A beautiful tale of love and loss, obsession and longing, reality and illusion.
The skilful writing is stunning with such evocative description and the story is gripping. I loved this amalgam of fairy tale, witchery and gothic mystery. I look forward to any future writing by this very talented author.

A truly beautiful and captivating story - the mystery elements kept me hooked as well as the lush prose, I could not stop reading to see the truth behind the complex web and secrets the characters were hiding. I didn’t predict the reveal or ending which was a really pleasant surprise - I would say if you’re going in to this thinking it’s a conventional, all loose ends tied up sort of book then you may be disappointed however, if you’re prepared for the slow burn and a more open ending then this may be just your kind of story.

I struggled with this initially, I have seen so many positive reviews I wondered if it was maybe just not for me - but I kept going and the story slowly enveloped me.

It is beautifully written and we follow the tale of two girls, one lost and one found and a marriage that is built on a foundation that seemed secure but is perhaps less so. As the foundations start to crumble and the story gets into its stride the mystery and magic intertwine so the reader feels almost a dream-like state as events unfold.

I am glad I persevered rather than DNF and I am sure this book will be a huge success.

The Last of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi

4 STARS

A sumptuous, gorgeously gothic fantasy tale. The worldbuilding is fantastic and you feel drawn in straight away. In style, it reminded me of several author whimsical yet evocative fantasy writers.

Definitely worth a read!

Rating: 3.5

A gothic fairytale about two childhood best friends. I enjoyed Azure's story much more than the bridegroom, but I can see how both are needed. Some part were a little dragged out, but I was hooked early on - learning more about the mystery of the the Otherworld and seeing how the girls relationship changes as they grow older.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book. It was my first book by Roshani Chokshi and it's convinced me to read more of her works. I loved the premise and how the story was told. The only thing I have to say is that it took me a while to get through. It lost my interest at points since it felt like certain things were dragging out. That being said, this book is amazing and I highly recommend it!

2.5 Stars rounded up to 3 on here.

Took me so long to decide on rating after reading this book. It was not what I expected and nearly DNF'd about 30% in.
It is written beautifully and is definitely more about the aesthetic and atmosphere then the plot. Had no idea what was even going on for half this book and I don't enjoy reading purple prose, just personally find it really hard to read.
This is written from 2 perspectives, The Bridgegroom and Azure. Liked finding out about Indigos back story but did not connect with any of the characters.
Did like the ending and the twists which brought the rating up.
If you like purple prose and creepy fairytale vibes then you might love this but was not for me.

Wow! I was drawn to this by the theme (fairytales and cursed female friendship), and it more than lived up to my anticipation. The story and characters are interesting and engaging, but my favourite thing by far was the writing. This incorporated a good balance of plot and description (of fairytale settings as well as fairytale tropes in general), always in beautiful, decadent, lyrical prose, miraculously free of cliché. I loved it.

SLIGHT SPOILER ALERT:
I spotted the main twist coming very early on - more by guesswork than deduction - but this did not detract in any way from my enjoyment of the book.

For me, there's a fine line between beautiful writing and overly purple prose that impact the story. Unfortunately The Last Tale of the Flower Bride was one of those books where the writing was just too full of similes and not enough depth. Half way through I still felt like I knew very little about 'the bridegroom', Indigo or Azure and I found myself not really caring.

I'm sure underneath all the descriptions there's an interesting plot, but I just couldn't bring myself to dig any further through the text to find it.

Follow me,” she said. As if I could do anything else.

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride is not the type of book I usually read but knowing that Roshani wrote it was all I needed to pick this up.

A beautifully written, luscious gothic story with fairytales and myths woven into the story. It is ominous and as you read the tension builds and you get the feeling when something feels off but you can’t quite put your finger on it and then everything clicks in place and leaves you reeling.
I devoured this book and especially the second half where we see the story get darker, it had me hooked.

We slowly learn about Indigo’s past through what the bridegroom discovers in her childhood home and we also learn a little about the bridegroom.
It’s so intriguing to me that we never actually learn the bridegroom’s name even though we see the story through him and it just adds to the mystery and suspense of the book.

