Tashi is not the hero of this story. Despite the fact that almost everyone expects them to be. Not Xian, of course, although he also expects things from Tashi that they’re not sure they can give.

Nobody is perfect here. Everyone’s pretty flawed actually. They are behind their own interests and that’s what keeps the plot in motion.

Tashi and Pharo’relationship is… weird. I’m not sure yet if I enjoy how it develops, but let’s see what book two will bring. On the other hand, Tashi and Xian’s flows so evenly I was in awe. Not rushed, not typical, and sometimes strange too but in a good way.

I got so mad at Tashi so many times you’d think I didn’t like them. But I did. Although I think Xian is my favourite so far.

The moral dilemmas that this story brings to discussion are plenty and varied. Especially the one about violence. Tashi doesn’t consider themself as violent, and you might say they’re not, but… Does that make them better than the rest, really?

I’m looking forward to read the next book and see how this goes from here on.

love spec fic with lgbt characters, sometimes people forget we want to be in these worlds too

I got an arc from netgalley and it was amazing! This book was as great as it's cover. It has fantasy and adventure and action and I absolutely loved this book!

The only comment I make is I wish it was longer or at least the story, the world, and the characters were explained more and there was more detail. It was great, but quick for a fantasy story even though it was a short story.

It was a cover pick for me, I was in love with it way before I even read the blurb. And eventually when I did read the blurb my expectations were really high for this book. It is a fantasy set in asian culture with very diverse characters. More detailed review in video format will be published on 21th of August on the P.S. I love that book blog website as well as youtube channel.

<b>Rating:</b> 4,5 stars!

I'm! Screaming! This was so cool?

The world building was impeccable. Julia Ember's writing immediately hooked me from the start. <i>The Tiger's Watch</i> is obviously a fantasy book, which usually requires a helluva world building and info about how this particular world works, what makes it tick. In this book, this is done extremely well despite its shortness. We never get overwhelmed with information but we're never left confused either.

The plot is also just <i>so</i> cool? The magic involved, and the whole concept of inhabitors, it was so <b>unique and epic</b> and it was awesomely worked out.
And don't even get me started on the characters, holy hell. Each one of them were complex - though not always morally right, you couldn't help but care for them and sympathise - and so well written.

On the last note, I want to talk about our protagonist, Tashi. As probably almost everyone already knows, Tashi is a genderfluid character. I'm not, so I can't say if it's an accurate representation but what I do want to say is that I loved how no one saw Tashi differently or anything in a negative way. When Tashi got referred to with the wrong pronouns, there was always someone to correct the person and from then on, that person would actually use the right ones without any explanation needed and I freaking loved that. Most importantly I think, was that Tashi's genderfluidity <s>(is that an actual word?)</s> did NOT <i>change</i> anything in the story. Because <b>yes, the protagonist is non-binary, so what?</b>

So yes, <i>The Tiger's Watch</i> is DEFINITELY a book you should read if you love a good fantasy book about magic and animals with great characters and a unique world, and hell yes am I looking forward to the sequel.

We follow Tashi, a young inhabitor as they flee from a sudden outbreak of war, leaving their country in ruins. But Tashi and their friend Pharo must hide so that they aren’t caught and found out what they are by the invading army, inhabitor’s possessing a magic that the other country desperately wants. So they hide in among monks as one of the commanders takes a post at that monastery, taking Tashi as a servant. Tashi risks themselves as a very reluctant spy in hopes of finding information that might find out information they can use against them.

Not my best little summary, I admit, but this book is all levels of complicated that I didn’t really stand a chance to describe it without giving away too much or leaving out important elements. I will say of the books I’ve read by Julia Ember, this has to be my favourite one so far. This book has roots in Asian culture and reminds me strangely of Avatar the Last Airbender. Though there’s no bending of elements, the magic in this book and the idea of those who posses it giving up their lives to keep a balance in the world reminds me hands down of Avatar. Fans of the show would probably enjoy this book.

Tashi as a main character is really interesting. Their genderfluid (which made this my first full novel I’ve read with someone genderfluid and I seriously freaked out). They are brave in their own way, but sensitive, which makes some characters look down on them. That doesn’t change the fact their strong. They just aren’t the normal pig headed, rush into danger type of protagonist. They’re one of the few that put themselves and the ones they love first, not just the greater good. They’re forced to make a hard choice, but one that will help some but possibly hurt more. And it’s something they grapple with in a thoughtful manner. If I was in their position, I honestly don’t know what I would have done. It’s also diverse and gives us an interesting cast of characters next to Tashi. Every character is complicated and has a story that is just as gripping and leaves you desperately wanting to know more.

