Last Tang Standing
- Downloads：7865
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-05-04 10:54:03
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Lauren Ho
- ISBN：0008400075
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
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？
Reviews
Erica Elwell
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Recommended by the Sparks notes IG account。Funny that I was reading this right around the same time of listening to Queenie- both books were touted as having a Bridget Jones Diary feel- Queenie was closer in the sense it takes place in England but it was significantly heavier than BJD while Last Tang Standing felt a lot closer to BJD in tone only it’s set in Singapore。Loved the fact that it was written in diary style with spelling errors and all when she’s drunk！ Lots of fun characters and Sures Recommended by the Sparks notes IG account。Funny that I was reading this right around the same time of listening to Queenie- both books were touted as having a Bridget Jones Diary feel- Queenie was closer in the sense it takes place in England but it was significantly heavier than BJD while Last Tang Standing felt a lot closer to BJD in tone only it’s set in Singapore。Loved the fact that it was written in diary style with spelling errors and all when she’s drunk！ Lots of fun characters and Suresh is a great leading man！ All in all a fun read！ 。。。more
Mandy Perret
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IT was cute。 It wasn't my fave but easy read。 IT was cute。 It wasn't my fave but easy read。 。。。more
Heather
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3。5 stars - the "Crazy Rich Asians" meets "Bridget Jones' Diary" is a 100% accurate description 3。5 stars - the "Crazy Rich Asians" meets "Bridget Jones' Diary" is a 100% accurate description 。。。more
Heather Vickery
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Fun， light read。 I really enjoyed it。 Several laugh out loud moments。
Stef
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Really enjoyed the diary entry method of this book。 Very funny parts。 Reminiscent of Crazy Rich Asians but more fun and light。
Nil
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Cute romance with some comedy sprinkled over。 I related to Andrea in some rare parts。 Suresh sounds amazing， I loved him as a love interest but would the story felt too long overall。 Wished the parts with Orson or with Eric were cut shorter。
Manal
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Forced humor and an alcoholic， sweaty， smelly main character。
Peggy Chan
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Delightful read。 Diary style of sharing her thoughts & feelings。 Plot centers on the protagonist's life & her buddies'。 A meandering journey to her HEA。 。。at times funny， at times too much of a fantasy。 Being an Asian I could easily relate to the cultural tropes & thus enjoy the book more。 Delightful read。 Diary style of sharing her thoughts & feelings。 Plot centers on the protagonist's life & her buddies'。 A meandering journey to her HEA。 。。at times funny， at times too much of a fantasy。 Being an Asian I could easily relate to the cultural tropes & thus enjoy the book more。 。。。more
Madeleine
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I needed a fun read this week and this delivered！ The pacing was pretty slow and somewhat repetitive， but it was also nice to see a perspective from a woman， by a woman， in an over the top world very similar to Crazy Rich Asians
Kelsey Dallas
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This book is a mix between Crazy Rich Asians and Bridget Jones' Diary， but it's not as strong as either of them。 This book is a mix between Crazy Rich Asians and Bridget Jones' Diary， but it's not as strong as either of them。 。。。more
Kathryn Dunnill
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I picked this book as I was a fan of Crazy Rich Asians but I found it predictable。 The book clearly hasn’t been proof read properly as a particular conversation referred to Tinder but Twitter was written instead。
Tatiana
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This book was entertaining， but it made me tired。 I think the problem is - it went on too long。 400+ pages of jokes wore me out。 There is a reason why comedies work better in shorter forms。Other than that， it was an okay time - Crazy Rich Asians， Bridget Jones's Diary plus Sex and the City all in one package。 This book was entertaining， but it made me tired。 I think the problem is - it went on too long。 400+ pages of jokes wore me out。 There is a reason why comedies work better in shorter forms。Other than that， it was an okay time - Crazy Rich Asians， Bridget Jones's Diary plus Sex and the City all in one package。 。。。more
rebecca
