This long and complicated novel reminded me strongly of Journey to the West, and wasn't afraid to take on serious subjects, despite it's sometimes wry moments. The main character has a great voice, and though the episodic pacing of the novel was sometimes hard to take, it all came together at this end.

✨ FIVE STAR READ ALERT✨

Look, you know it's a big deal when I feel compelled to immediately post to Instagram after finishing a read, but I need more people to know about this book!!

Massive thanks to @dawbooks for providing me a review copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

What's the book, I hear you ask?

Aunt Tigress by Emily Yu-Xuan Qin.

Our protagonist, Tam, is the descendant of a tiger spirit, desperate to distance herself from the shady magical underbelly her Aunt Tigress pulled her into as a child. But when Aunt Tigress is murdered, Tam finds herself needing to face up to that past and pay long-overdue debts.

Aunt Tigress' magic isn't "nice", and it isn't "fun". It's gritty and dark and scary, and despite not being a horror fan I loved leaning into that side of mythology. Throughout the course of the book Tam encounters body-snatchers, gruesome ghouls, and cannibalistic wendigos - but Qin's nuanced writing never pins these horrors as truly evil, but more of a natural darkness that we often see in legends from around the world.

Honestly, I feel like the marketing materials for this book lean a little too hard into the "snarky urban fantasy" angle. We definitely have some in there, especially from Tam's manic-pixie-esque love interest, but I think it underplays the depth and complexity of Aunt Tigress.

If I were looking for a comp title, I'd say American Gods - it has that same more gritty take on the collision of immigrant mythologies with each other and our modern world. (Side note: if you're looking to replace AG on your shelves right now, try this.) Unfortunately, Aunt Tigress does seem to also suffer some of the same pitfalls as my comp title, including a slow start, tangents, and lore that is left very much up to interpretation - but these are some of the same things I loved about it.

Based on the description and cover of this book I knew I would love this book. Our protagonist, Tam, is messy, queer, and full of heart, all while thinking she doesn’t deserve love.

“You make me feel that falling in love will save the world.”

I very much enjoyed the storytelling method employed by Qin that wove together the past and the present in such a satisfying way that showed how all of the characters were more connected than they realized. Janet, Tam’s girlfriend, has a pretty tragic connection to Tam and her Aunt Tigress. I caught the early hint at it but it still had a great emotional impact.

I enjoyed how much Janet and Tam grow individually and how that helps them grow together throughout the book.

“You don’t have to see, and you don’t need to change,” I tell her. I lower my voice. “You’re perfect.”

While the story follows Tam, a Chinese-Canadian, we do get lots of Chinese mythology, but this story also pulls from many myths including Scottish, indigenous, and Arabic.

“I think to myself, that Tigers are not easy to love.”

The writing style in this is unique and may not work for everyone, but if it works for you, you’re going to absolutely love this story and may find your new favorite read!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to @dawbooks for the #gifted ARC and finished copy! All thoughts are my own.

Tam Lin comes from a family of magical shape shifting tigers but has cut herself off from her magic in order to reassure her human mother. But once her indomitable Aunt Tigress is supposedly murdered, Tam goes on a quest to find her murderer while fighting off her aunt's old enemies. As she entangles herself in the magical side Calgary again, she begins developing a relationship with a quirky girl named Janet who may also be someone from her complicated past.....

I have to say that it was nice to read an urban fantasy story that takes place in somewhere other than the US or the UK. O Canada!

The blending of Chinese and First Nation mythologies was a unique premise for a story. I particularly liked the concept of not being able to call on certain beings or magic if you are not of the land from which they originated. (aka we will not have cultural appropriation of our magic thank you very much). However, I found myself confused by the rules and mechanics of the various magics, particularly the shapeshifting tigers of Tam's family. (Did her father truly shape shift from tiger to human or did he have a skin he literally shed? Was Tam born a tiger and needed to have a human skin sewn on to her, could she ever shape shift?) I'm not sure if I just missed context but I found myself asking a lot of questions. I also had a hard time visualizing the 'in between' realm as described by Yu-Xuan Qin once I got to that part of the story. There was not adequate description of how the realm was structured and how it differed from Earth. Again, I found myself confused and having to reread portions of the text to try and grasp the details.

