The Last Tale of the Flower Bride: A Novel

Written by Roshani Chokshi

Narrated by Steve West and Sura Siu

""A fairy tale in the oldest and truest sense: a haunting dream full of blood and love, vicious truths and beautiful lies. It swallowed me whole, and I went willingly."" — Alix E. Harrow, New York Times bestselling author of Starling House

“Decadence laced with horror . . . A delightfully meta fairy tale . . . Magic emanates from every exquisitely crafted sentence.” — Charlie Jane Anders, Washington Post

In the tradition of sumptuous gothic novels like Starling House and The Bloody Chamber comes a dark fairy tale-infused story about a cursed friendship and a marriage steeped in secrets—the breathtaking adult debut from New York Times bestselling author Roshani Chokshi.

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 an heiress. In exchange for her love, Indigo extracted a promise: that her bridegroom would never pry into her past.

But when the couple returns to Indigo’s childhood home, the House of Dreams, the bridegroom will soon find himself unable to resist. For within the crumbling manor’s extravagant rooms lurks the shadow of another girl: Azure, Indigo’s dearest childhood friend, who suddenly disappeared. 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.

Through a tapestry of secrets woven around dangerous shards of truth, Chokshi crafts an atmospheric fever dream of a novel about love and lies, secrets and betrayal, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive.

""Chokshi's tale is as sweet as a piece of fairy fruit, and just as wicked. Every bite is velvet, every swallow is gold, and the taste lingers like a fever dream."" — V. E. Schwab, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

""Gorgeous and ornate, this sensual fairy tale illuminates the corrosive and redemptive power of both love and lies."" — Holly Black, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Book of Night

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Feb 14, 2023
• ISBN: 9780063206533

Roshani Chokshi

Roshani Chokshi is the award-winning author of the New York Times bestselling series the Star-Touched Queen and the Gilded Wolves as well as Aru Shah and the End of Time, which Time named one of the Top 100 Fantasy Books of All Time. Chokshi’s adult debut, The Last Tale of the Flower Bride, was a #1 Sunday Times bestseller. Her novels have been translated into more than two dozen languages and often draw upon world mythology and folklore. Chokshi is a member of the National Leadership Board for the Michael C. Carlos Museum and lives in Georgia with her family.

Reviews for The Last Tale of the Flower Bride

[Little Arcia · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I never knew writing can be this lyrical. I know there are better books but this is the best I've read so far. This wasn't my comfort genre and I listened to this just one to test it out. I didn't actively seek it out but when i do, it holds onto me like quicksand and the deeper I go the more i wanna stay. Superbly written! The narrators are *chef's kiss*.

[nicole · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Review to come. But this will be a top read of the year, for sure!

[Shell · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Dark, mysterious, intriguing. The mood set reminded me a lot of the movie 'Stoker'.
Beautifully written.

[Eliza M · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Deliciously twisted and deeply unsettling, like an old-world fairy tale should be.

[Weronika Pogorecka · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I don’t think I can adequately express how amazing this story is. Roshani’s writing is flawless. The world is dark and magical, the mystery so gripping from the very first chapter. I loved all the different myths and tales told by the characters - this is a dual POV - where the voices are so different but the core of the magic is very similar between them. I could not put this down, I needed to know what happens next.

I am obsessed. ?????? Bravo.

If you like psychological mystery thrillers and dark/gothic magical fairy tales with epic tragic love stories (i.e. Addie LaRue) - you must check this out!

[Courtney Smellink · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The best book I've listened to all year, Steve West is amazing. This story is so magical, dark and beautiful. I cannot recommend it highly enough!

[Rlynoyb · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

If Jacob Grimm and Daphne Du Maurier had a baby, it might be this book. I am a huge fan of Brother Grimm and other fairy tales. That said, not so sure I really liked this story. I loved the reference to the robber bridegroom which is one of my all time favorite stories and I don't know whether it is well known. I was quite a way into the book before I realized the bridegroom did not have a name (thus the nod to Rebecca). I liked the bridegroom's character and I really felt sorry for him in many ways. I did not like Indigo or Azure much at all. After awhile both of these women got on my ever last nerve. I guessed the twist about half way in and it did not take away from the story. I just felt like the ending was rather trite and sort of boring. I give the book credit for tale telling but overall in the end I was glad the story was over. Also, I liked the male narrator much more than the female narrator.

[Flavs · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The plot twist wasn't really a surprise but to be honest it was still exciting to read about!

[Bri Gutierrez · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Narration was great. Overall story was interesting. Did not anticipate that ending. I would recommend to those who want a fairly easy read with wonderful narration.

[marie.madeleine · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A very interesting read. While I wouldn't call it a fantasy (portal or otherwise), it definitely deserves the badge of magical realism. You never know whether the characters are delusional, dreaming the otherworld up, or if it's really a thing. I also loved the twistedness of the characters and faeries (real or imagined). Very solid read/listen. Personally I didn't vibe with the narrators that much, though and I would have liked a bit more exploration of the male perspective and time line.

[punemily626 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It started off good and then it got weird unfortunately…

[Paloma Sanchez · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Atmosphere is great but the plot, the characters and the ending are just silly. Sorry but not. And why some reviews claim this is magical realism? This is just fantasy with very toxic relationships.