Tiger Eye by M. Liu

I’ve been hearing a lot about Marjorie Liu and her Dirk & Steele series, so when I saw the first novel, Tiger Eye, at the used book store, I picked it up. I pride myself on being honest and I have to say, this story really didn’t do much for me. The overall plot was good and it kept me interested, but the beginning reminded me a lot of Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Fantasy Lover.

We first meet Dela in China where she picks up a riddle box from a street market. After getting it back to her hotel, and examining the box, she finds a half-naked man in her room, boiling with a lot of hostility. It’s no surprise that he isn’t all sweet and sugary once you finally get to understand Hari…it has to be hard to be a slave for over 2000 years. What happens next is a mystery of who is trying to kill Dela and why. Added to that is the Magi who cursed Hari to the box is still alive and wants him back for one last task.

Again, the plot was actually pretty good. The novel did a good job setting up the idea of what Dirk & Steele do and we’re introduced to some interesting characters. I think that was my favorite part of the novel, meeting all of the bad boys back at Dela’s apartment. The character development for the bad boys was pretty good, as it was for Dela and Hari, but I have to admit, I am far more interested in Blue, Artur, and Dean. I’m really hoping they get their own stories in the series and I’ll be looking for them.

Overall, Tiger Eye doesn’t really stand out to me and it’s doesn’t make me want to run out and get the next novel in the series. I guess the part that gets me is how closely it reminded me of Fantasy Lover, however, it doesn’t stay too close to it once you get past the initial meet and greet. But it’s that first impression that sticks with you and that may have something to do with my reaction. However, I will say that I am still extremely interested in her new Hunters Kiss series, which starts with Iron Hunt, so while I can’t say she has become one of my favorites, she is one I would suggest to other people to try and I am going to continue reading her. I’m just not running to the library for another book.

Dirk & Steele Read Order:
Tiger Eye – excerpt
Shadow Touch – excerpt
The Red Heart of Jade – excerpt
Dark Dreamers – excerpt
Eye of Heaven – excerpt
Soul Song – excerpt
The Last Twilight – excerpt
The Wild Road

Also reviewed by:
Talk about My Favorite Authors by Rikki Donovan

About Jackie 3282 Articles
I am a 30-something SAHM with two adorable boys and a supportive husband who is very tolerant of my reading addiction. I love to read and easily go through about a dozen books a month – well I did before I had kids. Now, not so much. After my first son was born, I began to take my hobby of reviewing a little more serious and started Literary Escapism to help with my sanity. I love to discuss the fabulous novels I’ve read and meeting all the wonderful people in the book blogging community has been amazing.

3 Comments

  1. I don’t think I made it past the first chapter. But it was a library book, and I don’t feel guilty about giving up on library books. Stuff that I paid for or received as gifts, however…

    Have a lovely day! :-)

  2. I’m bummed that you didn’t like it more. I haven’t read any SK but looking at the synopsis of Fantasy Lover, I can certainly see the similarity. Personally, I really loved Hari and Dela but I will concede that the world-building is a little muddy and gets better with subsequent books. I read them all out of order so I already knew Blue and Artur and Dean– it was kind of fun getting their “prequel”. Read Blue’s book– if you like Nalini’s shifters, you’ll like that one. ;-)

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