So, I finished »The Last Tale of the Flower Bride« yesterday and the good thing is that I can't stop thinking about it - but I also can't decide whether I want to give this 4 or 5 stars.

I’m actually really really happy I got approved for the eARC of this - thank you Hodder & Stoughton! - because this is the perfect book for autumn. Roshani Chokshi has the most beautiful writing style, she just has a talent for describing things in a really beautiful way without it getting dense. I just adore her writing and if I wasn't sure before, she’s definitely a favorite author of mine now. »The Last Tale of the Flower Bride« is dark and mysterious, full of fairytales, myths and folklore. It also gave me major Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier vibes with the house and that we never learned the name of the bridegroom and as with Rebecca as soon as Indigo and the bridegroom enter the house there's this third person that strains the relationship between Indigo and her husband and where we don't know what happened to her and finding out was a big part of the story. I just really loved that I got similar vibes from »The Last Tale of the Flower Bride«, even though it is a lot more mystic and ominous than Rebecca. And I’m not like, comparing the books or saying they are very similar, it just gave me similar vibes here and there, which I really enjoyed.

The story itself became a bit predictable from a certain point which didn't exactly bothered me but I did hope I would be a bit more surprised. This is the reason why I’m struggling to decide if this was a 4 or 5 star read for me. I was pretty set on 4 stars during the last chapters but then the ending was written so beautifully and in a way that I didn't exactly expect and that made me appreciate the whole book even more. So, I think it has to be 5 stars. Because I really really loved »The Last Tale of the Flower Bride« and it’s for sure a book I’ll be thinking about every now and then.

The plot was what drew me in but I honestly fell for the writing. It was so lyrical and poetic that it really felt like of fanciful dark fairytale. The haunting and dark imagery really drove that it was this gothic tale. I could not put this book down. The dual POV was a plus for me, I always love varying perspectives. I cannot begin to describe how much I love the characters. They were so well constructed and did not seem flat at all. I really don't have anything negative to say about this book.

A full review will be posted closer to publication date and posted to my bookstagram.(Link will be provided).

Thank you NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the opportunity to read this beautiful and immersive book.

This was an incredibly beautifully written book, with various myths and folktales seamlessly woven into the tale and central narrative, leaving some utterly beautiful prose that lingers in your mind, with the ghostly threads of foreshadowing. It’s a deliciously gothic tale of secrets, lies and the lost memories of childhood.

The story follows a married couple, where the groom has promised never to pry into the past of his bride, Indigo, and yet her secrets call to him, when the two visit her childhood home and he catches wind of her dearest childhood friend, Azure. The shadows that lurk within that house then spin a tale across two different times and two different people: the bridegroom and Azure, as we slowly unravel the dark mysteries of Indigo. But doing so becomes increasingly dangerous for the both of them.

This book was incredibly beautifully written and Roshani Chokshi definitely shows off her absolutely masterful prose, which is equal parts poetic and haunting. The way she weaves in the foreshadowing is masterful: subtle enough that you don’t realize it’s happening, yet clear enough that you might figure it out, which I did, or be able to look back at previous chapters and realize what you accidentally missed. Definitely a must read if you enjoy gothic books with haunting atmospheres.

This review will be up on my Instagram, @kratist0, within a week or two.

Wow, now I need to read everything else that Roshani Chokshi has ever written because her writing style is absolutely flawless. This was a gorgeously gothic tale of myths and fairytales and suspicion and intrigue. From the very first page, the author sets up this tangled web of plot that just completely immerses you and has you trying to figure out where the story will go and whether you can trust the perspective you're reading from, and what is and isn't real. Every single word in every single line has clearly been so carefully selected to create this magically beautiful prose that fits the vibes and atmosphere of the plot perfectly.

Throughout this book are various folklores and myths scattered and pebbled, all dark and dangerous and you're trying to figure out exactly what role they place in the story, and I will say that the plot is a bit confusing (purposefully) so this book definitely won't be for everyone, but it was exactly how I imagined it would be so I loved it!

