Tiger Lily inspired mixed reactions in me.  It has so many elements that I love.  I was especially looking forward to reading a story set in ancient Japan and in that respect this story doesn’t disappoint at all.  The writing is beautiful, really really lovely and very easy to read.  And yet, for some reason, and I can barely put my finger on it I didn’t find myself loving this as much as I expected which is a real shame.

The story is told by Lily.  Born in the year of the Tiger, Lily is the outcast, the ugly duckling of the piece and something of a tomboy.  She’s always striking off into the woods to try and find some extra food to supplement the tiny amount that her family has to survive on.  These were very harsh times and life was certainly cheap.  Lily lives in a small and poor village and although her family have a little more kudos because of their father’s position as cook to the noble family their lives are still hard.  The year of the Tiger is not one you want to be born in as a female and although Lily tries hard and loves her family the year of her birth will always cast a dark shadow over everything she does.

Basically, one day, whilst Lily is yet again in the forest, in spite of her father’s express wishes for her to not go there, she stumbles upon trouble.  The Daimyo’s son, Ashikaga, has been wounded by the Pretender Emperor’s men and Lily saves his life by calling on the spirits.  The Emperor has forbidden the worship of Jindo Gods with Buddhism being the practiced religion.  Lily’s mother, before she disappeared, taught her the songs that attract the spirits and Lily still sings these when she’s alone in the woods.  However, in saving Ashikaga’s life her secret has been revealed placing her in a vulnerable position.  If exposed she will be executed.

The conflict in the story revolves around religion.  The Pretend Emperor believes in the old ways and prays to the spirits.  The spirits are in everything, in the rocks, the mountains, the trees and the rivers but the songs of worship are largely forgotten.  Lily’s ability to sing to the spirits could become a turning point in the war between the old religion and the new and both sides would seek to use her gifts for their own ends.

My favourite aspect of this story is the writing.  The prose is a real treat to read and the descriptions are just wonderful.  I loved reading about the place, how people lived and how everything worked.  It just really felt like the time and the era came to life on the page and I thoroughly enjoyed that aspect.  I liked Lily – at first – she started to wear me down a little as the story progressed, but more of that to follow and there is a love story thrown into the mix.  Now, I freely admit that I’m not a lover of romance however if it’s not the main focus of the story I think it can play an important part and I would say that’s the case with Tiger Lily.   Without wanting to give too much away Lily and the noble born Ashikaga develop feelings for each other and whilst that might feel a little predictable there is an element of surprise to the relationship that I didn’t foresee.

So, why didn’t this quite work for me.  I think firstly Lily started to annoy me.  I understand that in this setting she’s a peasant, she has no place conversing with nobility and I could completely understand the fear and awe that she was swamped with when faced with certain situations.  I also understand the arrogance of the nobility, the privileged lives they led and the way that they lacked feelings or empathy for their lowly subjects.  But, as the story develops, as Lily and Ashikaga develop their own feelings I wanted something more.  I wanted Lily’s Tiger nature to burst out, it felt like she was more akin to a kitten than a tiger – yes, I appreciate that her life has been hard but although she starts out as something of a rebel, a tomboy and not particularly interested in gaining the good thoughts of the others from the village I felt that her own personality waned as the story progressed.  Put simply, although Lily saved Ashikaga’s life, and in spite of her being able to call the spirits I felt like her character became weaker and her actions more questionable as the narrative unfolded.

Tiger Lily is a relatively short story (I think under 300 pages) and it did feel like a quick read but at the same time this meant that the other characters felt a bit flat and the ending felt a bit rushed and a tad disappointing.

I certainly wouldn’t discourage others from reading this book.  I think the writing is really impressive.  For me, the plot felt it needed some more thought and the characters needed to be more fleshed out, particularly Lily who seemed to become a shadow of herself the more involved she became.  I understand that this is the first book in a series and I would read more, just to see if Lily really embraces her tiger nature and to see if a real spark ignites between her and Ashikaga.

I would like to thank the author for providing a copy of Tiger Lily.

I rated this 6 out of 10 which equates to 3 out of 5 on Goodreads.