Mini ARC Review--Tiger's Promise by Colleen Houck

Before the curse, there was a promise. A prequel to the bestselling Tiger’s Curse series, this much anticipated novella recalls the beginning of Ren and Kishan’s story. Before Kelsey there was a girl, raised by a villain, whose love for a hero changed the course of history.

Trapped under the thumb of her abusive and powerful father Lokesh, Yesubai struggles to keep her own magical abilities secret while evading his dark powers. When Lokesh promises Yesubai to the prince of a neighboring kingdom, she becomes the central pawn in his plot to destroy the ruling family and take power for himself. Yesubai is trapped by her father's threats and desperate to protect the man she comes to love, but she knows that any decision she makes will have dire consequences. As dark forces gather around her, Yesubai must decide if she's willing to reveal that somewhere deep within her she has the power to change everything.

I received this ARC from the publishers via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, I was in no way compensated for this review.


I was beyond happy when I was contacted and asked if I wanted to read and review Colleen Houck's Tiger's Promise! I mean really, the asking wasn't necessary since I became excited to hear about this novella releasing this year! We still have awhile to go until the next and final book in the series releases as well. What better way to end it by going back to the beginning and getting the story that led us to Kelsey's journey?  

This novella is told through Yesubai's eyes and I can't quite remember what I felt about her when we first learned of her. I guess I was wondering why this girl allowed herself to be so easily manipulated by Lokesh, her evil-evil father. And wow! I so get it now! Her father was downright freaking evil and needless to say that there was a various amount of abuse involved.

Yesubai has her own special abilities that's she kept secret for years, only her handmaid knows of them. And when Lokesh decides he wants Yesubai to marry off to Ren, Yesubai really has no say in the matter. But it's Kishan that she truly longs for, having met him once while invisible, she felt a connection to this prince.

As the story moved along, I found myself growing sad, because Yesubai really is just sixteen years old. She has her own ideas of freedom, love, and what she wants out of life. Mainly, to live her life far from her father. But her father has other plans, as we pretty much know from the rest of the series. And even though I knew how the story ends, it was still a heart-wrenchnig ending to read through. But I felt like Colleen really did the story justice. True, we all know how it goes from the novels themselves. But seeing it through Yesubai's eyes gives the story new light, new meaning. And it was truly an astonishing read that I highly recommend to all fans of the Tiger's Curse Saga!


Overall Rating 5/5 stars


Tiger's Promise releases June 1, 2014