I really enjoyed this book! I was magnetized by the creativity in this book the wild twists and turns it takes. I blasted through it in a few days, and I’m generally a pretty slow reader. I was taking it with me everywhere in hopes I could sneak in a few pages. While I was reading, I was telling all my friends about it.

In a few sentences, Aunt Tigress is an urban fantasy in the vein of the Dresden files, but a fresh take on the genre, with a Chinese-Canadian queer female lead Tam Lin (I’m guessing a reference to the Scottish folk tale). Under the tutelage of her Aunt Tigress, Tam has a link to the magical goings-on occurring behind the scenes at all times that the average human is blind to. The plot unfolds around a mysterious death in Tam’s family and the shockwave this sends through the magical world.

The book is so much more than this synopsis though. What sums it up the IT factor for me best I think is that it’s one of those books that really elevates itself by not making the book “about the magic,” but instead, the magic is just a backdrop to explore very real and very human experiences in a novel way. For example, you watch mortals and magical beings trying to love each other and all the consequences that come along with that.

You’re also getting a deep dive into two characters, Tam and her girlfriend Janet, two sides of a decade of pain and loneliness, otherness and grief. At times it’s captured in some really striking prose, it hurts in a good way. The exploration of queer identity and how that intersects with your family, your culture, and the other parts of yourself, sometimes hard to watch play out but feels authentic. It’s nice to see more representation in the fantasy genre these days, since historically it had not been the best at exploring diverse background.

There’s something visceral and creepy about the fantasy elements in this book, kind of like The Witcher series. From the womb-invading witch seeds to Tam’s ghoulish, blood-sucking pet fox, the world of Aunt Tigress has got an edge to it, adding unexpected depth and grit that I really loved.

I have to knock a star off only because, like others have said, the relationship between Tam and Janet didn’t quite gel. The intimate scenes on occasion were a little off-putting. There’s one at the beginning depicting violence that, while it makes sense why it happened, it’s still upsetting, particularly given the circumstances for why the victim is in that situation. But that’s just one blip in an otherwise fantastic read.

Aunt Tigress gets a 4/5 stars from me. Highly recommend! I’m a fan and I’ll be checking out the author’s next one.


*This book was provided by the publisher at the reviewer’s request in exchange for a fair and uncompromising review

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review

This book was a letdown. The premise invited me, the family storyline and the idea of a mythological urban sapphic fantasy and the main lead, Tam, wanting nothing to do with it. The romance felt shallow, it's not representative of a true bond between Janet and Tam, and that has quickly bummed me out. I had to look up what First Nation mythology was as I was reading this, and I didn't sense the connection of this within the writing. In other words, it didn't flow onto the page, as if it was just a piece of writing that was "assigned" and just needed to be submitted on time.

I liked the fast paced action in the beginning, but it quickly slowed down, and I dreaded flipping the page asking myself constantly "Is this it?". High highs and low lows. Not much explanation on the worldbuilding, and relied on prior knowledge to the mythological basis of the story. I could understand that a majority of the time, it would actually work, especially with more mainstream mythological pantheons. An increase in storytelling that was present in the beginning of the book would have worked.

Overall, a good hook, but you got to have more oomph in order to really pull the reader in

Thank you to Netgalley and DAW for the arc! Hoo boy, was a miss for me, and I put down the boot at 65%. Here’s some of my sentiments while reading (other than my blatant apathy):

-The family history and oral storytelling in the beginning was wonderful and whimsical and intriguing. I wish we got more of that. Instead, the focus quickly shifted to the incomprehensible. There’s a lot of monsters as well as magical mayhem, but everything was muddled and had seemingly no order or rhyme or reason. As such, I had nothing to latch onto. Many times while reading I would just internally exclaim “Sure! Why the fuck not, I guess!”

Once again, one of the weakest aspects in this urban fantasy romance was the romance. I simply wasn’t impressed or invested in the slightest. Janet seemed like a caricature, tbh. And once again, I was internally screaming “sure, what-the-fuck-ever!” To top it all off, it was insta love. No fucking thanks.

The plot was there I guess. The pacing was off, and the plot dragged early in to the book. Soon enough, I found myself not being able to read it anymore.

Also, were there any sensitivity readers for this? I’m giving bombastic side eye to the “representation” in this book. Was there even a message, or was the author just co-opting First Nation mythology for funsies. The world may never know, or at least I won’t.

So, overall, nah fam. I’m not sure I could recommend this to anything, as it didn’t do much well, and even in its better moments, it’s not anything groundbreaking. There are a slew of better sapphic urban fantasies out there. -3 stars

What a glorious, glorious urban fantasy. So inventive and so unique. A wonderful read, with beautiful gay couple. Thank you author and please write more. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

I've requested an arc of this book on a whim and now I'm not entirely sure what I've read.

