I had heard about this book from TikTok and it did not disappoint. This was a very good book and the pacing wasn't bad so I was able to finish it faster than I expected. I can't wait for it to come out to get a physical edition!

NetGalley Review – 3.5 Stars

I recently read an advance copy of The Last Tiger by Julia Riew and Brad Riew. The story takes place in a historical world where magic exists and where family drama mixes with hard times. The book is set in a strict society where people face many challenges every day. The detailed descriptions help create a strong and real feeling of a dangerous but hopeful world.

The book is full of exciting moments, like the Slaying Ceremony. The details and strong emotions in these scenes make the setting feel real. The history, magic, and tension in the story all blend to build an interesting world.

The characters are at the heart of the book, though sometimes I couldn’t distinguish the main characters from each other. The main character shows bravery and determination while dealing with a difficult life under strict rules. You see their inner struggles as they try to overcome many obstacles.

In addition to the main character, there are many side characters who add more life to the story. Family members, friends, and other people in society each have their own clear hopes and struggles. Some characters show kindness and courage, while others display evil or fear. Their interactions add depth to the book. The mix of strong and troubled characters makes the story feel real and relatable.

Since this is an early copy, some parts of the book feel a bit rough. The long descriptions sometimes slow the pace of the story, and the dialogue can seem clumsy. I believe that with further editing, these issues will be fixed in the final version. Even with these rough spots, the book shows great promise with its creative ideas and engaging characters.

Overall, The Last Tiger is an exciting mix of history, magic, and family drama. The detailed setting and strong characters make it an enjoyable read, even if some parts need more work. I give it 3.5 stars and look forward to seeing a more polished version when the final release comes out. This book is a good choice for readers who enjoy stories filled with emotion, adventure, and a touch of the supernatural.

Learned that this was inspired by Riew's grandparent's love story, and that instantly drew my interest! I love love, and this book was beautifully written. Such a cute story, and I love the fantasy elements!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers for the eARC. Projected publishing date: July 29th, 2025

Heartstrings were pulled because of the inspiration that came from their Grandparents' love story.

Young Adult Romantasy, involving tigers to represent the heart of a nation. Korean Historical Fantasy based on the Japanese occupation of Korea. You've got colonial oppressions and the consequences that come along with various Korean mythological creatures that are encountered by our main leads.

I will say there are bits and pieces that I found were more interesting than others but overall I still enjoyed the dynamics between Eunji and Seung which is why I placed it where it was. A story about hope, grief, and love but most of all survival.

Thanks NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers for the e-arc during the lunar new year!

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.

This very much reads like a first draft. The world is underdeveloped, the writing is immature, the characters are boringly simple, and the conclusions this book comes to regarding the themes about colonialism, oppression, and discrimination are profoundly dumb.

It really is no secret that this is a fantasized version of Japan-occupied Korea during the first half of the 20th century. The book itself recognizes this through quotes directly taken from the authors' grandparents, who describe their lives / love story while growing up in Korea under Japanese rule. This juxtaposed horribly with the fact the story itself is about nations called the Dragon Empire (aka Japan), the Tiger Kingdom/Republic (Korea), and the Serpent Queendom (China). I've really started to dislike when authors turn real life countries and slap a different, non-creative name on it just because it's fantasy. There's no reason to not keep the original names and history while keeping the fantasy; there is a whole genre called historic fantasy for a reason, ya know? Anyway, the majority of this world's history is dumped via internal monologue with a couple dashes of clunky dialogue. The parts about the different types of ki was interesting, but it's still underdeveloped like everything else in this world.

I almost wanted to say that the writing made this feel like this was aimed towards middle grade rather than the age which these characters allegedly are (18), but that'd be an insult to the middle grade demographic as a whole. The authors have to spell every intention and action for the reader and don't leave any room for interpretation. "This character is angry," "This one wants freedom of choice," "This one is a rebel," "These guys are baaaad," it just never ended. I also hated how they had to write out the sounds rather than give the descriptor. One that came up often was the tiger roaring or growling. Instead of letting the audience imagine the sounds, they wrote Rrr . . . or RAWR out instead. This slightly relieved me of my boredom to laugh at it, especially when they happened at serious plot moments, but I still hated it.

Cardboard ha more depth and dimension than these characters. I frequently forgot whose POV I was in because their voices were so hard to distinguish most of the time. If I had to chose at gun point, I'd pick Seung. Not because he's more interesting, but because Eunji makes a lot of dumb decisions, such as being convinced she'll be free if she helps her colonizers. Multiple character point out to her that it won't work like that, but she absolutely refuses to listen until the main bad guy spits it in her face. The romance between the two was barely a romance. Their eight months of bonding is summarized in a couple paragraphs, and they're separated for a year before they meet again with opposing goals, which ends with Eunji practically betraying Seung and stupidly getting them caught. They also had companion characters, too. Kenzo was just a shifty red herring who mainly looks after himself until he magically cares about Eunji, and Rin is reduced to the traumatized rebel who fights in order to escape the hurt she's been dealt with. Rin's backstory in particular was done so tastelessly and without any tact; was there a sensitivity reader during the drafting stages at all?