If you're looking for something to sit down and read while it's raining outside and that will immerse you to the point where you either could finish it in one sitting, or where you just want to slowly savour it, and you want intrigue and mystery and houses that seem alive and toxic friendships and secrets, this is the book for you.

I should've written this review sooner after finishing the book, but here's what I gathered from the notes I took while reading.

What I liked:
The premise. The whole idea of the book is absolutely intriguing.
The beautiful writing. Roshani Chokshi has a gorgeous writing style and the book is atmospheric as hell.
The plot twist was better than what I've read in most other thrillers or mysteries lately.

What I didn't like:
I felt misled by the blurb. I had assumed that the book would follow Indigo's POV, and that wasn't the case.
There were parts of the book that i just didn't get, to be honest. Maybe I didn't pay enough attention while reading though.
The lack of plot. There really isn't a lot of plot, so "no plot, just vibes" kind of applied.
The characters. They just weren't great. They weren't likable, and I also didn't find them layered enough to make up for that.

Overall I did find the book nice to read, but lacked the "wow factor" I'd been looking for.

Beautiful, lyrical writing, incredible scene setting and the Bridegroom's fairytales were wonderful - definitely my favourite part.
What jarred for me is that the story is set in a modern day world with the girls going to high school yet at the same time living in a gothic fantasy. I just couldn't suspend belief enough to get totally absorbed. Perhaps for this reason I found that the story lacked depth despite its undoubted charm.

4.5 stars!

I really enjoyed this, it was a book I'venever read anything like before and I was gripped. The only reason it isn't 5 stars is because I didn't like the ending but thats just personal preference not any fault of the book or author. It was the perfect spooky season read.

2.5 ⭐️
Hello! Thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton I had the opportunity to read “The Last Tale of the Flower Bride” by Roshani Chokshi. This is my honest review.

I decided to request this book because of V.E. Schwab and Alix E. Harrow’s positive reviews, for the beautiful covers, and the plot.

In the present, the narrator is the bridegroom. We do not know his name, we only know that he is a scholar that studies myths and fairytales.
This scholar falls madly in love and marries Indigo Maxwell-Casteñada, an heiress of ethereal beauty.
Their marriage is based on the stories they both love and feed on, myths, legends, folklore, fairytales, and on a promise: the bridegroom should never, ever wonder about his bride's past.

This promise will be difficult to keep when the two have to return to Indigo's family home, the House of Dreams, because her aunt, who raised her after the death of her parents, is dying.
The House - which is almost sentient and has feelings - leads the bridegroom on a path to break the promise he made to his wife. In return, the House will reveal to him the truth about his childhood and the disappearance of his little brother.
The bridegroom is certain that the fairies have kidnapped his brother - which is also the reason why he has chosen this peculiar field of study. Is magic the truth or behind the veil lies a much more horrible reality?

Once we arrive at the House we “meet” the second narrator: Azure.
Azure was Indigo's best friend; although her family and economic situation was very different from Indigo’s, the two seemed like sisters - more than sisters. The two girls believed to share the same soul, that they were literally inseparable.
Both were in love with fairytales and magic - especially Indigo. They believed to belong to the Otherworld, and that one day fairies would welcome them in their rightful home. Their attitude, their appearance, every single part of their life was based on this belief. Until the fantasy began to become dangerous; the happily ever after a cage, and the magic… an obsession.

I would have liked to love this book very, very much. Alas, it didn't go as I hoped.
The problem with this book, for me, is that it is ephemeral in every single part: plot, writing and characters.
I find it difficult to talk about this book because it is inconclusive; it had the infamous potential, that unfortunately was sacrificed to the altar of a fascinating but ultimately empty Gothic style.

In this story, the fairytale fantasy is tied to reality; fantasy intrudes into the lives and minds of the characters almost like a plant that blossoms in every available ravine.
Indigo believes that she and Azure share the same soul and the same destiny: one day, fairies will claim them. For this reason, she and her friend behave like fairies would want girls to behave: they wear elegant dresses, have very long hair, eat sweet fruits and drink tea only, make sacrifices, etc.
As Indigo grows into the spoiled heiress one would expect, Azure experiences very different and darker experiences at her mother and stepfather's home. Traumatic experiences that Indigo almost pushes her friend to live because they bring her closer to the fairytales world she loves so much.

