Roshani Chokshi encapsulates the allure of escapism and how mythology and fairytales can help us cope with ugly realities, or sometimes, distract us to the point of denying the real world. This was a tale of lies and secrets, devotion and betrayal, and how love is not always a good and beautiful thing.

We jump between two time periods: one in the present day, where our protagonist, a scholar of myths, has married the mysterious heiress Indigo Maxwell-Casteñada. Their marriage is passionate, playful and endlessly romantic. Indigo only has one condition: the Bridegroom cannot pry into her past. The other point in the timeline we revisit, ironically, is that of Indigo's childhood, and that of her friend Azure, who nobody has heard from since their graduation from high school,

Chokshi references myths like those of Melusine, or Eros and Psyche, and makes us dwell on the question of whether love is found in blind loyalty or in uncovering a truth and coming to terms with it.

This hit all the right marks and kept me up until 3am, because I had to know what happened. A twisty, dark, and lush tale of codependency, secrets, cruelty, fear and love.

A poor young scholar meets and falls in love with a wealthy heiress. Their life is like the fairy tales he studies, full of palaces and promises, shadows and secrets. They will have a full and happy life together, as long as he vows never to pry into her past.

But when they are called to his wife’s family home to care for a dying aunt, the bridegroom discovers that his bride’s secrets are more sinister than he had ever imagined. The House of Dreams reveals his bride’s past and the greatest love of her life- her friendship with a girl named Azure. As the bridegroom seeks to solve the mystery of his bride’s past, he fears he may find the answer in one unspoken question. Where was Azure now?

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride is a stunning Gothic story of love and obsession, dreams and nightmares. Roshani Chokshi has crafted a magical and devastating tale the Grimm's Brothers would heartily approve of.

I thought the writing was very poetic and beautiful and the mix of fairytale/characters story blended well together. This is the kind of book that has a slower pace and a lot of mystery.

Unfortunately I ended up DNF’ing this book. There were too many embellishments and descriptions for me and I could not connect to either main characters. I did not care for Indigo at all and actually did not like her. Some of the descriptions were too over the top for me and the text was repetitive when it came to Indigo’s description or how the MC felt or saw her. Although a beautifully written story, I think it just wasn’t a good fit for me and could be perfect for someone else.

4.5 stars rounded down

Roshani Chokshi can not write a bad book, and I will read absolutely anything that she writes! Her writing is beautiful and her characters are complex; great, as always.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and HarperCollins for this e-ARC in exchange for one of the best books I have ever read. Chokshi's writing is lush and utterly exquisite. This book is atmospheric, relying mainly on the intrigue of its characters and its haunting setting, but is an absolute page-turner as well. It follows the story of an enigma named Indigo, her bridegroom, and her past with a childhood friend, Azure. The story switches between Azure and the bridegroom's distinct voices bridled with secrets and teeming with something sinister.

You are captivated from the first page, on the edge of your seat, but also afraid of what you might find lurking as the story progresses. This book is cozy with a dash of creepy, and it had me wondering why I hadn't picked Roshani Chokshi's writing earlier. She's definitely an instant buy author for me now!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of The Last Tale of the Flower Bride!!

I really enjoyed this book. This is my first book from Roshani Chokshi and I could not put it down. I loved the gothic fairytale atmosphere that continues on for the entire book.

This is my first time reading Chokshi (I tried reading The Gilded Wolves a couple years ago but couldn't get into it - might revise that, actually), and I was enchanted by her talent.
Her writing is pure poetry wrapped up in a coat made of broken dreams and shattered promises; Every line is so impactful, so whimsical I found myself reading passages more than once because I felt like they were uprooted directly from the part of my soul that holds all those lyrical thoughts I can never put into words.
I fell head over heels in love with the armospheric way people, places and situations are described, and I loved how the story is peppered with dark and folkloric tales, some old and known, some new and bone-chilling.
I really can't say much about the plot, because, honestly, this is a story you'll want to savor slowly, by yourself, while rain is pouring outside and your heart is open to strangeness.
What I can say, though, is that this is not a book for everyone; it's confusing, at times, spooky without being scary, with a purple prose that only works in books like this one and that not all readers appreciate.
In case you decide it's a novel you'll want in your collection, you've got to be ready to believe everything you read but also treat it with a grain of salt.
But trust me, you won't regret it and will enjoy every minute you'll spend in its company.

This books was dark and whimsical and sharp as a knife. I enjoyed the mystery of Indigo’s character and the elegant, sweeping prose. I felt it was a little rambling but it didn’t really take away from the story, just dragged out at some moments.

if roshani chokshi told me to commit murder I would do it in a heartbeat

Really that's the only review you need but oh my god what a STORY! I love the Gilded Wolves series particularly by Roshani Chokshi, so much that I will pick up anything she writes. I'm actually not sure if this is a retelling or an entirely new fairy tale/story, but every single element was compelling, beautiful and moving.

The writing was captivating from the first word, I tabbed so many beautiful lines and I'm in awe of her prose. Aside from that, the friendship depicted between Indigo and Azure was incredible - so layered and so true to many female friendships.

The use of an unnamed character as the narrator was also really cool. Definitely one of my favourite books of the year!