Review: Tiger's Quest, by Colleen Houck

Series: The Tiger Saga #2 

Back in Oregon, Kelsey tries to pick up the pieces of her life and push aside her feelings for Ren. But danger lurks around the corner, forcing her to return to India where she embarks on a second quest--this time with Ren's dark, bad-boy brother Kishan, who has also fallen prey to the Tiger's Curse. Fraught with danger, spellbinding dreams, and choices of the heart, TIGER'S QUEST brings the trio one step closer to breaking the spell that binds them.

Source: The Book Depository

4.5 stars

              

DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE PREVIOUS BOOKS IN THE SERIES.

This book has been sitting on my shelf for quite a while now, so I decided Spring Break was the perfect time to read it! Great book!

Interesting plot: 2/2
I think this book had a much more interesting plot than the first book in the series. First of all, Colleen Houck developed a world very carefully, that unlike many other YA books, you can actually how well thought out this was, with the legends and myths, to learning about different cultures. I like that as Kelsey is learning in the book, the reader is learning, too. I liked the fact that a main character was taken away almost at the beginning of the book, and another one came in to blow the readers away. Kishan and Kelsey's adventures went above everything I was expecting from this book. If you want a nice read, with adventures that actually make you feel you are there with them, I recommend this book to you.

Characters: 2/2

In Tiger's Curse I absolutely loved Ren and Kishan, and sort of disliked Kelsey. In this book, one character completely takes the spotlight, and I'm talking about Kishan, who in this book proved himself to be a sensitive, complex character that not only made Kelsey doubt her feelings, but also made me doubt mine. He's daring, very attractive, and has a soft side of him that makes the reader see the true man before the bad guy facade. Kelsey grew on me with this book, and a lot of people called her attitude 'clingy' at the end of the book, but I sort of get why she feels that way. I would, too.

Pace: 1.5/2

 Tiger's Quest had a good pace, but almost every adventure scene to me happened just too fast. I wish they'd last longer, to seem a bit more realistic, and not make the characters seem almost invincible. They got hurt, yes, but succeeded in a just a few pages.

Writing style: 2/2

Colleen Houck's style is very interesting and easy to read. She's sarcastic at times, and I think her division of character dialogue's and description of characters is very good. She's consistent with her writing from Kelsey's perspective  and picking up a second book from her and recognizing her writing style and character's voice was a very good sign.

Recommend it? 2/2

Yes! I liked it even better than Tiger's Curse! Read that one first, though, hehe.

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Let's Talk (1)

I decided to join in the discussion this week, and I thought the question was wonderful. This week's topic:

Does your family approve of blogging and reading so much? How do you compromise when they object? (Thank you Maryam/Books Glorious Books) 

I thought this to be a rather interesting question that I'd never talked about before. I started reading a lot when I was about 6, and don't remember much about my first few years as a reader, but I do know I didn't stop reading. My family always encouraged me about my reading, with my mom taking me almost every week to the bookstore to get new things to read. My mom used to tell me stories about my father, and my grandpa, who always read. My grandfather has a lot of times been my reading partner, often walking away together to read at a quiet place. He used to visit wonderful bookstores and he got me reading material that could've lasted me for years! Once I grew up and started leaving children books behind, he always recommended me books, and every time he cleaned his book shelfs I would get a big pile of books from him.

My dad was definitely my Harry Potter partner. He got me my first HP book, and went to bookstores for hours in lines to get them. We even bought the last book together. However, he has always been a... lazy reader, I think. Or a weird one, anyway. My dad cannot read a book the way it should be read. I remember him reading HP OotP, and he started in chapter 11, moved on to Chapter 1, and kept going in random chapters. He understood the story perfectly, and what had happened. He reads almost every single book that way. And he also likes spoilers. Loves them. So yeah, we got HP 7, he read a few chapters, and spoiled the ending for me -.-. 

So yeah, my whole family knows me perfectly and supports my reading, always respecting my reading space and leaving me alone when I need it. They know it's rare not to find me reading in a quiet room at family parties when I'm done eating, or things like that.

About blogging, my sister was the first one to know about my blog and YouTube channel. Then my parents knew and were very excited when I started interviewing my favorite authors. They were very proud, and helped them support strongly my decision to become a journalist. That's sort of when they knew writing was my thing. They visited my blog often, and congratulated me on my work with the HTML code, and all of that. I felt very happy with my accomplishments. And obviously there's the YouTube channel, that they all support fully, and my dad even started looking for new cameras to improve my video quality. They've all been really sweet about it all.

