Book Review: Tiger's Curse

Tiger’s Curse by Colleen Houck
Review by Arig
(Click here to find a library copy.)

SUMMARY:  Kelsey Hayes 17, parents deceased, a lover of reading and drawing, is looking for a job. She gets a short job at a circus, where everyone is kind to her.  Little does she know that there is a secret to this circus. She gets to work with the dogs, see the other animals, give tickets, stand at the gift shop center and…feed Dhiren, the amazingly blue-eyed white tiger from India.

The relationship with Ren the tiger starts out cautiously. Kelsey tends to keep away a bit but she is drawn to him, as if a spell pulls her towards him. She gets lost in his beautiful eyes. She realizes that Ren isn’t like the other animals. It’s as if Ren understands her words and emotions. One day, Kelsey gathers up the courage and pets him. Their relationship begins to grow in a more comfortable and relaxing way. She reads to him and sketches him whenever she can. Suddenly, a strange Indian man named Mr. Kadam comes to visit the circus and talks to the owner. The news breaks that Ren has been sold and will return to his home country, India. Mr. Kadam offers Kelsey the opportunity to accompany him to India so she can care for the tiger while traveling. Kelsey, after building a strong bond with Ren, thinks about the offer and then takes it. And so their journey together begins.

Once in India, Kelsey makes a surprising discovery.  Kelsey and Ren are exploring a forest, but when she turns around and looks for Ren, she only finds a handsome young Indian standing in front of her. He tries assuring her and telling her that he’s Ren until finally she believes him.  Both sit as he tells Kelsey what happens. Ren has about a little time each day that he could turn from tiger to human form. He can’t pass that certain amount of time. Kelsey discovers that Ren is a centuries-year-old prince who was cursed and became a tiger with his brother. Kelsey and Ren begin to seek paths to break Ren’s curse. Kelsey gets to meet his brother Kishan while Ren takes her to a secret place he never showed anyone. Emotions erupt and the love between Ren and Kelsey grows until she has to leave for America.

OPINION:  AGH!!!! That’s the most I could say. I LOVE this book. It’s official. By far this tops almost every story I’ve red. It’s so much better than Twilight! I mean I love Twilight but I LOOOVE Tiger’s Curse. It’s amazing! It brings adventure and romance together. The romance just erupts. I was giddy the whole way through the book until I finished it.

Where do I start? Mr. Kadam is sooo cool and he’s just a great character. Kelsey is, well, the luckiest girl in the world to have Ren. I’m sooo jealous from her. But I have to agree, she has a point. Kishan is for anyone who loves the dark young, handsome men with green eyes. He’s cool and kind, but seriously wicked. Ren. Right now he’s my favorite character in the book and all other books that have romance in them. He’s every girl’s dream guy. He’s funny, handsome, smart, rich, sweet, romantic, and almost everything else you think of is him. He’s dreamy and so exciting. I think Ren brings the book to life. He just gives it this burst that leaves the reader wanting to come back for more.

If I were to rate this book from a scale of 1 to 5, I’d give it a 10. The great thing about this book is not that it’s so well written and makes the reader fall in love with Ren, but it’s the fact that not only girls will like this book. Sometimes a book is for one gender, but this book is clearly for both.  It’s wonderful! It’s terrific! I can’t explain it better than that. I recommend this book to everyone and anyone. I mean I really really really can’t wait until the next book comes out. The author did a wonderful job with this book.

ONLINE:  Visit http://www.tigerscursebook.com/, where you can join the author's Twitter feed, follow her blog, post in forums about the book, mail an e-card, and more!

Book Review: The Looking Glass Wars

The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor
Click on the cover to find a library copy.

SUMMARY: The Myth: Alice was an ordinary girl who stepped through the looking glass and entered a fairy-tale world invented by Lewis Carroll in his famous storybook. The Truth: Wonderland is real. Alyss Heart is the heir to the throne, until her murderous aunt Redd steals the crown and kills Alyss’ parents. To escape Redd, Alyss and her bodyguard, Hatter Madigan, must flee to our world through the Pool of Tears. But in the pool Alyss and Hatter are separated. Lost and alone in Victorian London, Alyss is befriended by an aspiring author to whom she tells the violent, heartbreaking story of her young life. Yet he gets the story all wrong. Hatter Madigan knows the truth only too well, and he is searching every corner of our world to find the lost princess and return her to Wonderland so she may battle Redd for her rightful place as the Queen of Hearts. (from the back cover)

OPINION: As I librarian, I am ashamed to admit it, but I have never read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland or Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carrol. I am familiar with the characters and some plot elements, of course, mostly from the Disney movie. Now I have to go back and read the real books. Why? Because I thoroughly enjoyed Frank Beddor's reimagining of Wonderland and want to find out more about the original. The card solders were definitely my favorite part of Beddor's Wonderland, especially because he included drawings of how they worked. The engaging action/adventure plot kept me turning the pages, and the hint of romance kept me hopeful throughout the story. If you are the type of reader who likes to get lost in a fantasy world, this one's for you.

CHECK OUT THE WEBSITE: Frank Beddor maintains a great site devoted to The Looking Glass Wars, including sections devoted to fan art, fan fiction, and even fan videos! There are screensavers and wallpapers to download, e-cards to send, flash-animated games to play, and forums where you can talk to other fans.

