Book Review: Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck

             Title: Tiger's Curse
           Author: Colleen Houck
          Series: The Tiger Saga #1
          ISBN: 978-1402784033
              Publisher: Splinter
            Pub. Date: January 11, 2011
              Source: Library
           Genre: Fantasy/YA/Romance
             Pages: 448
              Rating: 4 Kisses
             Buy: Amazon | Book Depository


               Excerpt (ch. 1-7) | Website   

Synopsis (from Goodreads): Passion. Fate. Loyalty.


Would you risk it all to change your destiny?


The last thing 17-year old 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.

My Reveries and Ramblings:
      Tiger’s Curse begins with Kelsey starting her new job at a visiting circus. While working, she becomes attached to one of the animals, a very tame white tiger. When Kelsey is given the opportunity to help transport the tiger back to India, she readily accepts. Once she arrives in India, she finds out that the tiger, Ren, isn’t really a tiger, but a cursed prince. The real reason she was tricked to escort the tiger was to help break the curse. What follows is a journey filled with love, friendship, heartache, magic, and adventure.
      Tiger's Curse is such a refreshing YA novel. I have yet to come across a novel for teens that takes place in India. The romance was just so beautiful. It was touching and very real. It felt very natural. Although Kelsey's inability to make the, ahem, correct decisions at the end made me angry. I could go on an on and on about the awesomeness of their relationship and how devoted Ren was to her. It was so cute! I had a big smile on my face for 2/3 of the book. The other third was when Kelsey had her nightmare (which by the way, I was freaking out, I felt like I was in the nightmare-scary!) and the few chapters when Kelsey was acting irrational.
      I absolutely loved every moment of this Indian adventure. There was so much going on. Ms. Houck kept throwing complicated Indian names and myths/legends around, but they all made sense later. The only problem I had was with Kelsey-specifically at the end, but I think I ranted enough about her. I did love her optimism, though. Her ability to compartmentalize was astounding. I wish I could do it that well.
      The only problem I had with the whole book was that the quest was too easy. Yes, there was a lot of traveling. But, whenever they needed something, it somehow appeared. I never felt that life and death urgency. It was more like well-even-though-we're-camping-since-you're-a-tiger-you-can-run-a-few-miles-back-and-get-us-some-food type feeling. The only time when I was actually nervous or scared for the characters was towards the end when they were attacked by the kappas. However, even though this was something I had to overlook, I really loved this book. Kelsey's narration was funny and interesting to read. My favorite aspect of this book was the romance. The sweetness of it, just made my heart ache. I borrowed this book from the library. But I'm having pre-separation anxiety about it. I'm probably going to buy the book so I can re-read my favorite parts. While I'm out, I might as well buy the second book Tiger's Quest-because i can't just leave the series as is. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves re-tellings, traveling, quests, and a rich and beautiful romance.

<<SPOILER ALERT-RANT-highlight to read>>
Oh My Goodness!!! I could just kill Kelsey for what she did. Doesn't she realize how lucky she is?! Ren loves her so much and she just leaves?!?! I would have done the exact opposite if I were put into the book. Ren's just too good to pass up.  I wish I had a guy like Ren. A guy who's passionate, straight-forward, strong, confident, sweet, charming, and a prince all rolled into one furry package. Seriously, a girl couldn't ask for more. But nooooo, Kelsey just throws it all away because she's scared. I mean, I did understand why she did what she did; but at the same time I also didn't like her decision. She most definitely made the wrong one.

Book Trailer:

My Playlist:

(I took many of the songs from the official Tiger's Curse Playlist mostly because I listened to that while I read the book).
(Listen on Spotify)