When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain

Thank you so so much to Tor.com for providing me with an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

I had this book on my “must buy immediately list” as soon as I heard about it because I loved the first novella in the series so much. I say series, but you can totally read these as standalone novellas. They both follow the same main character but absolutely no knowledge of the previous one is needed. If you’d like to read my review of the first novella, you can find it here. This one is just as incredible, and I think I loved it MORE if that’s even possible. WTTCDTM is a story within a story, and both tales are fierce and magical and beautiful. I’ll try to keep this review short, since it’s a novella and I don’t want to give too much away!

What can you expect to find within?

• a non-binary protagonist!!! they’re so frikkin cool (a cleric and recorder of stories!)
• a girl with a big mammoth and a lance
• tigers who can appear human but are DEFINITELY tigers
• stories!! everything about stories. stories about love and loss and betrayal and magic and everything. AND, how stories can save you. or kill you
• f/f romance

What are the best parts?

I mean, literally everything I listed above haha. But also, Nghi Vo’s WRITING y’all. It is lush and beautiful and transportive. I really feel completely sucked into the story while I’m reading, and to be honest I don’t want to leave. I wish I could just read her words for eternity.

Personally I love the story within a story format. I love that you can make so many connections that way, and learn a lot without being too heavy handed and direct. Vo does an absolutely wonderful job of weaving the two together, and switching in and out of stories at just the right moments.

I love that the setting is so effortlessly diverse – just like the real world. Just how it should be. The magic is also seamless and fits in perfectly. I don’t know how Vo did it, really. Everything fits just right, and nothing ever seems out of place or odd. I’m really in awe.

So anyway yeah Nghi Vo killed it, and so did Tor.com for recognizing her genius and publishing this. Go do yourself a favor and read it!!!

P.S. Would ya LOOK at that cover?? Ahhh. just stunning.