All of the characters were so well fleshed out and complicated. I loved hearing about all of their backstories (my favorite was Miss Little and Raja). If you like a story including a complicated daughter and mother relationship, this is the story for you. The tumultuous relationship between Tam and her mother felt realistically portrayed especially the difficulties they have communicating with one another. It hit home with me as I too have had a strained relationship with my own mother at various points in my life. (And you can see both sides of the relationship and what each of them is doing wrong, which is nice.)

I'm also not sure if any pacing or arranging of plot points were changed between the ARC and the published book but I do think there was room for improvement. Yu-Xuan Qin spends a long time building up to the final confrontation with Aunt Tigress, only to rush all the events that happen afterwards until the end of the book. We don't get a satisfying explanation of Tigress's motivations or what happens to Jack, Miss Little and Raja's stories. I think there should have been less time with the initial build up in the first 2/3 of the book and more time wrapping up all the storylines in a cleaner way. Some of the flashbacks were also thrown in at seemingly random times and broke up the cohesion of the story. This could have also been cleaner.

That being said, it was still a fun read with a unique mixing of various mythologies. I would definitely read more from this author as she does have an interesting voice.

Reviews going live on Goodreads, Storygraph and Fable on 3/24 and Tiktok on 3/25.

In Aunt Tigress it's a story that balances action and story telling. On the one hand, there's this sense of murder, investigation, and the supernatural. We are never really sure if we can trust what we see, because we, as a reader, aren't sure what will happen next. It's this world where someone else can see beyond what we can. And we aren't sure what is going to spring out at us. Because of that, there's this heavy hand of storytelling. Not only are we learning about this world, but Tam is also learning about the history behind her family and the world she grew up apart from.

While I wish that there had been a stronger sense of internal character introspection, I enjoyed the action. For me, I'm one of those readers which benefits from some introspection and so I need to be involved in the internal angst, in the processing of feelings. At times, Aunt Tigress falls into the action and while I enjoyed that, I just needed a bit more balance.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC!

3.5 stars

I feel majorly conflicted about this book, because on one hand, I was really anticipating this and I love the concept. On the other hand, the execution left something to be desired.

I think the themes of generational trauma and repatriation was done really well. Tam has complicated relationships with her mother and her aunt, and feels responsibility to fix her aunt's mistakes. The narrative never shies away from showing the depths and complexity of Tam's internal struggles.

The narrative alternates between the present and the past, with each chapter including a story from the past, which gives more context to what is going on currently. I appreciate the importance of these stories; they are definitely vital for showing the full context of what is happening, but I found that in the second half of the book, this switching became less natural and more jarring. Being constantly taken out of the main narrative made it hard to build-up steam towards the climax.

I loved how the mythological elements were weaved into the real-world setting, I'm always a sucker for magical people seeing stuff that regular people can't type of stories. The overall vibe is very surreal, especially with the lyrical writing style. The magic system doesn't have hard rules and is more vibe-based but I like that.

Unfortunately, I could not vibe with the romance. I don't think they have any chemistry whatsoever. I can't disbelieve that the love interest, Janet, is into Tam for any reason other than the magic, and I have no idea what Tam sees in Janet.

Romance aside, I enjoyed this book as a whole, especially the magic-y folklore bits.

A urban fantasy story that mixes in Chinese and First Nation mythology as well as a sapphic romance! Here's the thing, on paper this should have been a five star from me. I adore urban fantasy stories plus a Chinese mythology setting with demons, ghosts, and monsters AND a sapphic romance?? It sounds perfect! Too bad the execution was the main issue for me. The writing just didn't connect with me whatsoever and the way the story was told just didn't work for me. I was never really pulled in or invested and maybe if this was a TV show I would have a much better time, but this is a book and sadly, it's one that just didn't connect with me. I didn't care for the romance or the characters, and the way the story unfolds just didn't really work for me. The pacing wasn't the best and the writing style is definitely for some people... just not me.

Release Date: March 18, 2025

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and DAW for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Tam Lin is part tiger. Her mother, human, father and aunt, both tigers, immigrated to Calgary, Alberta, years earlier. Tam grew up knowing she was different, and violent, and after her father's tragic death, learned how to control her impulse to eat people. She also spent time, before this, apprenticed to her aunt Tigress, a violent grifter, and with her, hurt several people and supernatural beings, before deciding to stop and pull away. Tam also decided to pull away from everything supernatural, except supernatural beings keep showing up in her life.

Now older, she argues with her mother, dislikes her stepfather, but likes her stepbrother Paul. She misses her father terribly, also.

In university, she meets Janet in one of her classes. Janet is brash and forthright, and Tam finds her instantly attractive and the two get involved, despite Tam's concerns about hurting a human being.

Then, Tam learns that her Aunt Tigress has been killed, and Janet insists on helping Tam discover what happened. Jack, a medium, also helps, and Tam remembers her aunt, and all that she did with the forceful, older woman. Author Emily Yu-Xuan Qin relates these memories, and information about various supernatural beings living in Calgary as stories, which was a nice touch. But, there were so many stories, and so much information imparted that I found the story's pacing suffered.

These exposition chapters not only slowed down the plot, but after a while I found they overwhelmed the plot to the extent that I kind of lost where we were in the present, and what the point was, except to highlight how awful Aunt Tigress was.

Janet rubbed me the wrong way immediately. Her brashness and love of danger and decision to stick with Tam like glue rang warning bells for me, and though the reason is explained, I never really warmed to Janet. I also felt really uncomfortable with her fascination with the supernatural, and never felt comfortable with the dynamic of the relationship between her and Tam, and did not believe in them as a couple.

I wanted to love this book, and I did, for the first third or so, but found the plot, which was really simple (find out what happened to Aunt Tigress) kept meandering, and the more time I spent in this fantastic version of Calgary and with Tam and Janet, the less I cared about the outcome of Tam's search for answers.

I went back and forth between the book and audiobook, and though I liked Jen Zhao's voicework, especially as Aunt Tigress, I think I just got tired of the book by the halfway point, and had to force myself to finish.

This was really too bad, as I felt that this author's story was inventive, wonderfully weird and violent, with interesting supporting characters and terrific detail. And, it was great reading a story set in a Canadian city for a change, especially one with such a rich selection of supernatural beings and folklore.

Thank you to Netgalley, DAW, and Spotify Audiobooks for these ARCs in exchange for my review.

Tam has avoided her monstrous history, becoming the perfect soft-spoken, vegan daughter. When her estranged Aunt Tigress is found murdered and skinned, Tam inherits an undead fox and old enemies. While she can deal with demons, ghosts, and gods, she can't deal with the thing stalking her across the city. Even the girl she's falling in love with might be yet another tie to her past. Tam can't avoid the past or the suffering she caused. Do monsters even deserve happy endings?

The worldbuilding in this novel is inspired by Chinese folklore and the Siksiká Nation in Canada. Tam's Chinese family emigrated to Canada, and the intervention of Tam's paternal aunt led her to see the spirits and mythological creatures that live around her. She tries to be a good daughter and sister, but can't help but react to what she sees, especially when there's a more sinister cast to it. Her mother knows it's real but wishes it wasn't, and her stepbrother has always accepted it as part of her. Her Aunt Tigress is a practitioner of these arts, but isn't necessarily a benevolent influence; she had cheated people and took advantage of others in their weakness, pulling Tam into it when she was younger.

