User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
I normally don't write reviews but damn this book deserves it.
Last Tang Standing was such an unique read I totally recommend it for those who loved Crazy Rich Asians (even though they are so different) and The Hating Game (you will love the slow burn and jokes).
The plot at first is slow pacing for those who DNF'd a little earlier just wait until after chapter 7 (You won't regret it) and then is so fast pacing you won't stop reading. I loved the way the author shows how society, culture and family can influence in every decision you make, how Andrea struggles so much with herself and everything she had been taught just to be herself and doing what she thought was right.
This book is a clearly representation of how many societies acts towards different cultures and interracial couples with dark, quirky and sarcastic humour. I couldn't stop laughing in many chapters.
The romance between the characters is so slow burn it will make you pull your hair sometimes but is so damn realistic and cute, you either wish this to happen to you or just wait until he appear in front of you.
There are many
reasons to read this book but the first reason is this just shows you how to be truly yourself and do everything you want besides you will laugh until you pee, believe me.
“On a more serious note, the more time I spent with you, the more convinced I was that you were the person I wanted to end up with, because you challenge me, you keep me on my toes, and you make me miss you when you’re not around. You’re my North Star.”
So yeah...
You should read this book. You will thank me later.
Rating: really liked it
I enjoyed this book a lot!
This was a fun read about thirty-three year old Andrea Tang, a Chinese- Malaysian living in Singapore as a successful lawyer. A recent break-up with her boyfriend leaves her as the last In her Tang clan to be married and that is highly disappointing for her family.
With a hilarious take on single life, and the dating scene as a 30 something successful professional this was romp full of fun. The hilarious scenes will have you laughing out loud, and turning those pages - I found it hard to put down.
I really enjoyed Lauren Ho’s writing - it was refreshing, open, very modern and sexy!
With a completely relatable motley crew of characters, your heart will endear with each one. I promise!
I recommend this read and look forward to reading more about Andrea and the rest of the gang!
Rating: really liked it
The tagline of "Crazy Rich Asians" meets "Bridget Jones's Diary" perfectly captures the essence of this book. I picked it up on a whim and I couldn't put it down. Andrea Tang is in her early 30s living the dream; she is working her way towards partner in the law firm she works for, has an amazing condo (that she owns) and knows where all the best restaurants and clubs are located in Singapore thanks to great friends. What she doesn't have is the man that will make her "perfect" life more perfect. When she begins the process of trying to find said man she doesn't expect the craziness or all the dick pics that ensue with dating apps. Andrea also doesn't expect to find herself laughing and hanging out with her office mate, Suresh, who is her top rival for the position of partner and enjoying it more than every date the apps have matched her with.
Lauren Ho writes with humor and heart; I finished this in one sitting and found myself going back to re-read some of the more funny and touching parts!
Thanks Penguin for the ARC!
Rating: really liked it
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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 stars
Rating: really liked it
DNF @ 28%I don’t tend to 1-star books I can’t finish. But this one? Good grief. In hindsight, I should have listened to the alarm bells that went off at the paedophile joke in chapter one.
So that coupled with the fat shaming of a *literal child* (which wasn’t challenged), said child clearly growing up in an abusive household (which wasn’t even acknowledged/discussed), and the racist mother (whose racism isn’t outright condemned in what I read; Andrea, instead, casually says she doesn’t condone her “casually racist” mother) just left me slow-blinking a lot and lacking motivation to continue.
Then we get to the depiction of queer characters. I get that in certain cultures queer people aren’t always out out of necessity for their safety. But having your two queer characters both be closeted, and for their queerness and situations to actually be about straight people, is pretty fucking gross to me.
(ETA for clarification: I don't necessarily think not being out in all the places automatically means you're closeted. But I do consider the cousin(?) closeted due to the fact she can't be fully out to her family and marries a man as a result of that. It's all very complicated and nuance does come into it, but that's my thinking here.) There’s a moment where Andrea talks about her friend catching her husband giving another man a blowjob, takes pictures, and then because she’s “heartbroken but not stupid” she uses those pics as leverage in her divorce. What a ghoul. And, may I add, this was something else that wasn’t challenged or even acknowledged as being fucking abhorrent. *gestures wildly at everything*
I obviously didn’t read much, and it’s entirely possible Andrea comes to realise so much stuff/people isn't/aren't okay, but... I don’t know. There was nothing to really suggest that would happen. *punts book into the abyss* Do not recommend.
