Tiger’s Curse by Colleen Houck | Book Review

(The Tiger Saga #1)

Published: January 11th 2011

Synopsis:

Passion. Fate. Loyalty.

Would you risk it all to change your destiny?

The last thing Kelsey Hayes thought she’d be doing this summer was trying to break a 300-year-old Indian curse. With a mysterious white tiger named Ren. Halfway around the world. But that’s exactly what happened. Face-to-face with dark forces, spellbinding magic, and mystical worlds where nothing is what it seems, Kelsey risks everything to piece together an ancient prophecy that could break the curse forever.

Tiger’s Curse is the exciting first volume in an epic fantasy-romance that will leave you breathless and yearning for more.

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My Rating: 4.5/5 (Amazing) 

Book Information

Publisher: Sterling

Genre(s): Young-adult Fantasy, Romance

Page Count: 403

Format: Hardcover

ISBN: 1402784031

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Okay, so I’ve been off the book blog charts, but I’m back now! I’ve been kept busy with school and stuff, so this Easter break is such a relief. Speaking of Easter, Happy Good Friday and Easter weekend to everyone out there! 😛

I’ve recently finished the third book of this amazing series, Tiger’s Voyage, and I’m so blown over now, it’s probably clouding my judgement, but oh well. I’ll try not to spoil anything…

Quick Summary

Tiger’s Curse follows 18 year-old Kelsey Hayes, who takes on a job at a circus in her sleepy town of Oregon. Little did she know that that job would change her life. Kelsey spends time with a circus white tiger Dhiren (nicknamed Ren), and becomes involved in a quest that takes her all the way to India, to break the tiger’s curse.

Plot

I loved this book, not because of the plot (although that’s was a big part, and was pretty good, even with the love triangle stuff that people generally dislike), but what set this book apart from other YA novels was the unique settings and idea. I really enjoyed the Indian settings, and the focus on Hindu culture and religion. It was fun and interesting reading about their different gods and mythology, and I was completely swallowed (in a good way) by the colorful settings and unique picture.

It was also nice to have a YA fantasy romance that does not involve main characters as vampires. I mean, I’m fine with vampires, but I do not need to have them in every single YA book I read. This was focused on shape-shifters, and a unique situation of shape-shifters at that, and I loved it.

Romance & Characters

Kelsey & Ren (as a tiger)

I mostly enjoyed the romance. Most of the book was focused on Ren and Kelsey, so there’s not the love triangle that everyone dislikes, and their romance was the sweet and burning type that made you smile goofily and say ‘awww’ out loud (compelling anyone around you to look at you weirdly). Then again, that might just be me. Ren was dashing and charming, and while Kelsey’s insecurities over Ren seemed a bit deja-vu from Twilight‘s Bella Swan, overall it didn’t ruin the romance or the story. She’s pretty new at this, and I had faith while reading the first book that she would grow more.

So, I’m fine with Ren. But then we have Kishan, who was cocky, rebellious and extremely self-confident, which I liked. His flirtation with Kelsey was fun to read about and made me smile. He’s also playing the tormented, dark persona, which made him doubly an interesting character.

I have to say I struggled slightly with our protagonist Kelsey, but just slightly. I understood the decisions she made with her love life, however she was a bit too insecure in some parts for my taste. But overall, she was an sassy and relatable protagonist, who’s POV I enjoyed.

Writing Style

I enjoyed the writing style, especially the descriptions. It was descriptive enough that I got a clear image and good visual, but not so descriptive that it was annoying and gave off a ‘trying too hard’ vibe.

Overall…

This is a great book I recommend for fans of mythology (Indian mythology at that!) and adventure, as well as romance. There is a lot of teenage angsty kind of thing here too, so if you’re okay with that, this book will be an enjoyable read for you.

Book Trailers

Happy (early) Easter! Let’s go have a feast!

-A