Reviews tagging 'Classism'

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi

22 reviews

meganpbell's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

If slow and deadly is your poison, pick up this sumptuous, gothic fairy tale. Chokshi’s flowery prose hides teeth, claws, and a dark heart bloody with not only the fairy tales we tell each other and the secrets we keep from ourselves, but the wild reckless hope of being loved when the truth’s laid bare. This was darker than I expected and reminded me of Addie LaRue in its romance and pacing, which isn’t a great thing for me but others might love!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Toxic relationship, Blood, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Sexual content, and Death of parent

tired_cicada's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book was absolutely INSANE and I loved every second of it! Finished in one sitting.

Gothic horror at its finest, with twists and turns that had me at the edge of my seat! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

prairieraven's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

madamenovelist's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Abandonment and Classism

Minor: Incest

salie's review

dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Death of parent, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

booksbutmakeitgay's review

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

amberghinii's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Blood, Dementia, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

blackcatkai's review

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

CW: toxic friendships/relationships, ableism, emotional as well as physical abuse (against children and adults), gaslighting, death, violence, alcoholism, disordered eating, body/fat shaming, classism, sexual assault of a minor (mainly implied/mentioned: not overly graphic throughout majority of story), abandonment, trauma/mental illness, body horror

this was so beautifully written and really did feel like a faerie tale. it is very much a slower gothic read so definitely set expectations accordingly. its a story that deals with a few very heavy topics so heed any content warnings beforehand, as well. i really enjoyed the way chokshi interwove two main stories together with a common thread tying them together. you feel a lot for azure if no one else and really root for her against all odds. the bridegroom is a very interesting perspective to read from, especially as his sections are more in the now while azures are in the past until they both crash together in the end.

now some people will probably see the twist coming before you actually get to the reveal, but i dont think that necessarily takes away from the story as a whole. IS there magic? is it all just a ruse? ultimately its left a bit open-ended for the reader to decide and i really liked where it went in the end, it really got quite the roller coaster of emotions out of me. will definitely read more of chokshi's adult work going forward, shes a master!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Medical content, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Ableism

provo's review

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The language in this book is beautiful. Highly recommended, if you love fairy tales - look up the content warnings though, this book is not a light one.

At times I was really irritated about the time and place this is supposed to play out, I am still not sure if this takes place in Europe or the USA. There were thing very specific to Europe (e.g. drinking at 16) and things very specific to the U S (driving at 17). There were things typical for the 90s (big cellphones with an antenna are mentioned in the parts were the protagonists are grown up, which puts the childhood scenes somewhere between end 70s/mid 80s) but also things that were absolutely not typical for that time (girls making out with other girls in public without anyone reacting in a homophobic way in a small town).

I was less interested in the story of the husband (but it was important to the overall plot and it did not take up too much space in the story), but the parts about the past were really good (also very painful at times).
It also cements my belief that kids who grow up too rich are just completely out of touch 🤷🏻‍♀️

Edit: after reading a couple of reviews for this after finishing it, I want to add: I would not call this a romance nor fantasy and I am slightly annoyed by publishing houses who are not able to describe the genre of their books correctly because their fancy descriptions might sell better. This is a mystery thriller and a coming of age story in a Trenchcoat of fairytale metaphors.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Classism

Moderate: Child death, Death, and Pedophilia

Minor: Animal death

not_asha01's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism