Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. Unfortunately I have been unable to get into it.

Sixteen year old Tashi is gender fluid and is an inhabitor, a child who is trained to bond with an animal so that they can be a soldier. There is war and a cute guy on the opposite side and Tashi is supposed to spy on him and it is really cold with lots of snow and I felt like there may have been too much focus on the gender fluidness and not enough world building and it was just ok.

I love the premise, the world, the characters (Tashi is just freaking wonderful!!!) but it fell a bit flat in parts.
I love the concept of bonding with animals and then shapeshifting into said animal, and it's such a wonderful world to explore, but I felt like there were parts lacking - why were they fighting, where did the shapeshifters come from and did they do something to the non-shifters to make them so destructive? I could have missed it but while it was an interesting story with great representation, it felt a bit... off

The biggest issue here was the worldbuilding. The beginning of this book is incredibly frustrating. We are thrown into the middle of war with Tashi and their friend running away and it's not explained... at all. I think Julia Ember wanted to avoid info-dumping and made up for it by explaining... nothing. That's not a good solution. I can easily ignore info-dumping for two pages if it leads to some fantastic content later, but this... I want to say that I understood nothing about the war. I can't care about something I feel nothing for.

The entire concept and reasoning behind tiger bonding. I wanted the book to focus on this and I expected Tashi and their tiger would be the focus!! And yet... no. I was left misunderstanding the entire concept of tiger bonding and why anyone would want to give up half their lives to bond to an animal. How does it actually advantage Tashi?

This book is also, as should be expected due to the 180-page length, very rushed. Yes, it's a novella, and I've never been a fan of novellas. But I genuinely think Ember should market herself more as a writer of novellas than a writer of books. My expectations might've been adjusted and I think I would've enjoyed this a bit more.

This was a difficult story to get into because the author seemed to take for granted the reader's understanding of people/names/events that hadn't been introduced yet. However, the writing style flows nicely, so that eventually the reader can get a grasp on these names/people and events we're meeting for the first time. I think it's just a matter of the author being so intimately familiar with her own world that she's forgotten her audience is meeting this world for the first time. I love that her main character, Tashi, is non-binary; I think that is important, having characters that don't follow the formula. I think the plot needed the second book to be included in the first, or to not end so abruptly. Overall, not a bad read, and worth seeing what the author provides next.

This is a really fascinating world that I’ll be happy to spend more time in. I felt really immersed in the story and could clearly imagine the monastery and its surrounds even though neither of those were explained in particularly lavish detail. Sometimes lavish detail is unnecessary.

The history of Thim and Myeik and their opposing cultures and climates and changing fortunes was really interesting and it really felt like I was reading about real places, even with the magic elements. The concept of inhabiters and all the benefits and downsides of being one was also well-expressed, without trying to sway readers to believe wholeheartedly in one side of that argument.

I really liked that nearly every single character was morally grey, and each of them were likeable sometimes and sometimes unlikeable, like real people. Characters that did horrendous things were allowed to also be human and vulnerable, and neither one cancelled the other, and I’ve never seen that kind of thing on this scale before. It’s usually only one or maybe two characters, not half of the main cast.

I don't know if I can speak for the genderqueer rep, but it seemed good overall and it was nice to have they pronouns used for Tashi, and to also have the topic of correct pronouns addressed and enforced. I don’t know if Tashi is meant to be particularly likeable but I liked them and all of their conflicting emotions and actions.

However, I should mention that Tashi's being genderqueer was introduced by way of anxiety that the monks would a) not be accepting of their gender or pronouns and b) would make them shave their head. Tashi is apprehensive about this because they use their hair both to express themself and to feel more comfortable in their body. Introducing a character with a non-binary gender through the threat of unacceptance or violence isn't a good way to do it. (Just to be clear, the monks were accepting of Tashi's gender and pronouns but they did make them shave their head so they would fit in with the monks when the Myeik came.)

One final thing I liked was that this book addressed the fact that you can be in love with someone else without needing or wanting to tell them, and that that love doesn’t need to stop you being friends with that person, or preclude the possibility of you attracted to someone else. Attraction exists in many, many forms, and none of them are mutually exclusive. That’s another thing I see only very rarely in books.

I’m really interested to see where this story goes next and will be eagerly awaiting the sequel(s?).

Content warning for: character death, more than one quite graphic murder, some instances of dysphoria/negative gender feelings, brief imprisonment and mention of child abandonment.

I was really excited going into The Tiger's Watch because of the synopsis but from the first page, we're thrown into a world that is unfamiliar and left at the mercy of the plot. With that said, I spent most of this book incredibly confused by what was going on - we're presented with these characters who have so much history and story to tell and we don't get to hear the full breadth of it all. I soon lost interest and it's only due to the shorter length of the novel that I managed to push through. I think The Tiger's Watch has a cool premise and potential but the execution didn't meet my expectations.

