Review of Tiger's Dream (Tiger Saga #5) by Colleen Houck
Tiger's Dream is the fifth and final book in the series the Tiger Saga. SPOILER ALERT IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE FIRST FOUR BOOKS.
Kishan has given up Kelsey and agreed to become Damon, Durga's tiger. Anamika, who is the brand new goddess Durga, is strange and hard to understand. He's lost and heartbroken, wishing Ren had been the one to stay with Ana.
Then Phet, the old man who'd guided Kishan, Ren, and Kelsey on their quest, and been Ana's teacher as a child, shows up to tell him the curse isn't over.
In fact, it has yet to begin.
Kishan and Ana, as Durga and her tiger, must create the curse and guide Ren, Kelsey, and the slightly younger Kishan on their quest to break it.
Meanwhile, Kishan is grappling with his feelings for Kelsey and getting to know Ana in a whole new way.
Trigger warning: there is a portion of the book where a young girl is kidnapped and sold into slavery, where she is bought by a man who enjoys using children for his pleasure. She is rescued after a short time, but suffers long-term emotional effects from her experience. This is not told from her perspective, but what's happening is clear.
Trigger Warning: implied sexual abuse.
Kishan has given up Kelsey and agreed to become Damon, Durga's tiger. Anamika, who is the brand new goddess Durga, is strange and hard to understand. He's lost and heartbroken, wishing Ren had been the one to stay with Ana.
Then Phet, the old man who'd guided Kishan, Ren, and Kelsey on their quest, and been Ana's teacher as a child, shows up to tell him the curse isn't over.
In fact, it has yet to begin.
Kishan and Ana, as Durga and her tiger, must create the curse and guide Ren, Kelsey, and the slightly younger Kishan on their quest to break it.
Meanwhile, Kishan is grappling with his feelings for Kelsey and getting to know Ana in a whole new way.
Trigger warning: there is a portion of the book where a young girl is kidnapped and sold into slavery, where she is bought by a man who enjoys using children for his pleasure. She is rescued after a short time, but suffers long-term emotional effects from her experience. This is not told from her perspective, but what's happening is clear.
Trigger Warning: implied sexual abuse.
This book is enormous. When I saw it for the first time, I was shocked. The first four Tiger's Curse books are 400-500 pages. This book is over 800 pages. Holy Toledo. But it was fantastic.
This was a break from the rest of the series in narration. The main four books are told from Kelsey's perspective and the prequel novella, Tiger's Promise, is told from Yesubai's perspective, the girl that Ren was going to marry and with whom Kishan fell in love. This book is told from Kishan's perspective. I was skeptical about Ms. Houck's ability to narrate from a guy's perspective, but it was pretty good. It was more what women like to believe guys are like rather than what they're really like, but it was good.
I found the story itself to be well-constructed. I liked that the story of Ana and Kishan on their quest was almost a background to what was happening to their developing friendship and how they were growing to rely on each other. The way their relationship developed from reluctant partnership into what it eventually became was the real pull of the story from close to the beginning.
Ana was written very well. She's a complex character. Tough as gristle and doesn't take crap from anyone, least of all Kishan, but also a tender and loving woman. She had to learn how to act tenderly to her supplicants because her natural tendencies were for being a warrior, but once she understood, she was incredible.
Kishan didn't understand her at all for a long time, but a lot of what she was doing and saying that mystified him was obvious to me. After a while, I wanted to shake him and knock some sense into him to make him see what was right in front of him. It took a few big things to make him understand, and once he did, I nearly cheered.
The book was long, but read quickly for its length. I enjoyed this addition to the series, though it was unnecessary.
This was a break from the rest of the series in narration. The main four books are told from Kelsey's perspective and the prequel novella, Tiger's Promise, is told from Yesubai's perspective, the girl that Ren was going to marry and with whom Kishan fell in love. This book is told from Kishan's perspective. I was skeptical about Ms. Houck's ability to narrate from a guy's perspective, but it was pretty good. It was more what women like to believe guys are like rather than what they're really like, but it was good.
I found the story itself to be well-constructed. I liked that the story of Ana and Kishan on their quest was almost a background to what was happening to their developing friendship and how they were growing to rely on each other. The way their relationship developed from reluctant partnership into what it eventually became was the real pull of the story from close to the beginning.
Ana was written very well. She's a complex character. Tough as gristle and doesn't take crap from anyone, least of all Kishan, but also a tender and loving woman. She had to learn how to act tenderly to her supplicants because her natural tendencies were for being a warrior, but once she understood, she was incredible.
Kishan didn't understand her at all for a long time, but a lot of what she was doing and saying that mystified him was obvious to me. After a while, I wanted to shake him and knock some sense into him to make him see what was right in front of him. It took a few big things to make him understand, and once he did, I nearly cheered.
The book was long, but read quickly for its length. I enjoyed this addition to the series, though it was unnecessary.
Photo Credit: Katherine Elizabeth
Stars Image Credit lovethenerddesigns
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