Book Review: The Last Tiger | Julia Riew and Brad Riew

The Last Tiger by Julia Riew
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I picked this up because a) it was really pretty and b) it was inspired by true stories from Korean history.

In a classic rich girl falls in love with poor boy story, Choi Eunji and Lee Seung face not just class prejudice, but also racial discrimination - both from within and without. Whilst both of them are Tigers, the rich Choi family are considered race traitors/collaborators for sucking up to the Dragon administration to preserve their family wealth and power.

The POV switches between Eunji and Seung, which provides a well-rounded background to what both of them are facing and the obstacles they have to overcome. From Seung, we understand the struggle to survive - and the hope for a better future - only to be beaten down again and again by circumstances and those in power. From Eunji, we learn that even the rich can be powerless when everything they have is beholden to another party. Her life may seem like a fairy tale to others, but we soon see that one misstep by her father - or her - could end in not just a fall from favour, but death.

Kenzo Kobayashi is an annoyance, and I couldn't quite figure him out. He switched from helping Eunji to betraying her to double-crossing the Dragons so seamlessly, all coloured by Eunji's dislike of him, that it was difficult to pinpoint what exactly about him annoyed me.

I think my one criticism of the book is that at random times, often in speech, they seem to lapse into a kind of modern (teen?) slang which feels a little out of place with the setting. Still, since this is a YA book, maybe that was meant to resonate better with its intended audience.

All in all, I enjoyed reading The Last Tiger.

View all my reviews

Book Review: Elsewhere | Gabrielle Zevin

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Liz Hall gets hit by a car, dies, and goes to Elsewhere, where she is supposed to age backwards until she is born again.

Elsewhere is mostly about coming to terms with death and grief. Liz grieves for the things she will never experience in life: turning sixteen, prom, falling in love, learning to drive - all the things one associates with adulthood. The themes may seem heavy, but the writing itself is light, dealing with Liz's denial and anger in ways that aren't too over-the-top and yet full of teenage angst. I mean, how else do you accept you're dead when you wake up on a ship with no memory of what happened?

But as Liz soon finds out, she can still have most of those longed-for experiences in Elsewhere, once she lets go of her past life on Earth. It won't be exactly the same, but living is what you make of it, no matter where you are. She even gets more than she bargained for, with heartbreak thrown into the mix!

There's no twist ending to this. You know from the start that when Liz ages down young enough, her story in Elsewhere will end, rather like another death, but culminating in a new birth.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from Farrar, Straus and Giroux via Edelweiss. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

View all my reviews

Book Review: Writers of the Future, Volume 41

L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future, Volume 41 by L. Ron Hubbard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another great anthology of upcoming SFF writers and illustrators!
I enjoyed all the stories in this one, though nothing really stood out to me this round.

Quite a few focused on time travel and time skips - and heavier on the scifi - which could be a reason why. "Storm Damage" by T.R. Naus was easy enough to follow but "Blackbird Stone" by Ian Keith, however, kind of did me in. lol.

Peeling back genre trappings, each story seems to be interrogating human behaviour. "Storm Damage" tests if the keeper of time travel will be able to put public good and the safety of the world above personal glory. "Ascii" by Randyn C.J. Bartholomew considers whether killing one man to save the future is justified. "Karma Birds" by Lauren McGuire envisions a dystopic world where violence is met with instant karma, whilst "The Rune Witch" by Jefferson Snow has Jindei standing alone between the villagers and the demon Shijai.

If I were to pick my top three stories, I think the ones that I enjoyed the most were "The Stench of Freedom" (Joel C. Scoberg), "The Rune Witch (Jefferson Snow), and "A World of Repetitions" (Seth Atwater Jr.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from Galaxy Press via Edelweiss. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

View all my reviews

PURCHASE HERE (Amazon Affiliate link)

The Absolution Series is in the Beloved SFF Sale!

So sometime last year, C.O. Bonham nominated Amok for the Beloved SFF Sale... I didn't get to participate then because I wasn't reading my comments (whoops), but Noor reached out to me to ask if I'd like to join them this year! 

There are over 100+ recommended books on sale, each with a recommendation by someone who loved it! It also includes over 50 additional books, including sequels (or complete series) that are also on sale. Many of these are also available wide or as KU books. 

SO.

Amok is on sale at 99 cents (or whatever the equivalent it is in your currency) on KDP and whatever platforms that go through D2D - PLUS the other two books in the series are on sale at $2.99!

So that's the whole series for like $7, as the Amazon Series page tells me. Ain't that a steal?

The sale runs from 7 to 11 August 2025, so go CHECK OUT ALL THE BOOKS AT THE BELOVED SFF SALE!

(And get mine too, if you were waiting for that discount!)

