Last Tang Standing

This book feels like a Southeast Asian copy of Sex and the City. Carrie & Mr. Big anyone? Except we all know how it’s going to end since the early pages. Boring. And jeezes, The life of Andrea Tang, how fortunate I feel to leave it all behind, staying in the office late (just) to prove your lotyalty to your boss? The must have expensive designer bags (and who the hell still buying LV these days?) The need to quantify everything with money? To mention the brand of every single item named in the book, because if you don’t know how expensive they are, well, you’re not part of the elites are you? This book drains me, not in a very good way. I’m continuously sighing about the filial piety subject repeatedly mentioned over and over by toxic parents and characters in this book. Believe me, coming from Indonesia myself, I know all the drill, must have good career, make good money, look down to anyone who doesn’t and marry someone rich. God, I’m glad that I’m out of the rat race. As for the book? As predictable as the first page. At least Crazy Rich Asian has element of surprise, this one feels like a bad copy

It do be like that sometimes at first but the ending!!!!! Either way, as I'm an Indonesian-Malaysian I deff related in most contexts here, keep thinking about giving a 3 or 4 stars in the middle of reading but the indirect and direct messages about choosing a life partner in the midst of too many races in Southeast Asia especially the holy trinity (Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia) convinced me for a 5, no doubt.

What a cute read?? Last Tang Standing is about a Chinese Malaysian who's the only child in her family who isn't married and how she deals with the expectations of her family. If you liked Crazy Rich Asians, you'll certainly enjoy this one. I giggled here and there and liked that I could relate to some of them. (I'm filipino, Asian but different, so I do see a lot of those expectations on me too). The writing made it very easy to breeze through. It didn't wow me in any way but it was still a cute read that I enjoyed and would count as a beach read.

I cannot wait for us to talk about this on Lit Chicks!

This story was also a headache in some angles. Typical asian family stories.

When I started out reading this, I kept thinking to myself that the author should pursue a career in stand-up comedy, only to learn that she has. Really energetic writing, and neatly done.

first of all, thank you @prhinternational & @hellolaurenho for this beauty. the cover is so gorgeous & the spine is a wow! I seriously love it to bits. I mean, how many times can a reader laugh in a book? told in a series of diary entries, this one is very relatable in terms of being a modern day woman & dating. it is a plus point for me that it also tackled more about being asian particularly being chinese. this one is set in singapore so you can expect fabulous designer clothes & delicious foods. there are also filipino characters in the book who were portrayed positively. I mean, it's not fair for us filipinos to be stereotyped as troublemakers/criminals (as most books I've read suggested) & that we're all housekeepers (lol) because we're more than that. it's a plus point that the book radiates a positive aura all throughout. Last Tang Standing is available in the market today. so grab your copies & don't miss this rom-com with haters-to-lovers trope + many more laugh out loud travel & romantic scenes. what happens when The Crazy Rich Asians meets Bridget Jones' Diary? hello, it's the Last Tang Standing.

What was marketed to be a heartwarming, charming modern romance turned out to he a shallow, slow moving and annoyingly predicstble story where I couldn't find one thing about the vast majority of the characters that I actually liked. Quite underwhelming when the potential was so big.

I loved the protagonist! She's a complex character but extremely relatable. She had me laughing most of the time. She's smart, quirky, and aloof. She can be stubborn and very annoying too. I liked the slow-burn romance but I wished there's more scenes between the protagonist and the love interest because I didn't really feel the chemistry.

Delivers exactly what it promises! Fun and light andantes you wish you had these kind of funds to spend your worries away. Very glad to see Andrea, the female protagonist was far from wishy washy or perfect. We love a flawed, powerful female lead!

** spoiler alert ** This book was calling out to me - crazy rich asians meets bridget jones? Count me in! Chicklit through and through. However, why does Andrea not end up with billionaire Eric? That would be a more likely segue to a sequel a la crazy rich asians style. Alas, she ends up with you-know-it… her work nemesis with hints given along the way that she’s going to end up with him. Too much character development for a normal colleague and tension in a somewhat non platonic manner. If you’re looking to sound smarter by reading a book, this is not the book. But if you want brainless pleasure, this is it, if you enjoy chicklit like i do. 😀

4.5

Where to start... firstly I really enjoyed this book and the premise. I really enjoyed how the author actually incorporated Andrea’s job into the story rather than just ignoring it due to lack of research or not feeling comfortable. I really liked learning a bit about Asian culture, especially Malaysian/Chinese/Singaporean culture. It didn’t follow your typical romcom plot and I appreciate that. Where this story lost me a bit though was its weird diary like narrative. The author seemed to flip between diary like entries and not and it was a bit confusing. I feel like this could have been a highlight of the work for me since I love that way of telling a story but it fell a little flat. The other real issue I had was with one of the love interests. I really liked Suresh but I feel like the author kind of did him dirty in the last quarter or so of the book. I do not like romances that begin to start when one or both parties are in a relationship so this made me a bit uncomfortable. Despite how irritating the author made his fiancée, it does make it okay that there were some pretty questionable things that happened. Also the ending? Why does it feel so rushed. There is a huge lead up to the climax of the story and it just is... terrible. I also have so many questions because the author doesn’t provide an epilogue. So there are a lot of unresolved plot points. Also some of the other plot points like Andrea’s mother not approving of her sisters relationship is just sorta overlooked when something happens and it just didn’t feel realistic. Also I liked the writing style, but you can tell the author is a comedian because I was cringing at a lot of it. Also, it takes WAY too long into the book for someone to tell the main character that she is a millennial. Overall I enjoyed it but it wasn’t my favourite.

