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thequiltyreader's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
5.0
A lovely story and murder mystery all wrapped up around a Folklore tale.
I found the characters loveable and was was really routing for some of them throughout the book.
I quite enjoyed jumping back and forward between the main characters perspectives. I did find the timeline a little hard to follow though so gave up on that part and just enjoyed the story.
I felt there were a couple of things never quite fully explained but I think this worked well with the fact this book had a strong link to a Folklore story that in itself has a lot of mystery wrapped around it.
I found the characters loveable and was was really routing for some of them throughout the book.
I quite enjoyed jumping back and forward between the main characters perspectives. I did find the timeline a little hard to follow though so gave up on that part and just enjoyed the story.
I felt there were a couple of things never quite fully explained but I think this worked well with the fact this book had a strong link to a Folklore story that in itself has a lot of mystery wrapped around it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
medini_l's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Abandonment, and Colonisation
sweekune's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
4.25
4.25/5
Audiobook narrated by the author.
Told from several points of view, The Night Tiger is a mysterious tale that draws you in. A dressmaker's apprentice, an orphaned house boy and a British doctor are drawn into the same mystery from different angles, surrounded by weretigers, amputated fingers and Chinese & Malay folklore and superstition.
- The different point of view were very distinct. some are told in first person, others in third and they all had their own separate voice and personality. I enjoyed Ren's parts (the house boy) the most but all were well done. informative but leaving enough unseen and unsaid to keep the intrigue.
- The whole book was very atmospheric and the feel of the different places and environments came across well. There were some dream sections where this was particularly notable.
- The author's narration was excellent and brought the story to life. As above, it was easy to tell which character's point of view was the present one due to the tone.
A strange but fascinating mystery story. Perfect for those who enjoy magical realism, Asian folklore and a good winding mystery.
Audiobook narrated by the author.
Told from several points of view, The Night Tiger is a mysterious tale that draws you in. A dressmaker's apprentice, an orphaned house boy and a British doctor are drawn into the same mystery from different angles, surrounded by weretigers, amputated fingers and Chinese & Malay folklore and superstition.
- The different point of view were very distinct. some are told in first person, others in third and they all had their own separate voice and personality. I enjoyed Ren's parts (the house boy) the most but all were well done. informative but leaving enough unseen and unsaid to keep the intrigue.
- The whole book was very atmospheric and the feel of the different places and environments came across well. There were some dream sections where this was particularly notable.
- The author's narration was excellent and brought the story to life. As above, it was easy to tell which character's point of view was the present one due to the tone.
A strange but fascinating mystery story. Perfect for those who enjoy magical realism, Asian folklore and a good winding mystery.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Incest, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Colonisation
elliejhnsn's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Writing was excellent. The story unfolded in a really captivating way. It is a bit twisted, mysterious, and dark, with magical realism, reflective of the land of Malay and the sociopolitical environments at the time. But, I think it was a bit too dark for me. It did leave me with a lot of questions still, but I think it did so intentionally, as it was a mystical story. Finally, and most importantly, the love story was NOT IT FOR ME DAWG. It felt so wrong. I definitely felt the way Ji Lin's mother did.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism
unsure's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-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? No
3.5
Other than the unusual writing style, specifically the tense, it starts off strong. You're dropped right into the action, but with that comes a lot of flashbacks. You can never be quite sure if something is supposed to be mysterious, or you were just not paying enough attention.
Almost every chapter has a narrator change. Of the 3 narrators, 2 are likeable. They're loyal, hard-working and smart. Li Jin is a girl/young woman stuck in a life where she can only watch others accomplish her dreams but still finds a way to be true to herself and protect her mother. Ren is a young, orphan boy who has a seemingly impossible task while navigating a new place and new people. Watching as their lives interwove was enjoyable. The 3rd narrator is not that good of a person, but he's a good foil for Ji Lin and ren.
The pov change were difficult though. With each switch, the tenses changed. This, along with the flashbacks, made reading a bit irritating. Additionally, the pov changes would sometimes start at the beginning of middle of the last pov, meaning you had to backtrack, which was especially frustrating when it was right in the middle of a tense scene and the characters were with eachother the whole time.
The mystical aspect was both enjoyable and overwhelming. I think it could have benefited from some streamlining. The 5 Confucius values were really cool, and I liked the is -he-isn't-he bit with the weretiger, but I think the concepts were kept too separate that it was difficult to accept that they'd both show up in the same storyline without some connecting factor.
