Follow Friday—15

QUESTION: Have you ever looked at a book's cover and thought, This is going to horrible? But, was instead pleasantly surprised? Show us the cover and tell us about the book.

Answer: Well, I was at the library a few times previously, and I'd seen this one book a few times, and it looked like this:

This cover looks pretty good, but I wasn't interested because the synopsis didn't sell me and I didn't feel very drawn to it, but I decided to borrow it anyway, convinced I wouldn't like it. But, oh, I was so wrong. This book was great, the romance was great, and everything in it was so great. This book is now one of my favorites, and I'm so happy that I ended up getting it.

Review: Tiger's Voyage by Colleen Houck

Characters: 4

Cover: 5

Plot: 3

Setting: 4

Writing: 3

SUMMARY
In the third installment of the Tiger series, Kelsey Hayes pushes through the pain of lost love and strengthens her friendship with Kishan. Despite his strong feelings for her, Kishan has agreed to be her ally in helping her reunite with the man she still loves. Together, they seek to help Ren regain his memory and begin the search for the third magical gift—an object of power that will help break the curse that causes them to live part of their lives as tigers.

They board a luxury yacht and seek Durga's aid once again, who supplies them with her golden weapons. With Nilima, Mr. Kadam, Ren, and Kishan at her side, she soon learns that the task ahead will be even more difficult than the others. Confronting a dark magician, multiple dragons, and terrifying denizens of the deep seems easy when compared to facing the daunting task of stitching up her heart. Just when she thinks she's ready to set her feet on a new path, she is yanked back with a jolt to the one she's determined to leave behind.

The jarring tug-of-war that ensues for Kelsey's heart leaves her anxious and confused. Combined with the stress of almost being killed every other day, it would appear that saving the tigers is almost more than she can handle. Still, she presses on, knowing that a choice is looming on the horizon. One she cannot put off making for long.

Tiger's Voyage is an irresistible romance with a barrage of action on the high seas, where a reader will find a treasure chest full of dragons, sea monsters, knights in shining armor, fabled weapons, and enduring love. The tropic waters of India create the backdrop for the latest installment in the tiger series. This novel, a multicultural take on the classic Beauty and the Beast tale, delves into the complex emotional turmoil and pressure associated with not only making the best choice for a nation but also the best choice for yourself.

REVIEW

The ending of Tiger's Curse left you heartbroken. The conclusion of Tiger's Quest left you even more empty. And the finale of Tiger's Voyage will leave you yearning for more. I wanted to cry at the ending of each of these books. If there's one thing that Ms. Houck knows how to do perfectly, it's create one heck of a cliffhanger in her book! :) In the previous book, Ren was rescued from Lokesh, but with a terrible case of amnesia. By the way, this review will be really, really spoilery so I'd be careful if I were you.

In the beginning, it was absolutely gripping. towards the middle, I slowly sort of lost interest and I was just trying to get to the end, but I wasn't as interested as I got farther and farther in because it was starting to get repetitive. As in the "we have to complete this quest and this thing's in our way." Kelsey was also really starting to get annoying because she kept relying on either the Golden Fruit or the Divine Scarf every single time. It was always "I wished up a meal of yogurt and mango and a glass of orange juice" or "I told the Scarf to expand the tent to make it bigger for the three of us." (Not real quotations, just rough statements.) I hated that Kelsey relied on her gifts from Durga so much.

They spent most of their time on a yacht with a cook staff. Even there, Kelsey kept wishing up things on her special little fruit. And even though there was a lot of supposed action, I think that it still lacked some type of quality that would make it truly gripping. And another problem I had was that Ms. Houck kept making Kishan or Ren carry her places. I truly could not wrap my finger around that. But otherwise, it was a really good book and I'd definitely recommend it and I also really want to read the next book because of the huge cliffhanger at the end.

Review: Tiger's Quest by Colleen Houck

Characters: 5
Cover: 5
Plot: 4
Setting: 5
Writing: 4

SUMMMARY
Back in Oregon, Kelsey tries to pick up the pieces of her life and push aside her feelings for Ren. But danger lurks around the corner, forcing her to return to India where she embarks on a second quest--this time with Ren's dark, bad-boy brother Kishan, who has also fallen prey to the Tiger's Curse. Fraught with danger, spellbinding dreams, and choices of the heart, TIGER'S QUEST brings the trio one step closer to breaking the spell that binds them. Winner of a Parent's Choice Award!