** spoiler alert ** Overall this book was okay. Solid 3 stars. Andrea was sometimes a lot to deal with, and the obvious romance between her and Suresh was an unnecessary slow burn in my opinion. It did feel like Crazy Rich Asians meets Bridget Jones! And just like Bridget Jones, I had to roll my eyes at SO MANY MEN being into Andrea all of a sudden, right when she was realizing she needed to settle down for a number of reasons. Lots of drama with her job that, again, felt unnecessary (but did ultimately move the plot forward so...) I did like her and Suresh’s dynamic, and how they obviously were comfortable around each other almost from the jump. The end game was a little predictable, given their obvious chemistry just from that first lunch they had together. I really liked Eric, and was heartbroken for him when they ultimately broke up. I think Andrea shouldn’t have let it get that far, but it’s not my life (real or otherwise) so who am i to judge?

I’m giving this one 4⭐️ because it made me laugh out loud quite a few times and the change of setting/culture was a breath of fresh air. Sure, it felt a tad predictable at times but all the best rom-com books are IMO- and this cast of wacky characters was anything but normal which made reading it a lot of fun! I loved the glimpse into a different culture, one I don't see represented in fiction like this very often. Highly recommend!

** spoiler alert ** “So focus on the important message behind my words: you have to live your life. Take up golfing! Join a new book club! Life waits for no one! Car-pay dee-em!” This was such a delightful read! Andrea’s POV was hilarious and I found myself giggling quite a bit as I read this.

Andrea Tang is a successful lawyer, she’s living in Singapore and is on her way to making partner. She’s got it all sorted then? Well, not exactly. Her family, despite her achievements, only seem to focus on the fact that she’s almost made it to her mid-thirties and is still not married. With a mother to appease and a career demanding almost every waking hour of her day, Andrea just doesn’t have the time to find a husband. And what’s worse is that her colleague Suresh is trying his best to make partner too – and she has to beat him. Then along comes Eric Deng, who seems to have their whole lives and futures mapped out, but it’s hard to know what choices to make, and while she’s busy trying to please everyone else, Andrea needs to choose what will make her happy too. This book is just hilarious. Not only was Ho a fantastic writer for her ability to craft a compelling and engaging storyline, but her wit and humour throughout is absolutely spot on. I’ve never felt so innately connected to a character and on so many occasions thought “that’s me!” Andrea was by no means perfect, but that’s exactly what makes her lovable. And while I definitely don’t think I could go to work on that many hangovers (and I’m 10 years younger than Andrea) I loved how she didn’t always handle situations in the best way – because aren’t we all guilty of that? If the quote at the beginning wasn’t enough to convince you of the might of Ho’s writing, here’s another snippet which had me laughing out loud: “Ah shit, Am now crotch-to-shlong with a poker-faced blond cyborg in cycling gear so tight I could see inside him. If the train makes an emergency stop I will fall pregnant. It’s not the way I wish to go about it, so have placed expensive handbag between us as a makeshift condom. Sorry Prada.” Hilarity aside, this book also had deeper moments which kept it nicely grounded. There are decisions and choices Andrea must weigh up which I’m sure has crossed the minds of many of the people reading it. You really get the feeling while reading this that Andrea is just muddling through, just doing her best with what life has handed her, and I loved her for it. As characters, Eric and Suresh were both likeable as well. I especially liked getting to know Suresh because the more Andrea learnt about him, the more she realised he was more complicated than she first thought. Andrea’s friends and colleagues were all also plausible and fleshed out as personalities; I really felt as if I had stepped into someone’s real life. Humour is always a tricky thing to convey in books because you don’t have the luxury of controlling the timing or pacing, so it’s hard to get right. Last Tang Standing however, absolutely nails it. Lauren Ho’s writing is so refreshing, compelling, and just down-right hilarious – I cannot wait to read another of her books!

Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Tik Tok | You can find my review here. As always, a copy of this book was provided by the author or publisher in exchange for my honest review. This does not effect my opinion in any way. Oh, hello, yes. Turns out I'm still 100% trash for books likeLast Tang Standing. This book might as well have been written for people like me, because I quite possibly marathon read this one in record time. And, naturally, I knew I had to read this one when it was compared to Crazy Rich Asians. (I've never read Bridget Jones's Diary, but its comparison to this intrigued me as well.) First thing's first, and it definitely goes without saying, that this book isn't Crazy Rich Asians. This is a good thing. While they have a similar feel in prose and occasional content, this story is completely of its own making. Lauren Ho makes sure to leave her mark of intrigue on reader's and Last Tang Standing is absolutely about to make its mark on our TBR. With a loving pulse of life, and the heart of us all, and a whole lot of hilarity sprinkled in for good measure, Last Tang Standing proves to be equal parts thoughtful and indulgent. There's this comedic value to it that makes the story standout, too. Ho playfully nudges into her audience's heart by giving off an air of both humor and emotion; the perfectly balanced story for a beach read. There's something absolutely obtainable about these characters and their development. Last Tang Standing has the type of character archetypes that I like most in my literature and Ho takes care in crafting them to standout. They are each as fun as the story and developed in a way that makes them feel all the more lively to readers. While I had some issues here and there with pacing, or the occasional disconnect with characters or plotlines, Last Tang Standing is truly a blast from start to finish. Ultimately, I found myself giggling fairly often whilst reading Last Tang Standing. If you are looking for something enjoyable and highly entertaining, I cannot recommend this book enough. I'm still grinning from quite a few moments within its pages. This was a definite hit!