The problem is that this sort of magical realism never takes the next step to actually becoming magical realism.
The attempt to deceive the reader is so forced that, at least for me, it was impossible to turn on the so-called "willing suspension of disbelief". In the end, the story fails to reach any goal: fantastic, macabre, or realistic.

Furthermore, the narrative is suffocating. There is a double point of view: the bridegroom’s in the present and Azure’s in the past.
The events in the present take place over few days, and nothing noteworthy happens to justify so many chapters in the present.
However Azure talks about their past, stories from when they were little girls up to adulthood - there is more action, even though it is still weighed down by a pretentious style.
In spite of the double point of view, readers feel sensations of stillness, immobility, suffocation.

When I think about the style I think of brocade, the fabric. Visually intriguing, with intricate embroidery and evocative colors, but heavy, tiring.
In the story there is too much of everything, everything is forced and the worst thing is that readers can feel the effort - they can perceive the author’s desire to write a gothic novel, thus completely breaking the atmosphere.
Neither the characters help: Indigo is devious and manipulative, the aunt is bland. The bridegroom and Azure are the only interesting characters. The former for his story, and the mystery of his childhood and the disappearance of his little brother, the latter for the climax in her history. Even though, in the end, it was pretty predictable.

There are some positive things that helped me finish this book, of course.
Despite everything, the story is intriguing, and the need to find out what actually happened helps reaching the end.
Furthermore, the connection with fairytales - with its tropes in particular - are useful because they are used to show where we would have been in the tale if Azure and the bridegroom’s stories really were fairytales.

In my opinion, "The Last Tale of the Flower Bride" had the potential, but it was not employed. The story wanted to be macabre, gothic, magical, dark, an horror, a fairytale, but it did not go beyond already known thresholds.

I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you very much!

I don't think I ever loved a book this quickly.
The narration pulls you in immediately, that prose concise and enchanting at the same time, full of fairy tales and myth and wonder. Thoughts confuse as you wonder whether the apparations are real; is there really a secret gate to a magical land of wonder in the house's back yard, or - is this a shared delusion of two isolated girls who are left unchecked in their imaginations of grandeur and otherness?

I'm not gonna tell you about the plot. I need everyone to read this book, immediately.

Our story is told by two characters: Our unnamed bridegroom, a scholar just teetering at the edge of losing himself to tales of old, and Azure, the girl who tells us about her past before she disappeared into thin air, leaving only a strand of dark hair and a tooth behind. As the bridegroom searches, Azure slowly unravels the mystery. Both of them are connected by a singular woman - Indigo. Indigo, who has as many secrets as her old home, the House of Dreams, has rooms.

This is a wonderful little book, and I cannot wait for it to come out so I can keep it on my shelf forever and ever like the treasure it is. I loved every single sentence of this.

Where to start... This book had me hooked! Gosh loved it so much. The plot thickens, as they say, the further you get into the book, the more you get to know. Azure and Indigo's friendship starts as a pure, innocent friendship, but turns into something less innocent over time. As badly they want to 'cross over' to the 'other world', the worse Indigo's bossy and demanding behaviour gets.

I often enjoyed the chapters from Azure's point of view more than the bridegroom's. Azure's were more memorable in my opinion...

The writing was lyrical and beautiful which I loved in the beginning but the charm of it wore off pretty quickly. Its a very slow paced book and I found it hard to connect to the characters. The atmosphere and the setting were very well developed and while I enjoyed this book, ultimately I didn't love it as much as I wish I had.

Well, this was a huge disappointment.

I really thought I would love this book but the way everything is simply told to the reader made it hard to enjoy.

I didn't feel the love between the characters. They were incredibly dull actually. I didn't care about them nor was I captivated by their story.

You'll probably like this novel if you're more into the tale than the characters because there's no depth whatsoever here.

(Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for an eARC in exchange for an honest review).

I stumbled across this title as a result of a really positive review from Alix E Harrow, whose books I routinely love. The premise was simple: an old school fairy tale in the model of Bluebeard. A story told from the perspective of two narrators: The Bridegroom (who never does get his own name) and Azure.

