Tiger's Curse (Book 1 in the Tiger's Curse Series)

If a book is really good, I giggle while I read it. I don't necessarily giggle because there's a funny part in the book; I giggle because it's just that awesome. I giggle when something intense happens, I shriek and scream when the romance bits get swoon-a-licious, I giggle hysterically when the plot is progressing and heating up and getting OH MY GOD SO INTENSE I CANNOT FLIP THESE PAGES FAST ENOUGH!This is a giggle book.Supposedly Twilight is what really inspired Collen Houck to write Tiger's Curse, so naturally there are a lot of comparisons between the two books. I'll just address that really quickly. If you just want to get on with the review, skip to the next paragraph! There are a few similarities between Twilight and Tiger's Curse, but they're mostly in the details. For example, both Bella and Kelsey love reading, poetry, and the classics. They both seem to enjoy just sitting around and reading. They're both also very independent. Then of course there's a love triangle, the whole thing with the girl falling in love with a very wealthy and generous mythical kind of guy, and so on. I also thought there were similarities in the writing style. It's kind of simplistic, but in a good way (I usually like that kind of writing - if you don't, then you may not like Tiger's Curse). But I think that Tiger's Curse is written in such a way that Twilight fans will love it, but it's also so different from Twilight that non-Twilight fans will love it! I wasn't a huge fan of Twilight. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. And while I can see the similarities between the two, Tiger's Curse is still so different and so unique and I absolutely adore it! There's non of the controversial sparkly-vampire stuff, there is no totally overbearing controlling boyfriend (Ren is just pure sweet!), and at least so far, Kelsey hasn't had to give up her humanity for anything.I think Tiger's Curse is one of the coolest stories I've ever read! I mean, I had my doubts at first. If you think about it, it's basically about a girl falling in love with a tiger (even though he really is a man). Isn't that kind of weird? Yeah, a bit. But Colleen Houck totally pulled it off and in the book it wasn't weird at all! She has told a story about our world, but really amped up the mythology. As a huge mythology buff, I completely fell in love with the story.Another thing that I thought was going to be hit or miss with me was the setting: India. I have never read a book about India. I kind of had similar thoughts as when I read Cinder. Cinder takes place in Beijing and before reading it I knew it was going to be hit or miss with me. Why? Because the setting is so unique! On the one hand it could be too unfamiliar that it doesn't grasp my attention. But on the other hand, it could be a breath of fresh air. Probably 99% of the books I read take place in the United States or some post-apocalyptic version of it. But India.. wow, totally different. And it was totally awesome!Because the story takes place in India we learn a lot about the tigers in the region, the mythology, Indian culture, and old Indian stories. It was all very interesting and fascinating to read about. There's a fun mix between learning about modern Indian culture and the mythological stuff. One minute Kelsey is complaining about the crazy driving in India, and the next she's reading about an old Indian myth or listening to Mr. Kadam talk about his time in India 300+ years ago.I thought all the characters were unique and vibrant. For the most part, I loved them all. I'll talk about Kelsey later, but Ren was kind of your standard nice guy with an air of mystery. He's super sweet, definitely a romantic, but he has that princely vibe. He's confident, privileged, but not arrogant or selfish. It was super easy to fall for him and giggle like a crazy fangirl. Kishan is an interesting character because the first time we met him, I decided I hated him. He seemed like an arrogant jerkface. But it wasn't in a bad way, it was more like, "I love hating this character," rather than "This character sucks and I wish he didn't exist." But as time went on, I became more and more unsure of my hasty decision. He grew on me a bit! As for Mr. Kadam, he's kind of your cool scholarly character. He's a super nice grandfather-ish figure who has an insatiable hunger for knowledge. And after living for over 300 years, he's definitely full of knowledge!My one character issue is Kelsey. In a broad sense she was okay, but there were some random details that bugged me that I don't even really know how to describe. I just felt like some of her dialogue was awkward. I guess it felt scripted or something. She just said such obvious things and sometimes she didn't seem very impulsive or full of emotion (we all are at some point!). It's like she carefully crafted each sentence, which I suppose is what made it seem scripted. As an example, she's basically about to be mauled to death by a panther when Ren jumps in and rescues her. She immediately is like, "Thank you for saving me." No hysteria, no strong emotions, no like "Z0MG HOLY CRAP WHAT JUST HAPPENED," no life flashing before the eyes.. just a calm, cool, collected, "Thank you for saving my life." Maybe I'm just weird or maybe you see what I mean.The romance in this book was completely swoon-a-licious. It had me weak at the knees and begging the world to deliver my boyfriend to my doorstep so I could have some romantic cuddle time. Ren is so sweet and it's kind of funny to watch Kelsey blushing all the time since this is her first time being close to a man. So all the cuddling and kissing gets her a little flustered!But despite the awesomeness of the romance, there were two things that did bug me about it. First, there was no "chase." I really like the phase where both people aren't really sure how the other person feels. I love the uncertainty and the butterflies that brings. Although there was no insta-love in Tiger's Curse, it was obvious when Kelsey started crushing on Ren, and obvious that Ren was crushing on her back. There was no uncertainty.My other issue with the romance is the nasty turn it took halfway through. This isn't totally spoilerish, but if you'd rather not read about something that happened halfway through, skip this paragraph. I won't reveal too many details, but I'll just say that Kelsey decided that she and Ren weren't good together. Rather than talking to Ren about it, she just decides to subtly start ignoring him, which confuses and frustrates Ren and kind of pissed me off. Finally they did talk about it, and she admits she's afraid of getting her heart broken and does the whole self-deprecating "I'm not good enough for you because you're a sexy beast and I'm just average" thing. And no matter how many times Ren insisted that he did want to be with Kelsey and not any other supermodel-like girls, she just ignored him. That whole thing had me clawing at the book and screaming at Kelsey. But it was all very similar to how I felt about Kishan. It wasn't a story-ruiner, it was just something I loved to hate and scream about.Overall I thought this book was amazing. Tiger's Curse ties in so many unique elements: knee-weakening romance, fantasy, mythology, and adventure. And I low how the adventure and the romance play equal roles. This book isn't dominantly an adventure book, but it also isn't dominantly a romance book. The two seem to have very equal weights, and I think that's what can make this book enjoyable to so many people.

