{Review} Tiger's Destiny by Colleen Houck

Title: Tiger's Destiny
Author: Colleen Houck
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Splinter
Release date: September 4
Date Read: September 4, 2012 - September 7, 2012
Rating: ✭✭

With three of the goddess Durga's quests behind them, only one prophecy now stands in the way of Kelsey, Ren, and Kishan breaking the tiger's curse. But the trio's greatest challenge awaits them: A life-endangering pursuit in search of Durga's final gift, the Rope of Fire, on the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal.

It's a race against time--and the evil sorcerer Lokesh--in this eagerly anticipated fourth volume in the bestselling Tiger's Curse series, which pits good against evil, tests the bonds of love and loyalty, and finally reveals the tigers' true destinies once and for all. 

For TIGER'S DESTINY

If my darlings didn't know before, I used to be very in love with this series before I started getting into other young adult novels. I still enjoy the two first books in the Tiger's Curse series, but after that I started to hate them.

*purses lips*

Let's face it: everyone knew who Kelsey would end up with. If you actually thought that Colleen would try something different, you're wrong, and deep down you knew it. You could hope all you want, but authors rarely take the surprising side out of a love triangle. So ask yourself, and don't be bias:

Who would end up with Kelsey in the end?

Ren, duh.

That was no surprise, but I wasn't expecting that ending. I'm absolutely livid, and I'm not very thrilled about it, mind you.

Plot

TIGER'S CURSE was truly amazing. It remains one of my favorite guilty-pleasure books.
TIGER'S QUEST I adored even more, because I loved Kishan and I just... I loved it. The plot was great and I've re-read it more times then I should've.
TIGER'S VOYAGE left me raging. I don't know happened, but suddenly, we get a ridiculous quest with Kelsey, who's suddenly become one of YA's worst heroines, and Ren and Kishan, who have completely changed to adjust to her 'type'.

TIGER'S DESTINY was undeniably better - at least until the ending - but it was still a MTW, which stands not for 'Matthew', but 'mofoing train wreck'. TIGER'S DESTINY begins with Kelsey, who's cruising on the damsel in distress ship.

She's been captured by Lokesh, and while Colleen tries to make Kelsey the ultimate kickass deceiver, it comes off as rather pathetic, since we see it from Kelsey's point of view.


Anyway, Kelsey is rescued by her slaves boyfriend and ex-boyfriend (who she's in love with) before Lokesh marries and beds her.

To break the curse, Kelsey has to retrieve the Rope of Fire, and complete a bunch of quests. Along the way, there’s a big surprise, Kishan and Durga flirting with each other (it made me sick), Kelsey bitching about wanting Ren, battles that sound like a rip-off of Lord of the Rings, and a whole bunch of time-traveling crap which made my brain hurt.
The ending left me crying, because it’s just... not... fair. But we’ll talk about that later.

The book is definitely action-packed, containing a heart-wrenching death that made me sniffle and a good plot that would've been better if it wasn't all over the place.

Kelsey and the Love Triangle of Doom

One of my biggest pet peeves in the series is that every single creature in every universe is in love with or wanting or lusting after Kelsey. She’s also blonde enough to still think no one likes her.

And this girl. This girl is not even slightly interesting. The only word adequate to describe her is stupid. STUPID.

You'd think that almost three years after meeting Ren and Kishan, she'd know that the brothers think she's the world’s gift to mankind, and to shut the hell up with the 'I'm a demented Cabbage Patch Doll and he deserves a Barbie' shit.

But, I'm devastated to report Kelsey actually goes back to feeling bad for herself (I mean, her parents died. She doesn't deserve happiness, right?), thinking that she's too dull for Ren (she is, of course, but when she's been whining about it for four books straight, you just want to super glue her jaws), and being annoying as hell, and a jealous, stupid bitch who makes about as much sense as Donald Trump's hair.

Now, there’s something that doesn’t make a lot of sense. She's not good enough for Ren, but Kishan is okay? Eh? Come again? That’s a slap in the face to poor Kishan, who’s heart gets trampled so many times, I would’ve gone mad (Match-Point style) and murdered Kelsey.

To any other girl, the answer to this love triangle would be obvious: Kelsey should let go of poor Kishan, who’s only going to get hurt by her stupidity. Kelsey goes back to Ren, and Kishan has a shot with somebody who’s not a total idiot. Instead, Kishan proposes and Kelsey says yes.

She. Says. Yes.



ASDJKLL;;;;; WHAT IS WRONG WITH HER.

I don’t think that Kelsey and dearest Tessa understand what being engaged means. Let me clarify:

2 having formally agreed to marry.