The plot of this book is beautiful. There wasn’t a slow moment in the whole book. You know someone is wrapped up in a story that the sun sets and they don’t notice their reading in the dark until someone points it out to them. Which happened to me with the last half of the book. I was just completely wrapped up in this story. I honestly can’t wait for the second book and need to know what happens. I’ve read good books this year, but not one that wraps me up so completely as this book had without me feeling bored at least in one or two parts of it.

The writing itself was well done. I saw everything clearly in my mind and it was simply beautifully done. The only thing I had a small problem with was the fact a queer character died to advance the plot and the character of Tashi. I don’t know if it can be considered a ‘bury your gays’ situation because its complicated from the start because as soon as we start the book we know this character will die. All of the inhabitors know they will die young. It’s part of the balance I mentioned before.

The world building in this book is well done. The conflict itself is part of what reminds me of Avatar along with the use of magic. I honestly love how much thought went into each place and each of their cultures. It’s been a while since I read a fantasy novel that gives us a world so completely thought out like this. And that just adds to awesome quality of this book.

Do I recommend this? H*ck yes. Go get this book as soon as you can. If you love magic and the feeling that Avatar gave you, pick this up, enjoy it, and come gush with me because I need to gush about this book with you.

The Tiger's Watch was an enjoyable read with an interesting set of characters and intricate world building.

I was excited to receive this ARC as I had heard so many great things about Julia Ember as a writer but hadn't read anything by her yet. I was interested to see the world she has created and how she would portray the bond between the inhabitor and their bonded animal.

There was a lot packed into this book even though it had just 180 pages. Even though the world building is overall well done and interesting, I still found myself confused about certain aspects of the world and plot. There's some aspects that I simply didn't understand and others that I still have lots of questions about. I don't really understand the history of this fantastical setting and feel like if there'd been more on that, it would have been easier to understand. You can tell Julia Ember put a lot of thought into the world building but it seemed almost too complex for a 180 page novel. As this is the first book in a trilogy, I'm hoping we get lots more on that in the sequels.

I think my favourite part of this novel is definitely the bond between inhabitor and animal. I think the way Ember described that bond was wonderful. I don't wanna give much away but I think it's a concept that, even though it's been done before in similar ways, Ember puts her very own touch to.
While there is a little bit of romance in the book and Tashi has interesting relationships with different characters, the relationship they had with their animal and how it was described, was by far my favourite out of all of them.

The main character Tashi is genderfluid and uses they/them pronouns. I can't say much about the representation as I am cisgender.
I liked that Tashi's identity got explained in the first 5% of the book. Even though it takes place in a Fantasy world, which often makes writers not want to use labels and descriptions we use today, it is clearly stated on page that Tashi is non-binary. While there is some misgendering happening in the beginning of the book when Tashi gets introduced to lots of new characters, no one ever misgenders Tashi after they've stated their preferred pronouns. Even confronted with opposing sides, Tashi's identity is respected and never used against them in any way.

Overall I think it is an enjoyable read with a lot of potential. I can definitely see myself continuing this series. I think there is still so much more to explore about the world but also the characters and their relationships.
A video review will be up on on my channel on August 11th!

Sixteen-year-old Tashi has spent their life training as a inhabitor, a soldier who spies and kills using a bonded animal. When the capital falls after a brutal siege, Tashi flees to a remote monastery to hide. But the invading army turns the monastery into a hospital, and Tashi catches the eye of Xian, the regiment’s fearless young commander.

Tashi spies on Xian’s every move. In front of his men, Xian seems dangerous, even sadistic, but Tashi discovers a more vulnerable side of the enemy commander—a side that draws them to Xian.

When their spying unveils that everything they’ve been taught is a lie, Tashi faces an impossible choice: save their country or the boy they’re growing to love. Though Tashi grapples with their decision, their volatile bonded tiger doesn’t question her allegiances. Katala slaughters Xian’s soldiers, leading the enemy to hunt her. But an inhabitor’s bond to their animal is for life—if Katala dies, so will Tashi.

The Tiger’s Watch is a very unique and very interesting book. I have to begin by mentioning the thing that first drew me into the book: It has a genderfluid protagonist. This is, sadly, my first time encountering a genderfluid protagonist in a book; and I was ecstatic when I found out. I loved how the author handled Tashi’s gender identity; how accepting everyone was of it, and how quick they were to correct other characters that used the wrong pronouns. That’s fantasy done right: choosing what is and what is accepted in your world and acting accordingly.

