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Darling readers, I went into reading The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi knowing nothing other than this is Chokshi’s adult debut and what she said about the writing of the novel on Instagram.  I was not ready.  Not at all.  The marketing copy would have likely been quite helpful.  It is 100% spot on when it compares the atmosphere to Mexican Gothic but I don’t agree with the “dreamy enchantment” of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.  Something about The Last Tale of the Flower Bride is dark and very gothic feeling in a way that Addie just isn’t.  All that said, I encourage readers to pick up The Last Tale of the Flower Bride in the fall, or perhaps winter, but summer didn’t feel right to me.

But what is The Last Tale of the Flower Bride about?  Well this lyrical novel is about a poor, modern-ish scholar who marries a mysterious, beautiful heiress on the condition that he never pries into her past.  As readers can easily predict drama ensues, causing him to do just that.  After a lengthy deep dive into how these two meet and what their life together is like, they are called to the house she grew up in to visit her dying aunt one last time.  I love it when the setting of a book is a character, and this house is very much a character!  The house, the aunt, and his scholarly curiosity lead our Bridegroom on an interesting adventure, as he tells of his exploits alternating with stories of her growing up.  It’s a wild, gorgeous ride, and I really enjoyed unraveling her secrets along with the Bridegroom, and I even adored the way it ended!  

I’m giving The Last Tale of the Flower Bride 4 stars.  While it wasn’t the right book at the right time for me (to the point I almost DNFed it, for now, but I do recognize the glorious nature of the work), it is a gorgeous story, poetically told and I’m looking forward to seeing what Chokshi chooses to gift us with next.  She retains her season pass status, and The Gilded Wolves retains its status as my favorite of hers.  

What’s a book that you read at the wrong time but still enjoyed?

~Nikki 

This is our fifth! review of a Roshani Chokshi title, and I’m so glad that she has a season pass for me. She’s still the author of the bestselling young adult found family trilogy, The Gilded Wolves, which are currently available in Kindle Unlimited! She’s still the author of the Pandava series featuring Aru Shah which is published by the Rick Riordan Presents imprint. She’s still living in Atlanta with her husband, but they have recently added a bébé! (Which we saw on IG stories over a month ago.) I hope their cat plays nice with the new addition, no thwarting required.

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride was released on February 14th of this year. And, not only is that Valentine’s Day, but Instagram has graced me with the knowledge that it is also Chokshi’s birthday. She released her adult debut title on her birthday before giving birth to her first child and I think that’s a beautiful thing. Also a beautiful thing is what she said in her ‘welcome to the world’ post regarding that book release:

“To write it, I needed the perspective of age. In many ways the story is about the tension of wanting to grow up and enter the real world and still be young enough that the world of faerie and imagination is alway open to you. We think, as we get older, that those fantastical worlds are lost to us. But perhaps it is the route to reach them that changes. Maybe now it is a path that requires daily tending. Maybe we get to those realms not by our lack of age but lack of judgment, which is vital for the cultivation of true wonder. Anyway, FLOWER BRIDE is a fairytale, but it is not a fantasy. It is true, but it is not real. I am on every page and yet it’s not mine. At least not anymore. As of today it now belongs to you. Make of it what you will or won’t.”

I think it’s important to note that Chokshi’s first adult title is about becoming an adult. About the change that happens between childhood and adulthood and how as adults we keep grasping for the people, places, things, and feelings that brought us joy and wonder during our childhoods. How we purposefully forget some of the traumatic things we experienced or did in order to focus on the joy and magic that was inherent in our daily lives. I want to say more but I’m trying not to spoil the deep parts of the novel, like how one’s voice can be silenced by choice or by forgetting that one has a voice. This book is also about love; what it looks like for and between children and adults, and how it grows and changes as we grow and change.

I am also giving The Last Tale of the Flower Bride a four star review. It’s dark beauty is definitely more fit to be read on a rainy night with candles than a 100* scorcher of a day in August. So as a mood-title, I would advise October – February. However, it did make me wish for lazy days of summer reading like I had in high school, with no real responsibilities and only myself to consider. I doubt I will re-read this title of Chokshi’s as I have The Gilded Wolves. But do recommend it with high praise.

“What do you need to read right now?” needs to be the question we ask each other and ourselves before giving book recommendations.

~Ashley

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