Unfortunately, this was simply not the book for me. As stated in my biography section I do not write full reviews for books I am unable to finish and unfortunately this was one of them.

I thought I would really love this book. The premise sounded great. I just didn't really connect with the story. I did like the writing but I was bored. I did really love the characters though. If there is a second book I will read it though.

Tashi has had a rough life. With the power of an inhabitor, someone who bonds with an animal, they have been trained as solider and a spy. Fleeing a battle, Tashi seeks a hideout at a monastery, but when the enemy decides to use the monastery as a hospital, they are in more danger than ever. Xian, a commander in the enemy army, decides to use Tashi as a helper, putting them in a valuable but possibly deadly situation. And when Tashi sees Xian’s vulnerable side outside of his commanding company, allegiances, truth, and decisions are tested at every turn.

Julia Ember’s THE TIGER’S WATCH is a thrilling fantasy with delightful, unforgettable characters. Tashi is both brave and vulnerable, sure in some areas but completely doubtful in others. Their bond with the tiger makes a touching companionship, and the scenes where Tashi’s inhabitor powers are used will leave your jaw dropping in amazement. The world of the inhabitors was my favorite part, full of bittersweet wonder and magic that leaves your heart aching.

While the story begins and ends with fantastic action, there are a few stretches in the middle that have slower pacing and occasionally drags. However, this does offer a nice opportunity to explore more of Tashi’s internal life, and their narration is memorable and smooth. Ember writes scenes that could cause a fire with the romantic tension and moments where no backside is safe so far on the edge of the seat.

Fans of Cindy Pon’s Serpentine will devour THE TIGER’S WATCH and eagerly await the preorder button for the sequel once they reach the cliffhanger ending.

I am really conflicted with my feelings for this book. It took me the longest time to figure out the star rating and that’s not something that usually happens to me. There were some aspects of this book that I really enjoyed and some that I very much disliked. It took me also the longest time to actually finish this book (even though it was rather short), as I never felt like picking it up.

The premise for this book sounded fascinating. I was really interested in seeing the bonds between the humans and their animals, it also interested me to see the world in which such a bond exists. Sadly this book didn’t deliver on that front. I feel as if the world-building was poorly executed. Everything was way too vague and I had more questions by the end of it than answers. World-building is one of the main aspects of a fantasy book, in my opinion, and I just feel that in this one nothing wasn’t developed enough – the world, the culture, the magic.

I felt that the plot was lacking as well. At some points I didn’t even see the point of the plot. I just don’t feel as if it was explained and developed enough, which caused me to not get the point of the war, the fighting and everything else that was happening. Then a personal problem that I had with it is the monastery part. I tend to strongly dislike books that take place in monasteries for some reason. I have never read a monastery setting that I have enjoyed. That was more of a ‘it’s me not you’ case for this book as well.

Tashi was a fascinating character. They were unlike the usual fantasy lead character. By which I mean that they weren’t portrayed as the strongest or bravest, rather they had their flaws and were insecurities about many things. It was very refreshing to read from their perspective. While I enjoyed that aspect of Tashi’s character, I was very frustrated with them as well. They just made so many decisions that I thought were naive and plain stupid – honestly that’s one of the things that annoyed me the most.

One of the most fascinating aspects of this book for me was the relationship between Tashi and Katala, their bonded animal. It was amazing to see how much they cared about each other and how far they were ready to go to protect one another. The other relationships in this book I didn’t care much about. There is a love triangle in this, which I neither expected nor enjoyed. I don’t feel that Tashi’s relationship with either love interest was developed enough, or rather that there weren’t enough meaningful conversations between them to get me interested.

Overall this book had a very interesting premise, but ultimately I was disappointed. Personally I don’t plan on reading the sequel to this book, simply because I’m not interested in it. This is a book that I both recommend and don’t. I recommend it for the unique protagonist and their relationship with their bonded animal, but I don’t recommend it for the plot or the world.

Please be aware that there is misgendering in this book and there is violence.

Tashi has to escape the capital as their life is in danger. They're an inhabitor, which means they have a really close connection with an animal, to the point where they can inhabit the animals body. However when they go to a monastery it is quickly taken over by enemy forces and they decide to spy.

The world building was really good in the sense it had a really good religious system, which a lot of books skip over. The inhabitor part of this book was an interesting idea but the way it was written just didn't read very well. I found it hard to distinguish between what was going on with Tashi and what was going on with the tiger.