There's so much I loved about it. The Chinese and First Nation mythology, which in its combination is so very unique. The sapphic story which is so sweet at one moment and kinda gory the next - but always compelling. And the underlying theme of who is the monster and if they can be heroes as well.

However, I had the feeling that every time I continued the book, I had a different kinda story at hand. To me it did not seem cohesive, which ultimately left me more confused than anything.

As with a lot of stories...this might be a 'me' problem. So I'll just recommend you check it out on your own. As I said, there is tons to love.

3,5/5 stars

Thank you @netgalley and @dawbooks for the eARC!

#AuntTigress #Netgalley #Bookstagram

Thank you to DAW and NetGalley for allowing me to read a copy of the book!
First, I would like to say that it is clearly obvious the love and care the author put into the book. They worked extremely hard, and though I saw no sensitivity reader listed, I hope there is one, particularly for the Indigenous plot points and culture of the book.

I feel the author has a lot of really great and fantastic ideas, but some of them felt a bit. . .too much? As in there was just quite a lot of action happening in a relatively short book that might have more naturally fit into a duology. Despite the extremely on-the-nose name shout outs (Tam Lin and Janet), I also couldn't feel much of the connection between the two other than being told it was... there? Janet felt extremely tailored to match the plot. I did really like the ace-spectrum rep (at least I think that's what it was)

The familial love was a real strength of the book, and something I thought it did extremely well. Tam and Aunt Tigress, Tam and her mom, Tam and her dad, Tam and her stepbrother, Aunt Tigress and her brother.

I did enjoy it! I do think of others who will enjoy it.

So, I'm a little torn. On the one hand, I think this was a pretty solid debut for the most part. There were times when the writing really stood out, where turns of phrase jumped off the page and created a vivid atmosphere that made me want to keep reading. Even though there were a couple of awkward spots, I think the writing is really promising for a debut author.

On the other hand, there were a couple of issues I had. The first is that I'm a little unsure about the representation. The problem with that is that I can't articulate exactly what I'm unsure about (there were a few instances that gave me pause) and I'm not part of those groups, so I can't speak to it. I'd definitely be interested to see what the groups represented think of it, particularly a First Nations reviewer, considering First Nations mythology is heavily represented in this book and is even directly advertised by the publisher. Given that this is a debut, I don't know if there were any sensitivity readers or not.

The second is that the pacing is a little uneven, in my opinion. While, for the most part, the story follows Tam's 1st-person POV, there are more than a few instances where the story jumps to a 3rd-person(?) POV in the past. I do think that, in the end, the author connected all these jumps well, there were a couple of instances that I think interrupted the flow of the story where they were placed.

Third, while there were a lot of instances where the writing was really strong and evocative, there were also more than a few moments where the writing left me a little lost and confused. I'm not sure if it's just me or there was something missing in trying to get across certain things. Like, it felt a little too vague in certain aspects, where I couldn't quite picture in my head what the author was trying to get across. I don't know if those are things that'll be caught in editing in the final product or if it's just an aspect of the writer's style, though.

Lastly, the central romantic relationship between Janet and Tam never really fully worked for me. That has last to do with Tam, as a main character, and more to do with Janet. I feel like she never quite passed that threshold into full characterhood(?). I could see why the narrative had them interact with each other, but I couldn't quite make myself buy into their relationship outside of that. It may be because Janet, as a character, is a bit more like an urban fantasy protagonist herself, in that she's heavily sarcastic and quippy. I do think she has some good character moments, though; it's just those moments with Tam never quite hit the mark. Especially after a certain revelation in the book which I felt never really resolved in a way that made me buy into their relationship as a romantic one.

So, overall, I think this book has some good points, especially for a debut. I think the way the plot all eventually came together was really well done, despite a few hiccups in pacing. I'm just a little unsure about certain aspects of the representation and the way the First Nations mythology was incorporated into the story. Unfortunately, I'm not knowledgeable enough or part of any of those groups represented, so I can't speak with any authority on whether or not the representation was "good" or not. For now, I'll tentatively recommend this book to pick up in Spring 2025.

quite interesting. a very mythologically-themed sapphic romance with elements from some of my favorite mythologies. Aunt Tigress was a very interesting focal-ish character, and our protagonist was so fun to watch! the vibes were immaculate in all ways. 4 stars, tysm for the ARC, would recommend this book!

I really enjoyed reading this book, it uses the fantasy element in a way that worked. I was invested in the mythology perfectly and how everything was used in this universe. The characters were everything that I wanted and expected, I was invested in their story and how it worked in this. It had that crime element that I was wanting. Emily Yu-Xuan Qin wrote this perfectly and was glad I got to read this.