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I know this is super redundant， but this truly is the perfect mix of Crazy Rich Asians and Bridget Jones’ Diary。 Like， wow。 After Andrea’s lesbian cousin gets engaged to a man， Andrea is suddenly the last Tang to get married。 Which for a Chinese woman in her 30s with her family’s disapproval weighing down on her， is not a good thing。 It doesn’t matter that she has a great job， a cool condo， or awesome friends—she NEEDS to find a guy。 Like Bridget Jones， the story is told in diary format。 I tend I know this is super redundant， but this truly is the perfect mix of Crazy Rich Asians and Bridget Jones’ Diary。 Like， wow。 After Andrea’s lesbian cousin gets engaged to a man， Andrea is suddenly the last Tang to get married。 Which for a Chinese woman in her 30s with her family’s disapproval weighing down on her， is not a good thing。 It doesn’t matter that she has a great job， a cool condo， or awesome friends—she NEEDS to find a guy。 Like Bridget Jones， the story is told in diary format。 I tend to like this in books because it feels more personal and it is definitely quicker to read。 It is hard not to relate to Andrea as her thoughts go in every direction and she can’t nail down what， or whom， she actually wants。 I can see why some got frustrated with the book early on—it does take a few chapters to pick up and find more of a focus。 Be patient！ While romance is definitely a component of this book， there is a lot more to it。 I cannot speak for the cultural aspects of living in Singapore or being in a Chinese family， but， in this book， Andrea struggles with her family’s too high expectations of her， feeling like she is running out of time to have a family of her own， and what to do when she has everything she wants， but still isn’t happy。 It is definitely a light-hearted read， but these themes keep the story grounded。 I really enjoyed Lauren Ho’s writing style。 A perfect mix of funny， fresh， and fast-paced， I could see this whole world build itself in my head and could definitely see this being adapted to TV/film。 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 。。。more
Syd Grossman
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I loved like 75% of it but for some reason listening to it on audiobook the parsing out diary times made it feel very complain-y and difficult to follow。 Maybe reading it in-text would change it， but overall I thought it was a good story and loved the relationship chess！
Jacqueline
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I expected more of this book。 It’s a bit slow and realty until the last 100 pages is where I found it more active。
Luna
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-Incomplete review， to be expanded-What I liked about this book: - The writing style: it's written from first person POV of the protagonist in a diary format， which is unlike the other novels I've read before。 It's very concise and action-driven。 My common gripes with contemporary novels are that the pacing is off or certain characters are not fleshed out， but I felt like this writing style mitigated these issues。 - The cultural authenticity: I mention authenticity a lot when I review novels wri -Incomplete review， to be expanded-What I liked about this book: - The writing style: it's written from first person POV of the protagonist in a diary format， which is unlike the other novels I've read before。 It's very concise and action-driven。 My common gripes with contemporary novels are that the pacing is off or certain characters are not fleshed out， but I felt like this writing style mitigated these issues。 - The cultural authenticity: I mention authenticity a lot when I review novels written by Asian authors so maybe this term is starting to lose its meaning， but I really felt like this novel got it right。 I've never even visited Singapore so maybe I can't speak to authenticity for a novel set in the country， but I strongly related to major characters and the cultural norms and values woven into their backgrounds and development arcs。 - The humorous tone: this is the only author whose book I've read that actually succeeds in being funny when she tries。 。。。more
Gendis Lintang
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I really enjoyed reading this book。 This book is perfect for people who need light and fun reading。
Tamara Khoury
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A great book if you want something light-hearted and funny。 Not the best English or use of words but still， very entertaining。
Kiret
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Overall a fun book， enjoyed reading it！
Sachelle