Xian read really weirdly, he was complex but was just too complex. He didn't know whether he was coming or going and it was just really annoying. Sometimes he came off really nice and then other times he was an absolute jerk, and I just can't get behind him. It made it hard for me to read the scenes between him and Tashi.

Tashi is supposed to be in love with Pharo, who they ran away to the monastery with but it literally did not read like that at all. They never saw him or checked on him. And I get that it's hard for them because they're trying to be covert, but it barely felt like they liked him to be honest. It just felt completely underdeveloped.

Look, I think this book is super important because it has a gender fluid main character, but the plot could use a lot of work. I think this could be really good for people who are gender fluid, though I can't speak for the representation, and I couldn't find reviews from anyone who is gender fluid, but if you have read it and are gender fluid hmu and I'll link to your review. C.W. also posted a review of this book and raised some issues about the Chinese coding of some of the characters so I would recommend checking that out.

Contains minor spoilers.

This book was just ok.. the only element I liked was the connection between the inhabotors and their animal. I was a bit confused with the gender fluid main character being referred to as "they" thinking 'but there's only one person!' And I really didn't like how the MC Tashi was such a coward for most of the book and how he had a lusty connection to the antagonist Xian. I don't care how gorgeous a man may be, if he kills one of my best friends in front of me and terrorizes poor villagers, I won't find him attractive. I also found it hard to believe that Pharo secretly wanted to be with Tashi all this time but waited until he was dying to say anything. Pharo's personality always conveyed strength and confidence, plus he knew Tashi liked him, so Pharo would've made a move. It's almost like Pharo used Tashi's attraction to keep him spying on Xian, which I also find hard to believe. I'm sorry to say I won't be reading the next book.

Disclaimer: I received a copy free from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Tashi has spent their life training to be an inhabitor, a soldier and a spy who kills using an animal they have bonded with. Tashi is bonded with a fierce and protective golden tiger. When the capital falls to a siege, Tashi flees to a monastery to hide, along with their tiger. However, when the invading army takes over the monastery to use as their own personal hospital, Tashi gets put in a dangerous position. Especially when they catch the eye of Xian, the regiment’s commander. Now Tashi has to spy on Xian, and they discover that Xian has a softer side that the men he commands don’t see.

The Tiger’s Watch is a good high fantasy read, the world building was good and the magic system was subtle, original, and interesting. There wasn’t too much info-dumping and the world building itself was all done very gradually and naturally which was good because a lot of info-dumping can really detract from the story. I would have liked to have known more about the cultures and why the Myeik were invading the Thim.

The Tiger’s Watch also has a genderfluid protagonist, Tashi. There were times when Tashi was misgendered, but it was almost always corrected on-page. Tashi was a… very complicated character and a very morally ambiguous character. They made some really bad choices at times, but there were some really good character development and Tashi did evolve throughout the book. I really liked Pharo, he was supportive, protective, kind and loyal. I would have loved to have seen more of him, but the sequel does seem to be from his POV which is exciting.

One of my favourite aspects of this book was Tashi and their link with their animal, Katala the golden tiger. I think Katala and Tashi were really well balanced and complemented each other really well. Katala was aggressive and protective, whereas Tashi was timid and calm.

The romance was ok, but not necessarily my favourite part. Tashi was in love with their best friend Pharo, and is attracted to Xian. I wasn’t too fond of her relationship with Xian, mainly because how aggressive and sadistic he was at times. Also because Tashi was a servant to Xian so there was this power imbalance which was addressed, but still.

Overall, The Tiger’s Watch was a good and diverse high fantasy with an interesting and original magical concept.
3.5 stars

I'm in two minds about this novella. While there was a part of me that was intrigued by the general premise, there were still too many moments of confusion and poor characterisation for me to fully immerse myself in the story.

WORLDBUILDING & PLOT

One of my issues is the world building, or lack thereof. The novel starts after the conclusion of a major battle, with Tashi, the protagonist, and their best friend on the run. We don't actually discover what happened until further in the novel, which is not usually an issue for me, but combined with the inclusion - but no explanation - of magical elements, I found myself confused for a majority of the book. The reader is not even told why the two cultures - the Thim and the Myeik - were even at war in the first place.

However, I did enjoy the general idea behind the magical system - that certain people can be inhibitors which means that they are bonded for life to the soul of an animal. But when that animal dies, the human is left in a comatose state until they succumb to starvation. Unfortunately, the execution of this idea wasn't the best, and the world building altered frequently, to the point where I couldn't follow along without re-reading pages.

Like the world building, the plot was puzzling. Nothing much happened for a good portion of the novella, and then we discover the central plot point at the very end. I'm not saying that's necessarily a bad thing, but as nothing really happens, my attention span was sidetracked.

