Kelsey, Ren, and Kishan return in this final volume in Houck's popular Tiger's Curse series. Also back is the evil sorcerer Lokesh, determined, as always, to foil the intrepid trio's attempt to break the tiger curse and discover their individual destinies. It's a tall order made taller for Kelsey, who must decide to which of the dreamy brothers she will give her heart. Houck's prose can lack nuance, but she tells a good story that will appeal to both action-adventure and romance fans. Expect demand, especially if a major motion picture is in the offing as the publisher asserts.

In their fourth adventure, Kelsey, Ren, and Kishan return to locate the goddess Durga's Rope of Fire. Facing an array of challenges, including being kidnapped by sorcerer Lokesh, Kelsey must break the Tiger's curse before the trio can fulfill their destinies. Even for fantasy, this series finale strains credulity, but Houck's mixture of mythology, adventure, and a juicy love triangle is entertaining.

Ablaze with fiery passions--and sheets of actual fire, too--this conclusion to the Tiger's Curse quartet brings Oregon teenager Kelsey and the two Indian were-tiger princes who have divided her heart through a climactic battle to a final, bittersweet mate selection. Her chiseled suitors, Ren and Kishan, must first rescue her from a forced marriage to archenemy Lokesh ("I watched vile ecstasy overtake him as he kissed my palm and licked the red droplets from his lips"). Kelsey then accompanies the sultry siblings on an arduous quest beneath an active volcano for a Rope of Fire that will convey the trio to a decisive face-off with the demonic sorcerer thousands of years in the past. Having privately settled in a previous episode on Kishan as the more rational choice but still gobsmacked by Ren, her "dark Poseidon," her "warrior angel," Kelsey nevertheless still rattles between the brothers. They continue to ply her with verses from Shakespeare, Tennyson and other poets as part of a rival courtship impregnated (so to speak) with manly sensitivity. After battling her way past a teeming array of minor deities, vampiric Rakshasas and like creatures from Hindu and other mythologies, Kelsey at last fulfills her destiny as savior of India. Then, in fulfilling their own destinies, one brother dies (temporarily), and to clear the way for a wedding described in protracted, luxuriant detail, the other makes the ultimate sacrifice by going off with another woman (albeit a goddess in the making). The end is a long time coming, but readers sufficiently hardened by the preceding adventures' florid prose to survive lines like "After a few seconds of delicious fantasy, I mentally rebuffed myself," and "[t]ingling bubbles of power coursed lazily between us," are sure to be left throbbing and misty-eyed. (Paranormal romance. 13 & up)

