TEEN: Tiger Saga 2: Tiger's Quest - Colleen Houck

Release Date: 09/06/11

BOOK BLURB:

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.


REVIEW:

Second books can be harder to do than the original, after all you’ve got the initial idea down but now’s the time when you have to step up and prove that you’re not a one hit wonder. Too often this is sadly the case and when you find a series that not only has potential but wonderful delivery then it’s something that’s pretty critical.

Having loved the original release (Tiger’s Curse) I was a little worried about this, would it be as good, would the characters grow and perhaps more importantly had Colleen expended everything with the original. There’s only one way to find out and as such I did the only thing I could. Grabbing a copy I opened and began to read…

Whereas the first book was not only an introduction but a revelation in YA the second takes a separate step forward and introduces a new character so the lead list, that of Dirhen, the moody bad boy brother of Ren, the love interest in the original for Kelsey. Whilst the adventure was still as prevalent within, the characters emotions are the key to this release. Especially for fans of the Vampire Diaries as Ren and Dirhen feel that they take over the Salvatore brothers roles in wonderful descriptiveness. As before the writing is crisp, the characters delightful and when backed with a real humdinger of a story, it’s a title that I really couldn’t put down. I really can’t wait to see how things develop from here.

TEEN: Tiger Saga 1: Tiger's Curse - Colleen Houck

Release Date: 26/05/11

BOOK BLURB:

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.


REVIEW:

As a reader, for me a story has to take you somewhere, it’s not just about reaching the conclusion but about learning lessons along the way and that’s exactly what Collen Houck has done in this, the first book in the Tiger Saga.

Within the pages is a reasonably paced plot with outstanding characters who grow emotionally alongside the reader as they tale wends its merry way and whilst at the beginning you doubt Kelsey’s ability to handle the strange and unusual she steps up to the role that the fates have thrown her way. It’s handled wonderfully, the characters have real traits alongside desires and when backed up with cracking dialogue and the twist of shape shifters (feline as opposed to the usual canus) it really steps out on its own.

Finally add to this a love story interwoven within with a feeling that eastern myth has also woven its way into this tapestry of words and it was a more than satisfactory book. I’ll look forward to the second book.