Buy used:
$17.72
FREE delivery May 16 - 21. Details
Used: Very Good | Details
Sold by Better World Books
Condition: Used: Very Good
Comment: Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in excellent condition. May show signs of wear or have minor defects. Over 100 million books sold! 100% Money-Back Guarantee. Free & Fast Shipping!
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

The Tiger's Watch (Ashes of Gold) Paperback – August 22, 2017

by Julia Ember (Author)
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 30 ratings
See all formats and editions
Ashes of Gold: Book One Tashi is a spy and killer—an elite warrior known as an inhabitor—taught from a young age to use their bond with the tiger Katala. When an enemy force captures the city, Tashi has no option but to escape. Their safety doesn’t last long, however. Soon the conquering army arrives at the secluded monastery where Tashi is hiding, needing a place to treat their wounded. It’s not long before their leader, Xian, takes an interest in Tashi.  Xian is cold, ambitious, and even cruel—at least at first glance. But Tashi is skilled at watching and reading people, and they find a softer side to the young commander—one that intrigues them.  Tashi’s loyalties are strained when they learn they have been deceived by the people who trained them, and they must choose between their countrymen and a budding romance with Xian. But fierce Katala faces no such conflict, and she massacres the soldiers she sees as invaders. Xian’s men are determined to take revenge against the tiger, but an inhabitor’s bond with their animal cannot be severed—neither can survive if the other is killed.
Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Print length
    180 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Dreamspinner Press LLC
  4. Publication date
    August 22, 2017
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 0.41 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1635334853
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1635334852
  8. See all details
Next page
The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"With a start like this I can't wait to see where the rest of the series will go ... The world Ember has created is interestingly complex and there's easily enough to fill a dozen sequels." -- Tor.com Review

About the Author

Born in Chicago, Julia Ember now lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, with her growing menagerie of pets with Harry Potter-themed names. She is an avid traveler and has visited more than sixty countries. The places she visits inspire the worlds she creates in fiction, and she populates these worlds with monsters and magic.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Dreamspinner Press LLC (August 22, 2017)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 180 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1635334853
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1635334852
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.41 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 30 ratings

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
30 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Debz
5.0 out of 5 stars The story line and writing style is easy to follow and engaging
Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2017
Verified Purchase
The first page grabs attention, smoke, an elephant, arrows flying, with energy. The story line and writing style is easy to follow and engaging. Ember creates palpable tension for her main character, Tashi. The reader develops empathy for her and the impulsive choices she must make regarding her homeland, friends, bonded animals and the enemy commander. The characters are multi-faceted and believable while the magical story line shows imagination. The unusual names of people and places require a bit of concentration at first. Well written and engaging. Anticipating book two.
Helpful
 Report
H. DeFilippis
4.0 out of 5 stars An engaging beginning to a new fantasy series featuring a non-binary main character...
Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2017
Julia Ember has fast become one of the authors I most look forward to reading a new story from. Ever since I picked up her first book, Unicorn Tracks, and most recently The Seafarer's Kiss, I've been blown away by how she takes the ordinary or stories you think you know and makes her own unique and powerful fantasy out of the material. In her third novel, a fantasy in an Asian inspired fantasy world, she brings to readers a book about Tashi, a non-binary character with a bonded animal companion facing an encroaching enemy looking for the source of the power the binds inhabitors to their animals.

I don't typically expect a book to engage me right from page one. I'd guess it's usually about 30-50 pages before an author's had the chance to introduce the characters, the setting, etc., and given me good reason to care about the people the story is about. Julia Ember has managed to get me to care about Tashi, the people, and the bond animals around them in the span of about 6-7 pages.

From page one, when Tashi and Pharo are fleeing the burning capitol city and the enemy Myeik on the back of their instructor's bond elephant, there's already a lot to process and I was pleasantly surprised to see how Ember managed to get me to feel so deeply about people I barely knew, a magic system that had only been introduced.

The themes that were woven into The Tiger's Watch, first and foremost that of acceptance, were important to notice not only for how they played out in the book, but how they paralleled with our own world. Tashi has a moment of reflection when thinking about the Myeik invasion and how their people were so enconsced in their mountain homes that they weren't concerned with what their Southern neighbors were doing, were suffering. This complacency was dangerous and bordered on privilege and naivety. Realizing their error and growing helps to shape Tashi, and by extension Katala, into better bondmates.

The friendship between Pharo and Tashi was one of my favorite things of the book because of how loyal Pharo was without being a caricature. He stood up for Tashi whenever anyone tried to use the wrong pronoun for then, even in the face of the enemy (slightly dangerous, but being willing to do so was brave).

The magic system, between the bond animals and the inhabitors, was an interesting relationship and more involved than some similar situations I've seen before. I was slightly unclear on some points, such as whether there was a concrete age when inhabitors had to bond with an animal or what happens to the bond animal if their inhabitor dies (although the reverse was, sadly, clear). The source of this magic and how it relates not only to inhabitor powers, but to that of the country of Thim (home of Tashi and Pharo) and of the Myeix was only just revealed near the end of the story, leaving more mystery to be uncovered in more of Ember's books in the Ashes of Gold series.

While there is an excerpt of the next book at the end, it just isn't enough! It looks like next time will be more Pharo p.o.v.-centric and I can't wait to see what will happen. Will a certain stolen item be recovered? Can someone do that when they feel they've lost what defines them? Strength and trust continue to play defining roles in The Shadow Wolf (Ashes of Gold #2), out hopefully sooner rather than later!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher (via NetGalley)/the author in exchange for an honest review.
Helpful
 Report
Waites Family
3.0 out of 5 stars *Review from The Illustrated Page*
Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2017
I wanted to read The Seafarer’s Kiss by Julia Ember, so when I saw she had another book on Netgalley, I went and requested it. Lesson learned: when you want to read one book by an author, don’t pick up a completely different book instead. You’d think this would be obvious, but here I am.