Tam tells stories about the spirits and anomalies to Janet, but she can't tell if she's actually believed. As the story progresses, she discovers more about the ties between them, and with Jack Little, who is helping her in the wake of Aunt Tigress' death. Tigress had done incredible harm, and Tam is only becoming aware of it as she's being targeted. The interplay of Chinese and First Nations spiritual practices and mythological creatures is fascinating. As the story continues, with ties from Calgary and an in-between world of spirits, we discover how interconnected Tam is with the supernatural community. Sharp-eyed readers will catch it before Tam does. The different characters are tied together in unexpected ways that we discover over the course of the story, and I really liked seeing how it all comes together.

The themes of family, redemption, and forgiveness are strong in this story. Using supernatural creatures and traditions means we get at the question of legacy sideways. Who are we supposed to be? The traditions handed down, the traditions where we live, or the traditions we build? Children carry the weight of families and the choices made around and for them, and must be better.

I can't say I hated this book but I didn't entirely love it at all. I found it difficult to get hooked and the plot was all over the place. I did love a few things about this book like the world building wasn't done horribly. I did love the mythology aspect of the book and a few characters but the writing felt hard to get into and the pacing was quite slow. The romance was simply bad to say the least it feels like Tam and Janet never connected. I feel like this book might be for certain fantasy readers, but not for me.

I didn’t love it, I didn’t hate it. The Chinese and First Nations mythology part was great. The constant dropping out if the main story for another bit of mythology or a bit of back story was eh. It slowed the story down a lot. The relationship between Tam and Janet was not great. No chemistry and really they don’t seem to like each other very much. If I knew someone who had that vibe with their significant other I wouldn’t be super surprised by an ugly breakup…. I’d try another by this author but not a book two in this series. But…. If the description sounded great to someone else I wouldn’t recommend against reading it either. It was on the whole ok.

Rated 2.5 really.

First off...DISCLAIMER: I requested this title on NetGalley and Edelweiss, and got approved on both sites. Thanks to DAW for providing a temporary ecopy. This didn't influence my review in any way.

I'm so, so bummed (more so because I was approved for this one on both the galley sites!). The blurb and the Seanan McGuire comparison had me very excited for this book, and I can see the merit in it (the book - the comparison, not so much), but I wasn't enjoying myself, and I decided to call it quits at 25% for a few reasons. First off, the story and the writing didn't manage to grab me - both the supernatural world and the imagery felt too crowded, for lack of a better word, and at times confusing, or it may be that my eyes glazed over because there wasn't a single element that stood out enough to hook me on the narrative. Secondly, while I'm a seasoned horror reader, I was often grossed out by the specific brand of horror employed here (like, for instance, women with a hole-shaped disease on their arms, or fetus-like creatures preserved in jars and described in detail). The story-within-the-story device didn't help - it isn't one I'm particularly fond of, because it takes me out of the story, and if my interest is already waning, it only exacerbates the matter. Last but not least, I need to forge a strong connection with my characters (especially when I have issues with the plot), and Tam didn't came across as a compelling enough protagonist for me to do that. I saw what this book was trying to do (especially in regard to themes of heritage and cultural appropriation), and I'm sure it will resonate with a number of fantasy readers, but I couldn't find it in me to continue reading.

DNF. I was really enjoying myself for the first third of this, but once past that, I rapidly started losing interest. After the second third, the thought of continuing became exhausting, and that was the death knell.

The set-up is going to be familiar if you know Urban Fantasy: living among and just out of sight of humans are magical beings of all kinds, only some of whom interact with the human world. Aunt Tigress is unique, though, in populating itself with, not generic witches and werewolves, but figures from the mythologies of indigenous Canadians. Being set in Canada, this makes perfect sense! Our main character, though, is part tiger, descended from Chinese tigers and tricksters, and most of the conflict in the book comes from her eponymous tiger aunt fucking with the locals in an attempt to regain the power she had back in China.

This is all great! I know next to working about the mythologies the author is drawing from, so I can’t comment on the representation at all, but I was delighted and fascinated to be presented with beings and creatures I’d never come across before. There were also beasties I did recognise, but which the author has put her own spin on, like the incubus, who here is more of an adorable pixie creature of animal intelligence, rather than a human-sized sex demon.

The problem is that the incubus was my favourite character.