And they've never really objected strongly to my activities in the reading world, except when I eat reading a book and stuff like that. My sister gets her phone taken away, and I get my book taken away. Also, when I was younger, and misbehaved, I would get grounded with no reading after 8pm.... It was intense, let me tell you!

Let me know what your answer would be! I'd love to know other reading experiences!

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My Book Boyfriend: Owen Armstrong

Have I bored you with memes already? I'm sorry, I've just been loving these! I can't say I'll join these every week, but when they sound interesting I'll definitely do them! This is a meme by The Unread Reader, and they haven't updated it in a while, but I thought I'd join in after seeing Reading Lark's post, so without further ado, my book boyfriend this time is:

Owen Armstrong, from Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

He's one of the typical bad-boys I fall in love with, and well... he's hot. So yeah, he was a very unlikeable character at first, but Sarah Dessen showed us that sensitive part of him that made a vulnerable guy of him. I imagine him like this:

And my favorite quote from him:

“There comes a time when the world gets quiet and the only thing left is your own heart. So you’d better learn the sound of it. Otherwise you’ll never understand what it’s saying.”

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Road Trip Wednesday! (1): Best Books Read in March

Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question that begs to be answered. In the comments, you can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic.

This Week's Topic: What was the best book you read in March?

I decided to pick three, because we all know Clockwork Princess is the top one, and I'm also sure it's basically on everyone's list. So I'm going to post the cover of the books, linked to their Goodreads page, and put a GIF to describe my reactions to them:

Which books did you read in March, and which one did you like best? Let me know!

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Review: Clockwork Princess, by Cassandra Clare

Series: The Infernal Devices #3
Danger and betrayal, secrets and enchantment in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy
Tessa Gray should be happy - aren't all brides happy?Yet as she prepares for her wedding, a net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute.A new demon appears, one linked by blood and secrecy to Mortmain, the man who plans to use his army of pitiless automatons, the Infernal Devices, to destroy the Shadowhunters. Mortmain needs only one last item to complete his plan. He needs Tessa. And Jem and Will, the boys who lay equal claim to Tessa's heart, will do anything to save her.

Source: Amazon Kindle Store

                     

DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE PREVIOUS BOOKS IN THE SERIES.

CONTAINS SPOILERS- I HAVE TO VENT, SORRY!

SO MANY FEELINGS! I waited so long for this book to come out, read it once I could finally find it, and now I just wish I could read it all over again without knowing what will happen!

Interesting plot: 2/2
The plot was amazing! I didn't expect anything like this, I think Cassandra Clare has one of the brightest minds to have ever existed. I thought the beginning was very sweet, but kind of slow... I don't know, but after halfway through the book, it just killed me! So many unexpected thing happened in so little time! And then just when I thought my emotions could not take any more blows, there comes the epilogue that basically shattered my heart. It was perfect, just the way I wanted it to end, before even knowing what I wanted. I know a lot of people hated the ending, because of how she ends up with both, and a lot of people think Cassie did it just to keep the fans satisfied, but I was extremely happy with it, and it came very unexpectedly, but very naturally as well. I think I should've guessed something like that would happen, not because of Cassie, but the character's personalities. And here's a quote I found on Tumblr from Cassie that keeps my mind at ease:

“If there was an afterlife, and Will was watching Jem and Tessa, he would be chanting Dear God, just get together already!”

—	Cassandra Clare

Characters: 2/2

Can I just...UGHH.... Jem, Will, Gideon, Gabriel, everyone!

Cassandra Clare did not only make me fall in love with basically every male character in this book, but it was so heartbreaking to say goodbye to them all. I cried like crazy for the last half of the book. How can someone write a character that is so hard to let go of? She made us create attachments with these characters that I will never forget. Sounds corny, but this series will be in my heart forever, I truly think so. It was an amazing experience, to read about and join these characters in their adventures. Also, I'm attaching my favorite castings for the characters:

• Tessa Gray

• Jem Carstairs

• Will Herondale

By the way, I have no idea who this is! If you do, please let me know! He's perfect for Will!

• Charlotte

• Sophie

• Gabriel Lightwood

• Gideon Lightwood

Pace: 2/2

I don't think it's even important to mention how much this book kept me hooked. It's a book by Cassandra Clare, that basically comes with a guarantee that you'll finish it in no time. It had the right amount of action, romance, peace that was needed. Perfect balance. This book is the perfect example of how you write the ending to a series. 

