Review: Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck

Tiger's Curse
Author: Colleen Houck
Genre: YA/Paranormal

Release Date: May 1, 2012 (Paperback)
Publisher: Splinter

Purchase:         Amazon             B&N

Goodreads Description:

Would you risk it all to change your destiny?

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.
Packed with magic, action-adventure, and romance, the epic Tiger's Curse series will keep you breathless and yearning for more.


Review:

I'm helping Splinter to celebrate the release of Tiger's Curse in paperback this month by doing a review and posting some exclusive new content, including a cookie recipe! I'm very excited to be participating in this tour & a big thanks goes out to Splinter for sending me a copy for review and asking me to participate.


I have heard a lot of great things about this series before reading it and now I can understand why. There is a lot of rich Indian mythology and folklore in the series, which I found really interesting. The concept of the quest and all the trials that the characters must face made this book a fast paced adventure that was hard to put down. The story's background was well written and fit in well with the current plot of the book and the setting was perfect - Colleen couldn't have picked a better place for her story. I really enjoyed the characters and their unique personalities, except I wanted to smack Kelsey a few times throughout the book. She seemed to be especially whiny concerning Ren and she just sounded so dumb! I wanted to shake some sense into her! The romance in the book is sweet and had my stomach fluttering along, but it was a bit syrupy at times. Like I mentioned, many of Kelsey's reactions to Ren made me crazy and annoyed me a bit, but I suppose that's just part of her character's personality. All in all, this was a great read and I'm definitely going to keep reading the series. Colleen brings a new voice and fresh ideas to the young adult genre - this is not your typical shapeshifter story. It's so much more than that! I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to read something that's not cookie-cutter and that stretches their imagination.

 

Colleen Houck Author Interview

 Tiger’s Curse, paperback 

 What makes the paperback release different from the hardcover? The paperback release will bring in a whole other group of readers. I have several friends who prefer reading paperbacks over carrying around the heavier hardcovers and they're very excited to get their hands on this new version. There is also the chance to update the book and add bonus material which all my fans know I love to write. 

What are you most excited about with the paperback? I'm very excited to share Kelsey's recipes! I'm a foodie as most of you can tell from my books and I can say from experience that there's nothing better than sitting down with a new paperback and a hot batch of Ren's cookies. Light a sandalwood candle too and it's like you're in the story. 

Is there something you can tell us about Tiger’s Curse that no one else knows? Yes! Pay close attention to Kelsey's dreams because they are foreshadows of things to come later on in the series. 

Ren or Kishan? I honestly love both brothers and want both of them to get their happy endings. I didn't think I'd love Kishan as much as I do but he has solidly wedged himself into my heart. 

Kelsey can be sassy! Why did you choose to make her character so empowered? I wanted a heroine who could do all the cool things I'd like to do. I was a big fan of Wonder Woman. She was beautiful and could do amazing things. That's what I wanted for Kelsey. My hope is that my female readers will see that ordinary girls can do extraordinary things. 

Has your day-to-day changed since becoming a NYT bestselling author?!? What does your husband think about it? My day to day just gets busier and more hectic every week that passes. My favorite time is when I can just sit down at my computer and get lost in my story. My husband is proud and amazed. He likes to brag about his author wife to perfect strangers and hands out book marks to everyone he meets. 

Last question—do you plan on visiting India? You’ve already done so much research about it! I have no immediate plans but I would LOVE to go. I think it would be amazing to see all the locations I've written about. I made a real effort as I wrote to layer my fantasy world on top of real world places because I like the idea of feeling like you could actually step through a doorway into another world.

Kelsey's Recipes: Ren’s Cookies
 

Ingredients:

2 sticks of butter
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 ½ tsp vanilla
¼ tsp salt
¾ cup dark coco powder
2 cups flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 bag of chocolate chips
¾ cup smooth peanut butter
½ cup brown sugar

Directions: Cream the butter then add sugars. When it’s light and fluffy, add eggs and vanilla. Sift the next 5 dry ingredients and mix with the wet until thoroughly combined. Add one package of chocolate chips (or as many as you like!) to the dough. Mix together the next 2 ingredients to make the peanut butter filling. Then place a spoonful of the chocolate dough on a baking sheet, top with some peanut butter filling, and cover with some more chocolate dough. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-20 minutes depending on cookie size.

About the Author 

Colleen Houck’s bestselling TIGER’S CURSE series has received national praise with the fourth and final book, TIGER’S DESTINY, debuting October 2012. Colleen is a lifelong reader whose literary interests include action, adventure, science fiction, and romance. Formerly a student at the University of Arizona, she has worked as a nationally certified American Sign Language interpreter for seventeen years. Colleen lives in Salem, Oregon, with her husband and a huge assortment of plush tigers.