Book Review: Tiger's Destiny

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 bestsellingTiger'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. A smart  phone tag code on the back cover links readers to the series website. Quoted from Goodreads

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Aaagggggggg!  Yes that is how I choose to start this book review.  I so didn't know what to think.  On one hand I loved, loved, loved it. On the other hand there were some things that irritated me.  I guess the fact that I could feel so much emotion is a good thing, right?  And it made me want to go back and read parts of the first, second, and third books, which is also a plus.

Okay, let's break this down.  Pacing.  Yes, I know that's not really what everyone wants to read about, but I really liked it in this book.  There is more action and less food.  It sounds silly, but I could tell you what Kelsey ate for every single meal every single day in the first book.  This book starts with a bang and rarely lets you catch your breath.  Things are always happening, and Kelsey begins to mature into the kick-butt warrior girl we've all been hoping she'd become.  And don't worry, Ren and Kishan also have their shining moments of awesomeness. 

I love how Colleen Houck brought everything full circle.  You can tell she knew where she was going from the beginning, and the first book led into the last.  I love that kind of structure across a multiple book series.  I love the mythology and magic used in this book.  I know very little about Indian mythology, so everything was fresh and unsullied by past association.

Now on to the stuff everyone really wants to know: the love triangle stuff. No worries, I won't spoil anything for anyone. Let's just say that things happened pretty much like I expected, and I was really satisfied with that.   Certain characters make unexpected sacrifices while others are unexpectedly selfish.  I hope that doesn't give too much away, but I felt like some characters finally clued in. Kelsie still, unfortunately, spends a little too much time in angst-ville, but I'm not sure I know who she would be if she didn't, so I'm okay with it.

Here's the thing about this series.  I feel like Colleen Houck is an amazingly imaginative person.  I love the stories she comes up with and the adventures she gives her characters.  While her writing got better in each book, I don't feel like the words on the page match the shimmering images in her head, and I so wish they did, because the core of her story, the adventures and creatures and quests she gives her characters are stupendous.

I battled back and forth about what to rate this book.  I honestly think I've changed it on Goodreads about 5 times already.  Part of me really did love this story despite all it's flaws, so emotionally I should probably give it a luminous 5 star rating.  But then there's the other  part of me, the more cynical, analytical, and a little embarrassed by my above gushing  part, insists that there are things that should probably push it down to a 4. 

Here I will give it the stunningly original final rating of 4.5 stars, though who knows where it will end up on Goodreads. I do absolutely recommend that you read this, just be aware that this series has enough cheesy moments to host a fondue party and you may want to throw this book across the room a few times. But despite this, there is the love and the action and the original plot/setting, which is really rare in books these days.  

P.S. Oh, and there supposedly is a book 5?  I have no idea where that is supposed to fit in with all this.  The series ended. Period.  Any other addition can only be a nice side story because this one is done, which kind of makes me sad.  I thought there would be one more book before the end.  It's like going to a birthday party and not getting any ice cream with your cake. It doesn't mean the cake isn't scrumptous, but you're left feeling slightly cheated.