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This’ll be harsh。。。Though this story is supposed to be a romantic comedy。。。the comedy certainly fell flat。 The main character， whose name I don’t remember （and honestly that’s for the best） read as the stereotypical and very boring/predictable/overly represented “quirky white girl”。。。minus the fact that she was Chinese。 Instead of reading a story with interesting and dynamic Asian characters， I read a story of Asians cosplaying boring and overdone white character tropes with aspects of Asian cul This’ll be harsh。。。Though this story is supposed to be a romantic comedy。。。the comedy certainly fell flat。 The main character， whose name I don’t remember （and honestly that’s for the best） read as the stereotypical and very boring/predictable/overly represented “quirky white girl”。。。minus the fact that she was Chinese。 Instead of reading a story with interesting and dynamic Asian characters， I read a story of Asians cosplaying boring and overdone white character tropes with aspects of Asian culture peppered intermittently throughout the plot （you know， in case you forget that you’re allegedly reading about POCs。。。cause it’s easy to forget with this book）。 Yikes。One of my biggest issues is that the main character and side characters are pretty critical of their culture （I mean who isn’t critical of their own culture？）; her quips about the hellacious and difficult to navigate tacit codes of Chinese culture didn’t read as an insider illuminating particular cultural facets to a potentially ignorant audience。。。it read as an outsider regurgitating “”weird”” and “”odd”” facts about a culture they have no idea about。 The author otherizes the hell out of the culture for no apparent reason。 This style choice （if you can call it that。。。） would be understandable if we were talking about a （oh let’s say。。。） first generation immigrant who was dumped into their immigrant culture but we’re not talking about that。。。we’re talking about a 33 year old whiney single woman who。。。I’m not sure is comfortable with her culture outside of the luxury and ostentatious wealth she associates it with。Oh and how can I forget。。。？ The characters qualities are so exaggerated it becomes tropey。 I think the intention is to be so exaggerated it’s as if we’re viewing everyone through the MCs neuroses but it doesn’t work。 The characters without their tropes or solid plot direction （a majority of the book） were boring and even more one dimensional。 Also the MC is supposed to be some relatable， slightly out of touch loser and because her behavior really leans into （more like a hard right turn into） weird quirky girl tropes （minus a loveable or redeemable quirk） she just came off as annoying， and flagrantly judgmental—something she jokes about but has no self awareness of and honestly I get that that was the joke but again。。。the establishment of humor prior to this was so weak， this joke fell flat。Also， I won’t go into detail because the story doesn’t deserve it but。。。her interactions with Seresh were absolutely all over the place。 From going from an absolutely juvenile “we’re enemies” storyline （which had the depth of a puddle and the overall convincing-ness of any poorly executed red herring。。。）， to clumsily stomping into a “oop！ We are buddies！” narrative that held zero （ZERO！） appeal or sense， to the absolutely fan-fic quality “ah， we like each other but shouldn’t teehee！ uwu” storyline。。。it was all a mess。 It doesn’t even warrant a coherent freaking explanation。Don’t read this。 You truly aren’t missing anything。 The wit fell astoundingly flat。 People keep comparing it to Crazy Rich Asians and。。。yeah the setting is similar but it doesn’t have the bite， hook， or appeal （and I had feels about that book too。。。）。Oh and how could I forget。。。the weird and overly casual “jokes” and “playful references” to s*xual assault （p*dophiles and r*pists）。。。？ What the absolute HELL was that？ Please give up worshipping at the alter of these unfunny “quirky girl” tropes。 Free yourself， cause honestly people who still think of Tina Fey as their idols or whatever the hell she described her as。。。well。。。the flag is rather red isn’t it？ 。。。more
Maria McIntyre
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This was a really fun book with all the feels。 I appreciated how realistic Andrea was with her personality and life choices。 Her friend circle was top notch though and everyone should have those kinds of friends - supportive and such。 I did find Andrea a bit annoying though because we all knew what was going to happen but she kept dragging it out because she though it was the right thing to do。 I would have loved to see a bit more in the end or even a sequel to see how the Tangs are holding up。
Stefanie283
