Review: Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck

Title: Tiger’s Curse
Author: Colleen Houck
Publisher: Sterling
Publishing Date: January 11th 2011
Pages: 403
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy/Mythology, Adventure
Series: The Tiger’s Saga #1
Source: Hardcover

Goodreads Summary:
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.

Tiger’s Curse is the exciting first volume in an epic fantasy-romance that will leave you breathless and yearning for more.

Review:
This book sat on my to read list for quite a while before I finally got it from the library. I was really excited to get started on this book. The cover is really beautiful and the synopsis sounds intriguing, different. The fact that I love tigers probably had a bit to do with it too. So I was finally able to hold the book and dig in. It wasn’t quite what I had expected at first, it did have a bit of a shaky start for me but somewhere in the story I became entranced and couldn’t put the book down.

The story is quite original for me. Kelsey just graduated high school and decides to take a 2 week job working and living with a circus where she meets a beautiful white tiger named Ren. She spends days upon days talking, reading, and caring for the tiger. She quickly develops a special bond with the tiger. During her weeks with the circus she is approached by a man from India, Mr. Kadam, who offers her a job traveling to India with the tiger, to care for him during the trip. All expenses paid, and payment for her time. She is weary at first but takes the offer, and this is where the story takes off.

Once in India, Kelsey finds out there is more to the tiger than meets the eye. She finds out there is a curse, a prince, and a wild adventure waiting for her. She spends her entire summer traveling with the white tiger to break the curse that has been in effect for over 300 years. Along the way she finds true friendship and the love of her life.

It was really easy to fall in love with the characters of this book. I really liked Kelsey and enjoyed taking the journey with her. She is a little naïve, but she hasn’t really had time to spread her wings and experience the world yet and now she is on a dangerous adventure to save a tiger. What I found to be Kelsey’s greatest attribute was her loyalty and her caring heart. She would do anything for those that she loves. She is a bit stubborn at times and she is young girl so the stupid, he loves you, quit being dumb, does come up, but she still has a heart of gold and tries her hardest to think selflessly. I don’t have any words that can really express my feelings for Ren. First, he is a tiger/prince. Well that about does it for me. That’s all I needed to get my heart to pitter patter for the guy, but he is so much more. He is sweet... oh so sweet, chivalrous, very polite, he just knows how to treat a girl with respect all the while protecting her. Oh and yes he is very stubborn, but in a cute way. Another character that I really just enjoyed was Mr. Kadam. He is the father figure, the boss, and the brain. He has been taking care of Ren since he was born and has been doing all that is possible to find a way to break the curse. When he brings Kelsey to India, the loving, caring, nurturing attributes pass to her along with the financial and the living needs. He ends up being such a great friend. There seems to be no end to his goodness. Ren’s brother Kishan, does make an appearance, but I didn’t as connected to him as I did Ren. He is a little bit of a jerk and has embraced the curse and the tiger lifestyle a bit differently than Ren. He is much harder, much colder. I think that will be changing in the future though.

The world that the author built was amazing. The mythology and the history that was put into the story gave the story so much more depth. The journey was amazing, full of action and mystery. The writing was a bit simple, but somewhere in the book it changed or I just didn’t notice anymore. I am glad I stuck with the book. The only complaint I have is the ending is a heartbreaking.

In the end I loved the book. It fulfilled my expectations and caused me to fall head over heels. I will be reading more of this story; I need more that is for sure.

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