The Tiger at Midnight

The Tiger at Midnight by Swati Teerdhala is a book I think I would have really enjoyed in 2015, maybe even most of 2016, but years of doing organizing work and getting a much closer view of people actually fighting for radical change has made me a LOT more critical of portrayals of revolutionary work & romances between oppressed people and their oppressors.

There's a lot that's interesting in the world-building, though it does rely on a binary notion of gender that grates at me, and the two main characters are reasonably compelling when they're not together or thinking about each other. But their romance is just .... incredibly off-putting to me. If I were to ever fall in love with a cop, it would come with a LOT of baggage, questions, show more complications, conditions, and most definitely wouldn't be love at first sight .... and I'm a member of a racial group and economic class that is privileged in its relationship to the police. Esha has WAY more direct, immediate, personal reasons to mistrust and hate the military in her world, and yet all it takes for her to basically fall in love with him is him being friendly to her WHILE SHE'S IN DISGUISE. The feelings she struggles with over the half of the book I've read haven't been about Kunal's status as an oppressor, his relationship to power compared to her own, whether loving him makes her a bad revolutionary, but "he's so good, and I'm so bad because I've killed so many people as part of my revolutionary work!"

It's galling to watch her struggle with her self-esteem as Kunal does basically NOTHING to earn her inner conflict. In the chapters from his POV, we see him starting to "get woke" but 54% of the way through the book and he's basically like a white male Democrat telling BIPOC folx to give him power and he'll make their lives better.

So it's going in my do-not-finish pile. I just can't stomach that kind of romance. show less

In The Tiger at Midnight, first in a same-name trilogy by Swati Teerdhala, Esha, known as the Viper, sneaks into the Blood Fort, a major Jansan stronghold, and assassinates the feared General Hotha. Several elite soldiers are tasked with tracking down the Viper and returning the assassin for punishment. The reward is being named Commander of the Blood Fort. Kunal is one of the soldiers sent out to track Esha down, and he's more motivated than most- General Hotha was his uncle. Turned loose on his own, Kunal begins to see a different side to his country. Strife and poverty rule. The land withers, thanks to the slaughter of the Samyad ruling line. As he and Esha take turns capturing one another and escaping, Kunal realises he must decide show more which is more important-- loyalty to the usurper ruler, or loyalty to his country and its people.

I adored this world, with its wealth of influence from Indian mythology (and Chinese, if I'm not too mistaken). The history of the two warring countries, with ruling lineages literally founded by deities, captured my imagination. A male Himyad from Dharka, and a female Samyad from Jansa are required to partake in a ritual to charge the magic that keeps the land healthy. With no Samyad female, the ritual can't be carried out, and the land and people suffer for it. This also reminded me of Celtic myths of the Fisher King, and the health of the land literally linked to the rulership.

The verbal sniping between Kunal and Esha added an element of humour to the story. Neither Kunal or Esha seem like bad people. They've both been sheltered from life in different ways, and now they must reevaluate everything they thought they knew. For one of them, a surprising secret lies in their past and decides to rear its head at an inopportune time. I don't want to give it away, but I do hope it's explained more in the next book. I'm very curious because it seemed to come out of nowhere, and the unique gifts that accompany said secret don't seem to serve a useful purpose at the moment. I hope that changes because it's cool!

Recommended for those who enjoy YA fantasy, fantasy, and books influenced by Indian mythology.

***Many thanks to the authors/ publisher for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. Reviewed via JBN Tours. show less

I may have postponed reading this book for almost an year despite being very excited for it, but I’m glad I finally had the chance to read it now. It was the exact kind of fun fast paced YA fantasy I needed during these anxiety inducing times.

I really liked Kunal and Esha as characters. Their cat and mouse chase, banter, a bit of a slow burn relationship development was all a lot of fun to read. I also thought they both were great individually, with their own values and convictions, and how understanding each other changed them was written beautifully. The plot is also very fast paced, with something happening and unraveling all the time, and the author’s use of short chapters also kept the tension going. I also listened to the show more audiobook in parts and thought the narration was excellent.

Now I know why all my friends love this book so much and I’m actually happy that I only have about a month to wait for the sequel’s release. I hope that one will turn out to be as lovely as the this super entertaining debut. show less

Star-crossed lovers on opposite sides of a prolonged war. Esha, the female rebel assassin falls for Kunal, the intelligent soldier with secret depths.

I loved the world-building. The story of twin countries, once tied by magic, torn apart by greed and violence is richly detailed and believable. I loved the promise of certain characters having shape-shifting magical abilities. I also loved the kick-butt female protagonist.

Unfortunately, the story was too slow for me and focused too heavily on Esha and Kunal's evolving relationship at the expense of furthering the general plot. The relationship material was PG (kissing and close hugging). There are violent deaths.

A broken bond. A dying land. A cat-and-mouse game that can only end in bloodshed.

Esha is a legend, but no one knows. It’s only in the shadows that she moonlights as the Viper, the rebels’ highly skilled assassin. She’s devoted her life to avenging what she lost in the royal coup, and now she’s been tasked with her most important mission to date: taking down the ruthless General Hotha.

Kunal has been a soldier since childhood, training morning and night to uphold the power of King Vardaan. His uncle, the general, has ensured that Kunal never strays from the path—even as a part of Kunal longs to join the outside world, which has been growing only more volatile.

Then Esha’s and Kunal’s paths cross—and an unimaginable chain of show more events unfolds. Both the Viper and the soldier think they’re calling the shots, but they’re not the only players moving the pieces. As the bonds that hold their land in order break down and the sins of the past meet the promise of a new future, both rebel and soldier must make unforgivable choices.

Drawing inspiration from ancient Indian history and Hindu mythology, the first book in Swati Teerdhala's debut fantasy trilogy captivates with electric romance, stunning action, and the fierce bonds that hold people together—and drive them apart. show less

The Tiger at Midnight was an enjoyable fantasy, a good read for those who are interested in something different than the standard fantasy setting and who like a romance- focused fantasy. For me, it was too romance- focused, to the point where pretty much the entire book was just the two characters. I felt the book suffered from lack of secondary characters for much of the story, and when they were introduced they lacked any kind of depth. I was often confused by the history/ politics/ mythology of the setting, and I wished we had some flash-backs to when the characters were younger. The introduction of shape- shifting late in the story was also a miss for me. Overall, a decent read.

LitJoy Crate May Book


I enjoyed this book but I don’t feel that it was particularly unique and it needs further developing. I feel the female assassin vs the opposing soldier has been done a lot (but in this telling the soldier is more than he seems). That being said however, I feel like the characters were engaging and likable but not fully fleshed out. We’re supposed to believe they are both badasses as they are reputed to be the top of their field but never really see them doing anything to support these claims. The story has few small twists and turns that keep it interesting and flowing. I also find the magical aspect intriguing and would like to better understand it. I do see potential and look forward to the next book.