The tagline had me at its comparison to Crazy Rich Asians. Because, er, well, reasons. Reasons I probably don't need to list!


Last Tang Standing
by Lauren Ho

Crazy Rich Asians meets Bridget Jones's Diary in this funny and irresistible debut novel about the pursuit of happiness, surviving one's thirties intact, and opening oneself up to love.

At thirty-three, Andrea Tang is living the dream: she has a successful career as a lawyer, a posh condo, and a clutch of fun-loving friends who are always in the know about Singapore's hottest clubs and restaurants. All she has to do is make partner at her law firm and she will have achieved everything she (and her mother) has ever worked for. So what if she's poised to be the last unmarried member of her generation of the Tang clan? She doesn't need a man to feel fulfilled, no matter what her meddling relatives have to say about it.

But for a dutiful Chinese-Malaysian daughter, the weight of familial expectations is hard to ignore. And so are the men life keeps throwing in Andrea's path. Men like Suresh Aditparan, her annoyingly attractive rival for partner and the last man she should be spending time with, and Eric Deng, a wealthy entrepreneur whose vision for their future is more lavish than she could have imagined. With her workplace competition growing ever more intense, her friends bringing dramas of their own to her door, and her family scrutinizing her every romantic prospect, Andrea finds herself stretched to the breaking point. And she can't help but wonder: In the endless tug-of-war between pleasing others and pleasing herself, is there room for everyone to win? 


Oh, hello, yes. Turns out I'm still 100% trash for books like Last 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!