OH MY GOSH. This was so much fun!! The writing was beautiful and captivating and it sucked me in almost immediately. I swear only a few pages in. I am a big fan of Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews, and this gave me threads and snippets of it. Like the world-building, the magic system, was all very exciting to learn about and see develop in the pages. The characters were the best too. I found myself so enamoured with each of them and loved the story/myth parts that were sprinkled in the chapters. So good. I have no bad thoughts. Also, the final lil twist at the end was brilliantly done. All the stars for this one.

Many thanks to the publishers and netgalley for supplying me with an arc in exchange for my thoughts.

Aunt Tigress
by Emily Yu-Xuan Qin
Urban Fantasy
NetGalley eARC
Pub Date: Mar 18, 2025
DAW
Ages: 17+

Demons, ghosts, and gods live among humans who cannot see them, but some know they are there. Tam's father was able to shapeshift into a tiger, but after his death, Tam finds 'family' in his sister, but when she is found murdered and skinned, Tam inherits her Aunt's possessions.

Cleaning out her aunt's trailer, Tam's memories come back to the reasons why she cut the threat tying her to her aunt, and those people she hurt under her aunt's teachings are pieces to solve her aunt's murder.


While the blurb sounded like this story would be a mystery with some horror aspects, it flopped.

The idea, plot, and storyline had promise, but the execution failed.

First, the MC was blah. Yeah, I get she suffered some trauma, but she didn't have much of a personality, and her love interest, that girl was overly friendly but also degrading plus bordering on aggressiveness. And in regards to the other characters, I didn't care much for any of them.

The world, I have no idea if all of the 'humans' know about the supernatural and; don't care or just ignore it because they can't see it. (Seeing is believing) Or if most of them have no clue. This world, like the characters, wasn't built up enough to explain this.

Then there were the overly flowery rambling descriptions of clothes and other things as if making up for the Telling of 'tales and folklore' that retained to the present situation, interrupting in mid-action, thus throwing the reader right out of the story. This also happened with the characters' backstories, giving me no reason to care for them.

I told myself at 6% to DNF, but because of where I was, it was read or do nothing, so I pushed through. Lesson learned to be prepared!

But I can say that, in my opinion, this book would have worked better as short stories; first telling the folklore/minor characters' stories in separate stories, then have the last story be Tam's story, bringing all of the others together. Doing it that way, I believe, would have allowed the author a better opportunity to treat each 'story' with the same 'love' and details they deserve, thus showing the story instead of telling it.

1 Star

This was unfortunately a no from me. The insta-romance between Tam and Janet wasn't convincing, in part because both characters felt like caricatures -- Tam's main trait was being scared and Janet was rude and pushy. I'm not sure how someone you barely know barging into your house, eating your food unannounced, and being blatantly rude to your mom AND THEN NOT CLEANING UP YOUR DISHES is anything but a turn-off, even considering the complex relationship between Tam and her mom. I liked the melding of First Nations and Chinese mythology in theory, but the infodumps and jarring flashbacks slowed down the story significantly without actually providing much context. It's difficult to write unlikeable characters that the reader still wants to read about, and that wasn't accomplished here -- I just didn't want to spend any more time with them than I had to (especially Aunt Tigress, which is saying something considering how much I usually love prickly old women whose goals outweigh caring for others), let alone 450ish pages.

Original worldbuilding that shows deep respect for both Chinese and First Nations tradition and folklore, ties together with the question of how far we might go for blood family over a chosen one. The main character does get outshined by several supporting characters along the way.

Sadly, I'll be DNFing this one about 10% in. I simply can't stand the writing style, and I don't care enough about the characters or the plot to push through. Still, I'm hoping that people who are genuinely interested in this book will give it a try!

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review!

I wanted so so badly to love this but between long, meandering paragraphs and frequent jumps to flashbacks that don’t seem entirely relevant in context (they usually become relevant just later enough that the details get a little fuzzy in your brain), it lacked tension and pacing. Some of Tam’s anecdotes seem to contradict each other, which made the overall timeline very confusing for me. It got to the point where any time I thought I had a grasp on the bigger picture, it felt like the author would then throw sand in my eyes and when my vision cleared, I was looking at something else entirely.

The concept is awesome and the characters were very interesting, but the act of reading was a bit of a slog

When Tam was young, Aunt Tigress cured her of illness—an act which, against her mother’s wishes, brought Tam into a world of magic and folklore. From then on, Tam’s life was marked by her run-ins with mythical creatures. As much as she tries to put it all (including some tragic and affecting incidents in her youth) behind her so that she can focus on college and taking care of her mom and the hot girl Janet she’s been seeing, the mark that her no-good child-stealing witch-aunt Tigress left on her life is unmistakable. When Aunt Tigress is killed, Tam is forcefully pulled into danger and into a world she’s been told to resist. Emily Yu-Xuan Qin’s novel feels full and tactile—its characters are messy, harsh, and human, its world bloody and rich with sensory detail. And look, you don’t just name your characters Tam Lin and Janet with no thought behind it, okay? We’re going deep in on folklore here. This is the author’s debut, and I cannot wait to see what they do next.