***
ETA 1: Pretty sure this blog post was written in response to my review and I have some thoughts.
-This was an unprofessional thing for an author to do.
-I stand by my review.
-I thought I was clear that these were things that *bothered me*.
-I *was* clear about the fact I hadn’t read the whole book and that it was possible the things & people I had issues with would get better (I just saw nothing to back that up).
-It's okay to not read the whole book.
-It's okay to form opinions based on what you have read.
-You're not obligated to read a whole book to see if your opinions change.
-Authors are allowed to write whatever they like in the name of realism or what might be lived experiences but it doesn’t automatically mean readers won’t be troubled or hurt by it.
-If a reader is troubled or hurt by what they’ve read then they should be able to say so without an author writing a whole goddamn blog post in response.
-I’m of the feeling that if you’re compelled to write a whole goddamn blog post in response to a review that attempts to... gawd, I’m not sure what this was, then I think you’re actually saying a lot more about the state of your book than you were probably intending.
Despite not getting on with LTS, I was pretty happy to try this author again because of how much I initially loved the idea of the book. But now? I’m one and done.
***
ETA 2: I want to add some more to this because I’m still wildly irritated by everything.
In regards to the queer characters... I think what made me the most angry was they could easily have been straight and it wouldn’t have affected the story as far as I could tell. Andrea’s cousin(?) could have been straight, married a man she wanted to marry, and Andrea still would have been the last Tang standing. The queer husband could have been straight, cheated on his wife with a woman, got caught in the act, had pics taken, and blackmailed in the divorce. (And yeah, blackmail as a tactic still isn’t massively great just because someone is straight. But it at least isn’t an act of violence like it is on a closeted queer person.)
So instead of offering insight or showing empathy about what life might be like for Southeast Asian queer folks (closeted or otherwise), what we get is the book basically saying: "look how much the straights are impacted/inconvenienced by the choices these two queer people are *forced* to make." I’m just never going to be okay about that.
Re: the casual racism. Look. To me, racism is racism is racism. A different culture, diaspora, etc., *may* (if you squint hard enough) give some context as to why someone holds the beliefs they do — but it doesn’t excuse it.
***
ETA 3: Please be aware that if you happen to dislike this book and you choose to leave a critical review, there’s a good chance you will be trolled by this person. And despite nobody mentioning or even subtly implying the author as being the one behind the account, they are very quick to reassure they are definitely, absolutely
NOT Lauren Ho and they, like Mariah, don't know her. (view spoiler)
[ 
(hide spoiler)](I’m spared any attempts at trolling — or maybe I should say they’re spared me dragging the shit out of them? — due to enabling the setting that stops comments on my reviews from folks I’m not friends with.)
Rating: really liked it
A solid 5 stars from me! If you want a light but equally inspiring story to read during summer, give Last Tang Standing a go. It is a book that you don't want to miss out for any reason!
"She was supposed to be my fail-safe, the Last Tang Standing. Now there would be no one else to share the burden of deflecting criticism on being single from my relatives."
So here we go the story of Andrea, age 33, the lone unmarried member of her generation in the Tang Clan being labeled by her relatives as a lost girl (敗犬) despite her successful career as a corporate lawyer. If you think this is just a pretty much cliché story about discovering true love, then you are wrong. This book explores many contemporary issues in our modern society and I believe it will offer readers more than just a summer rom-com.
Before I begin, I just want to say that since many friends here have already given their amazing thoughts on the Asian culture, particularly on how the elders of southeast Asian Chinese interfere with the marriage and career of their children, I will not elaborate any further here. Here are my main reasons why this book deserves 5 stars:-
1) Likable (and REALISTIC) main character
The main character, Andrea has a spirit that I personally admire very much. I'm glad that Lauren gives her a strong character instead of the typical messed-up, deeply troubled, or 'don't understand what is going on in her life' personality. Andrea is ambitious, mature, smart, hardworking, encouraging as well as goal-driven. However, I am not suggesting that Andrea was given an artificially perfect and well-rounded personality. There were crackhead moments in her life that made her regret but her capability to move on and correct her mistakes was commendable. I like to see the character's growth because it is inspiring. To put it simply, people who are constantly learning are charismatic. She is a real fighter!