Tam Lin, our MC (who has the name of a Scottish ballad for some reason, maybe to make it clear that she and her love interest Janet – the heroine of the Tam Lin ballad also being named Janet – are fated to be together, or something. It drove me nuts that no one ever commented on this) is…kind of wishy-washy and flavourless. I had no real sense of her as an individual, except in the flashbacks of the times she spent with Aunt Tigress as a kid: in the now, she doesn’t seem to have any drive or desires, just kind of drifting along with the plot and/or with what Janet wants. She’s surrounded by distinct personalities – her mother and stepbrother, Miss Little, Aunt Tigress, even Janet – but doesn’t really have one of her own, and constantly lets those other personalities move and direct her. I still don’t understand how or why she abruptly decides she’s responsible for stopping her aunt, or how or why she goes from ignoring her heritage and abilities to reclaiming them; most of her decisions were really not articulated enough for me.

The plot moves pretty slowly, which would not bother me if the relationships we used that time to explore were less boringly awful. Tam’s mother is terrible: Aunt Tigress is a terrible person, but also terribly interesting, whereas Tam’s mom I just despised – despite knowingly marrying a tiger, she endlessly resents Tam’s unhumanness, wanting her to have nothing to do with her heritage or magic. That she spent years backing Tam’s militantly vegan stepdad in denying her meat – when she is literally a tiger! – meant I hated her way before she blithely tells Tam, to her face, that Tam is difficult to love. HI, GOODBYE.

Tam and Janet, on the other hand, are confusing in the way of badly-written romances everywhere: I never had a clue what drew them to each other, there’s a lot of tonally odd snark, and the dramatic betrayal-reveal that usually comes nearer the end of a book instead came out ten minutes into their relationship. It is then almost instantly forgotten about. (And please don’t get me started on the deeply disturbing tiger-y sex where the issue of wait did you really consent I don’t remember is never really resolved!!!)

The best bits were easily the glimpses we got of baby!Tam bonding/apprenticing with Aunt Tigress, a lot of which is also disturbing and creepy but a) it’s clearly meant to be and b) it’s really interesting. Disturbing is fine in fiction if it’s interesting, this is Writing Fiction 101, and it was really cool getting insight into what being a tiger means, what a terrible but compelling character Aunt Tigress is, and seeing and learning about the magical world, which Tom mostly learns about via her aunt. Aunt Tigress makes baby!Tam complicit in awful things, uses her for her own schemes, and tries to shape her in her own image. Does she actually care about Tam? If she does, it’s in a way I hope no one ever cares about me!

I think the author was trying to create a conflict between Tam’s ‘tiger self’ and her ‘human side’, but that was nonexistent except when it made for convenient drama. We don’t see her needing to resist the outlook or thinking her aunt tried to instil in her, or have any idea what her ‘tiger’ wants that her ‘human’ part does not want. There’s just this sense of nebulous guilt that is very dull to read about.

Plot-wise, I was bored and confused. The quest-objective Janet brings to the table was resolved very quickly and seemingly easily, with Tam suddenly displaying a skill in her father’s magic that wasn’t much hinted at previously. The conflict between Janet and Tam’s mother was eye-rollingly predictable. I’m still not sure who or what the suit monster was, or how we suddenly have an undead fox. Aunt Tigress was up to Major Fuckery, but I kept forgetting about it because it kept fading into the background (oh no the sunsets are extra-dramatic, everybody panic!!! what even). What is the in-between realm and why are we suddenly going there. How exactly does the demon’s pet jack-of-all-trades human help us? He’s very sweet but seriously, what is he doing here. Why are you bringing your human girlfriend to another realm when she can’t even SEE the supernatural (and refuses to be given the ability)? How is it that Tam has no one to reach out to for help except her aunt’s lawyer, and why doesn’t she bring the problem to the locals instead of playing outsider-savior?

They get to the in-between realm and the functional, powerful non-human adults allegedly assisting immediately put the responsibility of finding what they’re looking for on the three barely-adults who have never been to this realm before. OKAY THAT MAKES SENSE FOR SURE.