This book was weird. So weird that at a few places, I had to put it down for a bit to process. But it was so interesting I kept picking it right back up again! The combination of bits of Chinese and Canadian First Nations folklore was refreshing. The main character annoyed me enough at times that I wanted to shake her, but still I kept coming back to this book to see what happened next. I'd love to read something else set in the same universe.

Aunt Tigress by Emily Yu-Xuan Qin is an interesting urban fantasy set in Canada that takes inspiration from both Chinese and First Nations mythology. I really loved the dreary Calgary winter setting, and liked how the mythical interacted with the mundane. Overall a 2.5 rounding up to 3. Thank you to Netgalley, Emily Yu-Xuan Qin, and DAW for the ARC.

Thank you to Emily Yu-Xuan Qin, DAW, and NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Asian mythology, fantasy, and sapphic romance elements really intrigued me but the book fell flat. The interweaving of stories within stories definitely affected the pacing. I felt the romance wasn’t too believable either and the prose was underwritten. Unfortunately, I had to dnf. I will be giving the book 2 stars though as I think it has great potential!

I'd like to thank NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. However, I had to unfortunately DNF this book early on around the 15% mark.

I love Asian Fantasy and mythology, which was why I originally requested for Aunt Tigress. Although the premise sounded interesting, the writing style wasn't my cup of tea as I found it to be quite juvenile and took me out of the story as I would have preferred a more mature style of writing. There was a lot of unnecessary cuss words thrown in along with modern slangs that left me cringing and unfortunately took me out of the reading experience. I didn’t entirely buy the humor either. Perhaps urban fantasy isn't for me, after all.

The beginning also already felt very disjointed and I felt disconnected to both our FMC Tam and her love interest Janet. I expected this to be a slow burn type of romance, but it seems that Tam and Janet are already romantically involved yet I could not feel the chemistry between them and found it unconvincing. I feel like as readers we are just meant to accept that they are lovers as a matter of course.

I did enjoy the Asian mythology and creatures that were weaved into the novel so soon. There are many and I was intrigued, particularly the little I saw of Aunt Tigress. The flashbacks scenes did compel me as with the concept and I think it had a lot of potential, however because of the writing style I do not think I would be able to get through the entirety of the novel and would have preferred if this was a historical fantasy. I did also find it jarring how it switched from present to past abruptly.

I think there would be other readers who would enjoy this book more than me, but this was unfortunately not my cup of tea.

This is a very nice fantasy that takes from the Asian culture and their lore. This is done very well. It's a bit slow at times and the writing style is not my favorite. But the plot and characters kept me going. Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for a chance to read this book.

Thank you to Net Galley and DAW for the ARC. The concept sounded cool but the execution let me down. I was so bored reading this, it was so dry and slow paced.

What an amazing world!
Aunt Tigress is a traditional Chinese folktale retelling of the fable by the same name. Already, I loved sinking into a new story and seeing where it would take me. It's pretty similar to the story of the Wolf and the 7 Young Goats, with a lot of added layers.

As you plunge into this novel, get ready to dive into an urban fantasy Canada, featuring immigrant Chinese folklore trying to grasp local native magic. Hold on to your hats because everything is fresh and different here.

1. The creatures are mainly things you've never read or heard about.
2. The pacing and rhythms follow a different pattern to the typical Anglo fantasy books, making it so much more personal and seeped into its own heritage. So don't expect to meet up the typical beats.
3. The characters are very grey and far apart from the molds we have come to accept as the norm.
4. This is a beautiful fantasized version of what it feels like to be an immigrant with a cultural heritage different to everyone around you - but also different from people from your inherited culture because all your experiences and stories that you grew up with are not the same, they are versions of, mixed with other things. And you end up never quite fitting anywhere.

Basically, Aunt Tigress is an amazing book about this feeling of alienation anyone who has grown up moving around the world holds into their heart.
It's also about growing up and realizing that your normal, your adult group is not always right or moral, or what you want to associate with. The adults bringing you up weren't necessarily good, and yet they were there for you - so you hold dual feelings, and you have to balance that.

This is the best kind of book as it makes you feel, and think, and question the real world.
Highly recommended to anyone who wants something fresh from the urban fantasy world and has ever felt alienated.

This is a hell of a debut novel, and I can't wait to see more from this author. We have what originally seems to be the story of a girl coming to terms with her aunt dying and figuring out that she's a lesbian, but it's also a retelling of Tam Lin, a mix of various Canadian and Chinese mythologies, and so much that it almost feels like there's too much going on and you're not even remotely sure how the author is going to pull this off, but it all comes together amazingly. The love story that ends up unfolding in typical disaster lesbian way is great, untangling your memories with the reality of what happened to you, and coming to terms with who your family actually is vs who you believe they are. Absolutely fantastic read, and worth your time and then some.

