Title: The Last Tale of the Flower Bride
Series: -
Author: Roshani Chokshi
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Release Date: February 14th 2023
Pages: 292
Source: ARC gifted by the publisher
Rating: ✰✰✰✰.5
CAWPILE: 8.6/10
Synopsis
Inside every story is a secret. Inside every marriage is a lie.
Once upon a time, a man who believed in fairy tales married a beautiful, mysterious woman named Indigo Maxwell-Castenada. He was a scholar of myths. She was heiress to a fortune. They exchanged gifts and stories and believed they would live happily ever after - and in exchange for her love, Indigo extracted a promise: that her bridegroom would never pry into her past.
But when Indigo learns that her estranged aunt is dying and the couple is forced to return to her childhood home, the House of Dreams, the bridegroom soon finds himself unable to resist. For within the crumbling manor's extravagant rooms and musty halls, there lurks the shadow of another girl: Azure, Indigo's dearest childhood friend, who disappeared without a trace.
As the house slowly reveals his wife's secrets, the bridegroom will be forced to choose between reality and fantasy, even if doing so threatens to destroy their marriage... or their lives.
Review:
“Our translucent house was a compromise: I could see all of her, but never know all of her.”
This is the first book of Chokshi’s that I have read, not having ventured into The Gilded Wolves yet though I know that people love it. So I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, especially as this is her first adult book, but I was blown away by her writing.
I feel incredibly lucky to have been sent an ARC of The Last Tale of the Flower Bride as I hadn’t heard of it previously, being new to the Gothic genre. But taking it out of the package and reading the blurb I was getting increasingly excited, an atmospheric Gothic fairytale? Sign me straight up!
I was only pages in when I decided that this was definitely going to become a book I would love to annotate, the writing was just gorgeous. There were quotes I just adored, lyrical writing and infused with mystery. Essentially, everything I love. It is an especially mysterious book, with an intentionally vague description which made me glad I went in blind as I was pleasantly surprised by the complexity lying within.
The best part of the book for me, is how Chokshi build the mystery element throughout, keeping you guessing until the end. From the characters to the storyline, to the fairytales weaved throughout the story. I wish I was more familiar with them, as they were intriguing and littered throughout, drawing you into this atmospheric land making it feel fantastical.
The characters and their relationships were also brilliant, the characters were deep and complex and intriguing, and their relationships deeply flawed. My favourite character was probably Azure because of how much was going on beneath the surface, and I loved exploring all of that through her chapters. Though I did also love The Bridegroom’s chapters and loved that we never found out his name, his role more of the unnamed detective trying to figure out the mystery of his wife. I found the relationship between Indigo and Azure fascinating too, how they were so dependent on one another and how that initial wonder and nostalgia turns into something twisted, dark and sinister.
It’s hard to talk too much about this book without giving anything away, which I really don’t want to do but let me just say that the magical elements were done incredibly well to me. From the mysterious Otherworld to the mysterious Indigo, and the House of Dreams itself. The whole book was infused with magic and mystery, as I keep saying.
The tale was woven in a fabulous way, though some elements I did predict, I found that I went along with the characters on their journey. Starting off with wonder and slowly delving into horror as you and they realise what is coming, and the sadness that comes with it. I would honestly encourage you to read it because I adored it, it was easy to read and made time fly away with how addictive it was. I can already see it being one of my top books of the year so I would really encourage you to buy a copy.
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