Customer Reviews

The Tiger Prince

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I discovered Iris Johansen through her thrillers -- The Face of Deception, The Killing Game -- and was struck by the well developed romance in the midst of great, suspenseful plotting. When I tried this "romance", however, I was very disappointed. After a promising start, when the hero and heroine meet, they are kept apart for the majority of the book, which got bogged down in lengthy descriptions of the various settings. For most of the book, the man treats the woman horribly, and there's nothing romantic about that. I'd recommend her thrillers instead.

I found a copy of Dark Rider in my local library, and took to it like a duck to water. I finished it in one sitting. I was really excited when I found a copy of The Tiger Prince because I thought it would be by the same standards. It disappointed me in that respect. The main two characters are nicely developed, but it takes them too long to get there. And while I like the other principle characters, once again the length it took for Johansen to delve into them just was not for me. The Tiger Prince was just too long, and took forever for anything to get accomplished. It wasn't bad, but after the first two hundred and fifty pages, I ended up skimming through all the useless descriptions to get to the meat of the story, which was not that great! At least not the story that Dark Rider was. I enjoy her thrillers, but thus far Johansen's historical romances have not thrilled me nearly as much!

This is a story of two people trying to overcome their painful pasts. Not only are there very interesting and compassionate main characters, but there are interesting secondary characters too. There is Li Sung, the young chinese man that is also Jane's best friend. John Kartauk, the arragant and passionate goldsmith whom Abdar, an Indian Prince, will do anything to keep. Ian, Ruels steady, placid brother who suffers a life shattering injury and Margaret, Ian's wife who will do anything to please Ian. Ruel is a passionate young man who's driving passion is a thirst for gold and an island called Cinnidar which holds his dreams. So sit back and enjoy this riviting story!!

Iris Johansen's Tiger Prince is more than a romance, its suspensful, emotional and action packed. A young child Jane escapes life with her prostitute mother with the man (Patrick) she believes to be her father and her best friend Li Sung. She makes a promise to Patrick that if he will take them she will earn her keep and do whatever he asks. Years later, in India, Patrick is hired to build a railroad for the current ruler. The years have proved Patrick to be a severe alcoholic and Jane, who dresses in pants and men's shirts, and Li Sung have long been working day and night, supervising and making sure the work that supports them is done. When Jane meets sculptor Kartauk, who is hiding from the ruler's cruel son Prince Addar, she agrees to hide him until he can find his way out of the country.

A scottish lord, Ian has tracked his half brother Ruel to India, to talk him into returning home to Scotland and their estate. Ruel, who is known for his extreme good looks, has been attempting to get a meeting with the current ruler so he can make a deal to buy an Island, Cinnidar. When the crown Prince promises to get him an audience with his father if he can return Kartauk, Ruel sets out to seduce Jane into revealing Kartauk's whereabouts. He succeeds in his seduction but finds he is drawn to Jane like he has never been to any other woman. Soon it is revealed how evil the crown prince is, he uses Kartauk's skills to make death masks of people he has killed believing he can draw strength out of their spirits by praying to his pagan god with the masks. Soon Jane, Ruel, Ian and Li Sung plot to finish the railroad and get Kartauk out of the country. Ruel gets his audience with the ruler and buys Cinnidar. When a horrible accident results in Ian's being left paralyzed, Patrick blames Jane. Jane is horrified when Patrick blames her for ordering the cheap rails to save money when he was responsible, but Patrick reminds her of the promise she made as a child to do whatever he asks. Ruel is enraged when he finds out Ian's injury was preventable and vows to make Jane pay. The only thing is he cannot turn off his feelings for her no matter how hard he tries. Jane agrees to take care of Ian out of guilt along with Ian's fiance Margaret and the next few years show Ruel's mental cruelty to Jane take its toil. When the death of the Indian ruler leaves the path for Prince Abdar to seek his revenge from the small group, they must put their differences aside to survive the attack. Ruel forgives Jane and tells her he wants her in his life forever but can she let go of the hurt the years have taken?

