Last Tang Standing

My partner loves Beth O\’Leary and we\’ve been waiting to get this since she recommended it on IG LIVE. I read it and am so glad I did. I think Goodreads reviewers who say it\’s Crazy Rich Asians meets Bridget Jones Diary are spot on. The heroine is HILARIOUS. That voice! And what I liked about Andrea is how flawed but how endearingly so she is. She\’s smart and tough, even as she\’s unsure of herself at times. That\’s believable I\’m Asian and I can 100% identify with her struggles to please her family, even though I\’m a man and British. The diary entries are sharply written, witty, and offers a glimpse in to Singapore working life, and as someone who lived and worked in Singapore, the author\’s depiction of the gruelling life, obligation to \”show face\” and put in face time, and the office politics is accurate. In Ho\’s book, there\’s an interesting emphasis on her work life, apart from the romcom stuff, and I won\’t spoil it, but it adds another dimension to the book, because the work is almost like a secondary character. As for the romance-there are two love interests, and I was rooting for one, but the writing is so strong even if you\’re not so invested in the love story you will 100% enjoy reading this gem. Overall, I would give this a solid 4.5/5 stars. One mood-lifting, escapist read!

I came across The Last Tang Standing from a bookstagram post and was so curious about it. I haven\’t read the Crazy Rich Asians series but have seen many a positive review so when I saw comparisons between the two and that of Bridget Jones diary I knew I needed to check it out. Added bonus is being able to buddy read it so we can discuss it all! I loved this book and the lifestyles of the rich (and sometimes) famous in Singapore theme. Andrea, our main character, was such a relatable and likable character who you can\’t help root for. Whether its getting a leg up on her Aunties, figuring out what she really wants from her life or the man she wants to share it with – Andrea was up for the challenge with all kinds of adventures to get there. I also adored her wild cousin and crazy friends – they definitely added such entertaining elements to the story. If you are looking for a fun and addictive read for the beach I recommend you pick this book up!

Usually I hate those X meets Y-type blurbs but CRAZY RICH ASIANS meets BRIDGET JONES is pretty on the mark for LAST TANG STANDING. LTS is about Andrea Tang, a lawyer who\’s gunning for partner and basically has it all made… except for a boyfriend. Painfully single and well into her 30s, she\’s officially the last woman in her family to be in a long-term relationship and man is she feeling the family pressure. First, I want to say that even though I liked this book, at both 6% and 7% in I appeared to be missing a page. In the breaks, the next \”page\” started mid-sentence, so I was clearly missing text. That was annoying because this is a traditionally published book and it is not an ARC, so you expect a certain level of quality from books of this nature. Moving on from Formatting 101, let\’s talk about the book itself. I really liked the fact that the heroine is an older millennial with a career. As fun as college stories are (and they are fun), I am an older millennial with A Career and I occasionally like reading about people like me. I also like that the heroine had relationships with several different men over the course of the novel while trying to figure herself out. Even though there\’s a lot of people who are like \”THE HEROINE AND HERO MUST BE EACH OTHER\’S ONE AND ONLY\” I\’m okay with them not being that way, necessarily, as long as it feels organic and isn\’t done for cheating drama (I HATE pointless cheating drama, FYI). There\’s a large cast of characters, many of them tastelessly (or tastefully) rich. And this book is set in Singapore, so that\’s probably where the CRAZY RICH ASIANS comparison comes in. It\’s also written in epistolary journal format, like BRIDGET JONES, and like Bridget, the heroine is unlucky in love and very insecure and has some habits she would like to break but can\’t (in her case, it\’s drinking instead of smoking). Some reviewers thought the heroine was too bitter and cynical but her personality is actually a lot like mine (bitter, cynical, hard-working and ambitious), so I actually really related to her sense of humor. If you like that sort of acerbic writing style, you probably will, too. I do agree with the nay-sayers that the book went on for a bit too long but I loved the love interest (he was the BEST) and the journey actually caused me some hardcore nerves as the will they/won\’t they vibes increased, so even though the execution was a little shaky, I still ended up liking this a lot. Just fix the formatting, PLEASE. 3.5 out of 5 stars

Last Tang Standing is absorbing, addictive and emotional as well as funny. Comps that name check Bridget Jones Diary rarely work. Thats doubly true of descriptions like Crazy Rich Asians meets Bridget Jones. Theyre never accurate. This time, however, the comparison totally nails it. I love that this is a sharply drawn portrait of a particular segment of a particular culture as much as its romance. The social observation is smart and funny, spot on and original, the voice perfectly imperfect and totally relatable. Its all very specific, and a wonderful surprise. Being accurate and sharply observed of course often means that theres a fair amount of ugliness on the page: racism, classism, body shaming, family illness. If that doesn\’t throw you, then I\’ve got a great book to recommend.

I absolutely loved reading Last Tang Standing. As a native Singaporean, I could relate to many of the cultural experiences that Andrea Tang was going through, and just reading about the places mentioned in my home country brought so much nostalgia. Not to mention the narrative is hilarious! Lauren Ho has the ability to diffuse a tense situation with humour, and I found myself laughing throughout the book. Last Tang Standing is like Crazy Rich Asians meets Bridget Jones Diary with some Sex and The City vibes. So if youre a fan of any of those, Last Tang Standing is definitely worth the read!

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