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Weak Hero. Weird heroine/villain. I did not enjoy reading this at all. Just wanted to finish as quickly as possible.
P.s: Whats the connection of the title and story? 🤔

November reading wrap-up! I finished 9 books this month, including 2 ARCs.
🥇The Last Tale of the Flower Bride
🥈La Petite Mort
🥉Iron Flame

If slow and deadly is your poison, pick up this sumptuous, gothic fairy tale. Chokshi‘s flowery prose hides teeth, claws, and a dark heart bloody with not only the fairy tales we tell each other and the secrets we keep from ourselves, but the wild reckless hope of being loved when the truth‘s laid bare. This was darker than I expected and reminded me of Addie LaRue in its romance and pacing, which isn‘t a great thing for me but others might love!

I got this book because it was supposed to be a dark romance with beauty and beast vibes. They must have meant dark as in gothic because it was very pg. BUT I absolutely loved it. Steve West is one of my favorite narrators. It was full of beautiful words, stories, and I was caught up in the tale.

A dark story of obsession with lush descriptions, this was moody and gothic

At almost 50%, I just couldn't do it anymore. DNF was my route with this sapphic, darkly atmospheric, deep rooted mythology inspired, mystery? I'm not quite sure actually. I got nothing of romance, but I did like sides to the Bridegroom's introspection and the writting itself was beautiful. Gosh, there was so much to this that left me with more questions and bewilderment then just being able to sit back and enjoy a novel.

The author did an amazing job at creating a dark and atmospheric tale. The prose is beautiful and enchanting, I found myself rereading multiple lines that were just so pretty. I can see the comparison to Mexican Gothic, but it is still a very different story. This was a story of the darkness of fairy tales, and I loved how the author wove the horrors of fairy tales throughout the story. Loved thos one! #Readyourtbr

I've been dealing with health issues lately and haven't had the energy most days to read after work, so I read this much slower than I anticipated. Every bit of this was amazing though. The writing was lush and beautiful. I adored how it took the darkness of fairytales and weaved it into such a strange and gothic book. Every time I picked it up, I didn't want to put it down. I devoured the last third of it, my heart pounding the entire time.

"She looked like the nostalgia that settles in your ribs at the end of a story you have never read, yet nevertheless know."

"If you follow a white stag into an enchanted glen, or open a golden door in an abandoned alley, or find that a mirror's surface is liquid to your touch - it is never by chance. It is because something has need of you. It has laid its autumn leaves just so, coaxed woodsmoke from thin air, cut the light through the branches so that it spells an invitation."

"In her kiss lay wonders - the humming of firefly wings and the secret of alchemy. On her tongue was the ghost of roasted plums, forgotten poems. I was so entranced that I almost didn't notice when she bit down. When I pulled back, her teeth looked rusty.

And only then did I realize she'd drawn blood."

This title page of this book looks like a coloring book. My husband says it's my book and I should color it.

My fifth book for the Asian readathon. The challenge for this one is to simply read a book by an Asian author. This book is a gothic-infused story about a marriage that is unraveled by dark secrets, a friendship cursed to end in tragedy, and the danger of believing in fairy tales. #asianreadathon #asianreadathon2023

This is not my go-to genre but I couldn‘t resist the cover. Although I maintained interest throughout the book, I was disappointed with the ending. There were a couple things mentioned throughout in the story that just didn‘t flow into the ending. Almost, but not quite a pick.

⭐️⭐️⭐️
This dark fairy tale is beautifully told. I‘ve read others of Chokshi‘s work before and her writing & storytelling always brings me back for more.
I didn‘t love the story itself in this one - I‘m not generally a big fan of gothic stories - but I did really like the ending & how it all wrapped up.
I‘ll definitely continue to read Chokshi‘s work.

3✨ I‘m not sure how I feel about this book. I‘m also not sure if the magic is real, or it was a dream. It was well written and the twist was a good one. I really liked the ending for the married couples relationship. I just cannot wrap my mind around the depths of the story. #OUABC

My favorite quote so far in this book ❤️

3️⃣4️⃣ The Soulmate ➡️ 3️⃣5️⃣ The Last Tale of the Flower Bride

#ThingsInCommon: #botm

#OUABC Once Upon a Book Club March 2023 Box: Dangerous Fairy Tales

#StoryGraph: fiction fantasy literary romance dark mysterious tense
292 pages • first pub 2023

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

“A sumptuous, gothic-infused story about a marriage that is unraveled by dark secrets, a friendship cursed to end in tragedy, and the danger of believing in fairy tales…”

I absolutely loved this book. It's a beautiful, Gothic, fairytale inspired story of a man who marries a rich heiress who wants to keep her past a secret. But then, when her Aunt is near death, they have to return to her childhood home, The House of Dreams.
Steve West does the male narration & his voice is fantastic 💙
#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks #Pantone2023 #Bluing @Clwojick #NoShameReadathon2023 #lesserknownfairytaleretelling @Nessavamusic

I'm going against the grain and giving this one a pick. I love the lyrical way this author writes and honestly thought this one was absorbing and quite the page-turner for me. It was at times romantic and at times sad. 🌟🌟🌟🌟 read for me.

DNFing this one. There are some subject matter I‘m uncomfortable with and it‘s just generally weird. Not for me.

Next row in my #readinglogsnake is The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi. I used a different 'shades of grey' yarn to represent thriller and suspense. Touted as the female version of the Bluebeard fairy tale, I felt this story did not live up to that hype. I did find myself enjoying the story, but I wish it was darker like the original fairy tale. 3/5 ⭐️ #ARRCReads #BooksAndCrafts

Latest library pick up!

Also my library made these really great bookmarks with women authors and quotes!

“You know change is the great blessing of mortals. Creatures of the other world are always bound by something. Moonlight, iron, running water. But the only thing that can act on humans is time. We are not lovely and static. We are ever changing, vast as seasons. We are meant to change.”

“To often the truth of a memory lives not in the mind but in the heart. In the settle and secret organization that makes up one‘s identity.”

🎧 When I heard the unnamed bridegroom speak … I was swept away. Extra star for Steve West‘s narration!!

The flowery prose didn‘t improve the story for me. It rang YA.

It was very reminiscent of a fairy tale. The Adult FairyLoot edition is beautiful. ⬆️

After several chapters you get Azure‘s voice and then the narrators switch with each chapter.

It‘s a great example of toxic friends. Saw the ending coming but still enjoyed it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️3/4

The fourth book in todays #BookMail #stack is another stunner. Beautiful Autumn colours(perfect)gold foil accents plus an intriguing story full of love, secrets, betrayal & lies. A scholar of myths marries a beautiful heiress on one condition: don‘t ask about her past. But when a dying relative forces them to return to her family home, the scholar can‘t resist prying into her life, with devastating consequences.

Last book of February. #botm

Not a bad spin on modern dark fairytale! Nice and twisty, to the point I wasn‘t sure if there was any magic except for slight-of-hand

I really liked the Bridegroom narrator too.

Beware; the monstrous part isn‘t in the otherworld.

January's Adult Fantasy FairyLoot was delivered today and it's absolutely gorgeous.

It is published by a HarperCollins imprint and I do support the HarperCollins Union strike, so if I do read it during the strike, I'll wait to review it.

It has such a stunning cover.

Out in February 2023.

Full review: https://scepticalreading.com/2022/12/quick-reviews-december-22-part-i/