TL;DR: Prose was great, worldbuilding was interesting, but the pixie and the villain were the only interesting characters and the plot was a mess.

Aunt Tigress by Emily Yu-Xuan Qin is a captivating blend of dark fantasy and sapphic romance that immerses you in a world where myth and reality intertwine. The story follows Tamara (Tam) Lin as she embarks on a quest to uncover the truth behind her aunt’s murder. Along the way, Tam confronts her complicated heritage, her fraught family dynamics, and her own unintentional role in a larger supernatural conflict.

What I loved most about this book was its rich storytelling, especially in the retrospective sections, gave the book a magical feel. The blend of Chinese and First Nations mythology was beautifully done, and I appreciated how the author used these elements to explore cultural identity. Tam’s journey was compelling—she’s flawed, relatable, and easy to root for, even when her decisions frustrated me.


Aunt Tigress is a very imaginative debut andI’m excited to see what Emily Yu-Xuan Qin writes next. If you enjoy stories that feel like modern folktales, this is definitely worth picking up!

I stopped reading Aunt Tigress at around 15% because I just couldn’t get into it. The writing style felt distant, making it hard to connect with the characters or the story. While the premise was interesting, the pacing didn’t pull me in, and I found myself struggling to stay engaged. I wanted to give it more of a chance, but ultimately, it wasn’t working for me, so I decided to move on.

If there is a best new release of 2025 I really hope it is this one because the story is unlike any other, it's peerless. If I had to compare it to another work, I'd say, tangentially, 'Harrow the Ninth' (iykyk) and 'Bestiary' (which also features another tiger auntie). The title is a reference to the Chinese myth of the 虎姑婆 but being set in Canada and peopled by immigrants from all over the world, the narrative incorporates a wide range of myths and religions, from Arabic to indigenous to Scottish.

Tamara Lin comes from a lineage of tigers. Her paternal grandmother was a famed tiger who ruled the mountains of Shandong a thousand years ago. Her father died when she was twelve, and for a short time, she was apprenticed under her aunt who ran a business dealing with the supernatural since there is no one else to teach her about her heritage. It was then when she saw first-hand what a cruel and bloodthirsty monster she was, but Tamara could not fully disavow her aunt until she made Tamara complicit in something unforgivable. One day, her aunt goes missing, putting her through hell and high water on an epic quest for answers.

Tam is the descendent of mythical tigers and can see wondrous and terrifying things around her. But she kind of just wants to live a normal life with her new human girlfriend, not run from tentacled creatures and fix the crimes her Aunt Tigress has committed. When her Aunt is found dead and skinned, Tam is forced back into the past she has left behind.

As somebody who has worked with actual tigers, it was fun to read about a tiger family in human skin, I thought a lot of traits were described so accurately. I wanted to sprawl out in a sunny spot on the floor right alongside Tam and her father. This book is so rich in weaving myths and stories together, combining Chinese and First Nations lore in such an intricate way. So many creatures and legends I had never heard of, and the descriptions of the In-Between especially were so vivid. Some of the book is a bit dark, but it still feels cozy. I liked Tam as a MC, she was not perfect but she has so much heart in the story and is willing to do anything to protect her family and friends. I enjoyed how we get chapters that explore some of the other side characters and their back stories, I think that added so much to the story. I loved the incubus and Tam's familiars the most.

I recommend this book to those who like urban fantasy and supernatural mythology. It was an interesting read and kept my attention! I wanted a little more from the ending, but it was enjoyable and overall a great book. I would definitely read more from Emily Yu-Xuan Qin! Also that cover art is pretty cool. I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley for my opinions.

The perfect book for those who enjoyed "The Bear and The Nightingale" but like their fantasy a tad more modern and urban.