Aunt Tigress is a fantastic, sly, clever, original, wonderful, heart-breaking book. Emily Yu-Xuan Qin brings together Chinese and First Nations beliefs and myths--as well as the Tam Lin story--to create something that is unique and memorable. Tam is a tiger, but she's forsaken her tiger part, trying to just be a good human. But she isn't, and she can't be, and when her Aunt Tigress dies and leaves behind Tam's undead familiar and a lot of enemies, Tam has to reckon with her true nature and how it affects her family, lover, and those around her. The journey is stellar and engrossing, and the denouement is something to revel in and roll around in like a cat in catnip. I love the mixing of myths as well as the superb queer representation and acknowledgements about being Other, and being more than one Other at the same time.

I knew from the cover and title alone that this book would be for me and I was not disappointed. I love me a monstrous, messy, queer protagonist and while I don't read urban fantasy all that often, I was very much intrigued by the story. We follow Tam Lin, daughter of a Chinese immigrant family of (witchy) tigers, living in the Canadian city of Calgary that's brimming with ghosts, demons, shifters, mythological beings and a whole lot of other supernatural creatures. As a tiger herself Tam is part of the supernatural world, but she had kind of a falling out with it prior to the start of the book. She's just trying to live a normal live but is ultimately pulled back in after the violent death of her aunt Tigress. Together with her new human girlfriend Janet and her little menagerie of familiars Tam is now trying to figure out what happened to her aunt.

Honestly, I had no idea where the story would be going, but I was down for everything. And while the story moved slowly I followed along with great interest and was excited to see what supernatural being would come up next. Basically every side character was explored in a separate chapter and I simply loved the storytelling aspect of this. It was such a great way of giving unique backstories to the characters while it also showed how everyone was connected to each other as the book went on. I do have to say that I liked the first half of the book more than the second half, because the otherworldly journey was going on for far too long and got quite trippy. Also, I'm not really happy with the portrayal of Tam's and Janet's relationship, because they were talking about love after knowing each other for less than a month. In the beginning it a felt like Janet attached herself to Tam and it was so strange that she was accompanying her on the investigation without having any kind of supernatural background or knowledge. Frankly to say, I did not trust Janet, but that problem got resolved pretty early on.

(And unrelated to my enjoyment of this book, but I had the hardest time trying to figure out how old Tam's supposed to be. I was so confused by her brother Paul, because I thought they were half siblings and not step siblings. He is an adult too and that would have made Tam at the very least 28 years old. It would have made sense, because it was said that she spent some time in the wild, embracing her tiger self, but she reads way younger. Near the end of the book it was then stated that she's 20.)

All in all a very strong debut in my opinion. Not without little flaws, but I enjoyed it a lot and it made me excited for future works of Emily Yu-Xuan Qin.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and DAW Books for providing a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

“Aunt Tigress,” by Emily Yu-Xuan Qin

This was a fun fantasy F/F book with tons of Asian lore and family drama and supernatural creatures. I liked the plot and the mystery behind all that was going on. The characters were okay in my head, I wasn’t particularly attached or detached from them. I didn’t vibe as well with the writing style though, it just wasn’t my thing. 3 out of 5 stars.

-F/F
-Urban
-Asian Lore

Thank you for the ARC, Netgalley.

2.5 stars

I really wanted to like this book. I haven't read a really good urban fantasy book in a while. Unfortunately, Aunt Tigress just did not deliver on what I needed. The book had a lot of good ideas, but I felt that some editing needed to be done to make the whole thing more cohesive. There are a lot of flashbacks and random backstory POVs that really make the whole thing confusing.

I liked the blend of First Nations mythology and Chinese mythology. Tam is a Chinese immigrant supernatural tiger. She sees and is part of the supernatural world, but living in Canada makes her a bit of an outsider in regard to the gods and old powers that surround her. She would be more powerful in China because her gods are closer to her there. I found that really interesting. I like that there is commentary on stealing Native practices and not respecting the land.

The book is confusing at times, and the relationship between Tam and Janet feels disingenuous. Janet was using Tam from the beginning to heal her mother, and then she sticks around. I just couldn't see why Tam was in love. The relationship between Tam and Jack is more realistic and interesting because we see the buildup and the evolution of their time together.

I wish there had been more time spent editing and worldbuilding. This could have been wonderful if it had been put together more thoughtfully. Another reviewer said that it feels like it was written as a serial instead of a novel, and I agree. It has a lot of potential but ultimately fell flat.

This book wasn’t what I expected, though it ended up being very entertaining. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this book. I loved the storytelling throughout and the asian mythology and folklore made modern and real. It is well written and plot and storylines are good. This is a sapphic romance and I feel it does a decent job. The insta-love was irksome. I also just felt the romance could have been… just more. It’s definitely fantasy first and romance second - which I personally love. However, I wasn’t feeling the attraction between Tam and Janet. Again, I don’t need the romance to dominate so I still throughly enjoyed this read.

If you like mythology, fantasy, romance and any or all in between, you will love this book.

3.75 stars rounded up to 4

Thank you to NetGalley for this great ARC!