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To sum it up， I would say: Meeh！ At the beginning， „Last Tang Standing“ was really making me laugh， it had that kind of „Crazy Rich Asians“-vibe on it and I started to enjoy it， but honestly: after a little while， it got so predictable， repetitive and down right boring。 I listened to it via audiobook - and I can’t even tell how many times I fell asleep during listening to it。 It wasn’t that it made me angry like some bad books do， but at some point I couldn’t care less for the characters。 Everyt To sum it up， I would say: Meeh！ At the beginning， „Last Tang Standing“ was really making me laugh， it had that kind of „Crazy Rich Asians“-vibe on it and I started to enjoy it， but honestly: after a little while， it got so predictable， repetitive and down right boring。 I listened to it via audiobook - and I can’t even tell how many times I fell asleep during listening to it。 It wasn’t that it made me angry like some bad books do， but at some point I couldn’t care less for the characters。 Everything was kind of average and „already heard/read“。 The story basically follows Malaysian Andrea Tang who is the last woman among the siblings and cousins of the Tang family who is not yet married。 That’s why during the book she goes through different relationship/dating experiences while dealing with her very demanding asian mother。 That’s basically it - I can’t even （or want to） tell you more about it。 I think that says it all。 Cute cover though。 1。5 out of 5 stars。 。。。more
Janet Berkman
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Fun， like cotton candy。 Delicious， but quickly gets a bit much。 I’d watch the film if it was on Netflix （ie， free。）
Tianna
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DNF at 25% I echo other one star reviews re: the isms。 In addition it just wasn’t funny or attention keeping。 I’m not a fan of a super bitchy super insecure protagonists。
Nicole
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incredibly laugh out loud funny， a romance that didn’t stick to a prescribed template！！！ super fun and i wish i read this on a beach， it’s the perfect book for that。
Salimah
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Delightful。 Strong， engaging first-person POV; funny。 Would recommend。
Anna
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 One of my pet peeves is when a character supposedly works too much but then the book never shows her working。 Here the character does work but she's also usually late/hungover， and this is during a key period when she's trying to get a promotion， so yes that kept bugging me throughout the book。 I enjoyed the book， it is funny but I pretty much only like the character Suresh。 The scenes between Suresh and Andrea are good but for a rom-com novel， the relationship never fully develops to justify th One of my pet peeves is when a character supposedly works too much but then the book never shows her working。 Here the character does work but she's also usually late/hungover， and this is during a key period when she's trying to get a promotion， so yes that kept bugging me throughout the book。 I enjoyed the book， it is funny but I pretty much only like the character Suresh。 The scenes between Suresh and Andrea are good but for a rom-com novel， the relationship never fully develops to justify the ending。 None of the side-characters were interesting to me。 I would be interested in another novel by the author but overall this one was meh。 。。。more
Amanda
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3。5 stars
Kathy
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Before I finally got to the end of this book my rating would've been 1 star。 The happy ending bumped it up to 2 stars。I just didn't like the main female character Andrea Tang， so I'm sure you can understand why getting a blow-by-blow account of her life throughout the entirety of the book did nothing for me。I thought the book was supposed to be funny but whatever humor it had fell very flat for me。 I also had a hard time getting into the book。 By a third of the way through I was just biding my t Before I finally got to the end of this book my rating would've been 1 star。 The happy ending bumped it up to 2 stars。I just didn't like the main female character Andrea Tang， so I'm sure you can understand why getting a blow-by-blow account of her life throughout the entirety of the book did nothing for me。I thought the book was supposed to be funny but whatever humor it had fell very flat for me。 I also had a hard time getting into the book。 By a third of the way through I was just biding my time until it was over。 I made it though！ Yay me！Read:April 18-19， 2021 – Audible Audiobook 。。。more
Emily Strobell
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Predictable。 Also didn't really like the main character。 Wasn't rooting for her。 Predictable。 Also didn't really like the main character。 Wasn't rooting for her。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Last Tang Standing
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Last Tang Standing&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Last Tang Standing&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0