P/S Have you signed up for my newsletter to get your free ebook yet? 

Book review: The Killer Question | Janice Hallett

The Killer Question by Janice Hallett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Picked up this ARC from Edelweiss because I loved The Christmas Appeal. The Killer Question is written in a similar format - through emails, texts, police transcripts, and so on - so knowing what to expect made it easier to orient to the book. I do think that the underlying premise/framing of this one - Dominic Eastwood trying to pitch the bizarre story of his aunt & uncle and their pub to Netflix - made a lot more sense than a KC sending notes from a cold case to his ex-students to solve.

Sue and Mal Eastwood run a rural pub called The Case is Altered, and their one big draw is the weekly quiz nights, that Mal sets himself. Then a body is found in the nearby river, and a new team starts winning all the quizzes all the time. Tensions start running high - more for the quiz than the dead body. At the same time, Dominic includes transcripts of a police operation Sue and Mal were caught up in before their retirement, with the implication that both events are closely realted.

It's a bit slow in the beginning as you get to know Sue and Mal and the various quizzers at this quaint little pub, but snowballs (avalanches?) from the mid onwards to the end as secrets are revealed. Had some suspicions about what was going on at The Case is Altered, but did not expect that final twist!

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from Atria Books via Edelweiss. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

View all my reviews

Book review: Arc of the Universe | Nikki Alexander

Arc of the Universe by Nikki Alexander
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Dr Carrie Davenport has been given the opportunity of a lifetime: to design a system of government for the first colony in Mars. Complications quickly arise - a date with a girl she met at the bar leads to a racially-profiled arrest, the violent encounter goes viral, and team member Adam Kirkpatrick tries to take over her spot.

Set in the near future (about 2035?), Nikki Alexander crafts an alternate future that seems plausible - assuming Trump hadn't won the US elections in 2024. Somewhere in the timeline, America has had its first (half?) Latina president, and things seem to have changed for the better - none of this present lunacy. However, under the surface, things remain the same. Adam Kirkpatrick parrots many talking points against DEI and "woke" (and is a thoroughly dislikeable character). Beauregard Ball and his company that's sponsoring Project Mars appear to be progressive, but the first batch of colonists are 95% white and no one is batting an eye. It's the same old, same old, and Davenport manages to overlook a lot of things because of her position of educated privilege, until the violent arrest and the subsequent backlash takes the spotlight.

Whilst tagged as Science Fiction, Arc of the Universe is focused more on the journey leading to Mars - and the legal side of things, rather than the science getting them there. The latter only appears as milestones - a successful probe launch puts the pressure on Carrie's team to finish drafting their proposal, the ensuing celebration offers her an opportunity to scope out the people involved. Instead, there's a lot of focus on governance, democracy, constitutions and legal speak.

The overarching question that runs through the book is "What are we doing to make the future better?" Carrie has to wrestle with whether what she's doing - lecturing about law and drafting a constitution for Mars - is good enough, or if she has to follow in the footsteps of her activist mother and protest on the streets for change. There's pressure on her to do all the big things, like protest and sue and fall into the whole "activism rabbit hole". But is that the best use of her time and position? Especially when it goes against her nature?

Overall, Arc of the Universe is a thoughtful look at how to address different issues with nuance. It's also a reminder that everyone has a different role to play - and that even if someone is not out on the streets yelling for change, the things they do quietly in the background can have the same - or even greater - impact.

Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from Strawberry Tree Books. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

View all my reviews

Sound interesting? Get your copy here! (Affiliate link)

Book review: The Hodder Bible Commentary: James | Daniel K. Eng

The Hodder Bible Commentary: James by Daniel K. Eng
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's been a while since I read a Bible commentary. This was interesting to read, but also a bit slow going because the writing style is pretty academic. Or maybe I haven't read a non-fiction book in too long haha. Pretty sure the messed up formatting* also contributed to some of my difficulty following some of the points.

James includes insight that's timely for these trying times - perseverance in hard times; how the church should be fair and just, not favouring the rich and powerful; judging others in the church vs not of the church; taming the tongue; heavenly vs earthly wisdom; submission to God; social injustice, etc.
(Also slightly amused by the connotation that "eat the rich" could possibly have originated from James HAHAHA)

There's food for thought about how some of the things stated by James had different cultural meanings to the original audience (diasporic Jews) and what it means to us now. And how some of these still parallel Eastern cultures/understanding of community instead of Western Christianity.

* I just wish that these publishers would format a proper ebook ARC instead of sending a PDF conversion, because all the tables were messed up (as well as most formatting to show the chiastic structure). It's super annoying, and I had to download it on the NetGalley Shelf to see what was going on there.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from Hodder & Stoughton via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

View all my reviews