FUTHER READING: This is the first book in a trilogy, followed by Seeing Redd and ArchEnemy. There is also a graphic novel series following the adventures of Hatter Madigan as he searches for Alyss in our world. This series includes Hatter M: The Looking Glass Wars and Hatter M: Mad with Wonder so far. The third volume, Hatter M: The Nature of Wonder, is scheduled for release later this year.

FURTHER WATCHING: A new Alice in Wonderland movie comes to the big screen this March, and I have heard that it has some parallels to The Looking Glass Wars (even though a movie of this book has been optioned as well). IMDB's plot summary says, "19-year-old Alice returns to the magical world from her childhood adventure, where she reunites with her old friends and learns of her true destiny: to end the Red Queen's reign of terror." Hmmm. The rumors may be true! Plus, it is directed by Tim Burton and has Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, so it can't be all bad.

Book Review: The Luxe Series

The Luxe, Rumors, Envy, and Splendor (The Luxe series) by Anna Godbersen

Click on the book cover to find library copies of all the books in the series.

A REVIEW OF THE LUXE: A big, sumptuous tale of catty girls, dark secrets and windswept romance unfurls in this compulsively readable novel of late-19th-century New York City socialites. Godbersen weaves a tenuous web of deceit, backstabbing and pretense that follows four teens: Elizabeth Holland, a prim and proper lady of old-money society, is betrothed to one man, though furtively loves another; Henry Schoonmaker, a debauched playboy who must marry Elizabeth or be disinherited; Diana Holland, Elizabeth’s younger sister who is in love with her fiancé; and Penelope Hayes, a member of the nouveau riche who will stop at nothing to win Henry’s affections. As Elizabeth and Henry’s wedding approaches, the spectacle unfolds in a wondrously grandiose web of friends, lovers, lies and betrayal. (adapted from Kirkus Reviews)

Among New York's wealthiest citizens at the turn of the 20th century, the money made by the family patriarchs was meant to be spent. Decadent homes, lavish parties, elaborate fashions, and juicy gossip were a fact of everyday life in these families. The author's fictional imaginings are very close to the truth, and even reference some real New York society families of the time, such as the Vanderbilts and the Astors. These books do not read like historical fiction because the wider world only briefly intrudes into the complicated machinations of high society. The Luxe series does an amazing job of bringing the reader inside the insulated lifestyle of Manhattan's elite families of that time. It's like Gossip Girl with better fashion and more manners! The historical detail is impeccable, yet it's the scandalous behavior that will keep you reading.

I do have a few quibbles with the writing style, which is probably more glaring since I read them all at once. I know there are only so many ways to describe something, but some adjectives were greatly overused during the series. I got really tired of hearing about Carolina's "bee-stung" lips or Snowden's "preternaturally blond" hair. Some descriptive passages were also a little too similar among the books to be really interesting and I found myself skimming the text to get to another "good part." I suspected many of the bigger events in the books long before they happened, but, nonetheless, the intrigue among the characters and the never-ending plot twists kept me hooked on the books until the final shocking chapters.

Although Splendor is the final installment in this series, I would love to see the author write another series furthering the adventures of a certain character in Europe. I would also beg her to move forward in time and write about 1920s New York, continuing the story of her high society families from The Luxe with a new generation.

Find out more about the series, read the first book for free online, send Luxe e-cars. and more at the official website: http://www.theluxebooks.com/. You can even watch a book trailer for The Luxe!

And if you like reading about this era of history, often called the Gilded Age, read Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence. It's a highly readable classic about high society, and is one of my all-time favorite books.

Vampire Academy Goes High-Tech

The Vampire Academy Signature Edition is a new hardcover version of the first book in that popular series by Richelle Mead. If you go to the Vampire Academy website and hold up the Signature Edition to your webcam, the cover will come to life and reveal insider info on the series! This is the first time a U.S. publisher has used this technology, called Augmented Reality (AR), to promote a book and it sounds pretty cool. If you aren't buying the book, look for an ad in the December 7 edition of People that will also activate the AR features. Read more about the promotion in this article from Publishers Weekly.

Catching Fire Releasing Today!

Catching Fire, the sequel to The Hunger Games, is in bookstores today!!!

NPR had an interesting article today about violence in teen books, featuring Suzanne Collins talking about Catching Fire. And, if you scroll down on the page, you can listen to chapter two of the book.

Also, check out the website that Scholastic created for the series. It has some great video clips, including two promos for Catching Fire! (And, just like YouTube, you can click on an icon to watch them at full-screen size.

Catching Fire

A friend just let me borrow her ARC of Catching Fire, the upcoming sequel to The Hunger Games. I only meant to read a few chapters last night before bed, but actually stayed up until 2:00 a.m. to finish it! The books are set against the backdrop of a yearly gladiator-style tournament for teens in what was once the United States.

I found Catching Fire equally as compelling as the first book, with plenty of action and a complicated plot. Every chapter takes you deeper into the compelling story and the dysfunctional society of the districts of Panem. You know I can't resist a dystopia! This is the middle book in a trilogy, but it is a good story in and of itself. And it has a wicked cliffhanger of an ending! This is a must read.

Want to know more about this series? Read my review or Beth's review of The Hunger Games. Then, read it to get ready for the release of Catching Fire on September 1!!