On top of that I felt like Tashi was a very realistic character. Sure, they were not very original – personality wise. They were not the bravest, nor the strongest, they were a bit of the underdog/the chosen one. Nothing that we haven’t seen before in YA fantasy, but it didn’t really bother me, because I could understand Tashi. Their decisions, their thoughts, their fears, their feelings, they all made sense and resonated with me. Did I disagree with some of their decisions? Sure, but I could still see where they were coming from.

I also enjoyed the magical elements of the book, but I wish they were explored a bit more. In fact, a lot more. Perhaps it is because the book is only 180 pages long, but I felt like the world and the magic system were a bit underdeveloped. I would like some additional history on the regions, some extra pieces of information, just so that I can see the entire picture and better understand the characters, their motives, and allegiances. Also, there was a love triangle, one that I found completely unnecessary, but -thankfully- the storyline didn’t focus too much on that.

Overall, The Tiger’s Watch is a fairly enjoyable, albeit short, book and I can’t wait to read its sequel!

**An ARC was provided via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review**

I started this book with 0 expectations, I didn’t know how much of this book would be about gender, how much would be fantasy and how much would be waffle. I am pleased to say that it was just about perfect on all three fronts.

As a cisgender human I am by no means the person to comment on how this book handles a non-binary character. However it felt to me like it was well done. There’s about three instances where people misgender Tashi and people swiftly correct them and the book moves on. It wasn’t the crux of the book, it wasn’t the selling point of the book. It just was.

This is a pretty quick read, I finished it on a train journey that was only a couple of hours. I actually would have liked to have had even more meat to this story as it sort of starts smack bang in the middle of the action. Maybe you could have had more elements at the start to set the scene, or more flashbacks to do so retroactively. But maybe it is a good thing that this book didn’t drag things out. It’s very to the point, characters make choices and the story moves on.

I enjoyed the plot, though at times the love story can feel a teensy bit forced on the whole it is sweet and it is incredibly human, by which I mean that Tashi makes choices that aren’t necessarily in their best interest but they are certainly choices I could see myself making.

If you’re looking for a quick read that at the same time could expand your horizons I can wholeheartedly recommend The Tiger’s Watch. It is definitely a book I will be telling my friends to read. I look forward to reading other reviews and seeing what people think.

My rating: 5/5 stars

By the way, I received a digital advanced review copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

In the end, I was pleasantly surprised by this book! I'd been looking forward to it for quite a while – I mean, a fantasy YA novella with a genderfluid protagonist! What a great combination of things! And yet, by the time I was halfway through, I was convinced that giving it 3 stars would be exceedingly generous, and that I wouldn't be continuing the series. At that point, everything about the story was falling flat for me: the characters felt two-dimensional; the supposed "love interest" was downright unpleasant and Tashi's feelings for him seemed completely absurd; despite the intriguing concept there seemed to be gaping holes in the worldbuilding; the plot lacked drive, and even the writing style seemed awfully clunky in places.

Happily, things improved significantly in the second half of the book. The pace picked up, the plot got more interesting, the writing style started to sound a bit more natural, and crucially, the apparent holes in the worldbuilding were mostly revealed to simply be gaps in the protagonist's knowledge, and as more pieces of the puzzle fell into place, and the background of the inhabitors was revealed, I was drawn further and further into the story. By the end, I was very curious about what might happen next, and the 3 stars I'm giving the book feel fully deserved.

However, I would still say that most of the characters in this book felt quite two-dimensional, due to that age-old problem of "telling vs showing". While there were two moments when I did feel like I'd been given a massive insight into Tashi's character – one at the very start of the novel, and one at the very end, curiously enough – for the most part, it felt like Ember was more interested in <i>telling</i> readers about the characters, rather than <i>showing</i> us what they're like, which is one of the surest ways of getting me to knock a star or two off my rating. Tashi did get a fair bit of character development, but all the other characters still felt fairly paper-thin at the end of the novel, so that's definitely something that I'd like to see the author work on.

Finally, I'd just like to mention the fact that it was really refreshing to read a fantasy book with a genderfluid protagonist, and I thought that it was brought into the story very naturally – by which I mean that it was never shunted to the side, nor focused on obsessively. Being genderfluid is a part of Tashi, and influences their life in a very real way, but their personality is never reduced to that single facet. I'm so glad that this kind of representation is finally starting to become a bit more common across all genres of literature, even if we still have a long way to go!

