Typically, writing is a solitary experience. A writer sits down and weaves their story that usually doesn’t get shared for quite some time. But some powerful duos have come through over the years that have proven that writing can be fun when its done with another person. And this time, it’s a sister-brother team that are not only taking us to a brand-new land, but taking their grandparents’ story to new heights. <\/p>\n
Cosmopolitan has an special first-look at The Last Tiger by Julia Riew and Brad Riew<\/a>, set to be released on July 29, 2025. The new novel follows Choi Eunji and her friend Lee Seung who suddenly find themselves at opposite ends of a battle that can change everything they’ve ever known. What happens when the person that you’ve known the most is suddenly your enemy? Here’s some more info from our friends at Kokila<\/a>:<\/p>\n Inspired by true stories from the authors\u2019 grandparents\u2019 lives during one of the darkest periods in Korean history, The Last Tiger is a debut young adult fantasy novel about the power of love to give voice to a broken people.<\/p>\n The gorgeous first edition hardcover features: a metallic foil cover, illustrated endpapers, custom designed edges, and stunning foil stamped case.<\/p>\n <\/strong>In a colonized land where tigers are being hunted to extinction and ancient magic stirs, two star-crossed teens\u2014Lee Seung, a servant yearning for freedom, and Choi Eunji, a noble girl defying tradition\u2014join forces to try and reshape their respective fates.<\/p>\n But their relationship evolves from begrudging accomplices to bitter adversaries as they soon find themselves on opposite sides of a battle over the last tiger, a symbol of their people\u2019s lost freedom and key to the liberation of their country. As the ties between Seung and Eunji are complicated by their conflicting loyalties, tensions rise\u2014especially when a charming princeling of the empire begins to rival for Eunji\u2019s affection.<\/p>\n In this friends-to-enemies-to-lovers story of forbidden romance, antagonists turned allies, oppression and liberation, neither Seung nor Eunji can abandon their mission\u2014or each other. And as they embark on separate quests to find the elusive creature, each must also find the power within themselves to make their own destiny.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Ready to dive into the magnificent new world? Read on for an exclusive excerpt! Just make sure to pre-order The Last Tiger!<\/p>\n An Excerpt From The Last Tiger -1-<\/strong><\/p>\n Seung<\/p>\n The sky over the mountains today is too clear, too blue, for the Slaying Ceremony. It almost isn\u2019t fair.<\/p>\n The crisp fall air burns in my lungs as I step out of the house, blinking, my eyes slowly adjusting to the light. I massage my brow with one hand, trying to ease the stress lines there. I don\u2019t want to go down to the town square today. Of course I don\u2019t. But it\u2019s not like I have a choice.<\/p>\n \u201cWait for me, Seung! Wait!\u201d<\/p>\n My kid brother, Hoyoung, crouches by the door, struggling to fit his feet into his shoes\u2014they\u2019re way too tight for him; he needed new ones long ago. Over his shoulder, he carries a huge empty burlap sack that falls across his back like a cape.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is this?\u201d I chuckle, lifting the long bag with two fingers. \u201cWe don\u2019t need all this, Hoyoung. We\u2019re just buying some rice.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat if we get a lot of rice?\u201d Hoyoung says hopefully. <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think that\u2019s going to happen,\u201d I say warily.<\/p>\n Not with the war and current food prices.<\/p>\n Whatever we manage to pick up today, we\u2019ll likely have to stretch it to last the month.<\/p>\n Still, Hoyoung seems happy to be carrying the comically large bag, so I let him keep it. I slide the front door closed behind us, shutting it on the faint smell of tonight\u2019s dinner, which Mom is preparing inside: a watery broth made from boiling turnips. You could call it World War Stew\u2014this is all we\u2019ve eaten for months.<\/p>\n \u201cIsn\u2019t Mom coming?\u201d Hoyoung turns back to look inside.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s waiting for Dad to come back from the mines. They\u2019ll come later.\u201d I pull him by the shoulder. \u201cHey, Hoyoung. Look at me, okay? I need to tell you something. This is important.