While the book shows us the complicated and fragile relationship & marriage between Indigo and the Bridegroom we are also shown the incredibly toxic friendship between Indigo & Azure, which is a central theme in the book. From the outside looking in we can see how unhealthy and co-dependent their relationship is but they cannot and we see how that affects their friendship but they still cannot let go.

The build up and suspense and that ominous feeling that something bad is going to happen just builds more and more until we get to that ending where we finally see the whole picture was so well done and had me captivated.

I cannot wait to see what Roshani will write next!

As soon as I started reading The Last Tale of the Flower Bride, I knew it was not going to be like anything I'd read before. It's a more sophisticated style of writing than I'm used to and I was surprisingly intrigued from early on.

The story starts off with a husband who believed in fairytales and his very mysterious, wealthy wife, Indigo. They married on the promise that he wouldn't pry into her past. That all changes when they have to return to Indigo's childhood home when her aunt is dying. There, he is tempted to break his vow when he gets sucked into the mystery of what happened to Indigo's childhood friend at the House of Dreams.

I went into this book absolutely blind, and I'm very glad I did. So this is not going to be a very informative review, as I felt that not knowing exactly where the book was going was what made it so great. I wasn't sure what genre this book was when I started. I kept trying to figure out while reading if this was a fantasy book or not, and honestly I'm still not quite sure.

I decided to give this book 4 stars as this is not my typical kind of a book and is not one I can see myself rereading. However, I strongly believe that this is a 5 star quality book. It is for those who like a more dark, gothic, mystery kind of book with more of a character driven story than one that's plot driven and action packed. The plot twist at the end completely blew my mind. I usually predict these kinds of things very early on, but I only put the dots together right at the end near the reveal.

This really is a brilliantly written book and I'm super excited to see this book get the recognition it deserves!

Please check the trigger warnings. Thank you to Netgalley for the eBook.

Roshani chokshi is an incredible storyteller and writer and I cant wait to read the rest of her books!

The bridegroom finds himself falling in love with a woman. They first met because he was tracing down a rare thirteenth-century grimoire owned by the Casteñada’s family heiress, Indigo. When they fell in love, Indigo had warned her nameless husband that he must never dig into her past. Never. Their romance is a whirlwind with problems soon occurring when Indigo was summoned back to the House of Dreams, her childhood home when her aunt was dying. The bridegroom felt the live-ness of the house. It seemed to like him, spoke to him, and warned him of the dangers. There, he realized that Indigo used to have a close friend who disappeared, a girl who the House of Dreams missed.

I believe this might be the first time I’ve read such a novel by Roshani Chokshi. Her writing style is still lyrical and atmospheric. Mixing the gothic setting with her talent for writing beautiful lines made The Last Tale of the Flower Bride a little more suspenseful, creepier, and haunting. Woven into Indigo and the nameless groom’s story are fairytales that, more often than not, have gruesome or unhappy endings. The tinge of cruelty and dark tones in this supposedly happy marriage created uncertainty.

Although the book focused on the bridegroom’s perspective most of the time, we do get glimpses of what happened between Indigo and Azure before the latter went missing. Azure didn’t have a great time at home because of her mother’s boyfriend and she never truly belonged anywhere. Meeting Indigo was her greatest blessing. At first, it felt like two friends having fun with simple magic but it started to escalate to sacrificial. There’s a consequence to everything they do. Indigo might have known but Azure seemed to be kept in the dark. Subsequently, the friendship started to rot from within. Azure began to think about being herself, exploring the world, and meeting new people. While she still cherishes Indigo, she wanted to be Azure. Not Indigo’s shadow.

Roshani Chokshi is brilliant at writing. I definitely enjoyed The Last Tale of the Flower Bride because it’s pretty different from her past works. On the outside, the House might be beautiful and magic might be great, but Indigo’s need for power and control caused their friendship to deteriorate. The strangeness of the character and the unsettling feeling was well created. I never knew when the other shoe will drop.