2) The connections that grow naturally between all the characters
There are many characters in the story hence the last thing you want is a complex and sophisticated cross-over between each of them. I love how Lauren unfolds the story and introduces each of the characters smoothly into Andrea's life. Each of them was given a clear personality and contributes significantly to their own categories, for example in love-life & relationship, we have Suresh, Eric, Orson, Alvin, friendship (Linda, Val, Jason and Ben), and family (Andrea's sister, her mother and Helen), colleagues (Suresh, Genevieve, Kai and Mr. Mong).
Also, Andrea's relationship with Suresh is sweet, mutually admirable, but most importantly, not overly cheesy. On the other hand, Andrea's relationship with the very much mature Eric is often formal and one-sided. The focus given to each of them is on point. I'm glad that the way the chemistry grows between them is well-explained and logical.
3) Heartfelt and Interesting conversations between characters
Andrea is such a badass! The conversations are engaging and enriching. Several fiery comebacks that Andrea made to her office rivals and difficult sexist male colleagues are super satisfying! Additionally, I've learned a lot from the heart-to-heart talks between Andrea and her closed ones when she decided to break free from family restraints and job pressure. It makes me reflect on the way I approach challenges in life.
Also, there are many regional slang and local references in the book that you will find it amusing.
4) A sharp observation on society and relationship
Lauren has a sharp observation of the concerns and norms about relationships in these modern days, including the challenges facing interracial couples, cradle-snatcher love (姐弟恋), blind dates (相亲) and online dating. Also, Lauren is familiar with the issue of how workplace discrimination works against married or female employees. She particularly explores the questionable job promotion criteria where performance was measured primarily based on the long billable hours. This can be seen through Andrea's choice in maintaining a single life since her last breakup in order to make herself available to work 24/7.
5) Pleasantly slow-burn story
The introduction has dictated clearly where the story will head, so you can sit back, relax and enjoy the journey. As mentioned, Andrea is such a likable character with so many interesting events taking place around her and I clearly don't want to miss that out. I am glad that Lauren decides to not narrow down the story to merely talking about relationships.
Instead, she gives her readers a full glimpse of Andrea's life from diversified angles, ranging from career goals, the concept of feminism, friendship, dreams and soul-searching. There were heartfelt moments where I actually shed some tears, especially when the characters started to show their supports to one another.
There was also a short but impactful heartbreaking scene where I let out a gesture of sympathy to that particular character: "aiyo...sad..He is such a gentleman but it is what it is .." (I don't want to spoil the story)
Lastly, you may think that Last Tang Standing already sounds fun here, but isn't it Crazy Rich Asians all over again since it talks about family interference on the relationship?
Well, this book was described to me as Crazy Rich Asians (CRA) meets Bridget Jones's Diary.
Just my two cents here: Generally speaking, yes. There are some overlaps between CRA and Last Tang in terms of family pressure experienced by the main characters in both novels.
I've watched CRA movie before so I will make my analysis based on the movie.
From what I can see, the family pressure in CRA is based on Nick mom's disapproval which solely stemmed from social class differences between two Chineses, i.e. Nick from a wealthy tycoon family and Rachel being the daughter of a US immigrant.
While it is also amusing to see Lauren discovers the issue of social status and class differences, she also explores a wider concept, i.e. on how easily people are to disregard a female's achievement if she is unmarried by certain ages and conveniently labeled them as a loser. Also, her attempt to reflect the challenges in an interracial relationship and how narrow-minded people are to accept and trust one another's beliefs or culture is very much praisable.
Thank you Times Reads, a member of Times Distribution for sending me an ARC of this book.
Rating: really liked it
June 30, 2020: Last Tang Standing clubs the typical yet prevalent expectations of an Asian family, especially parents, around the success & settlement of a young (but gradually ageing) woman
and the pressure that a woman of thirty-four inevitably finds on herself, even enforced by herself at times, to find the perfect partner & live the best romantic life.
Malaysian born-and-raised Andrea Tang is a successful lawyer and has broken up with a boyfriend who had been tagged as an approved can-be-a-husband by the Asian family. So now, living and working in Singapore, she's slightly desperate—influenced by the relatives as well as the twenties that are slowly growing more and more distant in the past—to find an eligible bachelor.
