Julia & Brad Riew
Kokila
29 July 2025
416
eBook - PDF
YA Fantasy
ARC via NetGalley
In a colonized land where tigers are being hunted to extinction and ancient magic stirs, two star-crossed teens from opposite worlds—Lee Seung, a servant yearning for freedom, and Choi Eunji, a noble girl defying tradition—join forces to try and reshape their respective fates.
But their relationship evolves from begrudging accomplices to bitter adversaries as they soon find themselves on opposite sides of a battle over the last tiger, a symbol of their people’s lost freedom and key to the liberation of their country. As the ties between Seung and Eunji are complicated by their conflicting loyalties, tensions rise—especially when a charming princeling of the empire begins to rival for Eunji's affection.
In this friends-to-enemies-to-lovers story of forbidden romance, antagonists turned allies, oppression and liberation, neither Seung nor Eunji can abandon their mission—or each other. And as they embark on separate quests to find the elusive creature, each must also find the power within themselves to make their own destiny.
The Last Tiger was a book that I wanted to like more than I did. I was drawn to it by the fact it was Korean fantasy and inspired by the real-life love story of the authors' grandparents, who lived through some harrowing times. I had high expectations for a complex, emotional tale coupled with Korean history and folklore, but sadly the execution of the story didn't work for me. The plot idea was interesting, but it was really undeveloped, with not enough information on the politics and magical elements. The characters were all really 2D, too, with no distinct voices. The story overall had too much 'telling' and, for me, the inclusion of the grandparents' messages was a bad choice. They appeared at the start of every chapter and pulled you out of the fantasy story and into the real-life account. Sometimes, though, I found those snippets more interesting than the main narrative. The real-life situation was so lightly veiled by the fantasy in any case, I feel as if the authors would have done better to tell their grandparents' story in its true setting, without the fantasy, as historical fiction-biography. I agonised a bit over this review, as I know these are debut writers who clearly wanted to share the love and hardship their grandparents endured. I don't want to belittle that with a bad review, but at the same time, I have to be honest about my feelings towards the book as a work of YA fantasy. In the end, I am giving it 2.5 stars. It's certainly not unreadable, but there was the potential for it to have been so much better. I will round up to 3 stars on Goodreads in recognition of the real-life inspiration behind the book.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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