Writing style: 2/2

There are no words to describe the amazing writer Cassandra Clare is. Her writing stye is amazing, keeps you hooked and flows flawlessly through the pages. It seems incredible how she managed to write the perfect love triangle. I truly hate them, in most YA books, because I know there's one the main character has to end up with. But NO, Cassie wrote a complicated love triangle that brought a happy ending to all of the characters, in one way or another.

Recommend it? 2/2

READ THIS SERIES NOW! You'll have your heart broken, and will feel hollow for months, but it will be worth it!

Now, to finish off, I leave you with a few GIFs accurately describing how I felt, and still feel at the moment.

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It's Monday! What are you reading? (1)

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a meme hosted by Book Journey.

Each week we spotlight the books we are reading, planning on reading or just finished reading.

Just finished:

Stealing Parker, by Miranda Kenneally

I LOVED this book! It was amazing! A great book for Spring Break.

You can read my review here.

Currently reading:

Clockwork Princess, by Cassandra Clare

I waited so long for this, and it's finally here; I can't believe it! My emotions are in a rollercoaster right now, I'm 62% into the book, and OHMYGOD, I don't think I'll survive... :(

What are you reading? Let me know!

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Review: Stealing Parker, by Miranda Kenneally

Series: Hundred Oaks #2
Red-hot author Miranda Kenneally hits one out of the park in this return to Catching Jordan's Hundred Oaks High.Parker Shelton pretty much has the perfect life. She’s on her way to becoming valedictorian at Hundred Oaks High, she’s made the all-star softball team, and she has plenty of friends. Then her mother’s scandal rocks their small town and suddenly no one will talk to her.Now Parker wants a new life.So she quits softball. Drops twenty pounds. And she figures why kiss one guy when she can kiss three? Or four. Why limit herself to high school boys when the majorly cute new baseball coach seems especially flirty?But how far is too far before she loses herself completely?

Source: Amazon Kindle Store

         

After reading Catching Jordan, I was completely sure I would love Stealing Parker just as much. This novel did not disappoint at all, and here's why:

Interesting plot: 2/2
I liked Catching Jordan a lot, and enjoyed it much more because of its mention of football. I know a lot about it, and enjoy a lot. This one, though, talked a lot about baseball that I don't really understand... But, it was the type of book that sort of explained it all to you in case you didn't know. Obviously, you have to get a few terms such as inning, or bases, and things like that. Once beyond that, it's very easy to understand the whole story that revolves around sports. Now, there comes the romantic part of the book. I won't spoil anything, but OHMYGOD; finally a book that turns out just the way I imagined and makes me squeal in delight while reading it! It was a very different story, very unique in comparison to other YA novels. I thought, 'This must be just like Catching Jordan, a story about a girl who plays baseball and is the only one on the team!". But no, Parker did not play for the team with the boys, and instead had a hobby of her own, that I thought gave a very interesting twist to the story. Well done, Ms. Kenneally!

Characters: 2/2
Parker is a girl unlike many other's I've read about. She's not the typical YA novel girl, that's shy and doubts herself. Like any other teenager, Parker has some drawbacks and seems quite sad at times. She has no female friends for various reasons, but she has a few true friends that stand up for her. With or without them, Parker learns to stand up for herself, to be strong when that's the only thing left she can be, and she's a very inspiring character for everyone, I think. She wasn't a goody-goody, and made mistakes, but knew (or learnt) to overcome them. 

Brian, her love interest, was a douche. From the moment I met him in the book I loathed him. A few people I know liked him, and thought he was hot and stuff, but not me. He sort of reminded me of that guy from The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, the soccer coach...I don't know why, he just did.

Finally, my two favorite characters, aside from Parker, were Brian and Corndog, her best friends who develop a huge story involving her throughout the story. I can almost assure you you'll love them both, as well.

Pace: 2/2
This wasn't a slow book at all. It didn't keep me attached to the pages at all times, but I did finish it in two days. It's quite a fast read, and you'll see yourself turning the pages without even noticing how far into it you've been. But yeah, it's not a book full with cliffhangers, or anything. Just a light, enjoyable read.

Writing style: 2/2
Miranda Kenneally amazed me since I read Catching Jordan, because she was such a fluent writing style that's not difficult to understand, and keeps you reading non-stop with the perfect balance between dialogues and narration. Such a nice writing style!

Recommend it? 1/2
Of course!

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