Tiger's Quest by Colleen Houck

The Synopsis:
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.












My Thoughts:
So while I was not exactly 100% infatuated with Tiger's Curse, I was very eager to get my hands on the second and third book in the series.  I don't know if it was because the series features big kitties or that there's a lot of action or maybe just a combination of the two, but all I know is that I was very, very, very curious to see what would happen next.

Honestly, I feel like this review is going to be almost exactly like my Tiger's Curse review.

Kelsey still got on my nerves a lot of times.  The book starts off with her coming home from India and she's all depressed because she left all Mr. Hot Man alone and rejected.  She was still so insecure about herself.  I mean, she gets home and goes to college and not even a few months into the semester, she's got three--no four, if you include Ren--vying for her attention!  Seriously!  I can't even get that many dates if I tried.  And she still feels like she's not pretty.  I don't know about you, but I call that thick-skulled.  That doesn't even qualify as denial because if she was just in denial, she would know deep down that she was wrong . . . but she didn't.  And she dates them all at once, and I just found that a little trashy, if you ask me.  I mean, she wasn't looking for anything exclusive, necessarily, but who juggles around four guys at once?  Also, I feel like she hasn't grown as a character.  Or, if she has, it has been this very imperceptible shift in character.

To my liking, there was plenty of action and adventure.  I get the feeling that it wouldn't be a Houck book if there wasn't action and adventure.  And plenty of violence and evil people.  Well, I wouldn't be reading a book, really, if it didn't have any of those characteristics, either, so . . .

For the love that is good and holy!  Must there be a love triangle?  I think that the book would have been plenty successful and just as enjoyable without the triangular romance.  I mentally cringed through a lot of the book because I could see it coming and I was not liking where things were going.  I found it unnecessary and if the one point of the triangle really cared (no, I am not giving away names) he would have backed off.  Just my opinion. 

Writing wise, it was great!  It was such an improvement from the first book.  There wasn't nearly as many awkward situations or sentences that would make me actually cringe.  That was a good sign, I imagine.  It was much smoother writing and had plenty of imagery.

For this review, even though it seems as if I totally bashed the book and hated it, it's actually the exact opposite.  I deeply enjoyed the book despite all of its many flaws.  It's mostly the story that really has me interested in the story.  It was masterfully woven and is a perfect example of what a little bit of imagination can do to the mind.  While I still wasn't feeling the Indian culture, I felt the surroundings, and while I did not connect with the MC, the characters felt like people, if a little out there and strange.

Tiger's Quest will have you turning pages faster than you can imagine with its fast-paced action and adventure.  The story is what will really suck you into the book and make you fall in love with it.  The writing was such an improvement from the first book and the imagery will have you almost smelling the wild jungle air.  For those who enjoy evil opposing forces, action and adventure, and Indian mythology, I would suggest picking up the Tiger's Curse Saga.