They had a seemingly happy marriage: he, a scholar of fantastical stories, and she, Indigo Maxwell-Casteñada, a wealthy heiress with a mysterious past. Despite their differences, the couple found solace with one another, and soon a bargain was struck in exchange for love – that the scholar could have her heart, provided he never inquire into her past. For a time, there was harmony, but when Indigo learns that her estranged aunt is on her deathbed, the couple return to the place where her story began, the House of Dreams. Within the manors walls, winding staircases, and dusty rooms, lie plenty of secrets far too seductive for the bridegroom to resist. As the house reveals the past of another girl, Azure, Indigo’s childhood friend long gone, he is willing to search between both reality and fantasy to learn the truth about his bride’s past, even at the expense of their binding promise.
The Last Tale of the Flower Bride is a luscious gothic feast, interlaced with fairytales, myth, and the treacherous secrets of a marriage. Wandering the halls of the crumbling House of Dreams, Chokshi spins her tale, interweaving fairy tales into the central narrative amidst broken promises and childhood dreams. Testament to everything I love about the gothic, this novel delivers a startling atmosphere, set around a crumbling manor and its ability to suspend the past. Chokshi absolutely dazzles, with poetic prose and the kind of fairytale spinning only she could bring to fruition. Everything inside me yearned to read this exquisite gothic debut from the moment it was announced, to step inside the House of Dreams and deconstruct the secrets hidden within its winding halls. The experience reading this was all the more mesmerizing, as I fell into Chokshi’s labyrinth of mystery, led deeper between the past of the house by Azure’s perspective, and the present day, with the bridegroom’s suspicions. There was quite the unsettling back and forth with these two, aided by the different tones employed – the shift from Azure’s childhood wonder, to the unfortunate realization that happened on both sides. I still can’t wrap my head around how beautifully written this novel is. Lush, dreamy writing is undoubtedly in Roshani’s wheelhouse, and this is my favorite of hers thus far. This book twisted my expectations up in knots until right at the very end, and each betrayal and exposed truth scored a little deeper. Infused with a kernel of romance, Roshani Chokshi breathes life into this resplendent and tragic gothic story. The Last Tale of the Flower Bride is everything I could possibly wish for in a gothic novel, and the way it slowly approaches the final act will leave you breathless in its downfall.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.
Trigger warnings: blood, death, violence, murder
Literaryrobin 