\u201d<\/p>\n My little brother turns to me with these huge, innocent eyes that practically knock my heart out. His too-long bangs fall over his face. A lump forms in my throat as I brush them away.<\/p>\n This kid is too young to attend the Slaying. That\u2019s a fact.<\/p>\n But if I don\u2019t take him with me today, we\u2019ll never hear the end of it from the police.<\/p>\n \u201cNo matter what happens tonight, don\u2019t let go of my hand,\u201d I tell him. \u201cDon\u2019t wander off, don\u2019t let go of me, no matter what happens. And when I tell you, make sure to close your eyes. I\u2019m gonna protect you, okay?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoyoung swallows hard, nodding fiercely. <\/p>\n \u201cOkay, buddy. Let\u2019s go.\u201d<\/p>\n We turn away from the house, stepping onto the stone path that leads down to the village center. Already, the sun is growing bloody orange as it descends toward the horizon. In a few hours it will dip out of sight behind the thick mountains surrounding the town of Kidoh, dropping a thin, purple twilight over the valley.<\/p>\n Out here, the air is clear and bright, scented with pine and mountain ash. I shake my head, trying to dispel the foreboding that has been itching at me all morning.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s goooooo!\u201d Hoyoung cries, running headlong down the path, his feet clapping over the stones. Obviously, he still doesn\u2019t really understand what\u2019s about to happen. I grimace and hurry after him.<\/p>\n We definitely don\u2019t want to arrive late. I lead us along the shortcut off the main path, down the side trail that cuts beside the river. Fat, lazy mosquitos drift in the air here; by the river\u2019s edge, tall, brilliant green reeds stick their heads up out of the shallows. The long ribbon of the river itself gleams in the fading sunlight.<\/p>\n As we walk along, we pass a group of academy grads practicing ki by the riverside, their bare chests glistening with sweat. They\u2019ve lined up a series of enormous boulders, each taller than a man\u2019s waist, and are taking turns heaving the giant rocks into the air, tossing them along to one another. The guy at the end of the line catches a boulder with a grunt and sets it down on the ground. He slams his fist onto the rock. The boulder cracks in two and splits at his feet.<\/p>\n \u201cWhoa.\u201d Hoyoung\u2019s head turns on a pivot, his jaw falling open.<\/p>\n Rich kids, I grumble to myself.<\/p>\n Thanks to years of expensive after-school tutoring\u2014a luxury our family couldn\u2019t possibly afford\u2014those guys passed the Exam when they were about my age and were admitted to Adachi Training Academy at the heart of the empire. There, they were trained in the art of ki. Those ki powers have made them strong enough to crush boulders with their bare hands.<\/p>\n Not to mention that, as graduates of Adachi, they\u2019ll have guaranteed access for life to whatever career path they could possibly desire.<\/p>\n Hoyoung and I\u2014well, we\u2019ll never have that kind of life.<\/p>\n While those guys are out making their dreams, I spend my weeks sweeping floors for the Chois, the richest yangban family in the colonies.<\/p>\n I avert my gaze and quicken my steps, struggling unsuccessfully to smother the jealousy in my chest.<\/p>\n \u201cThis way.\u201d I nod to Hoyoung, now straggling behind me, still staring at the guys with their boulder-crushing exercise. Then we turn the corner, leaving them behind and entering the village proper.<\/p>\n Soon we\u2019re deep in the marketplace. Long rows of tables here, laid out with food and wares, line the road. Behind them, old ajummas and ajusshis with missing teeth call out to the bustling crowd of customers.<\/p>\n \u201cFresh bean-curd paste! Southern-style kimchi! Finest in the Tiger Colonies!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMiso and matcha powder! Imported straight from the Dragon Empire! Supplies are limited; get yours now!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOoh,\u201d Hoyoung says, licking his lips. I pull him by the sleeve.<\/p>\n \u201cNot now, Hoyoung. Those are luxuries. We need to save our money for rice, okay?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRice,\u201d says Hoyoung absentmindedly.<\/p>\n And I recognize the hunger in my brother\u2019s eyes, suddenly aware of that same pang in my own stomach.