The atmosphere is mysterious and unnerving without straying in to thriller territory. The setting is gothic and dramatic. The emotional side of things is complex and nuanced, even as we're left with the feeling that the narration may be unreliable.

While I managed to predict some twists, I still wouldn't describe them as predictable: and I was left feeling satisfied rather than smug or irritated. The book did a great job of keeping me on a low simmer of anticipation as it unfolded. All in all, a thoroughly pleasurable read.

I couldn't be happier to have been able to read this early, because a gothic novel like this was exactly what I wanted to read this October.

Rooted in fairytales, with emphasis on the "fairy", and with beautifully lush and atmospheric writing that's poetic but never dense, this was truly such a beautiful read. The synopsis talks mainly about the marriage aspect of this book, but, without wanting to give too much away, there's also a central toxic friendship that I loved to see unravel.

This was comped as Mexican Gothic meets Addie Larue, which I think really holds up. It's unsettling but never outright scary, with an intriguing plot that slowly slooowly unravels while keeping your interest the whole way through.

This was a very simple tale cloaked in a great deal of atmosphere and mood, a prosaic story filtered through the lens of fairy tale that turns it into something magical. A child shelters from a horrifying existence by viewing it through stories and fiction; and as an adult marries and engages with the world through a more educated version of the same lens. But of course, although fantasy can protect you in times of need, filtering the world through it can go too far, and disengaging from reality is a luxury that not everyone can indulge in safely.

This is not an easy book. It is slow, thoughtful, full of observations about the nature of fairy tales, of privilege, of childhood and innocence. It weaves its own story around the framework of folklore, without ever stooping to something as predictable as a retelling. Specific tales are invoked, especially Melusine and Bluebeard, but the narrator's conscious awareness of his place in those tales means that even in invoking them he renders them inapplicable to his own situation.

There are layers upon layers in this book. But, because unraveling those layers is work, and because the characters are filtered through moody atmospheric prose, it's difficult to fully care about them. Some gut-wrenching revelations (that I sort of predicted in nature, if not in detail), fall a bit a flat, and the eventual resolution is less satisfying than it might have been, because I didn't feel about the characters the way I needed to for the final pieces to land as they were intended to do. There is substance to this book, and there is style (a lot of style), but they have difficulty connecting to each other, in the same way the characters have difficulty connecting with the world through their protective filter of fairy tale.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of Roshani Chokshi's 'The Last Tale of the Flower Bride'

'The Last Tale of the Flower Bride' by Roshani Chokshi was a spectacular novel by Miss Chokshi. It is very different from her usual literature pieces but her beautiful writing style shines through this gothic novel like a diamond in the rough. The book was intense and unexpected in certain instances but I was invested. If Roshani wanted to write another gothic-y horror, I'd instantly sign myself up to read it.

This book left me torn. On one hand, I think, it could have been shorter and on the other I want more of it.
The writing and atmosphere were exquisite.
I love the idea of this story and its ending but wasn't quite convinced by the execution. The relationship and the characters needed a bit more depth to make it convincing for me. However, framing the story as a fairytale kind of makes up for it, makes it make more sense. Even though I figured things out pretty early on I plan on rereading to see if knowing might change my mind on some things.
Overall, I really enjoyed this story and will recommend it.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An immersing dreamlike quality read from the first chapter you're drawn into an alternative reality where the impossible is possible. The journey is at once magical and mildly uncomfortable, the characters hypnotising and pliable. To me also a bit creepy but overall thrilling and a new perspective on a very original book plan.

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride is a stunning adult debut with some of the most gorgeous prose I have ever read. This is the first book I've read by Roshani Chokshi and it completely blew me away. It is gothic and romantic with dark fairytale vibes. I really enjoyed the plot but the writing style really added to the narrative and made it stand out to me from other books of this genre.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Full review will be posted as I finish and I'll add links to blog as well. The review will be scheduled and posted closer to publication date.

I would like to thank the publisher Hodder & Stoughton and netgalley for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review.