I liked this book even better than the first one. Cleric Chih is waylaid by shapeshifting tigers while travelling and tells them a story to try and keep themself alive. The writing is beautiful and imaginative, the world-building is great and I loved the dark humour. The way the story differed depending on who was telling it was a factor I really enjoyed.

I thought I couldn’t love Nghi Vo’s writing more than I already did, but I was wrong. When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain is the companion novella to The Empress of Salt and Fortune. It again follows Chih, a traveling cleric looking for history and stories to document, and involves a story within a story.

On this adventure Chih and their companions end up at the mercy of three fierce tiger sisters. Stranded and cold, to get out alive Chih must entertain the sisters with a story. But the tigers have their own version of the story and it varies wildly from the one Chih knows.

In this novella you’ll find:
- a tiger/scholar sapphic courtship and romance.
- poetry.
- a traveling non-binary cleric too curious for their own good.
- a mammoth rider with a lance.
- three tiger sisters.
- storytelling and how truth can vary from retelling to retelling, from culture to culture.

This novella was everything I wanted and more. I hope Nghi Vo continues to write about Chih and their adventures. These books have truly been a delight.

What another absolutely exceptional story!  I thoroughly enjoyed following Chih (a non-binary cleric) on this journey filled with a sapphic slow-burn love story, mammoths, and a tiger queen. 

While I enjoyed this book, it didn't hit me in the feels nearly as much as the first one.  I'll still 100% continue picking anything and everything up by this author.  The writing is fantastic, and I cannot wait to see what Nghi Vo writes next!