The first book in the nationally bestselling Tiger's Curse series is now available in paperback!
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. Packed with magic, action-adventure, and romance, the epic Tiger's Curse series will keep you breathless and yearning for more.
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PRAISE FOR TIGER'S CURSE: “…a sweet romance and heart-pounding adventure. I found myself cheering, squealing and biting my nails-all within a few pages. In short, Tiger's Curse is magical!” -Becca Fitzpatrick, New York Times bestselling author of Hush, Hush
"High adventure ensues. As in Tiger's Curse and Tiger's Quest, this story is part action-adventure and part romance…The novel will satisfy the saga's fans, who will be delighted by the prospect of a fourth volume.” --Booklist
“Houck cranks the love-o-stat up another notch…Hypersteamy romance...'hot, melty, smoldering' (but still chaste) make-out sessions…” --Kirkus Reviews
“Forget vampires and werewolves, tigers are the new hottest thing…a guaranteed page turner with a huge twist at the end that will leave you breathless.” --RT Book Reviews
About the Author
Colleen Houck's Tiger's Curse, Tiger's Quest, and Tiger's Voyage were New York Times and USA Today bestsellers. A resident of Salem, OR, Colleen lives with her husband and a life-sized white stuffed tiger. For more information visit: tigerscursebook.com.
Colleen Houck's New York Times bestselling Tiger's Curse series has received national praise with the fourth book, Tiger's Destiny, debuting September 2012. Colleen is a lifelong reader whose literary interests include action, adventure, science fiction, and romance. Formerly a student at the University of Arizona, she has worked as a nationally certified American Sign Language interpreter for seventeen years. Colleen lives in Salem, Oregon, with her husband and a huge assortment of plush tigers.
First Impressions: Tiger's Curse had been on my wish list for a very long time and I was excited to finally get the chance to read and review it. I'll admit that the cover art definitely had a major impression on me, but the subject matter is awesome too. I've always loved tigers and I thought that the plot of this book was very unique. I don't think I've read any other books about Indian curses and white tigers! I've heard nothing too negative being said about Tiger's Curse so I had very high hopes that I would enjoy it as well.
First 50 Pages: I immediately really liked Colleen Houcks writing style. It is very simple, yet her plot is intricate and generally well done. One of my favorite parts of the story was the Indian setting and the attention the author paid to details when she set up her scenes. The mythology aspect of Tiger's Curse was wonderful and it was one of the best aspects of the story. It was pretty apparent that the author did her research in regards to the Indian culture. Now with that said, there were some grammatical errors that slightly bugged me and the dialogue wasn't as good as it could have been, but overall, the beginning of the book had me hooked and I couldn't put it down once I started to read.
Characters & Plot: The plot of Tiger's Curse follows the story of a girl named Kelsey who works at a circus taking care of a rare white tiger named Ren. A few weeks into Kelsey's job, a man named Mr. Kadam shows up to give Kelsey and Ren an opportunity most people only dream of having. The man buys Ren and Kelsey goes to India to be Ren's caretaker. I did find it kind of strange that Kelsey's foster parents had no issues with allowing Kelsey to go away, especially to a completely different country, but hey! This is just a story, right?... The journey from plain, old Oregon to the wilds of India is fascinating and completely unique in every way.
Soon it becomes quite obvious to Kelsey that Ren is no ordinary tiger since she is able to speak with him and it will be up to her to break a curse that has lasted centuries, not only for Ren, but for herself as well. The whole love story reminded me of Beauty and the Beast and it was obvious that Ren wasn't truly a tiger.
As I stated before, the journey that Kelsey makes is gorgeous and I love all of the Indian culture that was so carefully placed into Tiger's Curse. It had a romantic flare and the descriptions were just gorgeous. It must have taken the author a long time to research India in order for this book to come across as realistic as far as the setting goes.
I had some issues with Kelsey, our protagonist. I really enjoyed her character through the first half of the book despite some character flaws, but she took a turn for the worst at one particular point. I liked her because she was a strong and independent character, but some of the choices she made (especially in the latter half of the book) made me angry and extremely annoyed with her. Everything between Kelsey and Ren was going so well until Kelsey decided that she was going to be as mean and nasty as she could be to Ren, because she thought that the only reason that he is attracted to her is because he can speak with her and he is unable to speak to anyone else. This is, of course, not true but Kelsey believes it is and she treats Ren horribly. I didn't really understand where all of her anger was coming from, it just sort of happened. It frustrated me because everything seemed to be going just fine for the pair. I was enjoying their slow developing romance and then it just kind of feel apart. I was also annoyed by the introduction of a love triangle out of nowhere. It wasn't necessary!
