Genre: Sci-Fi / Fantasy, Diverse, Young Adult, Series

People who should read this: If you like fantasy stories seeped in myths and legends, a diverse read, and a cat and mouse chase. 

*I was given a free copy of both books for an honest review.*

Hi friends… I’m going to do things a little differently today. Instead of one review, you’re going to get a review for both books in The Tiger at Midnight series. So skip around, read the one you want, but I warn you… I can’t guarantee that there won’t be any spoilers for book 1 in the second review. 

Happy Reading

Love Kait

Reading Challenge: 112/175

The Tiger at Midnight Book 1

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

After a less than enjoyable string of books, I was so happy to read a book that fully sucked me in. Wow… The Tiger at Midnight was not what I was expecting. It was everything that I wanted in a story and more. A story that finally stopped making horrible plays for the sake of the plot and wrote how someone would rightfully act. No more screaming… well, I was screaming for a whole different reason. 

So what made The Tiger at Midnight so amazing? 

First off, the enemies to lovers trope (which everyone seems to be doing right now) was top notch. For once, someone who pulled it off well. Besides the fact that Esha and Kunal’s chemistry dripped off the page, when Teerdhala finally got around to explaining the reason for their connection, it all made perfect sense. There was no insta love. Did you hear me? NO insta love. What a treat to have something more original in a story than two people that just look at each other and know. I can’t entirely complain since I sometimes fall for it, but let’s try to keep it down to the bare minimum my writing friends. 

None of this would have been possible though if Teerdhala didn’t have some kickass dialogue - really some of the best I’ve seen in a book. It’s what ultimately saved her because the beginning wasn’t so hot. More like an amature writing a book. Word choices, descriptions, and sentence structure kept me from being immersed. It was all clunky and just plain wrong. But towards the end that all changed. Essentially, when the two main characters finally met and the antics ensued. Like I said… it was the dialogue. Clean, crisp, and oh so zingy. I’m dying for my friend to read The Tiger at Midnight because I know that she’s going to die over the two of them. 

The end was the main reason I gave the book 4.5 stars. Teerdhala didn’t make anything convenient for the characters or the story. There weren’t those moments where you want to throw the book across the room because you know the character is making the wrong decision. *don’t go down the dark alley by yourself Karen* I think you know what I’m talking about. The characters talked and they ran after each other like real people do, and things were complicated in the way that life is complicated. Teerdhala took her time to make these word people into flesh and blood and a mess. All the things that I want in a story. 

And I really felt the power of each character. There was no saving one person or there was one character stronger than the other. They each had their weaknesses and their strengths with each one being played up. It’s the kind of feminist book that I’m all down for. 

All of these amazing points are also steeped in some great Indian Mythology. I loved that Teerdhala went there with her book. There’s even a glossary in the end… I didn’t find out until I actually got to the end, but hey, what else is Google for. 

Yet, I rave and I rave and there’s half a star missing from the rating. I guess that’s because there was still that spark, that thing that pushes it over the edge, missing. I still noticed the issues. I was still bored at the beginning. I still could see the rough edges. The spark was missing where I can just ignore every little thing that’s wrong with a story. I still recommend that you give this a try. Just stick with it until they meet. I hope that you’ll love it as much as I did. 

The Archer at Dawn Book 2

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

I’m back for book 2.

*searches around*

*looks under the desk*

Where did it all go?

All those things I loved about The Tiger at Midnight are completely missing in The Archer at Dawn. Did Teerdhala have the sophomore curse? Sometimes I fear that I too will lose my edge on the second book. I think it’s because an author has all the time in the world to craft an amazing first book - not that the characters needed development in this case - but that time doesn’t exist under contract for book 2. 

I don’t even know where to start for this review. 

Well, I can’t tell if it’s because I was speed reading this book or not, but I had the worst time following along with what was going on. One minute the king was too sick to travel and then he was suddenly at court. Esha was being followed. I finally just stopped trying and decided to go with the ride because there was no figuring out the system. 

Oh… and that amazing dialogue that came with the cat and mouse chase… gone. All gone. There was a moment here and there, but that amature writing was front and center. Let’s not even talk about the amount of tropes that got thrown in. Let's see here… love triangle… love triangle… love triangle. I really wasn’t a fan of it. And why does every story these days either have to be centered around a party or a competition? Can we not be a little bit more original. It was like Teerdhala went against everything she wrote in the first part and asked herself, what can I do just to get the characters where I need them? 

Besides just getting the characters to their places, let’s also have them make all the wrong choices. Let’s make the reader scream at the page. It’s not going to be so obvious what’s going to happen in the end. Wait… wait… we’re at the end. Oh there it is. The big glaring plot point everyone knew was coming. 

Am I ranting too much? I guess I’m just really upset. I had high hopes for this book after what I read in the first one. All I got was the same old story that every YA book seems to be about nowadays. More plotting to bring down an evil ruler that’s destroying his/her country or oppressing a specific race/culture/magic. Take your pick. It isn’t so much about the plot as it wasn’t original enough. There was nothing new for me to grasp onto. I wanted something more and for a moment I thought this was going to be it. I thought we’d get that same chemistry between the characters that I loved. It was all missing and the ending just had me questioning if I’m even going to read the next one. 

Yes… yes… I probably will. I’ve started this train and I have to ride it until the end. 

Teerdhala was still great with her inclusion of Indian heritage and myths though. I liked that she kept the trend in naming book 2. The back stories for the characters mostly made sense in the long run. A few moments had my heart beating. I still liked the book a little bit more than average - just barely. If the third book can redeem itself then it might be okay that I had to suffer through this one. But I have no faith. Most series tend to go downhill after book one.