Tiger's Curse (Tiger's Curse Series #1)

by Colleen Houck

Overview

A teenage girl and a shape-shifting tiger find romance, adventure, and a dangerous quest in this New York Times bestselling fantasy series debut.

When Oregon teenager Kelsey Hayes took a summer job with a local circus, she expected to make some extra money. She never thought she’d be heading to India with a mysterious white tiger named Ren—or trying to break a 300-year-old Indian curse. But that’s exactly what happened.

Now she’s face-to-face with dark forces, spellbinding magic, and mystical worlds where nothing is what it seems. And as she discovers Ren’s true identity, Kelsey risks everything to piece together an ancient prophecy that could break the curse forever.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781402784859
Publisher:	Union Square & Co.
Publication date:	11/22/2022
Series:	Tiger's Curse Series , #1
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	513
Sales rank:	111,133
Lexile:	800L (what's this?)
File size:	954 KB
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Colleen Houck’s debut novel, Tiger’s Curse, is a New York Times and Publishers Weekly bestseller. Tiger’s Quest is the second volume in her popular Tiger’s Curse series. Colleen lives in Salem, Oregon, with her husband and a white stuffed tiger. To find out more, visit www.tigerscursebook.com.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 9 Up—Many years ago, two Indian princes fell in love with the same woman. Her sorcerer father took advantage of the brothers' rivalry to gain control of the magical amulets they possessed. The girl was killed, and the brothers were transformed into tigers. More than 300 years later, Kelsey, an American orphan who has just graduated from high school, takes a temporary job working with a circus. There, she develops an inexplicable bond with a white tiger named Ren, and she is asked to accompany him to a wildlife preserve in India. There he transforms into a handsome young man and reveals that only Kelsey can help break the curse he is under. She must embark upon a journey where she is in danger of losing her heart, her life, or both. Houck has clearly done a great deal of research on Indian culture, and she is adept at including details that allow readers to understand the story's setting. Unfortunately, that detail is too elaborate in many places and bogs down the Indiana Jones-esque action. Also, the characters are flat, with little nuanced behavior or dialogue; for example, Ren is a 300-year-old prince, and yet based on his behavior he is indistinguishable from a modern American teenager. Kelsey's redeeming character component is that she is self-aware and reluctant to succumb completely to Ren's eager romantic advances. Twilight (Little, Brown, 2005) fans will appreciate the supernatural, star-crossed romance.—Heather M. Campbell, formerly at Philip S. Miller Library, Castle Rock, CO

School Library Journal

Houck's debut YA fantasy, which she self-published in 2009, is richly imagined, but pacing and technique lag behind her inventiveness. Eighteen-year-old Kelsey Hayes gets a temporary summer job working at a one-ring circus that features a white Bengal tiger named Dhiren. Kelsey and Ren, as she calls the tiger, form an immediate bond, and when a mysterious businessman purchases Ren, Kelsey is asked to escort him to his new home on an Indian reserve (despite her complete lack of experience). Given extensive foreshadowing, it's no surprise that Ren turns into a man once back in his native land, inspiring Kelsey to break the ancient curse that forces Ren to shape-shift. The attractive premise is let down by wooden dialogue, excessive detail, and wobbly mechanics; Kelsey's plainspoken narration more often befits a preteen than a high school graduate ("Poor thing. All alone with no girl tiger and no tiger cubs"). Houck doesn't quite realize her potential in this outing. Two companion books, Tiger's Quest and Tiger's Voyage, are due later in 2011. Ages 12–up. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

PRAISE FOR TIGER'S CURSE:
“…a sweet romance and heart-pounding adventure.  I found myself cheering, squealing and biting my nails-all within a few pages.  In short, Tiger's Curse is magical!” -Becca Fitzpatrick, New York Times bestselling author of Hush, Hush
 

"High adventure ensues. As in Tiger's Curse and Tiger's Quest, this story is part action-adventure and part romance…The novel will satisfy the saga's fans, who will be delighted by the prospect of a fourth volume.” —Booklist
 

“Houck cranks the love-o-stat up another notch…Hypersteamy romance...'hot, melty, smoldering' (but still chaste) make-out sessions…” —Kirkus Reviews
 
“Forget vampires and werewolves, tigers are the new hottest thing…a guaranteed page turner with a huge twist at the end that will leave you breathless.” —RT Book Reviews

From the Publisher

A circus job isn’t ideal, but Kelsey enjoys spending time with the white tiger. Eventually, the simplicity of her attachment to the tiger is spoiled by a revelation: He’s actually a handsome Indian prince who was cursed to tiger-hood centuries ago. The prologue, read by Sanjiv Jhaveri, introduces the curse to listeners. Annika Boras narrates the bulk of the novel, giving Kelsey an unassuming American-as-blue-jeans voice that matches her stubborn streak, attitude, and moments of self-doubt. Boras gives Prince Ren cultured diction that accentuates his seductive qualities, as does her proclivity for drawing out the romantic tension with breathy hesitation. This romance hangs on a scaffolding of Indiana Jones-type adventures as Kelsey and Ren trek through India seeking an end to the curse. A.M.P. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

SEPTEMBER 2011 - AudioFile

An Oregon teenager falls in love with a shape-shifting tiger who turns out to be a hunky Indian prince afflicted with an ancient curse. A job as a temp worker at a local circus turns more challenging for Kelsey when she's hired to accompany Dhiren, a white tiger with whom she has developed a strangely close mutual affinity, back to India. Once there her journey becomes a quest (thanks to the requisite obscure prophecy) through magical realms for four Gifts that will not only break the centuries-old curse that keeps Dhiren in tiger form—except for a few minutes each day, during which he reverts to a sultry lothario "like James Bond, Antonio Banderas, and Brad Pitt all rolled into one"—but may well have broader implications. This entails not only treks through dusty temples and battles with vampire monkeys but frequent aggressive flirting, chaste but passionate snogging and emotional tempests fueled by his tigerlike pride and her artificially low self-esteem. Twilight fans ready for a not-too-radical change of pace are the natural audience for this steamy opener.(Paranormal romance. 13 & up)

Kirkus Reviews