Tiger’s Curse : Review

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.

Sum­mary from GoodReads (here)

Review

Title: Tiger’s Curse
Author: Colleen Houck
Pub­lisher: Splinter
Release Date: January 11, 2011 (Get it @ Ama­zon)
For­mat Read: Print Edi­tion
Print Length: 448 pages
Series: The Tiger Series (Book One)
Worth Noting:  The series is oddly not available on Kindle, though it is available as a Nook Book

Tiger’s Curse is the first book for (at least) four in The Tiger Series, and begins the novel with Kelsey looking for a job. Refered to the circus in town for a temporary job, Kelsey’s responsibilities involve taking care of the tiger as well as lending a hand in various places. Almost immediately, Kelsey begins to have an attachment to the Tiger Dihren which she quickly nicknames Ren. When a buyer comes in and purchases Ren from the circus, they pay her to help with Ren’s move back to India. Only, once Kelsey reaches India she discovers that everything is not as it seems… Ren is actually a former Prince of India, trapped has a tiger with only 24 minutes of the day in human form. Cursed for centuries, Kelsey is the girl they’ve been waiting for to help release Ren and his similarly trapped brother from their fate.

Tiger’s Curse is a book that once I started reading, I just couldn’t stop. Kelsey is an amazing character who while she has a strong personality that does not allow herself to be pushed around, also has her fears and weaknesses. While Kelsey is drawn to Ren in tiger form, when he shifts into a human she is much more wary of him. Determined to help Ren be released from the curse, Kelsey struggles with her feelings for Ren while feeling that she’s not good enough for this handsome Prince. Though it is sometimes frustrating to see yet another character who feels they aren’t good enough for someone, there is also a backdrop of Kelsey wanting Ren to find out who he is without her that is interesting.

While the romance in the Tiger Series is definitely worth reading, the story of Ren’s curse and their attempt to break it is just as compelling and not something that falls to the wayside. Set in India, Tiger’s Curse brings us to many locations throughout India and mixes in its history and cultures with fables from the past that I eagerly soaked up. With interesting locations, and compelling characters, Tiger’s Curse is an excellent read.