The Last Tale of the Flower Bride

I think this is the best book I've read this year! From the lyrical writing, to the dark fairytale aspects, to the haunting atmospheric tones, to the mystery I thought I'd figured out until it twists unexpectedly at the end. The whole package was an exquisite reading experience! I both wanted to rush through it and savour it at the same time. It feels unsettling through most of it. What is real, what is imagination, what actually happened, and what are the true motivations of the characters? You want to know, yet you suspect it won't be happily ever after, or even very pretty. A fantastic autumn read with dark undertones and a creepiness that gives you an uneasy feeling that deepens the further in you go. I'm not into full on horror, but I love dark and sometimes even disturbing stories that read like original unfiltered fairytales and this book certainly takes its cues from those tales. It weaves a dark spell that you can't look away from even though you know the reveal will be haunting and Roshani Chokshi doesn't disappoint, delivering an ending worthy of the build up. Highly, highly recommended!