By the end of the story, I felt more invested and could connect with all of the other characters besides Kelsey. Ren was a delight and Mr. Kadam was a neat grandfatherly type that I enjoyed very much. I'm sure many young girls will be swooning over Ren and cursing Kelsey for the way that she treats him. There is also Kishan who is interested in Kelsey, but he doesn't play a huge role in the story, at least not in this book.
Final Thoughts: Despite some flaws, large and small, I thoroughly enjoyed Tiger's Curse. There was just something about this story that I can't quite pin-point that made me want to keep reading. I'm tempted to run out to a bookstore to try to find the next book in the series so I can find out what happens next. For a debut author, I don't think that Colleen Houck did a terrible job constructing this story, but I do feel as though the story could have used some editing. I'm sure that the second book will be much better.
The plot was so unique and the setting was so beautiful, that it made it impossible to put down. If you are a fan of adventure and romance, I would recommend checking out this book!Read more ›
I really enjoyed reading this book. It got me attached to the characters and really involved in the plot. I haven't seen a lot of books about India and tigers so it was a refreshing change from most fantasy novels. Though some parts of the series were a bit on the predictable side I let myself really have fun with it and let my emotions get caught up in the swell of things. I laughed, cried, blushed, and yelled throughout this series and I like that the style is easy enough to read so you can get swept up in the emotions being portrayed, you aren't bogged down by overly fancy wordplay. Over all a great book and personally I loved it.
If you haven't read this series yet, or even the first book, then I say stop everything and go get it.
The series starts off with a young girl named Kelsey Hayes trying to find a job. She ends up working for a traveling circus and makes friends with the tiger they have there.....and from there it only gets better....
The story involves, magic, tigers, love, romance, death, adventure, monkeys...don't wanna give away too much but believe me it is so worth the read. The second book goes on for more adventure and romance.
Through this book Kelsey grows into a woman, she learns a lot about life and love
and responsibility. She goes through so much, and through the rest of the series it only gets deeper and deeper for her. She must learn to defend herself as well as her heart.
To fight for who she truly loves and who she really is. She needs all her strength to complete the tasks they are given while keeping herself and her heart safe. She learns who to trust, and who is not on her side.
If you want a book filled with love and adventure, deceit and betrayal then this is your book. If you are looking for a happily ever after book that will have you in tears along the way both happy and sad then I say definitely pick up this series. I know I loved every minute and every tear.
Colleen Houck does a magnificent job describing a world that feels real and characters who draw you in to them so that it is hard to put the book down! Great read! I would recommmend all the books in this series! Full of action, clean romance, adventure and fun!
I'll do my best to refrain from spoilers, but I want to be thorough in my explanation. Basically, this book series was a disappointment. Coerced by a friend, I was urged to purchase this novel and did so. I go through multiple books swiftly during any given leisure time. And sadly, my interest waned before halfway because of all the glaring faults. Being a rather stubborn reader, I finish what I start- no matter how unpleasant the book may be.
Not to say it's entirely horrible. Honestly, the concept had nice prospects I could admire. I'm a great fan of mythology and all Asian cultures. But there was several fatal flaws to this book that ruined all potential to it. The classic pretty girl who thinks herself ordinary and gets all the attention from two "perfect" men. Even when these said men are acting appallingly, the fickle main character still finds the time to swoon over them and weakly forgive their wrongdoings. It gets boring after awhile; especially when you use the cliché formula for the love interest. (Flawlessly handsome, rich, educated, sensitive, understanding, inhumanly strong, etc.) I don't expect it to be realistically relatable, but a refreshing new take on this banality would've been appreciated.
And I can't stress enough how many times I read the word "wow" in this book. It was in every chapter almost and became an instant eyesore. The dialogue was painfully tiresome, particularly at times when Kelsey asked the most obvious questions that could've easily gone unsaid and sped up the plot. You could literally predict what would happen next like a cheesy movie throughout the book, it certainly lacked that element of surprise or creative plot twists.... While I enjoy a good piece of poetry myself, I do not want to read pages full of it in every book of this series and read them quoting great writers to express themselves. Which I did. And some of the writing was just flat-out horrible or trite nonsense, the romantic scenes were tedious to get through sometimes. There's no denying this series has promise but I haven't seen much of it in all three books so far.
Basically, this wasn't my cup of tea. Too plain with irksome qualities. This series might go well for readers that want to enjoy a simple, uninvolved read. Should you prefer a book that has a structured plot with strong characters that will captivate you from start to end, then look elsewhere.Read more ›