Myth interwoven in the very fabric of reality, ancient bloodlines brimming with magic, the unlikely yet brilliant combination of Chinese and First Nation folklore, college students fighting eldritch beings, and a bittersweet sapphic romance - this book has it all! I especially loved the way the narrative became folktale-esque in the retrospections describing characters' backstories. The whole thing felt like a fairytale and while it might not be for everyone (e.g. the characters weren't super developed and sometimes felt archetypical/cliché, but in a good/justified/fairytale-esque way) but I ABSOLUTELY loved it. I was hooked and immersed in the dream-like yet so very familiar reality, rooting for Tam (even in the not-so-few instances when I was SO mad at her!) right from the beginning. And not only did Aunt Tigress start with an earthquake, the tension was really rising throughout the book! All in all, an extremely entertaining and amazingly atmospheric read!

But, because there's always a but, albeit this one is quite small. The pacing was decent in most of the book, but the ending felt very rushed and the tension and impact greatly suffered from that. Which is a great shame - I just feel like a few more scenes, more space for justifying some characters' arcs would do the book an insane amount of good. BUT since Aunt Tigress is a debut, I hope this is something the author will eventually improve at. I, for one, will certainly be there to witness Emily Yu-Xuan Qin's journey and you should as well!

Thank you to the author and DAW for the eARC provided via Netgalley!

Thank you Netgalley, DAW, and Emily Yu-Xuan Qin for sending me this advanced review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I wanted to love this one so much, but unfortunately it was a struggle to get through it. I found myself confused by what was happening a lot of the time, and the worldbuilding just wasn't there. We were bounced from thing to thing without much explanation.

The main story moved at a snail's pace, with the smaller stories taking up most of the book. I think this could have been an amazing anthology or novellas, but as a whole book it just didn't work for me.

I did really enjoy all the interesting creatures and folklore elements. There were a few I haven't seen before.

Overall, I think this might not be the writing style for me, but if you enjoy atmospheric creepy vibes, you might enjoy it.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Aunt Tigress by Emily Yu-Xuan Qin is a mixed first and third person multi-POV contemporary Sapphic fantasy set in Calgary, Canada. Tam Lin has made herself as small and safe as possible, cutting meat completely out of her diet despite her nature as a descendent of a tiger spirit. When her aunt is murdered and skinned, Tam finds she can’t run from her true self forever and her new love, Janet, might be another piece of the past she can’t escape.

The majority of the book is from Tam’s POV and moves at a slower pace. The third person chapters are mostly memories of several other characters that help fill out the worldbuilding and give depth to their stories, such as Jack, a young First Nations man and Raja, a man married to a demon. The slower pacing helps give space for a darker atmosphere and mysterious tone to slowly build as we learn more about Aunt Tigress and the complexity of the world. Of the third person POV chapters, I really appreciated the ones from Jack’s POV as they go into the tragic truth that Indigenous women often are abducted or murdered and the system finds it easier to just stop looking instead of doing whatever they can to find them, specifically calling out a societal issue in modern Canadian and American societies.

What I found to be really interesting was how First Nations and Chinese traditional beliefs are combined without saying one is superior to the other or mixing them in a way that feels inauthentic. Emily Yu-Xuan Qin very specifically calls out that the First Nation beliefs do not belong to Tam and her family and that they are living on land that they did not historically belong to. There is the use of some First Nations beliefs that, to my understanding, are better left unnamed as they are called to the person who names them. I mostly say this so readers can make informed decisions even if the way I articulate is probably quite clumsy.

Tam and Janet’s relationship is very complex. I wouldn’t call the book a romance despite the second chapter being them meeting because the tone isn’t what I expect of a genre romance and the book doesn’t really change if Tam and Janet broke up or were only ever friends. Janet can’t see the supernatural world but is curious about the world Tam comes from, helping lead Tam back towards who she could have been in different circumstances. Their relationship is further complicated by a secret Janet is harboring from the very beginning and how she is connected to Tam.

Content warning for depictions of sexual assault, abuse and homophobia

I would recommend this to readers of contemporary fantasy looking for something exploring the complexity of traditional stories and immigration and fans of Sapphic fantasy who want something that doesn’t feel like a genre romance