Anderson, M.T. The Chamber in the Sky . Vol. 4. 282p. (The Norumbegan Quartet). Scholastic . 2012. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-545-33493-8 . Gr 6-9 BARNETT, Mac . Danger Goes Berserk . Bk. 4. illus. by Matthew Myers. 240p. (Brixton Brothers Series). S &; S. Oct. 2012. Tr $14.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-3977-1 ; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-3979-5 . LC 2011048401. Gr 46 BENZ, Derek &; John S. Lewis . The Paragon Prison . Bk. 3. 368p. (Grey Griffins: The Clockwork Chronicles). Little, Brown . 2012. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-316-04525-4 ; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-316-20238-1 . LC 2011035295. Gr 47 Birney, Betty G. Mysteries According to Humphrey . Bk. 8. 144p. (Humphrey Adventures Series). Putnam . July 2012. Tr $14.99. ISBN 978-0-399-25414-7 . LC 2011020075. Gr 24 BUCKLEY, Michael . The Council of Mirrors . illus. by Peter Ferguson. Bk. 9. 334p. (The Sisters Grimm Series). Abrams / Amulet . 2012. Tr $15.95. ISBN 978-1-4197-0186-3 . Gr 47 D'LACEY, Chris . The Fire Ascending . Bk. 7. 560p. (Last Dragon Chronicles). Scholastic / Orchard . 2012. Tr $18.99. ISBN 978-0-545-40216-3 . LC 2012003120. Gr 58 FRIEDMAN, Laurie . Mallory McDonald, Super Snoop . Bk. 18. illus. by Jennifer Kalis. 152p. (Mallory Series). Darby Creek, dist. by Lerner. Sept. 2012. Tr $15.95. ISBN 978-0-7613-6073-5 . LC 2011044332. Gr 3-5 GUTMAN, Dan . Ted &; Me . 208p. (A Baseball Card Adventure Series). HarperCollins / Harper . 2012. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-06-123487-3 ; ebook $8.99. ISBN 978-0-06-210210-2 . LC 2011019359. Gr 47 HADDIX, Margaret Peterson . Caught . Bk. 5. 344p. (The Missing Series). S &; S . Aug. 2012. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4169-8982-0 ; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-2288-9 . LC 2011018654. Gr 58 HARRISON, Michelle . 13 Secrets . Bk. 3. 422p. (13 Treasures Series). Little, Brown . 2012. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-316-18563-9 ; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-0-316-20205-3 . Gr. 58 LASKY, Kathryn . Spirit Wolf . Bk. 5. 228p. (Wolves of the Beyond Series). Scholastic . 2012. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-0-545-27961-1 . LC 2012001594. Gr 47 McElligott, Matthew &; Larry Tuxbury . Benjamin Franklinstein Meets Thomas Deadison . illus by Matthew McElligott. 144p. Putnam . Aug. 2012. Tr $12.99. ISBN 978-0-399-25481-9 . LC 2012001615. Gr 4–6 Moss, Marissa . Daphne's Diary of Daily Disasters: The Fake Friend! illus. by author. 96p. S &; S . July 2012. Tr $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-4014-2 ; pap. $5.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-4015-9 ; ebook $5.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-4016-6 . Gr 4–6 Myers, Walter Dean . A Star Is Born . Bk. 3. 160p. (The Cruisers Series). Scholastic . Aug. 2012. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-439-91628-8 . Gr. 5–8 NEFF, Henry H. The Maelstrom . illus. by author. Bk. 4. 468p. (The Tapestry Series). Random . Oct. 2012. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-375-85707-2 ; PLB $19.99. ISBN 978-0-375-95707-9 ; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-375-89329-2 . Gr 5–8 PEIRCE, Lincoln . Big Nate Fun Blaster: Cheezy Doodles, Crazy Comix, and Loads of Laughs! illus. by author. 224p. (Big Nate Series). HarperCollins / Harper . July 2012. Tr $10.99. ISBN 978-0-06-209045-4 ; pap. $6.99. ISBN 978-0-06-219962-1 . Gr 3–6 RUSSELL, Rachel Ren&3;e . Tales from a Not-So-Graceful Ice Princess . Bk. 4. illus. by author. 348p. (Dork Diaries Series). S &; S / Aladdin . 2012. Tr $13.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-1192-0 ; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-1193-7 . Gr 5–8 SCOTT, Michael . The Enchantress . Bk. 5. 528p. (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel Series). Delacorte . 2012. Tr $18.99. ISBN 978-0-385-73535-3 ; PLB $21.99. ISBN 978-0-385-90518-3 ; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-375-98590-4 . Gr 6–9 Shan, Darren . Brothers to the Death . 260p. (Cirque du Freak Series: The Saga of Larten Crepsley). Little, Brown . 2012. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-316-07873-3 . Gr 5–9 VERNON, Ursula . When Fairies Go Bad . Bk. 7. 202p. (Dragonbreath Series). Dial . Sept. 2012. Tr $12.99. ISBN 978-0-8037-3678-8 . LC 2011048053. Gr 2–4 High School CAINE, Rachel . Black Dawn . Bk. 12. 370p. (The Morganville Vampires Series). NAL . 2012. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-451-23671-5 ; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-1-101-58534-4 . LC 2011052660. Gr 9 Up CLARE, Cassandra . City of Lost Souls . Bk. 5. 534p. (The Mortal Instruments Series). S &; S / Margaret K. McElderry Bks. 2012. Tr $19.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-1686-4 ; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4424-1688-8 . LC 2011042547. Gr 9 Up HOUCK, Colleen . Tiger's Destiny . Bk. 4. 406p. (Tiger's Curse Series). Sterling / Splinter . Sept. 2012. Tr $17.95. ISBN 978-1-4027-9843-6 ; ebook $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4027-9844-3 . Gr 7 Up KADE, Stacey . Body &; Soul . Bk. 3. 320p. (A Ghost and the Goth Novel). Hyperion / Disney . 2012. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-142313466-4 . LC 2011030592. Gr 8 Up KATE, Lauren . Rapture . Bk. 4. 448p. (A Fallen Novel). Delacorte . 2012. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-385-73918-4 ; PLB $20.99. ISBN 978-0-385-90775-0 ; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-375-89719-1 . Gr 8 Up KIZER, Amber . Speed of Light . Bk. 3. 528p. (A Meridian Novel). Delacorte . Nov. 2012. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-385-74114-9 ; PLB $19.99. ISBN 978-0-375-98987-2 ; ebook $10.99. ISBN 978-0-375-98428-0 . Gr 9 Up LAKE, Nick .