entire story. That is not the case here. Our main character, known only as the bridegroom, falls for and marries a woman named Indigo within the first few chapters, and they've been married for a few years by the time we get to the actual story, which is unraveling the mysteries surrounding Indigo.
Why it's not a fantasy
To really explain why this doesn't count as fantasy, I have to talk about some things that could be considered spoilers. They won't reveal the plot, but will make certain things about the world clear that you wouldn't otherwise know for sure until the end, so I'll put it behind a cut.
That's not to say I don't think the book is worth reading. I actually really liked the way fairytales were such a central theme throughout. It's more of a character study than a book with much of a plot, but it was interesting to see how the Indigo we see in Azure's chapters became the Indigo of the present. The pacing was very slow, however, and this has to do with the dual timelines. It bogged everything down, and every time I felt like we were getting somewhere in the present, we'd be back in the past for a significant chunk, which made the bridegroom's story lose its urgency. I also found parts of it to be overwritten—I had to reread a lot of paragraphs, sometimes more than once, because my mind kept wandering from the words.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Infidelity, and Self harm
Moderate: Suicide and Pedophilia
Minor: Child abuse and Sexual harassment