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| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review: ( 332 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
92 of 106 found the following review helpful:
 Excellent Book Nov 25, 2009
By Bookfan
I've noticed that these reviews are filled with females all caught up in a "Twilight"-like mad-craze over the new Tiger series, and, being a guy, I can say it is female-attention that is well deserved. There's enough in this series that even a guy like me can appreciate. I must admit I've read all four Twilight novels--don't ask me why--and I never read romances--and even these novels were mildly interesting to me. Although I noted some similarities in both series, this book, however, has MUCH more action and adventure and I've always been drawn to tigers, so this (especially the cover) grabbed my interest, despite the slow "girly" beginning of the first couple chapters.
The characters are well-developed. None of the characters at the end of the book are the same as they were in the beginning. They are quite real and believeable, though I did roll my eyes at times--I mean, there's no way a guy would say some of the things that Ren did (I guess girls like to hear them...). My favorite character was definitely Mr. Kadam. He reminded me of Data or Mr. Spock in Star Trek, someone who is the voice of knowledge and wisdom without a hint of bravado or arrogance. I appreciated that this book was well-researched and very educational, as Houck blended a entertaining balance of realism, history, mythology, and fantasy. The romance aspect wasn't overdone and it didn't go too far either--which made it a comfortable read. I would recommend it to all guys and gals over 12 years of age!
27 of 32 found the following review helpful:
 Great Premise, but Poorly Executed Jan 15, 2011
By The Reader
When I first heard the premise of this book, I was excited. Instead of werewolves, there were tiger "shapeshifters". I thought this would be refreshing. Unfortunately, the writing of this book ruined what could have been a fantastic idea. Like another reviewer said, it sounded like the author telling the story instead of the character telling her story. Almost none of what the character thought or said sounded like anything close to what a seventeen year old girl would say, instead it was what a grown woman seemed to think a seventeen year old would say/think. Even if you get past the main character's dialogue issues, the characters themselves were horribly cliche. The girl had self-esteem issues and the boy was perfect, it was even said over and over again in the book. Although sometimes the book can be redeemed from poor characterization by an excellent writing style, unfortunately the book lacked this as well. Even the writing style itself was horribly cliche. So all in all the book gets two stars for what was a good idea, but very poorly executed.
11 of 13 found the following review helpful:
 I Tried, I Really Did... Jul 18, 2011
By C.Smith
I tried so hard to finish 'Tiger's Curse'. I kept telling myself that maybe once the prince made his human appearance some sanity would come along with him... I was done at chapter 8. The writing was so off putting! It amazed me that the author could be so detailed with her descriptions but at the same time none of it mattered. NONE! And what made it worst was having the main character have Q&A sessions about things that it seemed like she should know, since she was already all knowing in the first place (she knew randomly that white tigers are originally from Siberia and are normally bred in captivity but doesn't know if they are man-eaters!?) and she sounded like she was interviewing people from pre-written note cards for a magazine article. So I told myself she was just dumb as heck and I tried to find her idiocy amusing, but she rambled non-stop! If she saw a freaking butterfly drift by she would burst into a two page monologue about the time her a her amazing, awesome, wonderful, dead parents saw one and did absolutely nothing interesting at all.
The actual attempts at humor confused me. One joke was so bad I wasn't sure if it was a joke at all; "An Oregon governor must have passed a law a long, long time ago that said Oregon, at least in the I-5 region, had to always have moderate temperatures."... I'm almost positive that that wasn't a joke and that I've gone crazy.
Another thing that bothered me (and others too, looking at the reviews) was how the dialogue was written. The way she talked was not natural, teenager OR adult. I know dialogue can be very hard to write but it was just... bad. And everyone talked the same way (unless they spoke in a very bad foreign accent or broken English)and it even got to a point where I couldn't tell when the voices switched unless I was told it did so.
I have never put down a book near half way through with the intention of not finishing but, sadly, I just can't do it. The book makes me angry to the point were I'm sure that it's bad for my health.
I know a lot more people like this book than those who don't, so I won't say 'don't read' because odds are you'll like it. But be warned; The prologue is what tricked me. Read the first chapter and see if you still want to keep going before you buy (if you can). If you don't want to punch the main character every time she talks a about food (every other page) then you're good to go!
16 of 20 found the following review helpful:
Cheap, but still not worth it. Mar 24, 2010
By Paul
"Pablo"
For only a dollar, this book wasn't a complete waste of money, but it was close. The writing felt very amateurish and didn't hold my attention at all. Plus, it often felt as though the author had looked up random facts to put in the story. Kelsey, the MC, was very flat and unbelievable. This felt almost llike a first-time author's unedited attempt at a novel. If you are looking for a well-written story, go elsewhere.
16 of 20 found the following review helpful:
Give me MORE!!! Oct 25, 2009
By K. Scott
"Kathy Scott"
I read Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck in less than one day...yes, I took time out to do a couple of things, but I really had a hard time putting it down. I couldn't wait to see what happened to Kelsey and Ren...The adventures that they faced were amazing. The writting is so descriptive, I felt as if I was there with them. I was very impressed with the oveall presentation. I learned a great deal about India. Now I have to wait for the second book in the series to arrive so I can see what happens next. I realize this was written for "young" readers, but those of us "50 something" readers will also enjoy the series.
Colleen Houck has created a masterpiece in her first literary venture. I will recommend this book to all of my family and friends, and they all like to read!
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