There are some authors that other authors just swoon over. Nova Ren Suma is one of them and I really don’t get it. Her prose is quite beautiful but I’ve always had a hard time getting into her books and they are not that memorable after I have read them. The only thing I remember about the other book I have read by her, Imaginary Girls was that it had a good ending and I think one of the girls died for the other. The common thread of these books is that her characters are shrouded in mystery. I’m not sure what I’m missing. It’s not that I don’t like her books but I don’t find them to be as wonderful as I they are supposed to be. Then again, reading is subjective. What someone likes someone else might not.
The Walls Around Us is the story of three girls. Amber is in a juvenile dentition center for girls, serving time for a crime she may or may not have committed with little chance of getting out anytime soon. Violet is a ballet dancer, who is on the verge of getting everything she has ever wanted. She just graduated high school and is about to start at Julliard for more training. Orianna is the link between the two of them. As the story unfolds, we discover who did what and who is innocent and who is guilty.
Major spoilers ahead Continue reading
I liked this a lot more then I thought I would and what a perfect time for me to read with just the French Open starting on Sunday. The players of Outer Banks Tennis Academy are gearing up to play Roland Garros. There is Penny Harrison, rising star on the WTA, who has just beat the number one player in the world. Indy Gaffney, a natural talent who is getting back in the game after the death of her mother and Jasmine Randazzano, the daughter of two Grand Slam tennis. They all of their sights set on tennis greatness and boys. Despite being billed as a romance it’s pretty heavy on the tennis. It actually has more tennis action then 
This contains a few spoilers, mostly on how the original The Selection Trilogy ended.
I have finished reading Reawakened but since it doesn’t come out until August I’m going to hold my review of it. So instead, I’m going to talk about Colleen Houck’s other series The Tiger’s Saga. The as-of-now four piece series follows Kelsey, your normal American teenage girl who travels to India to try to break a 300 year old Indian Curse. In the first book, Tiger’s Curse, Kelsey gets a summer job working for a circus, whose main attraction is a white tiger. She is immediately drawn to the tiger, not realizing that the Tiger is actually a 300+ year old Indian Prince named Ren. Ren was cursed by the evil Lokesh, who was trying to take over his kingdom and take the mysterious Amulet. He has been trapped inside a Tiger’s body ever since and is only himself for 24 minutes a day. Kelsey and Ren set out to solve the prophecy and break the curse under the watchful eye of the Goddess Durga to free Ren from his bondage. Of course it’s not that simple. Lokesh is still out there, searching for the amulet to gain the ultimate power. Ren’s brother, Kishan was also cursed, though he has been living as a tiger in the Indian jungle. And the tasks to breaking the curse are fraught with danger, magic and myths. They take them to places all around India and even Nepal and even mythical places like Shangri-La. With each successful completion of a task the brothers gain more time as themselves until they break the curse and no longer can become a tiger.
I fell in love with the series. It’s kind of a mix of Twilight and Indian Jones. I know an odd mix. It has the romance element but also the action and adventure element that keeps it exciting. Kelsey falls for Ren but is reluctant to express her feelings. Her parents died a couple of years ago and has since had trouble opening up to new people in fear that they will also leave her. Ren is an honest, sweet man who wants to do the right thing for his kingdom and others but after centuries as a tiger, you can’t blame him for fighting for what he wants. Their chemistry is apparent from almost their first meeting, which I’m counting as a Tiger. Complications of course happen when they meet Kishan. Ren and Kishan were not on the best of terms when they were cursed. There are obviously going to be some bad feelings when one brother tries to steal the other brother’s fiance. Even 300 years as tigers is not enough time to heal those wounds. Of course it doesn’t help that they both fall in love with Kelsey. It’s your classic love triangle. The good girl, who falls in love with the good brother and the bad brother. Their tiger’s fur even signifies who’s who. Ren is a white tiger and Ren is a black. As the series progresses, they become more than just good and bad. Kishan has lived in the jungle for all those years because he can’t face what he did. Houck makes a good case for why each brother would be a good match for Kelsey but there is never any doubt who she truly loves and will eventually end up with. As for the villian, Lokesh, he’s your typical bent on world domination villian and the lengths he will go to get what he wants are kinda frightening. Ren and Kishan have been supported by Mr. Kadam. His parents personal guard, who continued to live thanks to part of the Amulet he was given from the family and Nilima, Mr. Kadam several greats granddaughter. They provide a stability to the story. Nothing would get done without them.
2 Women, So Many Books 