Tiger’s Curse by Colleen Houck
My Summary:
Kelsey has just graduated from high school. She’s looking for a summer job. College plans are uncertain, money being the issue. Her parents are gone; she lives with a foster family. Her heart has never gotten over the loss of her parents. She holds her heart tight to protect it. A traveling circus gives her a job and she quickly learns to love the beautiful white tiger. She reads to the tiger and helps care for the tiger. Soon she wishes the tiger could be free. That’s when the magic starts. The tiger isn’t a tiger at all, but a gorgeous prince that has been cursed and Kelsey might just be the one to help him break the curse.
5/5 stars but I’m still mad at Kelsey.
My thoughts:
I love this book. I love the world that Collen Houck creates in Tiger’s Curse. The world of India, the many traditions and rich culture are included as well as some paranormal elements. The world is rich and unique compared to many YA paranormal books. I love the idea of the tiger curse. The brief moments of Ren, our gorgeous tiger, as a man create an exciting relationship with Kelsey. She obviously falls in love with the tiger first and then tries to mesh the two relationships together. The challenges of trying to break the curse are action packed and exciting with rich lore along the way. I love Ren. He is a gentleman who knows what his wants. His demeanor and responses to Kelsey are brilliant. I trust him and I care about him. I want his curse to be broken. I want him to be happy. Mr. Kadam is a wonderful grandfatherly character that I quickly learned to trust and care about. I also love Kishan who is also a gorgeous tiger and Ren’s brother. I liked his bad boy bother character although I wouldn’t trust him with much at this point. For most of the book, I loved Kelsey. She is strong and determined. She has responded to the loss of her parents with grace and is kind to people. Her concern for Ren the tiger helps him beyond her understanding at the time. Her willingness to help others is wonderful. I admire her desire to help Ren even after a challenging start at communication. I love her bravery. I love her strength. Though the book doesn’t do a lot about describing her physical features, there are two brothers who think she is beautiful. She is clearly a catch. It is so apparent that she loves Ren, both the tiger and the man but she doesn’t understand him at all. Maybe this is due to her still being young but it’s hard to believe since in so many other ways she is mature beyond her years.
Spoilers from here on – (click and drag to select and see the rest):
What I struggled with was her self-deprecation at the end of the book. Ren was too gorgeous to really love her and so she had to leave him even though she loved him and he loved her. She convinces herself that he will break her heart once he realizes that he could have so much more after the curse is broke. She worries that he only loves her because of the help that she has given him in breaking the curse. I hate that she feels like she isn’t good enough for Ren. She makes herself a second class person to his beauty. She doesn’t understand him at all. And she breaks my heart. I am looking forward to the next book, Tiger’s Quest. Kelsey is so stubborn; I hold little hope that she will have changed her mind about Ren. I can only hope that the trials she faces will change it for her.
I can’t wait for Tiger Quest, coming out in June 7, 2011.
Now the giveaway part!
I really did enjoy this book so much so that I didn't devour it in a few hours like a normally do but spread it out over several days just to m
ake it last. I want to share the love and I have a reason to celebrate!
I own the domain stuckinbooks.com now!
I want to win I want to win!!!! I hope I win I hope I win!!!
ReplyDeleteCONGRATS on the domain!!!!!!!!! So happy for you BTW your blog is sooo cute I love it <3
Thank you for the giveaway, this book looks great!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on getting the domain!
Yay! Congrats on the Domain name :) Great review and giveaway! :)
ReplyDeleteCongrats on owning your domain!
ReplyDeleteI've been wanting to read this one for so long! Thanks for the opportunity! :)