The themes, when they're not smacking you repeatedly on the head, are done so, so badly. Despite all the evils and horrendous crimes the Dragon Empire inflicted upon the Tiger people, the colonization and erasing of their culture, the offered solution this book gives is forgiving your oppressors. I wish I was joking. The story makes several points that people are doing what they need to in order to survive, and that is usually is the case for individuals in such scenarios, yes, but forgiving an entire empire for colonization because eVerYonE'S HUmAn is beyond insult. It's disgusting, really. People are complicated, but people who purposely commit atrocities in order to have power over those they hate do not deserve empathy. But don't worry guys, the Dragon Empire just gives the Tiger people their land back and peacefully leave so our main characters can live happily ever after! I probably can pull out a couple words to describe how frustrated and angry this made me feel, but I already wasted so much just writing this review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers for a chance to read this book early.

This was so so beautiful.

The Last Tiger is all about love, hope, grief, and most importantly surviving. Eunji and Seung are such incredible characters full of such strength and love but also just incredibly normal people who are just trying to find their way and rise above.

My only complaint about this story is I really really would’ve liked more back story on the ki powers and the animal spirits.

Reading this story about what it takes to rise above and overcome is truly beautiful and so inspiring and I love that the authors took stories from their own grandparents of how they survived when they were younger and created such an incredible story.

Thank you to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for the ARC!

I loved every sentence of this book!! ❤️

The story is inspired by the love story of the authors grandparents, and the fact that it was inspired by real events made it even more magical and moving.

Eunji and Seung come from two completely different social backgrounds, Eunji is the daughter of one of the richest and most powerful families in the Tiger Colonies, while Seung is a member of her family's staff. After meeting by chance at the tiger slaying ceremony, the two make a deal, Eunji will help Seung pass the exams and enter the best military school of the Dragon Empire (the nation that has their country under occupation) and Seung will show her the outside world. But that's just the beginning.

Eunji was a very interesting character. She was dynamic and stubborn, and as the years went by in the book, she found her strength and purpose. Some of her decisions may have annoyed me, but I liked her, and I am proud of her and the choices she made in the end.

Seung was my favorite character in the book! He went through so much, to the point where I wondered how much more they would make him suffer. But all the experiences he went through in the book made him even stronger and the reason the tiger chose him.

The magic system of the story was very interesting. I loved how each country's animals (tiger, dragon, serpent) had a different skill that represented each nation.

It was perfect that each chapter opened with a paragraph with the words of their grandmother. This way, we were able to learn the story of the real Seung and Eunji.

The way the plot moved was very unexpected, from one point on things escalated quickly. Within the story we cover a long period of time, the characters we meet at the beginning change so much throughout the book. The first part of the book was the slowest of the three. It helped because we got to learn more about the characters, but the second and the third parts were full of adventure.
I also liked the intertwined plot of Seung and Eunji. How their lives, even when they were far from each other, were connected.

The writing style was clear and easy to read. It was the first time I read an entire book in electronic format, and yet it didn't tire me at all. The pages and chapters flowed by like water.

The side characters, Jin and Kenzo, were very special and interesting . Each had their positive and negative elements. Kenzo was annoying, and some of his actions were unjustified and unforgivable, but what he did at the end made him rise in my eyes. Jin, my girl, had been through a lot, and yet she continued to fight. She is a survivor in every sense of the word. I don't know if the book will have a sequel, but I would really like to know what happened to them.

I really liked how the book showed the will of people to be free, whether from society or from their oppressor, and that as long as there is hope, people will continue to fight for a better tomorrow , no matter how unlikely the possibility of victory may seem. The book also emphasized how, in order to be truly free, we must overcome fear.

Another thing I loved about the book was the way it essentially showed a piece of the history of Korea and its liberation. It was shocking to read all of the things that all of these people endured. The way the authors showed the anger and the will of these people to finally be free at last made me cry.

All in all, I loved reading the story of Eunji and Seung, and I can't wait for the book to come out so more people can appreciate it.

This was a heartbreaking and harrowing portrayal of colonization based on the real-life Japanese occupation of Korea. I liked the worldbuilding, including the system of ki and the various Korean mythological creatures the main characters meet. The plot covered a lot of ground—from Seung and Eunji's initial meeting and days studying for the Exam, to Eunji's graduation from Adachi, to the adventure quest revolving around the titular last tiger. And yet, all of it came together in a cohesive whole.