The big problem was the characters' individual endings. The main villian doesn't get their proper comeuppanceWilliam dying instead of Lydia , and the love interest has a scene where they're professing their love that seems vaguely abusive, in the sense of dangerously possessive and manipulative. It felt like, after all this build up and character backstory and memories of misunderstood interactions, the author ran out of time to explain the emotional state of this character, which led them to seeming rather immoral shin continually pressuring ji to have sex so she'll have to be "his," which, considering his father/her step father's abusiveness and attitude towards the family (objects to show off as the perfect family), seems out of character for him to feel and her to accept .
Honestly the ending just disappointed and rather infuriated me. Massive spoiler-filled rant about the William-Ren storyline starts here wtf the Lydia William Li twist came out of no where; she's already admitted to multiple murders, the name matching bit was just the author trying to add more. Additionally, it was getting progressively harder to accept Ren's intelligence with some stuff and utter ignorance with other stuff - like sex and Lydia's evilness. I cannot see how Ren would think tho give William the stuff that Lydia have him while also not really liking Lydia? Especially since Lydia said the medicine was for Ji Lin. If anything, I could see him innocently giving it to her or even Ah Long accidentally. Also the author just skips over the fact that Ren killed William. Like that's never going to be found out or that Ren will never realise, especially since he'll become a doctor himself, which will be traumatising for him, I think.
In summary, it was filled with ups and downs, and I ended up upset that the ending had some really bad bits when most of it had so much potential
Almost every chapter has a narrator change. Of the 3 narrators, 2 are likeable. They're loyal, hard-working and smart. Li Jin is a girl/young woman stuck in a life where she can only watch others accomplish her dreams but still finds a way to be true to herself and protect her mother. Ren is a young, orphan boy who has a seemingly impossible task while navigating a new place and new people. Watching as their lives interwove was enjoyable. The 3rd narrator is not that good of a person, but he's a good foil for Ji Lin and ren.
The pov change were difficult though. With each switch, the tenses changed. This, along with the flashbacks, made reading a bit irritating. Additionally, the pov changes would sometimes start at the beginning of middle of the last pov, meaning you had to backtrack, which was especially frustrating when it was right in the middle of a tense scene and the characters were with eachother the whole time.
The mystical aspect was both enjoyable and overwhelming. I think it could have benefited from some streamlining. The 5 Confucius values were really cool, and I liked the is -he-isn't-he bit with the weretiger, but I think the concepts were kept too separate that it was difficult to accept that they'd both show up in the same storyline without some connecting factor.
The big problem was the characters' individual endings. The main villian doesn't get their proper comeuppance
Honestly the ending just disappointed and rather infuriated me. Massive spoiler-filled rant about the William-Ren storyline starts here
In summary, it was filled with ups and downs, and I ended up upset that the ending had some really bad bits when most of it had so much potential
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Colonisation
Minor: Domestic abuse, Incest, Infertility, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
story_goblin's review against another edition
adventurous
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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Honestly, I have no idea what to say about this book. It's so different! That's not a bad thing, it just makes it difficult to find words to talk about it. There's so much going on! There's no easy way to even describe the premise to someone? I think I should have read this instead of listening to it. It's beautifully read by the author, but it's so long and complicated that there were multiple times I wished I was reading a physical copy. But also, it really lingered in my mind. I found myself thinking about it multiple times throughout the day- just wondering about what would happen or what the characters would choose. The characters felt extremely real but also unlike anyone I happen to know.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
bonnienoire's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Blood, Medical content, Stalking, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit and Sexual harassment
madlock18's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Blood
mantnam's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Blood
Moderate: Incest
ckameley's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
When I started this novel I was excited to see how the story unfolded for Ji Lin, but by the end I was more interested in Ren and what would become of him. Perhaps the biggest reason I lost interest in Ji Lin was because of her forbidden romance with her step-sibling, so when that story line was concluded I was over her.
The last few chapters rushed to tie-off each thread in the story, and unfortunately there were too many threads which felt like they were added just for the sake of adding them. I am particularly critical of how the British hospital volunteer's role in the story was unveiled right at the end, and it felt like the only retribution she received was that she didn't get to marry the man she was stalking. Her addition to the story felt unnecessary and like a missed opportunity to explore how white women benefit from colonization and (actively) harm women of color.
The last few chapters rushed to tie-off each thread in the story, and unfortunately there were too many threads which felt like they were added just for the sake of adding them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Child abuse, Incest, Miscarriage, and Physical abuse
Minor: Sexism