Featuring a blooming workplace romance, starring a handsome Indian man
yes, yes, my own interests are being projected through this appreciation, and the constant depictions of accurate Asian assumptions through family & friends greatly weave a story full of humor and happiness that can delight anyone who is looking for an fun adult romance that adorns multiracial characters and representation.
June 21, 2020: This was such a good adult romance. Like, YES to more books (especially by and for BIPOC) that bring forward all the adult issues and problems and responsibilities and insecurities and then manages to create a genuine & realistic love story.
May 3, 2020: I'm so ready to be taken into all the Singaporean wealth and shine through this book since it's compared to
Crazy Rich Asians and of course I want to read a Southeast Asian character. The living up to familial expectations while looking for love kinda theme get right to my heart.
I received a digital copy of this via Netgalley so thank you, Harper Collins for the approval!April 16, 2020: I just want to laugh and love, and seems like this one can help me experience both.
Rating: really liked it
Woah! This book is filled with so much energy it gave me reader's whiplash--in a good way. The voice! The voice! The voice! Although the book comps compare this story to Bridget Jones meets Crazy Rich Asians (true--in a way-- through journal entries and, well, crazy rich Asians), Lauren Ho has created a truly new vibe with her unique (and perfectly in tune/ on point/ relatable/ full of laughable snark) writing style. This book was fun, thoroughly entertaining, eye-opening, and full of real-life wisdom any woman can relate to. LOVED LTS!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-Arc. Opinions are my own.
Rating: really liked it
This was pitched as Bridget Jones Diary meets Crazy Rich Asians and I would definitely have to agree with that sentiment. It was fast paced, funny and taught me alot about the Chinese-Malaysian culture and how pressured women feel that they have to get married young or by their thirties or their families will disown them and cut them out.
Andrea was funny and brash and the romance in this is a mixture of hate to love and the definition of slowwww burn. Overall funny, thoughtful and insightful.
Rating: really liked it
4 STARS
This was a fun, sweet and heartwarming read. I really enjoyed it from the beginning!It was refreshing and I couldn't put it down!I love the writing and I would like to see more books like this one!
Andrea Tang is a Chinese- Malaysian successful lawyer.She is thirty-three year old and she broke up with her boyfriend.We follow her life!I liked Andrea a lot and I could feel her.Her romance life was funny and sweet!
I would definitely recommend it, to everyone who is looking for a sweet read with great humor !
Rating: really liked it
Andrea is a 33 year old lawyer that owns a fancy two bedroom condo in Singapore. I'm a 33 year old accountant that does not own a fancy condo, but who's comparing? As it's my last week being 33, I felt it was time for a reread. Happy early birthday to me.
I'm not Chinese Malaysian, but I am Vietnamese American and I feel like many of the values hold true. If you liked Crazy Rich Asians, this one's for you. If you didn't, are you okay?
Let's go over the love interests, because why not?
Orson - Hot. Too young. A fraud. Are we shocked?
Eric - Not too old imo but I'm trash so don't listen to me. Rich. Right for the family. Right for Andrea? Perhaps less so.
Suresh - Hot brown guy (my Pakistani American brother in law calls himself this so pls don't @ me) with an English accent. Are we all picturing the Heroes guy? Are we? Anyway. It's probably every Chinese family's nightmare when their children date outside their race, but welcome to this new, globalized society.
Rating: really liked it
Lauren Ho's
Last Tang Standing is marketed as
Crazy Rich Asians meets
Bridget Jones's Diary, and that is in fact
correct, dear readers!
Lord knows we could all use some moments of escapism, and Ho's debut novel was the perfect way to unwind. Her protagonist Andrea Tang is a complex woman; she's funny and self-deprecatingly awkward while also prideful and aloof. There were times when I really didn't like her, and at other moments, I found her utterly relatable and charming. It was a bit of a rollercoaster, but a fun one nonetheless.
That said, it definitely took me roughly a quarter or even a third of the book to really sink my teeth into it; a good chunk of this novel was spent setting up a lot of characters and situations without a ton of plot (so it's around 2.5ish stars for me for that reason), and I know some people will get frustrated with that. However, the pace really picks up in the second half, and I really enjoyed it from then on—and was sad when I got to the last page.