This book not only presents us with lead characters with incredible depth but the supporting characters are worthy of their own stories. I think this was an awesome book, but if you read it please take time for it because it is full of detail and has no filler pages. Great story

I don't agree with the opinions of those that said this book was bad. While some of her other historical romances have been better, I enjoyed this one as well. Sure, the plot was improbable, but when I pick up a historical romance, it isn't for the probability, but for the entertainment. I have found all of her historical romances to be entertaining. I wish she would write more of them or include some of the steamier elements of her romance novels in her suspense work. She seems to have done away with the majority of those aspects in her suspense work and I miss it.

Of all of Johansen's historical romances, this is by far, the worst. The hero and the heroine are compelling. However, the plot is muddled and improbable and overwhelms the love story. I would recommend any of Johansen's other historical romances over this one: Golden Barbarian, Magnificent Rogue, Storm Winds, or This Fierce Splendor.

Jane Barnaby and her guardian Patrick Reilly are on the Indian subcontinent constructing a railroad. When goldsmith John Kartauk angers the son of the maharaja Prince Abdar, Jane hides him. Abdar is outraged that he has not had the opportunity to display his displeasure with John; he cuts a deal with the MacClarens, Scottish half-brothers, Ian and Ruel, to find John. The MacClaren siblings believe that if they locate the also vanished Jane, they will have John too.

Roguish Ruel sees he can make a better deal by helping Jane get John to safety beyond the reach of the maharaja and consequently his son. The escape attempt fails miserably leading to a horrific mishap. Ruel holds Jane culpable for the failure and vows to avenge the catastrophe by sexually humiliating the woman he loves.

This is a reprint of an early 1990s romantic thriller that brings to life late nineteenth century India through mostly the eyes of Jane, but somewhat through the male support cast. .However, the deep look at the environs is a two edged sword as the background at times overwhelms the plot. Still in spite of not being among Iris Johansen's top works, fans of the author will enjoy watching the escapades of the lead duet, a likable pairing of distrusting souls in love and hate while wondering which emotion will conquer the other.

Harriet Klausner

This is my first book by Iris Johansen. She is a top-quality writer. I love intelligent, creative romances and this was one of them. She is definitely one of the better writers. I have only one complaint - she puts her characters through intense sorrow in the middle of the book. Even though it all works out in the end, I was unhappy with that much conflict and misunderstanding between her characters. On the other hand, the triple romantic ending was GREAT! This book deserves more than 3 stars -- 5 stars if you can handle the intense sorrow here.

Iris Johansen always delivers a complex tale with lots of detail, sexual tension and twisting plots. This is no different, and though I did like some of her others more (The Wind Dancer trilogy, The Magnificent Rogue and Beloved Scoundrel--see my reviews), I can still say this is a worthy read.

The story begins in Utah in 1869 when 11 year old Jane Baraby pleads with a railroad man, who she thinks could be her father, to take her with him when he leaves for England as her mother, a whore, doesn't want her. She persuades him to take not only her but Li Sung, a young man with a crushed leg who limps and a 6 week old puppy. She's a caretaker, you see. By the time she is 18 (1875), they have left England for India and Jane knows everything about building a railroad. Meanwhile, Ruel McClaren, bastard son of a Scot who never claimed him as his son, is mining in Africa to gain the funds to purchase an island off the coast of India, called Cinnidar. His half brother, Ian, shows up to bring him home to Scotland, but consents to go to India first to see what this Cinnidar is all about. Ian has always seen Ruel as a tiger whose blue eyes burn brightly as the man himself who is so handsome he is almost beautiful. Ruel is a man who can mesmerize women and he wants Jane, incorrectly believing her to be a woman of the world. And that is just the beginning of the adventure.

This story is chalked full of exotic places, people and happenings: a castle in Scotland (Glenclaren), palaces in India, a Turkish goldsmith who is a genius, railroads built over deep gorges, elephants running rampage in the jungle, a cobra attack--and more! It's not like some romances that take place in a single building...no, you get your money's worth of adventure with this one. And, yes, the hero is a cad for part of the tale, and the heroine overcomes all that life throws against her. You will love it! As with all Iris Johansen's romances I've read so far, I recommended it.

ANOTHER ATYPICAL JOHANSEN NOVEL PULLED OUT OF HER BAG OF TRICKS. LOVED IT, VERY INTERESTING, AND CAPTIVATING.