The Last Tiger

De: Julia Riew, Brad Riew

Narrado por: Julia Riew, Joshua Hyunho Lee, Brad Riew, Alex Intae Kim, Sue Jean Kim, Intae Kim

Inspired by true stories from the authors’ grandparents’ lives during one of the darkest periods in Korean history, The Last Tiger is a debut young adult fantasy novel about the power of love to give voice to a broken people.

In a colonized land where tigers are being hunted to extinction and ancient magic stirs, two star-crossed teens—Lee Seung, a servant yearning for freedom, and Choi Eunji, a noble girl defying tradition—join forces to try and reshape their respective fates.

But their relationship evolves from begrudging accomplices to bitter adversaries as they soon find themselves on opposite sides of a battle over the last tiger, a symbol of their people’s lost freedom and key to the liberation of their country. As the ties between Seung and Eunji are complicated by their conflicting loyalties, tensions rise—especially when a charming princeling of the empire begins to rival for Eunji's affection.

In this friends-to-enemies-to-lovers story of forbidden romance, antagonists turned allies, oppression and liberation, neither Seung nor Eunji can abandon their mission—or each other. And as they embark on separate quests to find the elusive creature, each must also find the power within themselves to make their own destiny.

©2025 Julia Riew (P)2025 Listening Library

Reseñas de la Crítica

July/August 2025 Kids' Indie Next List (Young Adult)

★ “A reminder that knowledge and kindness are powerful tools.”—Booklist, starred review

“… the story vividly highlights the plight of Koreans during a traumatic era.”—Kirkus Reviews

Absolutely incredible!!

Saw a reel on Instagram many months ago from author Julia, telling how she and her brother were writing a book about their grandparents’ love story during Japanese occupation of Korea. It said, preorder now. I immediately hopped in to Audible here to preorder it. A few days ago, it popped up here in my library that the book was ready now!

As far as the story, absolutely incredible. Extremely well written, read, and told. Loved the excerpts from the grandparents’ real letters. The characters were dynamic and believable. Just enough fantasy to feel mythic, but not unbelievable. Never got boring or too much. I devoured this book immediately. Was engaging and enjoyable. Characters had great development, and the plot ramped up in just the perfect speed from moving from the importance of the test to then a whole country’s revolution and independence. Beautiful imagery and story. Thoroughly enjoyed. Thank you for writing this!

Riveting

A historical perspective with a fantastical twist. Enjoyed the story and the emotive readings so much that I finished it in 2 days. As a history buff and whose own grandparents lived through the “dragon occupation” I’ve always wanted to find out more about their lives during the occupation, but it was very difficult for my own grandparents to talk about it. Written with sufficient historical accuracy, but enough fantasy to give readers an emotional distance, to get a sense of the brutality under military occupation without losing hope. Would definitely love to read the historically accurate love story of the grandparents who inspired this fantasy book by Julia and Brad Riew.

Now tell us whatever happened to Jin and Kenzo. Waiting for the sequel with bated breath.

Beautiful story that really tugs on your heartstrings.

The Last Tiger is such a remarkable tale of love and overcoming adversity. Julia and Brad Riew are remarkable storytellers and I have been waiting for years for a book that would tell the history of the Korean War in such poignant words.

MUST READ 📚 💖

10/10 recommend! Absolutely beautiful story telling combined with a wonderful message. I'm so glad I purchased the audio book as well as the physical copy for my shelf trophy

A story both new and familiar

This book is my favorite read of the year. This book was narrated exquisitely and the story itself was exactly what I hoped for and more.