TW: sexual harassment, paedophilia, grooming, domestic violence, animal death, child abuse and neglect, parental abandonment, self-harm, suicide ideation, gore.

Having adored The Gilded Wolves trilogy, I had no doubt in my mind that Roshani Chokshi's adult debut would be a masterpiece.

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride is the author's magnus opus. It beautifully exhibits Chokshi's storytelling and writing in an evocative and fantastical story. I can't imagine anyone could read this novel and not appreciate the tale of our bridegroom.

In this story we meet the Bridegroom as he recounts his time with his wife Indigo. How they met, how they married. However there was a condition: the Bridegroom must never pry into her past and her secrets.

Similarly to Orpheus, there will come a time when the Bridegroom will turn back and look into what he should not.

Reminiscent of gothic classics, this is a dark and transformative tale about love and belonging. The ending was disappointing as I felt we were building up to a great revelation but everything was wrapped up neatly.

I read this mainly as an audiobook and the narration was 5/5 stars, absolutely incredible. Steve West's narration in particular was dreamlike almost. If you enjoy audiobooks, definitely recommend this narration.

I am once again reminded why Roshani Chokshi is a must read author, her craft will always amaze me and I will always recommend her to everyone who will listen to me.

I really wanted to love this book and I'm sad that in the end, I didn't. I thought the writing was beautiful, but at times became too flowery for me. I thought the atmosphere was consistently creepy throughout, which I really appreciated. I thought the relationship between Indigo and Azure was a really well done examination of toxic friendship and obsession, but that there was an element of over-the-top motivation that didn't quite work for me. I felt that the narrative was a bit disjointed in parts and that the pacing was off at times, but I really enjoyed the final third of the novel. Overall, this was a book that was nearly great, but for me, just missed the mark.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Roshani Chokshi’s hauntingly beautiful tale is an absolute must read !!

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride is one of those stories that seeps it’s way into your bones and stays with you forever.
With some of most beautiful prose I’ve ever read , and a plot that will keep you at the edge of your seat - this read is a must !!

I was really excited about The Last Tale of the Flower Bride given its premise and the early praise it has received from various authors whom I admire. Sadly, this turned out to be a huge disappointment.

Everything about this novel felt confusing and thin — the fairytale elements didn’t mesh with the setting, and I couldn’t feel the promise gothic atmosphere. There didn’t seem to be a plot to follow, and the pace slowed to a sludge. The prose, whilst beautiful, was too much even for me (and I love lyrical writing); it was as if the author was sitting there with a thesaurus the whole time. The characters were also very one-dimensional and the relationships were uncomfortable and inauthentic. Yes, there’s a lot of toxicity here (check the content warnings) but the whole thing was just a boring drag. How anyone can compare it to The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (which I adored) is beyond me. Avoid.

I received an e-ARC from the publisher, Hodder & Stoughton, through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride did seem to have potential when I started but it quickly went downhill and then I just kept on reading hoping it would get better. I liked the first part of the book the best. The mystique of Indigo Maxwell-Casteñada and how her nameless husband was told to never pry into her past. Sadly as the focus shifted to Indigo's backstory did my interest start to diminish. The ending, was not that bad, although a bit predictable. So, a generous 2-star because part of the book was not that bad.

I haven’t been in the mood to read much fantasy or dark fantasy books recently, but everything I’d heard about this book really intrigued me. Without giving too much away, this story explores themes of horror, obsession, toxic friendships, marriage, loss, truth, and secrets with fairytale overtones. The book's slow build-up of foreboding and intertwining fairytales make it a hypnotic and beautiful read. It is a bit tricky to get into at the start, but eventually the story fully hooked me in!

Roshani Chokshi isn't someone whose books I always love, but I do like them all. However, when I love her books, I LOVE her books.

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride was lyrical and maddening in that I wanted all the info even though it was designed for some things to never be known.

Part of me hated that, but I was hooked.

It's a great standalone novel and I highly recommend.