Tashi is an inhibitor, someone who’s soul is bonded to an animal and trained to protect and serve their country, even though their life will last only as long as their soul bonded animal. Sixteen-year-old Tashi has spent their entire life training, but they were still unprepared when their country was invaded. They and Katala, their tiger, flee to a remote monastery… but the enemy follows. By chance, Tashi is chosen as a servant for the commander of regiment, placing them in the perfect position to act as a spy.

The Tiger’s Watch has some solid core ideas, but I think they could have used more development. For one, I generally think conflict was lacking. At first, suspense comes from Tashi needing to keep their status as an inhibitor hidden, but they never seem too concerned about this, so it’s hard to care. As for the spying, the major information Tashi is looking for is why the enemy regiment and their commander Xian are at the monastery. Again, Tashi doesn’t seem to feel any urgency about this, so it was hard for me to get invested. A lot of the plot points described in the official blurb only happen about two thirds of the way through, and it’s only then that Tashi faces real conflict. The story does improve at this point.

However the major decision Tashi faces has to do with a love triangle. This is the young adult genre, after all. This is another area where I found the blurb to be misleading, since it suggests that Xian is the one Tashi’s in love with. This isn’t quite true — Tashi has feelings for a friend who’s also an inhibitor, although there’s no denying that they’re lusting after Xian. Honestly, that was so off putting. Xian tortures someone in front of Tashi, and yet Tashi starts getting all these soft feelings for him? Just… why? Because he’s hot? Because he’s nice to Tashi even if he hurts other people? Regardless, Tashi gives Xian way too much leeway and makes some really bad decisions relating to him.

You may have already clued into this from the use of “they/them” pronouns, but Tashi’s nonbinary (specifically genderfluid). It’s not a plot point or something that the story depends on. No coming out or queer angst. It’s a YA fantasy adventure story with a genderfluid protagonist, which is something I know a lot of readers are looking for. While I can’t speak to the quality of the representation, currently the only review I’ve seen from a nonbinary reviewer is positive.

Other thoughts regarding The Tiger’s Watch:

- It’s very short — under two hundred pages. I don’t know if it would qualify as a novella.
- Tashi’s country is based on Bhutan. This is another area where I can’t speak to the quality of representation, and I as yet have seen no reviewers from Bhutanese reviewers.
- The supporting cast is very dude heavy. There’s only one female character in the book (looking at humans only, not Katala), and she exits the scene about half way through. I have heard that this will change in the next book in the series.

Unfortunately, I’m not planning on reading the next book. While I didn’t think The Tiger’s Watch was terrible, I basically found it to be another mediocre YA fantasy novel. That said, someone who is really looking for nonbinary representation in fantasy would be advised to at least look into it.
I received an ARC in exchange for a free and honest review.
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Sophie
5.0 out of 5 stars Bonded attack tiger!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 1, 2017
Verified Purchase
Bonded attack animals are a favorite trope of mine so I was so excited to read this. Really enjoyed the Asia based world and the concept of the inhabitors. I would have preferred it to be a bit longer, so I'm looking forward to the sequel from Pharo's perspective.
Report
Dani Reviews Things / Love in a time of Feminism
4.0 out of 5 stars If you’re looking for a fantasy series that's a bit different, try this!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 24, 2017
Verified Purchase
Another Julia Ember book! I read every book she writes because she has such a unique style, and I feel like I learn and grow whenever I read her stories. Her fantasy books are often on the shorter side (quicker and easier to digest) while also featuring diverse characters. In The Tiger’s Watch, Ember takes us to another world reminiscent of East Asia (I’m thinking a blend of Burma and Thailand), where a nation is being invaded by another without magic. Our main character, Tashi, is a non-binary inhabitor, able to slip into the mind of their bonded tiger.

I like the concept of bonding. As a child, you’re left in the wild to mutter a spell and hopefully attract an animal. Once that animal reveals itself, you become bonded for life, however long that is for either of you. While bonded, you are able to experience what your animal does, slipping into their body while yours goes slack. When one half of a bonded pair dies, the other falls into a coma. I noticed a lot of reviewers saying it was unbelievable since your lifespan could be shortened significantly depending on what animal you bond with, and why would you willingly give up your life like that. Well, I would. To experience the freedom of flight or power of a big cat would be incredible, and you have an intense companionship until you die. A literal soulmate in (preferably) cuddly form. (I would totally be bonded with a big cat that I could cuddle.)

Katala is definitely a big cat, and I loved it. She’s independent and strong. She likes to kill things and then show them off like trophies for a “good job, Kitty”. She doesn’t care if you have other things going on; when she wants attention, she’ll annoy you until she gets it. She’s also a rare golden tiger.

-- “You are such a weakling. Always crying, vomiting, slinking around,” he said, closing his eyes. “Why on earth would a gold tiger choose you?”

This was a legitimate question. Everyone expected Tashi to bond with a hare or a doe, something relatively docile. That’s because Tashi starts out so timid. And the vomiting! Why were they always vomiting? Do people honestly vomit that easily when they’re upset? (I feel like I’ve asked this question before in relation to another book…) Over time, however, their inner tiger comes out, and you begin to see why they bonded with one.

I couldn’t really get behind the attraction to Xian. It seemed like a case of Stockholm Syndrome to me. How else can you explain being attracted to a commander of the opposing army who randomly chose you as a servant when he took over your monastery. Especially when his country is invading yours, leading to the deaths and enslavement of your people. I don’t know…

Overall, a good start to the Ashes of Gold series! As usual, I recommend trying Ember’s books if you’re looking for something a bit different.
Report