The Destiny of Men and Beasts

Tiger's Destiny - Colleen Houck
Available Now - This is the final in an epic 4 part series so jump on board now!!

This is a series that has had it all! Princes who turn into tigers, Goddesses that come to life and a whole horde of magical beings - a Kraken, dragons, mermaids, fairies, phoenix and even a mega shark (? strange I know). Throughout it all and at the stories core has been a tremulous love triangle and 3 characters that have become very close to my heart.

Kelsey Hayes started the quest to save her beloved tigers what feels like a long time ago but in the series spans roughly 2 years - two brother Princes that in the distant past were cursed to live as tigers. Together they face unnatural dangers and challenges that push them to their limits, forming an unbreakable bond between them. As all the pieces of this tapestry are woven together and ancient secrets are finally revealed they discover that their shared destiny is to fight far greater war than they ever bargained for...more than just their lives as men hangs in the balance.

Colleen's writing style still feels a little raw but her characters more than make up for it and the poem that she crafted as the novel opening inspires you to see the amazing writer she is becoming, here's a little taste for you :)

"Does rising Phoenix thank his sire

For embers black that gave him birth?

Does he too know his fate is fire?

Can he enjoy his time on Earth?"

Interested in this series? want to know more? here is my review for books 1 & 2

A Love affair with India

Tiger's Curse  - Colleen Houck
Hachette - Hodder
Release date: June 2011

Let me start by saying that I have never been enamoured with India so, a story that is set in large part in India didn’t really thrill me to pieces... I also must admit that the main reason I picked up this particular story was due to the gorgeous cover and those piercing eyes of the Tiger (yes I have been known to judge a book by its cover, sorry). That said, I came to find the storyline inventive and exploring the myths and legends of India’s past gave me a glimpse into the beauty of the Indian countryside (they do a lot of trekking!), the people and in particular the faith.

Now to the storyline: Our adventure kicks off when we meet Kelsey Hayes a self described ‘average’ young woman who has just graduated from high school and looking for a summer job before a start at college. We also learn that Kelsey is in the care of a lovely couple who are her guardians having lost both of her parents in a car accident and her grandmother a few years previous.

Enter a two week stint at the Circus that just rolled into town, here she meets Dhiren the circus's mild mannered white tiger, Kelsey starts to work closely with ‘Ren’ providing his meals and watching as he is trained, naturally her fascination is this awesome animal grows and she finds herself spending all her free time providing him with company while she chats and reads to him. As her time at the circus is winding down the owner is approached by a well mannered Indian man Mr Kadam who wishes to purchase the tiger for a large sum with the hope to release him in a Tiger Reserve in India owned by his wealthy boss. He also requests that Kelsey accompany Ren to smooth his transition (all expenses paid of course) as his trainer Mr Davies cannot leave the circus for such a large stint of time. Naturally she agrees and I spent the next few chapters waiting for the proverbial penny to drop, and drop it does....

It turns out that Ren is in fact an immortal prince from a time long past that was trapped in the body of a tiger, only able to change back to human form for 24 minutes in each day and Kelsey holds his only chance of breaking the curse and returning him to human form for good. While Kelsey struggles to coincide her tiger with the charming man he keeps turning into and her resulting (and not at all one sided) emotions they must also do battle with ancient forces hell bent on keeping Ren trapped as a tiger forever.

Colleen originally self published this as an e-book on Amazon where it was understandably snapped up by many avid YA readers after which she was approached to publish. You can certainly feel that this is a debut novel with the story starting out something like a diary entry, however as the story grows so does she as she finds her feet. I am positive book 2 and beyond will see her flourish and I will certainly be picking up them up!

Tiger's Quest (Book 2) Also available June 2011.