Review: Tiger's Quest by Colleen Houck

Title: Tiger's Quest
Author: Colleen Houck
Genre: YA, Supernatural, Romance, Action
Perfect for: Readers who fell in love with Kishan in the original
Star Rating: 3/5 stars

Taken from Goodreads, "Kelsey Hayes is no ordinary college freshman. In fact, the eighteen-year-old girl has just returned from India, where she risked her life—and her heart—to rescue a handsome Indian prince from a terrible curse. Back home in Oregon, Kelsey is determined to move on, despite the lingering feelings she has for the man she left behind. She meets Li, a completely average guy who offers the promise of an ordinary, curse-free life. But just when Kelsey is ready to move on, Ren reenters her life, on a quest to reclaim her heart. Danger threatens their newly rekindled love and to save him, Kelsey must journey with someone else—a man who wants her for himself. The saga begun in Tiger’s Curse continues in Tiger’s Quest, as Kelsey finds herself in an epic battle between good and evil. From the shores of the Pacific Northwest to the jungles of India, the mountains of Nepal and Tibet, and the mystical realm of Shangri-la, this suspenseful tale of love, sacrifice, and redemption is not to be missed."


I really, really enjoyed the original novel in this series entitled, 'Tiger's Curse'. So, it goes without saying that I had high expectations for 'Tiger's Quest'. Peeking at other reviews and ratings didn't help the hype, either. Most have raved about 'Tiger's Quest' and given it pretty high ratings. Sadly, I just didn't feel the love for this title. 'Tiger's Quest' was weighed down by long blocky descriptions and lack luster plot elements.


I don't mean to completely rip into 'Tiger's Quest', but there wasn't a lot that screamed 'oh my gosh, this is awesome'. The main problem with this novel stemmed from the long, blocky descriptions and the way that much of the time we learned facts via lines of description and not lines of dialogue. The long legends were pretty skim-worthy, too.


Adding to my disappointments, it seemed like Kelsey and Kishan had a pretty easy time completing the tasks that were placed in front of them. Everything just seemed to work out in their favor far too easily.


Even with the disappointments, there was one thing that I enjoyed about this novel-- Kishan. Seeing his character grow in 'Tiger's Quest' was the best part of this novel. I think I even prefer him to Ren now!


'Tiger's Quest' gets 3 out of 5 stars. Not my favorite book, but it's something you will want to read if you enjoyed the original.

Review: Tigers Curse by Colleen Houck

Title: Tigers Curse
Author: Colleen Houck
Genre: YA, Supernatural, Action, Romance
Perfect for: romantics (who don't mind minor writing issues)
Format: ARC
Release Date: January 2011
Star Rating: 4/5

Kelsey is done with high school and on her own, well sort of. Her job at assisting the Tiger trainer at the circus parked in town has her pretty busy. Strange things begin to happen when she feels drawn to Ren, the Tiger she takes care of. When rich Mr. Kadam offers her a job in taking Ren to a preserve in India, she can't refuse.

Trouble is, Ren isn't just a Tiger. At least, not all the time. As it turns out, he's also a 300 year old Indian prince who was cursed by an evil man in hopes of de-throning him. As Ren and Kelsey try to break the curse that binds him, they feel more and more drawn to each other until they break.

If this sounds familiar, it might be because you've already read it. This book was available as an ebook last year for Kindles, as well as it's sequel. I, sadly, just found this via ARC and now cannot hunt down a copy of said sequel to save my life! And yes, I really want to continue this saga.

The story is pretty original. I mean, how many YA titles take place in India? And star an Indian prince who is cursed to play Tiger almost 23 and a 1/2 hours a day? Not too many. It's a nice change from Vampires, Werewolves, and that whole lot.

The writing has some problems. We are 'told' a lot, as opposed to learning it on our own. There are some big blocky paragraphs of texts that are just never fun. There's also a bit of redundancy sometimes, but the overall story and characters cover for the lack of refinement.

The characters are likable and you really do start rooting for them as you read on in 'Tigers Curse'. The romance between Ren and Kelsey is actually quite cute and (somewhat) more realistic than other supernatural YA novels. (My only complaint about the characters is that I really hate the nickname 'Kells' and the name 'Kelsey' in general, but that's just me. :p)

'Tigers Curse' is one of those reads that grabbed me without me even knowing. I found it hard to put down and I looked for info on a sequel almost immediately after finishing. All signs point to this being a fantastic series and I'm really looking forward to taking the journey with Ren and Kelsey.

I recommend you take a peek at 'Tigers Curse'!