Tiger's Voyage: Tiger's Curse, Book 3

Review

Common Sense Media says

Tedious lovers' quarrels drag down intriguing fantasy.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this third book in the popular Tiger's Curse fantasy romance series has the same level of violence as Book 2, Tiger's Quest. More mystical creatures attack and cause serious injury to characters, but they are often healed by magical means. Now that both brothers are together in this book, there's more fighting for main character Kelsey's affections. She kisses both brothers and lets one sleep in her room, but it doesn't go further than that. Readers will learn quite a bit about scuba diving safety and the myths about underwater cities.

  • Educational value3
    Readers will learn more stories about the Indian goddess Durga, but this one is more focused on nautical and dragon lore that crosses various traditions; Atlantis and other underwater cities are talked about in detail. There's also more poetry spouted from both the masters and the characters and some Shakespeare, with many references to the play The Taming of the Shrew. More practically, readers will learn a lot about scuba diving safety.
  • Positive messages3
    Bravery, wits, teamwork, and self-sacrifice are important to help characters reach their goal. Facing fears is also important. The goddess Durga tells Kelsey she must keep moving forward and choose a path rather than stall, worry, and doubt.
  • Positive role models3
    When Kelsey is helping with the tasks, she's resourceful, brave, and intelligent. But most of the book features sparring with her love interests, showing her as petty and rather immature. Ren is jealous for most of the book, with bouts of chauvinism -- he demands that Kelsey not cut her hair, for one. Kishan is now the mild-mannered, steady good guy, a big departure from the cad he played in the first two books. Mr. Kadam continues to be a good support figure, acting as guardian for Kelsey and encouraging her studies.
  • Violence3
    Most of the injuries to main characters occur in a fantasy realm with dragons. Kelsey is seriously injured twice by creatures of the deep (a kraken and a gigantic shark) in some suspenseful scenes and then healed in magical ways. The tigers are hunted and almost killed by one dragon by gunshots and traps. In the "real" realm, a man is thrown out a window, another is thrown to hungry sharks, and characters fight with bows and martial arts moves. Two love stories told to the main characters end tragically -- in one a man is whipped and killed with a bow.
  • Sex2
    Lots of stolen kisses and romantic kisses and almost kisses, and some descriptions of washboard abs. It's already established that it won't go further than kissing until the curse is completely broken. Kelsey sleeps in the same room with Kishan on the yacht and then in a tent with both tigers. A persistent suitor's fake breasts are talked about more than once.
  • Language0
    "Bloody" is said twice.
  • Consumerism2
    Some mentions of products (iPad) and media (Jaws, Looney Tunes). Plus the rich tigers are always sporting the best of everything. They parade around in Ducati motorcycles in one seaside town and have a giant luxurious yacht filled with Jet Skis and other toys.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking0
    Not applicable.
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What's the story?

At the end of Book 2, Ren is saved from torture at the hands of the power-hungry Lokesh, but has lost all memory of Kelsey. He's even physically pained to be in the same room with her. Now Kelsey is very distraught but still determined to help Ren and his brother Kishan break the centuries-old curse that makes them live as tigers for part of each day. Mr. Kadam helps Kelsey unravel the next prophesy: They must face dragons in the Indian Ocean. So they head to their giant yacht, take some scuba diving lessons, and then slip into another realm where each dragon provides some major obstacles (some with big, big teeth) to recovering the next object that will help break the curse: Durga's lost necklace. Each task is made even harder to focus on as Kelsey's affections for Kishan grow. Now it's next to impossible for Kelsey to choose between the brothers without causing some serious heartbreak.

Is it any good?

 

OK, the dragons are pretty cool, especially since they're not your typical knight-fighting Western dragons; they're serpentine and colorful and exotic with devious personalities and can even take human form. Almost as cool: Kelsey and her tigers travel to each of their domains on a luxurious yacht. Between each death-defying adventure there's time to rest in a bedroom suite and soak in the Jacuzzi.

But those yachting breaks also allow for lots of lovers quarrels and jealous brother quarrels and Kelsey's wishy-washy emotional rollercoaster rides. It all pretends that readers hadn't been there, done that in the 900 pages combined of the first two books. Now you can add 500+ more pages to that. The time would have been much better spent fighting more cool dragons.

What families can talk about

  • Families can talk about the dragons here. How are they different from their normal portrayal in Western mythology?

  • Families can also talk about relationships and making choices. Do you think Kelsey is making a wise choice? In which love stories does the heroine go for the "safe" choice in the end?

  • What do readers think of the series so far? Are you still a fan? Do you want to read the next one? Why or why not? What are your favorite love stories? Do they often combine elements of fantasy?

This review was written by Carrie R. Wheadon

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This review was written by Carrie R. Wheadon
Topics:magic and fantasy
Author:Colleen Houck
Book type:Fiction
Genre:Romance
Publisher:Splinter
Publication date:November 1, 2011
Number of pages:560
Hardcover price:$17.95
Publisher's recommended age(s):12 - 17
This review was written by Carrie R. Wheadon
 

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ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
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BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.
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