In short, I would say that this was a fun read, and I'd like to delve deeper into the magic system of this world, but the characterisation really leaves a lot to be desired.

One of the books I was looking forward to hearing everyone’s thoughts about was The Tiger’s Watch. So picture my excitement when I was approved for it on Netgalley. In the end this book turned out very different from what I thought it was going to be. And despite my 4 star rating, I can’t quite decide whether or not this is a good thing.

First thing that very surprised me was that this book is under 200 pages. I was not expecting this book to be so short. I also think it is one of its downsides. There isn’t enough room for everything. When I got to the end there was nothing else and I wanted to scream. I wanted more. I needed more. The writing style was very addicting. It was solid.

The world building suffered for the shortness of the book. The book starts with a war going on but why exactly is not so clear. Why were they attacked all of a sudden again? Even so I did quite love the ideas this book had regarding the magic and the repercussions to bonding with an animal like that. And unlike others, I did think the book made it clear that this was not a choice for these young children. They were given away for this faith. But they were raised with the idea that this is a privilege.

Oh and Tasha. I loved Tasha from the start.Tasha is gender fluid and prefers them/they. I think that it was a great addition to the book. We really need more of that in fantasy. In any book really. But Tasha stole my heart which is why I am shaking my head so hard at the decision they made in the end. Why, Tasha, why? Even so I guess I can kind of understand. They were shoved into this, into something they didn’t want.

Unfortunately this book has a love triangle. Tasha is in love with one and in lust with the other. Too bad one of them is the enemy. Tasha, why? He’s hot but so what?

Pharo, Tasha’s friend, was such a loyal one throughout the book. Always speaking up when someone misaddressed their pronouns. Xian on the other hand is hard to get a read one. The enemy, the one with other values, the murderer yet he lets Tasha lash out at him without repercussions. I don’t understand him as a character at all. And even so I secretly ship him with Tasha. Why oh why, twisted heart? I blame this on Julia Ember’s writing.

Having said all this, I did fly through this book in one sitting and thoroughly enjoyed it despite my criticism in places. I honestly thought halfway through that I was going to rate this 5 stars. I was a bit disappointed with the way things went but even so I can’t wait for the next book. I am a bit disappointed as it seems that it will focus on Pharo. Despite that I like him I am currently very into Tasha’s narration.

I had pretty high expectations going into this! But yet it ultimately let me down with thin world-building and confusing character decisions. I'm sad! The premise is fantastic and it was so refreshing to read about a nonbinary protagonist! Also the cover deserves to be framed on a wall somewhere because: WOW.

Tashi was a pretty fantastic narrator, even if they're ultimate decisions at the end left me baffled. I just always love sweet-but-yet-badass characters! I thought it was epic how the world wasn't opposed to non-binary people. Like people made mistakes when they met Tashi, but Tashi's friends would be like "no, it's they" and that'd be the end of it. It's actually refreshing to have a fantasy world were the prejudices of OUR world aren't there.

Shapeshifters are pretty amazing! I loved how they could bond and have such deep friendships with animals. However I was confused as to the draw to bond? The animals die young and all the powers they seem to give their masters is the ability to look through the animals eyes...that doesn't seem worth half a life-span to me.

The world was really interesting! Magic and armies and wars and intrigue! I wish it'd been deeper though??? But I didn't quite understand the point of the plot. Like maybe I just missed it?? Or maybe it was so so thinly talked about it just didn't sink in enough? But why were they all fighting? What was the war about? Why was this boy-commander so keen on killing the shapeshifters? And the book was SO SMALL that it really didn't get started before it was over. In fact the climax was so non-existent I nearly missed it.

The romance totally fell flat for me when it turned into a triangle and Tashi couldn't stop fawning over the Hot Commander, who is coincidentally torturing and killing people. This seemed terrible to say the least.

Tashi is a trained spy but the ONLY reason they get to spy int his book is because they're randomly picked to be the commander's servant. Talk about convenient??

Fantastic premise, but unfortunately The Tiger's Watch didn't live up to expectations for me.

Awesome read I love books with lots of cultural background and stories and the author does a fantastic job of describing everything in great detail. The fact that they have this incredible bond with the animals that chose them is fun to read I liked how the main character is referred to as they in not a over taking the book with the topic fashion but a subtle and present known fact. The characters relationships are very fascinating and make the book very hard to put down the only thing I will say that I didn't care for is the cover it just doesn't do the book justice whatsoever in fact at first glance I thought the tiger was a big guinea pig. Loved the book I highly recommend it.