Andrea Tang is pretty settled in life. She has a job she is thriving at, her friends are her support system, and she leads an independent life. But it so happens that she is the last unmarried member of her generation of Tangs.
Now, typical of Asian households, her relatives won’t rest easy without seeing Andrea tie the knot. Although this is the last of her worries. She is on the brink of making partner at her law firm and can’t let any distractions prove to be advantageous to her colleague and competitor, Suresh Aditparan.
Is it even an Asian contemporary novel without mothers fretting over their unmarried daughters? I picked up Last Tang Standing because the plot promised a lot of fun. On some occasions, it does deliver, but I wouldn’t say that this is a must-read.
For starters, many of the plot developments are entirely predictable. There’s nothing new about the gradual attraction that blooms between Andrea and her love interest. Even the conflicts in the book are peppered with the usual dose of misunderstandings and miscommunications.
I’ve accepted the fact that a lot of romcoms are filled to the brim with clichés. And that doesn’t bother me as long as there are a couple of things about the book that stands out as being refreshing. In the case of this one, other than a few humorous instances and relatable circumstances, there wasn’t much else that would’ve held the story afloat.
Despite how self-assured Andrea has been depicted, she still subjects herself to scrutiny by relatives. That said, one thing I appreciated about her character is how adamant she is about pursuing success in her career.
I had hoped that this would be a far more entertaining read than it turned out to be. The author’s writing style works well for the genre, and so I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for any of her new releases. But Last Tang Standing was merely a moderately enjoyable read. So, I’d much rather recommend something like Act Your Age Eve Brown or One Last Stop.
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