I am speechless. This book broke my brain with its aching, haunting beauty. There is a good book and there is this masterpiece. The writing grips your heart and will not let it go until it is finished devouring you, just like Indigo's Otherworld.

What captivated me the most about this story is what stays mostly implied through the whole book: the everyday horrors no one dares to talk about and how these shape us into adulthood. On the surface level, this book is about fairy tales and how they shape us through our childhood, but below that, it is about coping, turning a blind eye to reality until coming full circle and facing it, recognizing the monstrous and loving it still or despite. But most importantly, it is about unconditional love.

If I had to compare it to other stories, I would say it is a haunting mix of Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier and Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente, but set in our modern days.

I'm incredibly thankful for Hodder & Stoughton and Roshani Chokshi for the eARC.

This a unique, wonderful and compelling fantasy read. As I started reading I felt like I was personally being immersed in the characters lives and moving dreamlike into their wonderful thick tapestry of a human fairy story. One of leaving the real world behind, of playing and searching to enter the world of the Fae. A story with mysteries to be solved that are not what the seem. This is a must read for fantasy fans. Thank you to Hodder and Stoughton and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely.given.

This was one of the most beautifully written books I have read in a while. The writing was lyrical and each sentence helped build the story and create the most unsettling but rich atmosphere imaginable, helped further by the story being told in two povs. I definitely preferred reading Azure's point of view, as the gothic atmosphere and tension was stronger. There were brief moments where I was confused with the story, but the imagery in both was incredibly vivid, especially within the house of dreams.

The whole prospect of the story being that the bridegroom isn't allowed to look into his wife's history was the main factor drawing me in to the story, and the desperation to know more was there in every chapter. The character's were kept vague, and only small details were given, which I liked as it made the character's more mysterious, especially with Indigo, which made the story and character development more intriguing to me.

The last tale of the flower bride was rich in imagery, and definitely one of the books that will stay with me for weeks after reading it, and will often come back to.

Thank you to Netgalley & Hodder & Stoughton for this arc in exchange for a review.
A dark gothic fairytale with beautifully written lyrical prose! Roshani Chokshis adult debut is fantastic and I can’t wait to see what she comes out with next!

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride Is Chokshi's debut adult novel. I would recommend it for fans of Silvia Moreno-Garcia. It is a gothic inspired novel and it follows a man who marries Indigo Maxwell-Casteñada and her childhood friend Azure who disappeared. The story is told from two POV's; The bridegroom and Azure. Indigo and the bridegroom marry but she makes him promise not to pry into her past. When they moved to the House of Dreams, the bridegroom cannot resist. The bridegroom has to choose between reality and fantasy when the house reveals his wife's secrets. This is a very different novel from Roshani Chokshi but the writing was easy to read and flowed well. I was confused at some points but if you enjoy secretive gothic novels with a line between fantasy, magic and reality you will love this.