{Month of the Tiger} Book Review: Tiger’s Destiny

Tiger’s Destiny
by Colleen Houck
Splinter / Sterling Publishing
Release Date: September 4, 2012
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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 Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal. It’s a race against time–and the evil sorcerer Lokesh–in this eagerly anticipated fourth volume in the bestselling Tiger’s Curse series, which pits good against evil, tests the bonds of love and loyalty, and finally reveals the tigers’ true destinies once and for all.

JENNA’S REVIEW

As the fourth book in the TIGER’S CURSE series, TIGER’S DESTINY stands out from the previous three books in so many ways. Colleen Houck’s storytelling prowess comes to a head in this climactic installment full of surprises, stunning new mythology and time altering events. Fans rejoice! Destiny awaits!

Kicking off right where the third volume ended, with the kidnapping of Kelsey by the evil sorcerer, Lokesh, TIGER’S DESTINY broaches some universal topics that many readers can relate to, such as marriage, accepting one’s responsibilities, acts of war, life and death, loss and heartbreak. The manner in which Colleen approaches each of these topics is both insightful and delightfully creative. Many lessons will be learned in this installment, and not just by Kelsey.

Anyone who is familiar with Colleen’s writing knows that she is a master at research and exploring little-known, yet highly fascinating, mythology. In this book, Colleen’s research leads the reader to the fire realm, where we learn about the life cycle of the Phoenix, the two Lords of the Flame and the creation of Durga. The Phoenix is the most amazing creature of them all, taking the reader back, in a way, to the whimsical nature of the dragons from book three. And the origin of Durga is a surprise unto itself. A whole book could have been (or should be?) written about Durga alone!

The ever-present love triangle is still there, folks. BUT (and this is a big BUT) it is surprisingly more tolerable in this book than in any previous installment). Trust me. All will be answered in the end. Hang in there! Perhaps knowing that it will be resolved will make Kelsey’s journey to absolution a bit easier on any unforgiving readers. Not to mention, LOTS of shocking events within the book involve the triangle. (Colleen, with regard to one event in particular: You sly devil, you!)

And finally, what will happen to Kelsey and her two tiger princes? I will not spoil things here, but I can say that much growth and development is had by all in this book. Kelsey confronts emotions she’s been keeping bottled up for months. Many questions are answered. Hints from the other books and bonus materials come full circle. And as the destiny of each character is revealed you will find yourself both cheering and sobbing for them. Fans rejoice – each character will reach their “happily ever after”… one way or another.

I can’t help but give TIGER’S DESTINY a perfect score as a thrilling climatic chapter in the TIGER’S CURSE series. So what if I’m a somewhat biased reader due to my extreme fandom, happy endings don’t get any better than this.

Plot: 10
Characters: 10
Setting: 10
Pacing: 10
Style: 10

Grade: 100