REVIEW
The cliffhanger of Tiger's Curse was so unfair. So extremely unfair. I'm so glad that I came into this series late because I was just staring at the last page of Tiger's Curse and Tiger's Quest and Tiger's Voyage and going, "What? This is the last page? Wait, no, it can't be the last page! But I have to know how it ends!" Unfortunately, Tiger's Destiny, the fourth book in the saga is not releasing until sometime in September and so I'm extremely upset and I want Ms. Houck to finish writing it ASAP so I can ask for an ARC. I probably won't get one, but I want to try.

Anyway, this starts with Ren getting captured very early on in the book and Kishan and Kelsey have to embark on this whole journey by themselves. This was the time where Kishan and Kelsey really got to know each other and they really got to know each other. I really loved the romance in this book and even though I'm still Team Ren, I really liked Kishan as well because of how supportive he was and how willing he was to just step aside if that was what Kelsey really wanted. That's showing real love that Kishan feels towards Kelsey.

At first, after Kelsey is back in Oregon, the first thing she does is try to date other people. And all of a sudden, three people are just lined up at her doorstep. I think that's highly unlikely. Even in real life, if that girl was like the most popular girl in school, you don't get asked out three times by three boys in three days. That's my major problem because that's just unlikely. It would make five people—six if you count Wes from Tiger's Voyage—that were after her: Ren, Kishan, Artie, Wes—if you count him—and this other guy's name that I forget at this point. I think it started with J maybe...or T.

Review: Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck

Characters: 5
Cover: 5
Plot: 4
Setting: 5
Writing: 4

SUMMARY
The last thing teenager Kelsey Hayes thought she'd be doing over the summer was meeting Ren, a mysterious white tiger and cursed Indian prince When she learns she alone can break the Tiger's curse, Kelsey's life is turned upside-down. The unlikely duo journeys halfway around the world to piece together an Indian prophecy, find a way to free the man trapped by a centuries-old spell, and discover the path to their true destiny.

REVIEW
Let me just tell you one thing: my friend who's just about as obsessed with books as I am was begging me to read this, claiming that it was such a great book. I gave into her in the end, and when I first read it, I only read up to the third chapter and then I got so bored and I returned it. But then she and I made a deal: I'd read Tiger's Curse if she read another book I'd recommended. We made this deal like three months ago and I just kept my end of the bargain, but I am so happy that she goaded me so much to this point.

I have to admit, the first ten or so chapters are so slow to me and it took me a while to adjust to it, but then the romance and the action really picked up and I was hooked. I stayed up until midnight to read this book, and I was reeling with questions after I finished this book because of the huge cliffhanger at the end. I wanted to break into the library just to borrow this book after I was done.

The whole point of this book was the fact that every part of this book—after the slowness in the beginning—was full of twists and turns and the romance was so great and really emotional. At first, when my friend described this to me and then to the book club we belong to, I kept countering her arguments with "She fell in love with a tiger!" I thought that he was permanently stuck as a tiger, but the truth was that once they solve one clue, Ren gets six hours, and then twelve, and then eighteen, and then all twenty four. But Ren either way gets only twenty four minutes before they found any clues. That literally wiped anything about being in love with a tiger from my mind.

Why am I still talking? I have a lot of things to gush about this book, despite the beginning part, and I think you should just borrow or buy the book. But be warned, the paper of the hardcover version of this entire saga so far is really thick, so each book weighs like five pounds. My arm was cramping, but it was totally worth it. :)

Waiting on Wednesday: Tiger's Destiny by Colleen Houck

With three of the goddess Durga's quests behind them, only one prophecy now stands in the way of Kelsey, Ren, and Kishan breaking the tiger's curse. But the trio's greatest challenge awaits them: A life-endangering pursuit in search of Durga's final gift, the Rope of Fire, on the Adaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal. It's a race against time--and the evil sorcerer Lokesh--in this eagerly anticipated fourth volume of the bestselling Tiger's Curse series, which pits good against evil, tests the bonds of love and loyalty, and finally reveals the tigers' true destiny once and for all. A smart phone tag code on the back cover links readers to the series website.

I really want to read this book. Like, really want to read it. I'm currently still on Tiger's Quest, and I can't wait to read to read Tiger's Voyage, and I even more want to read Tiger's Destiny. I seriously want to ask Colleen for an ARC of this book, but I don't know if she'd accept. But I'm seriously going to try to get that book ASAP. The first two books are full of suspense and they keep you guessing and you want to keep reading because you really need to finish the book to see the solution and you're reeling with questions anyway and you really need to read the next book. I hate that about coming into a series when all the books aren't out yet, especially if one has a cliffhanger. But they're totally fun to read and it just means that you have a new favorite series that you can obsess over.