I enjoyed Seung and Eunji's interweaving plotlines. The portrayal of Eunji's family as Dragon collaborators was, I thought, an important and nuanced one, both exploring what drove colonized people to be collaborators but also not excusing the harm they caused. Jin and Kenzo also turned out to be interesting side characters who added to Seung and Eunji's story.

The writing style of this book does read like it's geared toward a younger audience. On one hand, I would've preferred a slightly older target audience given the subject matter, but on the other hand, I can't be mad that this book exists for younger YA readers. There were a few writing quirks that bothered me, such as too many sentences ending in ellipses or em dashes, as well as the weird choice to have Korean names written family name first but not Japanese names (why "Kenzo Kobayashi" and not "Kobayashi Kenzo"?), but otherwise, I enjoyed this and I'm glad I had a chance to read it.

"The Last Tiger" is a dual POV YA novel (definitely skewed more towards teen audiences) that tells the story of a servant named Seung and a noble girl Eunji whose lives get tangled together.

Though I do not have extensive knowledge of the Korean War, the novel represents aspects of oppression and the brutality of war. Propaganda, Erasure of culture. Manipulation of history. They're all very real events that occur in the world today. Which this novel brings the idea of how history is always questioned and reworked to capture the nuances of the heritage of people's lives.

The grandparent's tale was woven well into the narrative--comes to show that all fictional pieces contain fragments of reality. It created more depth the main characters stories. The characters written were very real, especially the side characters. They were well written and had very strong goals. Though that being said, I wished Jin's backstory was fleshed out more.

I found the ending to be slightly abrupt and the onomatopoeia was a little off-putting but that's just a personal opinion </3

Overall, it was a fun read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

First of all, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for access to this eARC!

The Last Tiger is a wonderful young adult novel following the intertwined lives of two people on opposite sides of a class divide, but who both ultimately suffer by the hands of the same oppressors. There were a lot of well thought out concepts presented through this book, and the prose was welcoming to read.

It was a very fast read, and I'd personally argue some pacing adjustments are needed; the first third is far slower than the rest- which works in most cases- but the rest moves by so quickly that it feels as though you're given very little breathing space to settle into what's happening. I believe if this book was just a touch longer- truly only an extra 20 pages or so could have helped massively- or only focused on one main character instead of both, then this would have bumped my rating up to the full five stars.

Having said this, it was still an incredibly fun read that I think young adult audiences will enjoy. Every one of the major characters- the two POVs and their two respective companions- felt very well fleshed out and thoroughly interesting. I would gladly read this book again sometime.

This was an early DNF. I could tell early on that this book was full of telling and no showing. I could see this maybe working for a younger audience, but it holds no weight to mid to upper YA, and most certainly adults wouldn’t vibe with it either. Overall, more juvenile than I was expecting. -2 stars

2.25-2.5 stars

to me, this story felt underdeveloped. for the amount of politics and magic appearing in this book, they all had a surprisingly little amount of detail and information. i wish there was more subtle worldbuilding that was incorporated into the story. the idea of different animal ki for different nations was intriguing, but i also didn’t understand a lot of the magical scenes. i swear a dragon would randomly appear, and then a differnt monster would appear for a few pages but wasn’t really mentioned anywhere else, and half the time when someone used magic all the text was italicized for seemingly no reason.

my biggest qualm with this book is the writing. for the vast majority of the time, the authors would tell and not show. most pieces of dialogue were the characters directly voicing their thoughts and feelings, so nothing was left for the reader to interpret and it was boring at times. there were so many important themes and interesting character relationships that died because of the writing. take a random line, “but you don’t really care what happens to me. you’re just helping yourself.” like, did we need to say that out loud? to me it sounds childish. the story is from the viewpoint of 18 year olds but it’s narrated like they’re 14, which threw me off.

there were small things that made me pause, like during every exciting moment the authors would use “—” and it kind of interrupted the flow of the story. also, the story is narrated from two viewpoints, which was nice at the beginning when the mcs were in different places, but at one point they kind of went on the same journey and their narrating voices felt too similar. sometimes i’d even forget who’s pov it was, which made it hard to stay focused while reading. from the scale of seung/eunji's mission, you’d think that this is high stakes, but surprisingly it doesn’t feel that way.

there were a lot of themes about power, colonialism, and oppression were touched on at times but glanced over at other times (maybe because this is a ya book?). there were times when characters were really making a statement, but also times when those themes were riding in the backseat. also, one of the characters had a really traumatic experience, and i feel that wasn’t written about with enough sensitivity.

i did like the characters, though it would fit better if they were younger. their relationship was cute in a refreshing way, and i thought their friendship was really sweet. i don’t think there was enough scenes of them bonding for me to truly believe they were in love, and i was actually rooting for kenzo. this definitely isn’t enemies-to-lovers, more like friends-to-close-friends in my opinion. i also think they had believable conflicting morals, which added more tension.