<\/p>\n I lead my little brother down to the stand where rice merchants are ladling the precious grains into the bags of anxious customers. We stop next to an open table, preparing for the worst. Prices have been skyrocketing for basic foods this year. Ever since Governor-General Isao issued his edict on the wartime rationing of grains, people across the Tiger Colonies have been going hungry.<\/p>\n \u201cLong live the Dragon Emperor.\u201d Tenno Heika Banzai. I nod to the merchant as I give the obligatory greeting\u2014switching into Dragon tongue, as is required by law.<\/p>\n \u201cLong live the emperor,\u201d the merchant responds automatically. Over his shoulder, a Dragon policeman watches the street impassively, his face a blank mask.<\/p>\n Ever since the Tiger Kingdom was defeated and annexed by the Dragon Empire\u2014more than forty years ago\u2014the Dragon language has been mandatory for use in public settings. Under Governor-General Isao\u2019s \u201ccultural assimilation\u201d policy, the use of our native Tiger tongue has been forbidden altogether. It\u2019s a difficult rule to enforce in private settings, but I wouldn\u2019t dare use Tiger language here in the marketplace, under the watchful eye of the Dragon police.<\/p>\n I hand over the coins. The merchant nods, counting them, and motions gruffly for Hoyoung to hold open his burlap sack. The merchant lifts a spoonful of the coarse, grainy rice\u2014the good stuff, refined white rice, is well out of our budget\u2014and pours in a small handful.<\/p>\n And stops.<\/p>\n \u201cNo way.\u201d My jaw drops. \u201cThat\u2019s barely a couple of days\u2019 worth\u2014\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cSorry, kid.\u201d The merchant shrugs indifferently. \u201cThe drought this year is even worse than last year\u2019s, if you can believe it . . . There are dust storms in the fields. Add to that the wartime ration, and you\u2019re lucky I have anything at all for you today.\u201d<\/p>\n Beside me, customers are arguing bitterly with the other merchants. I stare down into the enormous burlap sack, at the measly handful of rice grains spread out there at the bottom. We just handed that merchant a month\u2019s worth of Dad\u2019s salary.<\/p>\n \u201cSeung,\u201d says Hoyoung, tugging on my arm. <\/p>\n \u201cNot now, Hoyoung,\u201d I mutter emptily. <\/p>\n \u201cSeung,\u201d Hoyoung says louder.<\/p>\n And then I look up, and I see\u2014<\/p>\n Merchants and customers alike, lowering their heads, sweeping their coins into pouches and tucking them away, out of sight\u2014<\/p>\n I hear the pounding of boots marching in unison\u2014 <\/p>\n And the whistles of the policemen.<\/p>\n Finally, I see them: the Dragon Army.<\/p>\n A dozen or more soldiers marching in rows down the main street, their faces shadowed beneath dark helmets.<\/p>\n Between the two rows of men, a military truck is pulling something behind it on a flat wooden bed. I can\u2019t make out what it is, exactly; it looks like some kind of large box with a dark green cloth draped over it.<\/p>\n The policemen lining the street whistle several times and begin to move forward, pushing roughly, guiding the customers toward one end of the street. A commotion rises up as the crowd gradually begins to turn, a ripple of fear and uncertainty filling the air.<\/p>\n I grab Hoyoung\u2019s hand tight, the sack of rice clenched hard in my other fist, as the crowd begins to push us along.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d I ask a man next to us. He grimaces and shakes his head.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s starting soon.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cThe Slaying Ceremony?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d guess so. Look\u2014they\u2019re corralling us toward the town square.\u201d <\/p>\n The Dragon police step forward, white-gloved hands held out, pushing us in one direction down the street. We don\u2019t have any choice now but to follow along. Hoyoung holds tight to my arm as I tie up the burlap sack and stuff it deep into my pocket, as far as it will go.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a large audience gathered already by the time we file in. The town \u201csquare\u201d is just a faded plot of dirt in the center of Kidoh, but whenever a crowd assembles here, it takes on an official air of importance. An anxious buzz of conversation fills the space.<\/p>\n I strain on tiptoes to see over the heads of the people in front of me. Hoyoung huddles against me.<\/p>\n \u201cStay close to me, no matter what happens,\u201d I whisper to him. \u201cAnd remember to close your eyes when I tell you to, okay?