Content warning: There are some racist and classist comments made by characters.
Rating: really liked it
Last Tang Standing is a literary train wreck where all the passengers are bigoted in one way or another. I hate to break it to the author, but despite her author's note, you can't throw in heaping amounts of unchallenged
-isms and
-phobias and explain them away with "But it's part of the culture! 🥺".
I get that bigotry (including racism towards other Asian ethnicities) remains prevalent in Asia. Even in the Philippines (where I'm from), there's still a lot of work to be done. So, my problem isn't that racism (whether "casual" or outright) is depicted in
Last Tang Standing. My issue is that none of it is challenged at all - not in the text and not by any of the characters. Despite her qualms of not condoning her family's racist beliefs/remarks (especially towards other Asians), Andrea Tang wasn't progressive either. In fact, when her mother confessed that she disapproved of Andrea's sister's Muslim partner out of fear that he would take multiple wives after their marriage, Andrea's reaction was basically: "Oh yeah, that makes sense."
Aside from the racism and Islamophobia, this book also delightfully provides fat-shaming/body-shaming, internalized misogyny (feat. shaming women who get plastic surgery), age-shaming (did not know that was a thing prior to reading this book lmao), and distasteful jokes about grooming/pedophilia and even labor camps. Again, none of it is challenged. And even worse, much of these quips/remarks/what-have-you are intended as humor. I have to say: it is a glaring red flag that the author thinks humor is required to be politically incorrect at best, outright offensive at worst.
Also, as a Filipino, the following passage about MC's rich half-Filipino cousin is not cute at all:
Linda’s paternal family tree was an off-brand Marcos (or so it was rumored); the family had substantial interests in several mining and timber companies, with land to burn in Borneo.
- Whether this is meant to be a lighthearted jab at her cousin's wealth or not, this is disgusting all around. The Marcoses are a political family of plunderers who stole billions from Filipinos. In addition, under the dictatorship of the late Ferdinand Marcos, political dissenters were brutally tortured, raped, and killed. Like I said, not cute at all.
Believe it or not, I still have
plenty to say about this terrible, terrible novel. Full review to follow.
Not recommended.[ Trigger/Content warnings: adultery; self-harm / threat to commit suicide; outing of queer people (unchallenged); excessive drinking / alcoholism; sexual harassment; portrayal of loved one getting a heart attack ]
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Rating: really liked it
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway (Kindle version) and I thank the publishing company and the author for a chance to read and review this delightful book.
Many books claim to be humorous - this one really is in places, especially at the beginning when the reader is introduced to the main character's family, especially her mother, at a celebration.
Andrea Tang is 33 years old - not ancient by any means, and a hard working lawyer hoping to make partner soon - but none of this matters to the hard-core traditional Chinese-Malaysian family she has. She must get married and soon! How will it look if she never produces grandchildren - and soon? She lost all the fat and now she's thin - why doesn't she have a husband - she best get one - AND SOON.
Andrea is quite content, thank you very much - or at least she believes she is, and she doesn't need a man to make her happy!
Sharing her office, and also vying to make partner, is Suresh Aditparan. A very handsome, sweet man that her family would definitely NOT approve of (he's not Chinese, lawyer or not). At first they are most definitely rivals, each of them staying at the office until the wee hours of the morning to have the billable hours that will help push them toward partnership, and to prove their dedication to the company.
Into her life comes the older, rich-beyond-your-wildest-dreams Eric, who falls in love with her. She tries to convince herself that she loves him in the same way, but deep down, it's evident she is deceiving herself.
Throw in some crazy friends, some alcohol, more meddling by family, and you have a woman who's on the brink of either alcoholism or insanity.
I truly liked Andrea - actually I liked about 90% of the characters. There are a few, of course, that you just want to see stabbed in the heart, but that kept things interesting too.
Rating: really liked it
Originally published on The Nerd Daily | Review by Ahana Rao
When I picked up Last Tang Standing, I was carrying the weight of a week long reading slump and I had absolutely no idea what I was stepping into; however, I certainly had not expected to step straight into what I had.
Andrea Tang was one of the single most relatable characters I had read! The fact that she was so open and fearless about the thoughts she had in her head makes all the things she says and does so relatable and not hurtful in the least.
Read the FULL REVIEW on The Nerd Daily