If you are looking for a good YA paranormal romance series, look no further. SERIOUSLY. You will read, re-read, and then read some more ... until your entire life, lives, breaths, screams, TIGER, and your family threatens to have you committed. Just start collecting everything Tiger now, and save yourself some time. :)Now that I've got that out of the way, lets start with the review.Appearance...The first thing I noticed when I spotted this book was the detail in the cover. I'm not a shallow woman, but I do admit that a pretty cover will catch my eye. I love that the cover is textured, and that when you turned it in the light, it picks up multiple colors. The way the design is blended gives it an almost smokey, or misted image, that is haunting. Which makes it all the more appropriate, because this story sticks with you, long after your finished reading it. It will invade your dreams, your waking thoughts, until you find yourself drawing little hearts encircling the name, Ren.:)))The second thing that impressed me was the weight of the book. Call me crazy, [If you've made it this far into my review, I'm sure your already questioning my sanity], but when your a dedicated reader, you love the feel of the book in your hands, the texture and smell of the pages. So when I picked up this book to take a peek at the content, I was more than impressed with how solid it felt in my hand.Content, getting to the story line ...Colleen Houck did a fantastic job, thinking through the world she created for this series. It is very apparent while reading, the dedication she put into the research supporting the plot. The amount of detail intricately woven into the story, made it easy to visualize what the characters were seeing. It was like sitting front row center of the ultimate movie. [without the stiff neck]. :) FANTASTIC!The series is unique. We have seen many series based off Angels, Nephilum, Vampires, Werewolves, Fey, Mermaids, Shape shifters, Ghosts, Zombies, ...ext. However, this is the first series I have ever read based on Tigers. It was fresh and took me into uncharted territory.I really learned a great deal while reading this book. It was laced with Indian culture, history, and religious practices, that were simulated beautifully. I felt like I was vacationing in foreign land while sitting in my living room. Kudos Collen. You went above and beyond making this story believable to your readers!I appreciate the balance between the history, action, and romance. It didn't matter which direction the book was taking, I continually found myself turning the pages needing to know what the outcome was. Once I started, I found it impossible to put down. Once I was finished, I found myself flipping back to the first page. I promise you, this will be a book you read multiple times!The characters ....Wow, where do I begin? ....Kesley is the heroin of this book. She was well built, and I found it easy to connect with her. I appreciate her strength, and integrity in following through on her word. I also relate to her independent nature, and hesitance in allowing herself to be vulnerable enough to get hurt. Though there were times I was screaming at my book for choices she made, ... I appreciated the suspense it built, which was what kept me diving deeper and deeper into the story.Mr. Kadam ... how awesome is he? In many ways, Mr. Kadam was Kelsey's rock. He was always there to teach, help, listen, and most of all, support her with the hard choices she faced. He loved her like she truly was his family. Not to mention his devotion to the Tiger brothers. His character is solid, and grounded. He is unwavering and has true integrity. Mr. Kadam is every little girls dream for a grandfather.The brothers ... [insert dreamy smile here] :) Ren, oh Ren, how much I love thee! LOL Tall, dark, handsome, strong, genuine, dependable, determined, HANDSOME, ;) .... those eyes! Sigh* :) His character also has a high level of integrity that is swoon worthy. Ren is a man of his word! He surpasses all other Princes in whatever fairy tale happily ever afters you can muster up. You can not help but fall hopelessly in love with his character! Kishan ... whew! Kishan is also a man of his word, only he is more hands on. Kishan sees what he wants and he takes the front line. He is also as attractive as Ren, with the bad boy air tacked on. A guilty indulgence. Colleen did not go easy on her readers! :)There is only one thing I can honestly say about Lokesh. I hope he gets swallowed whole by a dragon in Voyage. The end. :)Overall .... This book is magical. It is full of action, adventure, true friendship, and a romance so breathtaking, you'll want to revisit it again and again. Have a box of tissues handy! Go get you a copy NOW! You won't regret a minute of it! :) FIVE STARS

Eu amo a maneira como a Colleen estrutura as histórias, esse livro é envolvente e viciante. Já li 4 vezes e amei todas elas.

Pleasure reading which I really love and recommend.

- promising only in the beginning- becomes a child book (after 1/3) but is too long/complicated for a child to read.- very boring lovestory- don't like the writing about food all the time

I got this book as a present from my best friend. She got me this because I adore tigers so much! When I started reading it I just fell in love with the world building and the two different kind of worlds that collide together...I just loved it! There was times that I wanted to feel sorry for the main character but also times I felt sorry for the tiger. If you love the love between two characters, the adventure, mystery and everything that comes with breaking a curse then you will LOVE this book. I recommend this book 100%, and I just hope that anyone else who read this will love it as much as I have 😍📚x

Love the book and the series. The Second hand book that I received was in a good condition