\u201d<\/p>\n Something in the urgency of my voice and the mood of the crowd impresses itself on Hoyoung now. The kid nods soberly and falls quiet, his hand tugging automatically at my sleeve.<\/p>\n The Dragon Army marches into the square, forming a circle around the truck with the mysterious covered box. The truck slows, and the soldiers separate the wooden platform from the truck, then wheel the box into the center of the square. A low growl emanates from inside the box.<\/p>\n One of the soldiers tears the green tarp away. <\/p>\n The crowd gasps.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t a box\u2014it\u2019s a huge cage. In the middle sits an enormous, bristling animal.<\/p>\n A tiger.<\/p>\n A majestic coat of deep-orange-and-black fur ripples in waves over the tiger\u2019s body. Its haunches and shoulders are taut and muscular; it looks powerful enough to rip a man easily to shreds. Each of its legs is chained to the floor of the cage. The tiger shakes itself uncomfortably, attempting to turn its head, but it\u2019s held fast by a heavy steel collar.<\/p>\n I lean forward, mesmerized.<\/p>\n For decades, the Dragon Empire has been hunting tigers all over the colonies. Because they were once the national symbol of the Tiger Kingdom, the Dragon Empire has been doing everything in its power to wipe the wild tigers off the face of the earth. The symbolism isn\u2019t lost on us. Every time they catch one in the wild, they hold a Slaying Ceremony and force the locals to watch.<\/p>\n Over time, as tigers grew more and more rare, the Slayings gradually became few and far between. The last time I can remember seeing a Slaying here in Kidoh, I wasn\u2019t too much older than Hoyoung is now.<\/p>\n No one likes to watch a Slaying Ceremony. No Tiger person can stand to watch them. But we don\u2019t have any choice. That\u2019s the whole point.<\/p>\n The soldiers move a few levers on the cage, and the walls disconnect and fall to the ground. One of them steps forward, a long, ceremonial katana held by a scabbard at his waist. The others fall into formation behind him. <\/p>\n \u201cA message from the governor-general!\u201d the soldier with the katana declares, unfurling a scroll. \u201c\u2018You are subjects of the benevolent Dragon Empire\u2014may you serve your emperor with united hearts. Give thanks to the great Dragon Emperor for bringing peace and civilization to these Tiger Colonies!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Behind him, the other Dragon soldiers stand at attention. Watching them in their dazzling uniforms, I can\u2019t help but feel yet another twisted pang of jealousy.<\/p>\n Each one of those Dragon soldiers has ki powers.<\/p>\n Ki is the reason every one of them has the strength of ten normal men. It\u2019s ki powers that make it utterly impossible for us to fight back.<\/p>\n It\u2019s ki powers that remind us we will never be their equals, not in a thousand years.<\/p>\n It may be a pipe dream, but if I were to admit it to myself, the only thing I\u2019ve ever really wanted in life is to pass the Exam and go to Adachi Training Academy. Even though I don\u2019t have a chance, because my family will never be able to afford the tutors.<\/p>\n But everything about my life would change if I, too, had ki\u2014just like those soldiers.<\/p>\n The policemen whistle shrilly, and the last murmurs of the crowd fall silent.<\/p>\n \u201cLook at this monster!\u201d the soldier with the katana continues. \u201cIn the old, backward times before the empire, these beasts killed and ate people. But today, we have brought them to their knees. Give thanks, for the Tiger Colonies are now safe.\u201d<\/p>\n Across the square, I see men and women bristling in the crowd. The anger and hostility in their faces is unmistakable.<\/p>\n I can\u2019t help but shiver. The hairs rise on my neck.<\/p>\n Behind the officer, the tiger\u2019s lips pull back from its teeth, revealing a series of fangs the length of a man\u2019s hand. Its tail sweeps back and forth anxiously on the wooden platform. The creature\u2019s eyes gleam with a strange intensity; they seem to glow almost from within. The air around it seems deathly still, as if the earth were holding its breath.<\/p>\n It\u2019s beautiful, I think, strangely.<\/p>\n The soldier unsheathes his sword and points it straight at the tiger. He raises his blade, his face twisted in an expression of hate\u2014 <\/p>\n Then turns and charges straight toward the platform.<\/p>\n \u201cClose your eyes, Hoyoung,\u201d I whisper suddenly. \u201cNow.\u201d Beside me, my brother squeezes my hand tight.