The Last Tale of the Flower Bride

Description

'Gorgeous and ornate' Holly Black 'Lingers like a fever dream' V.E. Schwab Do not look. Do not ask. Do not pry. A sumptuous, gothic story about an obsessive female friendship cursed to end in tragedy, a marriage unraveled by dark secrets, and the danger of believing in fairy tales - 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-Castenada. 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. Combining the lush, haunting atmosphere of Mexican Gothic with the dreamy enchantment of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, The Last Tale of the Flower Bride is a spellbinding and darkly romantic page-turner about love and lies, secrets and betrayal, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive. 'A fairy tale in the oldest and truest sense' Alix E. Harrow 'A shimmering tapestry' Yangsze Choo 'Dark, haunting, and thrumming with mystery, magic, and love' Sue Lynn Tan 'An opulent, engrossing tale' Kiran Millwood Hargrave 'Darkly gorgeous and utterly entrancing' Shannon Chakraborty 'An intoxicating fever dream' Emily Henry

Roshani Chokshi is the author of commercial and critically acclaimed books for middle grade and young adult readers that draws on world mythology and folklore. Her work has been nominated for the Locus and Nebula awards, was on Time's 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time, and has frequently appeared on Best of The Year lists from Barnes and Noble, Forbes, Buzzfeed and more. Her New York Times bestselling series includes The Star-Touched Queen duology, The Gilded Wolves, and Aru Shah and The End of Time, which was recently optioned for film by Paramount Pictures.

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, internationally bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue * I'm not sure I can capture how much this book moved, gripped, devoured me. Chokshi draws stars from the darkness. An opulent, engrossing tale with all the power of a myth and all the truth of a parable - reading a story like this reminds you why we tell them in the first place * Kiran Millwood Hargrave, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Mercies * The Last Tale of the Flower Bride is an intoxicating fever dream, an irresistibly seductive fairytale. I've never read anything like it. Chokshi's mastery of her craft is on fully display. This book will leave you utterly spellbound * Emily Henry, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Book Lovers * The Last Tale of the Flower Bride gripped me from its first chapter and enthralled me till the very end. An utterly breathtaking story - dark, haunting, and thrumming with mystery, magic, and love * Sue Lynn Tan, bestselling author of Daughter of the Moon Goddess * 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 * A shimmering tapestry of intertwined fairytales, told through the secrets of a modern Bluebeard's chamber. The Last Tale of the Flower Bride will enthrall fans of twisty, dark journeys into the secrets of two girls, Indigo and Azure, who are inextricably linked by the perils of a mysterious house where nothing is quite as it seem * Yangsze Choo, New York Times bestselling author of The Night Tiger * 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 The Once and Future Witches * Darkly gorgeous and utterly entrancing, Chokshi's adult fairy tale is as deadly as any fable of old; the lush, glittering prose and haunting mystery gilding a story sharper than a huntsman's blade * Shannon Chakraborty, bestselling author of The City of Brass * Roshani Chokshi's The Last Tale of the Flower Bride is an elegant, intoxicating cocktail of a book. Her gorgeous prose builds a fairy tale otherworld around you, one you'll do anything to remain in * Kat Howard, award-winning author of An Unkindness of Magicians * Unworldly, intoxicating-and so, so very enchanting. Each page ripples with the feeling of a dream filled by beauty and terrors alike. This is an intricate character study in finest form * Chloe Gong, New York Times bestselling author of Foul Lady Fortune * The Last Tale of the Flower Bride is a novel steeped in tradition - from the gothic genre through world myths and fairy stories - and yet it weaves itself into something fresh and original. I very much enjoyed Chokshi's exploration of the enchantments that can exist within human relationships, the subtleties of friendship, the stories we tell to ourselves, and the lengths we will go to belong. A beautifully conjured tale * Claire Heywood, author of Daughters of Sparta * A unicorn tapestry of folklore, magic, and monsters, woven with the nimblest hand and the most shimmering gilded thread. Roshani Chokshi is a master of all things baroque, sensuous, and mystical * Ava Reid, bestselling author of The Wolf and the Woodsman * A spellbinding gothic fairytale, enveloped in dreamy poetic prose and enigmatic characters. This is a book you'll want to devour and savour, a book you won't be able to put down until the final act leaves you in awe * The Fantasy Hive * The haunting power and rich tradition of the fairy tale combines with a modern Gothic twist in this must-read stunning story. Chosen as a Star Book and Liz Pick of the Month, I have struggled to express how much this novel means to me. I can only recommend it with my heart and soul * LoveReading * The Last Tale of the Flower Bride will haunt me for a long time - Roshani Chokshi has mastered the gothic in this skillfully wrought fairytale of sisterhood, obsession, and possession * Sarah Underwood, author of Lies We Sing to the Sea * Equal parts dizzying, dazzling, and foreboding * Publishers Weekly * This gothic tale is lush and haunting * Booklist, starred review * Recommended for lovers of gothic romance, magical realism, and stories where fairy tales come true * Library Journal * Gorgeously dark and lyrically written, this book will haunt your thoughts in all the best ways * Culturefly * A tale of obsessive, toxic female friendship with heavy sapphic undertones, this novel is set to be one of the most exciting reads of the year * DIVA Magazine * A singular, unforgettable tale of love and magic * Kirkus Starred Review *