Being a fiancée means you’re supposed to love them unconditionally, and only them - because how are you supposed to live with someone, probably for the rest of your life, and have children and grow old with him, when you’ve been in love with another since you accepted? Being a fiancée is not as simple as being a girlfriend - YOU ARE GETTING MARRIED. I’ll repeat it for you: KELSEY, YOU ARE GOING TO BE HUSBAND AND WIFE, SO WHY THE HELL ARE YOU MARRYING SOMEONE YOU’RE NOT IN LOVE WITH. You should love them! YOU SHOULD LOVE THE PERSON YOU ARE MARRYING IN A ROMANTIC WAY.

Kelsey is too flipping immature to realize what this means.

Of course, Kelsey is actually in love with Ren, but she constantly says she can’t be with him because he’d sacrifice himself for her. She continuously denies her love for Ren, because she's trying 'save him'. She uses Kishan so Ren won't kill himself saving her. He's her rebound, her replacement for not being able to have Ren.

USER.

Oh, the tears of irony are leaking from my face. Kishan has sacrificed himself for Kelsey in more important ways, you stupid, stupid girl.
She spends most of the book shooting Ren longing looks and having steamy conversations with Ren that I swear were written to sound dirty on purpose - here's two:

"To properly ride a horse, you have to form a bond, feel his strength, the power in his muscles. Pay attention to his gait, his stride. Close your eyes. Can you feel how his body rises and falls? He'll take you wherever you want to go. All you need to do is learn to work with him and not against him."

and my personal favorite,

"I used the Rope to whip her [the cat]," Ren said.

Kelsey also throws various tantrums, spewing with venom, all centered around Ren and his possible relationship with Anamika (the Clan leader destined to stop Lokesh in the past), when she has absolutely no fucking right.

If someone was in love with you, and you decided to marry someone else, would it make any sense for you to be furious with the person you left after you see them with someone else? NO IT DOES NOT.



I really should have bet money on who’d get Kelsey, though, because, damn. I would’ve made a lot. It couldn’t have been more obvious, but it still stung like a bitch.

The love triangle was no doubt the worst part of the book. Kelsey has an easy life if the biggest problem she faces is having two yummy guys in love with her - because let's face it. If Kishan only thought of her as a friend, she wouldn't look twice at him.

Characters

I think we've already established Kelsey is one of the worst protagonists ever, no? And that Ren and Kishan are unrecognizable, as they've changed themselves for Kelsey?

Here, I mainly want clap and thank DurgaAnamika. Anamika, who reminds me so much of my dearest Asami, in personality and looks. Anamika, who is actually Durga but doesn't really act like it. Anamika, who constantly tortured Kelsey until she finally decided to like her.

-.- Dammit.

Ending

For the very last part of releasing the curse, a tiger must be given to Durga to become Damon, her lover and her co-tiger-person. Guess who’s noble enough to do it?

Kishan. Kishan, because over and over he’s proved himself to Kelsey, but she continues to run back to Ren when she has more than she needs.

It was a rushed and horrible ending to a love triangle for an unlikable girl. It felt like Colleen was out of ideas, so she just decided to grab a doll of Kishan and Anamika and do this:




It was much too forced. Kishan even writes a letter saying how it took a lot of time for him to get over Kelsey... I just hope he really loves Anamika.

But I still can't get over how fast Kelsey got over Kishan. In a snap of my fingers (one week, to be exact) Kelsey was getting married to Ren with no regrets. I literally felt nauseous. In seven days I can't get over finishing one of my favorite books, and this little harpy is getting married after her fiancée GAVE HIMSELF UP FOR HER.

Just because your fiancée tells your lover to make sure you're happy doesn't mean you go marry him IN A WEEK.

THERE IS MORE TO YOUR LIFE THAN GETTING MARRIED, KELSEY. GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER AND THEN THINK OF BECOMING A WIFE, YOU MORON.

Writing

The writing in this book is embarrassing. The series uses so many similes and metaphors (mostly during kissing scenes), it makes Cassandra Clare's writing look non-descriptive. that's a lie but bear with me here okay? In TIGER'S DESTINY, the writing has cooled down, but I still headdesk whenever it gets out of control.
It's like the steamier the scene (and trust me, it's no steam. It's just way too much flowery writing), the more descriptive the writing gets. No girl would think the way Kelsey does. It's weird and unnatural.

Conclusion

It was such a disappointing ending (is it an end? Because there's still TIGER'S DREAM, but this sounds like the final book. I think Kelsey's going to be pregnant in the last book, FML, just watch) to the series, and just a plainly disappointing book in all. The series started out amazing and shit hit the fan after Voyage. I was so sad when I finished, because I expected the series to be so much better.

It left me feeling depressed.

I leave with you with this brilliant quote from the Phoenix directed at Kelsey:

"As it is, you life is rather pathetic. What a waste."

Oceana is a French-blooded teenager who enjoys stalking British boys and asking them to marry her. She was diagnosed with severe fangirl disorder in 2011. Able to curse like a sailor with an angelic voice.