<\/p>\n The soldier slashes once at the chain tying the tiger\u2019s head to the post, breaking the links. The tiger\u2019s collar opens and falls at his feet. His second slash comes down right at the base of the tiger\u2019s neck.<\/p>\n And I close my eyes, too\u2014I can\u2019t bear to watch. I hear a dull thud, then a series of gasps from the crowd.<\/p>\n When I finally open my eyes, the tiger\u2019s body is slumped on the wooden platform. Its head has rolled forward, onto the dirt. The soldier holds his bloody katana high above his head, teeth bared in victory.<\/p>\n I feel dizzy.<\/p>\n I\u2019m about to turn away when someone in front of me gasps, pointing.<\/p>\n And then I have to look twice\u2014because I don\u2019t quite believe my own eyes.<\/p>\n Right there in front of us, the tiger\u2019s head is rolling around in the dirt\u2014 all on its own, possessed, like an egg in boiling water. Its eyes are crazed and bloodshot, its jaws snapping angrily at the air. A hushed silence falls heavily over the crowd.<\/p>\n No one dares move a muscle. Everyone is spellbound in disbelief. <\/p>\n The possessed head of the tiger looks obscene, demonic; it\u2019s furiously, blindly trying to bite anything and everything around it. <\/p>\n The Dragon soldiers raise their swords, spreading out.<\/p>\n For the strangest moment, time seems to slow. From somewhere far away, I\u2019m dimly aware of Hoyoung holding my arm tight.<\/p>\n And then one of the soldiers stumbles\u2014someone in the crowd, it\u2019s impossible to see who, has put out a leg to trip him\u2014and he falls to the ground. His sword slips from his grasp and bounces, seeming to take forever to fall.<\/p>\n Immediately the severed head of the tiger turns, hurls forward, and locks its jaws around the fallen soldier\u2019s ankle. It growls menacingly and shakes itself, digging its teeth deep into his leg.<\/p>\n The soldier howls in pain and writhes on the ground. Behind him, the next officer quickly scrambles to pick up the fallen sword.<\/p>\n Chaos erupts. Suddenly, everywhere around us, the crowd is frantic with fear; villagers scream in terror and scatter like a swarm of fish, desperately trying to flee to safety as the policemen who were guarding the exits move into the square, whistles blaring\u2014<\/p>\n But I\u2019m rooted to the spot. I couldn\u2019t move even if I tried.<\/p>\n The tiger\u2019s head snarls and shakes and clenches its jaws. The soldier on the ground screams in pain while the others attempt uselessly to free him.<\/p>\n Then someone in the crowd shoves past me, and I lose my grip on Hoyoung\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n \u201cHoyoung!\u201d<\/p>\n The crowd tramples past us. I whip around, snapped back into the moment, looking for my little brother, but he\u2019s been swallowed up by the crowd.<\/p>\n \u201cHoyoung! Hoyoung!\u201d I shout, turning left and right madly.<\/p>\n I move through the swarming villagers, looking everywhere for my brother\u2014<\/p>\n Bam! Something hits me and I\u2019m down, on the ground.<\/p>\n What was that? I wonder, in a daze.<\/p>\n As I\u2019m getting up, I see someone else lying in front of me. The other person has a hood over their shoulders, obscuring their face. As they sit up, the hood slips back, revealing a girl\u2019s face.<\/p>\n This girl, I recognize instantly. I would know her anywhere.<\/p>\n \u201c. . . Eunji?\u201d I gasp.<\/p>\n The two of us sit, staring at each other, for an impossibly long interval.<\/p>\n Then Eunji turns bright red and sweeps her hood back over her head.<\/p>\n She gets up and flees.<\/p>\n Leaving me staring off into space after her.<\/p>\n A small hand latches onto my arm and yanks, hard. \u201cCome on, Seung!\u201d<\/p>\n Thank the spirits. It\u2019s Hoyoung.<\/p>\n I leap to my feet, trying to glance behind us to see what has become of the tiger and the officer, but I can\u2019t see a thing through the swarming crowd. Dazed, I finally tear my gaze away. Then I sweep Hoyoung onto my back\u2014and run to safety.<\/p>\n The Last Tiger, by Julia Riew and Brad Riew on will be released on July 29, 2025. To preorder the book, click on the retailer of your choice:<\/p>\n AMAZON<\/a> AUDIBLE<\/a> BARNES & NOBLE<\/a> BOOKS-A-MILLION<\/a> BOOKSHOP<\/a> APPLE BOOKS<\/a> KOBO<\/a> LIBRO.FM<\/a> TARGET<\/a> WALMART<\/a> POWELL’S BOOKS<\/a> HUDSON BOOKSELLERS<\/a> GOOGLE PLAY<\/a><\/strong> EBOOKS.COM<\/a><\/strong>
By Julia Riew and Brad Riew<\/strong><\/p>\n
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