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A review by ameliabee33
The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The mystery of this book is definitely intriguing. As readers we are led around by your two mcs, so we glimpses of two sides of the same story. People are going missing and dying and Ji Lin and Ren are in the middle of it, whether they like it or not. There is a touch of magical realism in the mystery, men that turn into tigers at night, numbers & virtues lending weight to decisions made, and the dead that can talk to our mcs as well. The descriptions of the train stations of the dead were intricate and some of my favorite parts of the book, learning about the stations between the living and dead.
This story could have done without the romance though, specifically the love story between Ji Lin and her stepbrother, Shin. I can't get around the incestuous undertones of their relationship. They were made stepsiblings from a young age, his father abuses Ji Lin's mother, he got the college education Ji Lin desperately wanted, Shin treats Ji Lin as his property. It is frequently mentioned that Ji Lin is the smarter sibling and that she has progressive views on a woman's place in the world. Yet Shin just repeatedly doesn't seem to respect it. Also I did not want to root for this relationship!!! The book kept oushing for them to Yes they aren't biologically related to one another, but they are still siblings!!! I really draw the line at incest, it isn't a taboo I want to read about at all. So tw, if you also don't like that trope
Like I said before really enjoyed the mystery with magical elements, and i would have liked to have heard more from a character named Lydia. I think she would have added to the story as an unreliable narrator, which could have added to the big reveal at the very end. I did enjoy the povs we did get though.
Overall, stars are for plot sans romance.
This story could have done without the romance though, specifically the love story between Ji Lin and her stepbrother, Shin. I can't get around the incestuous undertones of their relationship. They were made stepsiblings from a young age, his father abuses Ji Lin's mother, he got the college education Ji Lin desperately wanted, Shin treats Ji Lin as his property. It is frequently mentioned that Ji Lin is the smarter sibling and that she has progressive views on a woman's place in the world. Yet Shin just repeatedly doesn't seem to respect it. Also I did not want to root for this relationship!!! The book kept oushing for them to Yes they aren't biologically related to one another, but they are still siblings!!! I really draw the line at incest, it isn't a taboo I want to read about at all. So tw, if you also don't like that trope
Like I said before really enjoyed the mystery with magical elements, and i would have liked to have heard more from a character named Lydia. I think she would have added to the story as an unreliable narrator, which could have added to the big reveal at the very end. I did enjoy the povs we did get though.
Overall, stars are for plot sans romance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Death
Moderate: Incest
Minor: Sexual content