The Last Tale of the Flower Bride

Definitely a 4.5 and I'm excitedly rounding it up.

I've had a very interesting relationship with Roshani's books. I DNFd both her first two YA books because I just couldn't get through the writing. Then I discovered the Aru Shah quintet and that is definitely one of my favorite all time favorite series, which has given me a lot of joy. The Gilded Wolves trilogy on the other hand felt both enticing and frustrating at the same time, so I was ultimately not very satisfied with it. So I was skeptical going into this book but I had also read many good things about it across the blogosphere, and I wanted to experience it for myself. And I'm so glad I did.

I'm not particularly a fan of purple prose and tbh Roshani is kind of a master at it, which has probably been one of my issues with her books in the past. But maybe I was in a better mood this time or I was better prepared to handle it, because her ornate and flowery writing style works perfectly for this story. This book is about fairytales - real or imaginary - the magical world we wish to inhabit and escape our real life; it's about finding a love that borders that line between magical and maniacal and reveling in it; it's a story of stories, the author intricately weaving the nuggets of so many fairytale inspirations into her characters and their conversations. If I'm being flowery myself, it's coz I'm unsure how to describe this book except that it demands surrender to its words and magic, and I was a willing participant.

We never get the name of one of our POV characters, only referred to as the Bridegroom. He has this hunger for something unknowable, and desire to discover magic, so finds himself easily captivated by the mysterious Indigo, whose only condition is that he never pry into her personal affairs. Their marriage is like a bed of roses - petals and thorns and everything in between - sucking him deeper unwittingly into her past and secrets.

The other POV is in the past where we get to spend time with Azure, as she becomes friends with Indigo and how this deep friendship takes unimaginable turns. Their bond was absolutely marvelous to read about - in both its profound love and magic, as well as the toxicity which is not always visible. As we get to know Azure and Indigo from their childhood and adolescence more, the Bridegroom also delves into the past, trying to find the traces of the missing Azure. And we get the final revelation, it was both a stunning reveal as well as easily predictable, if only we were paying attention. Which itself is not easy to do in this book because it keeps luring us in with beautiful lines upon beautiful lines, waiting to be highlighted.

I listened to the audiobook of this one, just captivatingly narrated by Steve West and Sura Siu. I was also alternating a bit with the ebook coz I wanted to note down atleast some of the lovely prose. And I can only say at the end that I hope everyone will give this a try. If you love fairytales, if you love stories of love which go into unexpectedly dark places, if you love books with beautiful writing that will allure you and not let you go - then this is the perfect read for you.