Review: The Tiger at Midnight

The Tiger at Midnight by Swati Teerdhala
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So here's the thing. These days in YA fiction we have a something of a template for trilogies about a beautiful badass heroine who is coming into her own, the handsome love interest, the possible second suitor for the heroine's affections, and the struggle for justice/freedom/something. It's all over everywhere in the genre, and on top of it, lately we've seen quite a few books set in alternate West or East Asian/Arabic/Indian Subcontinent settings following this template. And yet, in spite of the fact that The Tiger at Midnight was built on exactly that template, it flies. (*ehem* sorry for the inside joke here) Seriously, this was still a very enjoyable, well-written read for me. While it isn't as transporting as Daevabad trilogy, it is similar in feel in terms of the politics the central characters are forced to deal with. I wasn't all that thrilled with the inevitable romantic angle but it was made somewhat more palatable by the built-in backstory of the central characters, Esha, aka the Viper, and Kunal, the 'artist forced into being a soldier by the circumstances beyond his control,' who are well-written frenemies at the start. Teerdhala has still managed to make aspects of this story fresh, while imbuing it with rich Indian cultural references. If you are looking for something to tide you over until Empire of Gold releases, I suggest checking out this first book in the Tiger at Midnight series.

The audiobook is handsomely narrated by Sneha Mathan.

I received a Digital Review Copy and a paper review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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