The Last Tale of the Flower Bride
By Roshani Chokshi
Blurb
Once upon a time, a man who believed in fairy tales married a beautiful, mysterious woman named Indigo Maxwell-Casteñada. 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.
Our Review
"You warned me that knowing your secret would destroy us. At first, it sat in our marriage like a blue-lipped ghost, hardly noticeable until a trick of the light drew it into focus. But you could always the days when it gnawed at my thoughts. You tired to comfort me. You stroked my face and curled my fingers to your heart.
You said: "If you pry, you'll destroy our marriage. "
But oh, love, you lied."
The Last Tale of The Flower Bride was exquisitely written. If you love fairy tales, especially those written in the style of Grimm, then you will love The Last Tale of The Flower Bride.
The Last of The Flower Bride was superbly composed, every line is a fairy tale. I loved, loved, loved it.
The book is divided is written from the perspective of both The Bridegroom and someone called Azure. The Bridegroom is a researcher of fairy tales and has contacted the heir of the Castenada fortune to look at a 13th Century grimoire. He is expecting the heir to be a man not a beautiful youung woman. He is captivated and so the romance begins.
"You're fascinated with the world we cannot see, the creatures that might have lived within them but now only exist as fairy tales. I suppose that's why I wished to meet you."
I loved all the details about fairy tales included in the book and the analysis of fairy tale themes anyone would recognise.
The Bridegroom senses something of the other about Indigo and that is what draws him to her.
"I have always been intrigued by these not-quite women, whether they were sirens or mermaids, kinnari or selkie. The world can't seem to decide whether to condemn, covet or celebrate them."
After the wedding The Bridegroom and Indigo have to go to her childhood home, The House of Dreams, to visit a dying aunt. It is in her childhood home that The Bridegroom begins to feel the strain of the promise not to pry into her past. He learns she once had a friend named Azure who was like a sister to her.
"The moment I saw the House, I knew it held magic. These dragons slumbered beneath its floorboards, that the trees of it's property grow wish-granting fruit, and that in the highest turret lived a queen and when she combed her hair, jewels clattered to the ground for the first time, I became aware of what my life looked like in comparison greasy and cheap."
This Last Tale of the Flower Bride is about the power and danger of believing in fairy tales and the pull of the forbidden. It was enchanting and I can't wait to read more from this author.
Our Final Rating...
Read & Shared 9 Times.
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