i really wish that this was a win, especially because it was inspired by the authors’ grandparents’ story, which is so sweet. we got to see snippets of their emails at the beginning of each chapter. their story is amazing, and i’m happy julia riew and brad riew told some of that through this book. thank you netgalley, PENGUIN GROUP penguin young readers group, and julia riew and brad riew for the e-arc! #TheLastTiger #NetGalley

this was a cinema. i loved my babies seung and eunji!!!!! i want more of them please!!!!!
got to learn about the korean history in new light and my hate for "DRAGONS" multiplied 10x
epilogue shouldve been 50 pages more😔😔

(pls tell me i was not the only one who liked kenzo pls😭😭)

While this book leans more towards a YA style, that's not a bad thing at all. The romance, while present, isn't the main focus. The true star of the show is the magic system, which is both interesting and easy to follow.

This is a story of a people's struggle with being oppressed and need for independence interwoven with a love story based on the author's grandparents. This fantasy was easy to follow with a magic system that is easily understood. The romance between Lee and Choi is very sweet, and is appropriate for middle school readers.

Reading the blurb of this book got me really excited to read it since I love books that are inspired by/retellings of Asian folklore. I didn't actually know that much about the Japanese colonization of Korea going into this book and I loved learning more about it, and how it affected the people living through it, through the lens of the characters in The Last Tiger.

The historical fantasy aspect of the book was probably my favorite, and I loved the addition of the authors' grandparent's real correspondence. The mirroring of the real world conflict and the story was immaculate and kept me immersed in the story while simultaneously reminding me of the realities of the real-world inspiration.

The tone of this book is definitely more YA than adult, in my opinion, but I didn't have a problem with that reading this book. The magic system in The Last Tiger was easily understandable and integrated itself well into the struggle for freedom and fight against colonial oppression.

I really enjoyed the friends to enemies to lovers relationship between the MCs. I felt as though it added a lot of depth to what might have been a typical friends to lovers relationship and allowed for proper, justified conflict between the main characters.

I really enjoyed reading this book and I feel like it would be a great read for any YA reader interested in historical fantasy, or an adult reader who doesn't mind YA writing!

beautiful, emotional read influenced by true stories and korean history. a powerful narrative portraying colonial oppression and it's consequences. this book touches on subjects such as defying tradition, oppression and the fight for freedom in a sensitive, respectful way. the fantasy elements were well crafted and i loved the use of the tigers to represent the heart and soul of a nation. the story focuses on both main characters struggles and longing for freedom. the forbidden romance was well written and the connection felt real and genuine. overall this was a great read about the power of love, resilience and strength of people.

The first half was really good. We follow two povs but there are also I think emails from the authors grandparents.. This was really cool because we get to see the real history and the fantasy world inspired by that time. I’m Japanese so some of it was uncomfortable because I really needed to see the horror my country has done.
Honestly the two povs felt like the same person and the magic aspect got confusing which made me lose interest by the end. The grandparents story was way more interesting, and makes you believe in soulmates. The two characters are never really enemies it’s more like a distrust that hones on for 3 pages, so don’t go into this with hopes of an enemies to lovers.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the arc!

I really loved the premise of this book, and the relation between historical events and a fantasy plot. The ties between the Japanese occupation of Korea and this fantastical world using tigers and dragons worked really well. The addition of ki magic made a great fantasy plot. The fact that the love story was based on their grandparents' lives made me that much more invested.

That being said, I wish the book had been stronger for me because I was so invested in the story. There needed to be a little clarity in the world-building...is this historical fantasy or dystopian fantasy or...? My initial understanding was that the setting was more historical, based on the costume and housing descriptions. But then later there are mentions of trucks and a man in charge of an electronics company, so I assumed it was more of a dystopian world. Until they later unveiled a "new invention" which ended up being a lightbulb...but wouldn't electricity already exist if there was an electronics company? That was confusing.

Overall, this book felt like it was aimed for a younger audience, though there were some inconsistencies there too. I wasn't a fan of the inclusion of phrases like "dude" and "tight". The dialogue overall could be refined more -- i.e. using words like "gonna" and "buddy" felt out of place with the story. I understand that it's YA but the theme of the story is so historically important and didn't really deserve to be lightened by the MMC getting teased with the name "Lover Boy". I think that there is still an appropriate way of presenting these events to a YA crowd. There were mentions of rape and starvation, but they were thrown into the story rather bluntly without much finesse for the fact that a younger audience will be reading it.
Unfortunately I wanted more from this book and it did fall short. And while on the surface it could be blamed on the fact that it's a YA book, but some of the best books I've read were YA.