CHARACTERS & SEXUALITY & ROMANCE

I was quite annoyed by the characters, especially Tashi. While I am so so so hyped beyond words that Tashi is genderfluid, they were incredibly indecisive. They were incapable of making any decisions, and when they finally did, they changed their mind a minute later. It got quite annoying, especially in a book that is only 180 pages long. Also, I am seeing an alarming rise of YA "spies" who are just terrible spies. Tashi sneaks out to see her bonded tiger - despite being in the middle of a monastery filled with invaders - they pull a prank on a high-ranking member of the enemy's army, and they forget to look for clues in the enemy commander's room while the commander is away, until reminded by a friend. Just ... come on.

I can't comment on whether the explanation of the gender fluidity was done well as I am not gender fluid myself, but the author did talk about Tashi's identity frequently, and how angry they were at being forced to change their image while in hiding. There are a few instances of misgendering, but it is always called out and corrected. What I did love about this novella is how normal sexuality and identity is viewed - there's no shaming or judgement from other characters. They simply accept Tashi for who they are.

However, I did have an issue with the romance, and that's probably my main issue with the novella. The love triangle felt quite unnecessary, and basically came out of nowhere. Tashi did state that they were in love with their best friend, Pharro, but as soon as they met Xian, they fell in lust with the enemy commander. I did enjoy Xian's character though - how he was both sadistic, but had moments of vulnerability - and I can see how Tashi would be drawn to him, but there were also many moments where I just found their scenes cringey. I also didn't understand how Tashi could be so in love with Pharro, when the reader is never really shown their relationship, aside from Tashi commenting on their crush. Just because characters are childhood friends doesn't mean an author can get away with not properly developing a romance between them.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I think the issues I found with the novel could have been fixed if the book were longer. Writing a novella-length fantasy with complex cultures, politics, and magical systems doesn't work too well with just 180 pages. There's either too much info dumping or lack of proper explaining for the reader to fully engross themselves in the story. Will I be reading the next novella in the series? I think I might. The novella ended on a little cliffhanger, and I do want to know what happens next.

It was very interesting to read a fiction book with a genderqueer main character, but it was difficult to me to get into the story and I think the world building could have been better.

1.5
Hated it.

I had really high hopes for this fantasy with a gender-fluid protagonist. But if failed me on almost every level, except that the writing is mechanically and editorially fine.

Point one, the gender-fluid protagonist was a heroine. I don’t mean to force an identity on anyone in real life, but in fiction there are certain behaviors, character traits and tropes that show up almost exclusively with YA female characters and YA male characters. And while Tashi waffled about whether they’d like to wear pants or a dress and while the author scrupulously avoided ever discussing secondary sex traits, Tashi behaved 100% like your average, unlikable, angsty, YA heroine. And I hate those heroines. In fact, I’ve largely given up YA literature at all to avoid them.

I simply did not feel Tashi was gender-fluid in any way other than that the reader was told so and a brief discussion on pronouns. And if an author is going to use gender-fluidity without engaging in it, I don’t feel it’s being respectfully handled.

But even outside the common YA characteristics, I just plain couldn’t like Tashi. They were supposed to love one man, but lusted over another that they’d just met, even as her love was dying. How does that make a believable plot? What’s more, they’re weak, small-minded, selfish and a traitor. There is no excuse for the ill-thought out, selfish actions they took. Even if it all works out in future books, that doesn’t excuse what they did in this one. I actively hoped for them to die at the end.

Then there was the interplay between them and the enemy captain. For one, they somehow coincidentally got chosen to serve him. How convenient for the plot! But nothing about their interaction was believable. They were chosen as a servant to an invading army’s captain. But the two of them bickered and fought and treated each other like equals. WOULD NOT HAPPEN. Nothing in their situation was believable.

Then there was the psychic human-animal connection. I loved this idea. But it was barely ever utilized. In fact, we hardly even got to see it. Such a let down.

Then the darned thing ended on a cliffhanger. The only reason I haven’t given it a one-star, is that the writing is fine, as I said.

I was super excited to be approved for this book!
The description over on Goodreads was really intriguing and I was really happy to see that there was some GLBT representation, because there just isn't enough of that out there.
Really, really love the Tashi character. I love the idea of bonding with animals - despite the fact that doing so, removes half of your lifespan (a very interesting consequence).
I felt like it could have been stronger in regards to world building. While there was a lot of construction going on, in the particular side of things, none of them were ever developed to a substantial amount. I felt myself feeling quite displaced. When it comes to a book like this focused on the world that's outside of the American one I live every day, I truly want to be able to feel like I have some sense of the surroundings of the character, like I can place myself in the same location as they were.
There were times I felt a little bored, but I overall did enjoy this book and will plan on reading the sequel.