Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “Tantalize (Tantalize, #1)” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

Tantalize

(Tantalize #1)

Cynthia Leitich Smith

3.30 · Rating details · 12,576 ratings · 1,027 reviews

Are you predator or prey?

CLASSIFIED ADS: RESTAURANTS
SANGUINI'S: A VERY RARE RESTAURANT IS HIRING A CHEF DE CUISINE. DINNERS ONLY.
APPLY IN PERSON BETWEEN 2:00 AND 4:00 PM.

Quincie Morris has never felt more alone. Her parents are dead, and her hybrid-werewolf first love is threatening to embark on a rite of passage that will separate them forever. Then, as she and her uncle ...more

Get A Copy

Hardcover, 310 pages

Published February 13th 2007 by Candlewick Press (first published February 1st 2007)

More Details... Edit Details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about Tantalize, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Best Teen Vampire Fiction

406 books — 4,732 voters

Series I've Given Up On...

953 books — 3,510 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

Showing 1-30

Average rating 3.30 ·

Rating details

· 12,576 ratings · 1,027 reviews

More filters

Sort order

Start your review of Tantalize (Tantalize, #1)

Feb 01, 2011 Shannon rated it it was ok

Shelves: young-adult, paranormal-romance, 2011, vampires, werewolves, color-black

This turned out to be an original concept that was executed poorly. The story quickly spirals into an insufferable teen drama filled with clichéd characters and terrible choices.

Quincie, the main character, is trying to reopen her family's restaurant after a recent murder on the premises. She has to come up with the menu, hire the staff, and organize just about everything. She tries to act like an adult, but she isn't really one, and so she misses all of the signs an actual adult would have ...more

flag 38 likes · Like · see review

May 16, 2008 Megan RFA rated it it was ok

Recommends it for: anyone who's really bored and has nothing else to read.

Shelves: vampires, young-adult

This book annoys me. Not the subject matter, that's ok. I mean, it IS teen-fic. What bugs me is the writing. The author lives in Austin, Texas which is where the book takes place, and so do I, which is part of the reason it interested me. But she really wants to make sure you know the story takes place in Texas, yall! Seriously, every few paragraphs she's name dropping some local landmark or phenomena. Done correctly and respectfully this can add flavor to a story, but it's done so poorly in ...more

flag 20 likes · Like · see review

Nov 07, 2007 Emily Cassady rated it it was ok

Recommends it for: YA and fans of vamp fiction

Vampire/Werewolf fiction is always a hot seller. CLS has done some research using B. Stoker's Dracula and has made a main character (Quincie Morris) based on some information found within. Our Quincie is from Austin and she is struggling with running a family restaurant. They've decided to close down, re-model, and open a vampire diner. Recently I heard one book reviewer say "You know how you always see those 'KeepAustinWeird' shirts? Well...this certainly fits".
There are some recognizable ...more

flag 18 likes · Like · see review

Mar 07, 2011 Ann rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, romance, horror, young-adult, paranormal, texas, forbidden-love, restaurants, vampires, werewolves

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

Oh my gosh, what the crap was that? Did that just happen??? Friends, this book makes Twilight look PLAUSIBLE. It makes it look like ART.

I considered for a while giving this only one star, using, of course, The Amber Room as my ruler, and decided this is just as bad - but in a different way. It is certainly full of cliches (the author certainly loves an angsty sentence fragment!), but it is also just plain crazy. She assumes HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

Oh my gosh, what the crap was that? Did that just happen??? Friends, this book makes Twilight look PLAUSIBLE. It makes it look like ART.

I considered for a while giving this only one star, using, of course, The Amber Room as my ruler, and decided this is just as bad - but in a different way. It is certainly full of cliches (the author certainly loves an angsty sentence fragment!), but it is also just plain crazy. She assumes that you will accept the rules she's set up for her world, but doesn't give the reader any time to absorb them or even really hear them in the first place - the vampire/werewolf mythology she uses is quite different from the norm, but I always felt like I was asking "wait...what????". It was overly complex without any payoff, and she was constantly tacking things onto it throughout the story until it was just a mess. She also doesn't allow the reader to get to know the characters at all before weird stuff starts happening, so you don't realize that anything is supposed to be out of the norm - Quincie drinking doesn't seem weird (other than from a personal standpoint) until you are told near the end that this is something that vampires have been compelling her to do and it's not normal for her. Thanks for letting me know that, Cynthia Leitich Smith. There were so many things that just seemed weird (the fact that she misses so much school, the school encouraging her towards home-schooling, her constant fighting with her best friend, being kissed by girls, THE FACT THAT SHE EATS A BABY SQUIRREL), but I just had to assume that it was normal for her since I wasn't given any help from the author. However, it is apparently normal for her to name her planner and then kiss and hug it in a lengthy passage, because once she comes out of her stupor, that's the first thing she does.

And the plot! What? So convoluted and just kind of boring. I assumed that maybe I hadn't been paying enough attention and missed some stuff at the beginning, but even reading synopses make it sound completely crazy. For all its faults, at least Twilight makes sense logically in terms of plot, and it has a narrative that moves forward and encourages the reader to keep reading. It's full of filler, but the story unfolds in a way that makes sense. This book just throws you in and calls it creative. It is not. It is bad.

I can't even go into all the details of what made this so laughably bad - and yes, I laughed out loud many, many times. Everything about it is stupid. What freaks me out the most is that the author teaches creative writing at a university, and uses her self-congratulatory afterward to explain all the literary references she included in the plot. I recognized none of them while reading the book (and I have read most of her "sources"), but then again, I was laughing too much. ...more

flag 10 likes · Like · see review

Oct 15, 2008 Miss Clark rated it did not like it

Shelves: rubbish-and-the-like

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Again, it could have been a whole heck of a lot better. I found it chaotic for the most part, not that well written, with more of an "ick" factor than anything else.

It was unclear at first if the existence of vampires and werepeople was common knowledge, though it appears that it is in Smith's world. It is simply that they still aren't very well liked, for the obvious reasons, so no one exactly advertises if they happen to be one.

My biggest problems with this book, apart from the vulgarity, as ...more

flag 8 likes · Like · see review

Jul 09, 2008 Kristi rated it liked it

Tantalize itself means to torment or tease with the sight or promise of something that is unobtainable or withheld. I personally cannot think of a better word to describe this dark fantasy!

Quince Morris lives in world that is a little different from our own. Not much different really, just this small thing about werewolves and vampires being real! But Quince isn’t worried about that, her best friend Kieren happens to be a hybrid-werewolf. Not only is he her best friend she wishes they were more, ...more

flag 7 likes · Like · see review

Jan 26, 2009 Marlan rated it did not like it

This book is for the non-discriminating teen who needs a vampire fix. Were-creatures are mentioned but they don't do anything cool. I thought it was a poorly constructed plot and had weak characterization. Very disappointed.

flag 7 likes · Like · see review

Feb 27, 2019 Jay G rated it did not like it

Want to see more bookish things from me? Check out my youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfer...

1.5/5 Stars

*This review is going to be filled with sarcasm - sorry not sorry*

After the death of her parents, Quince is trying to reopen her family's Vampire themed restaurant. Not to mention that her bestfriend (boyfriend????) is a hybrid-werewolf who is almost the age when he will have to leave her to find his own pack. Talk about stressful! But then, the chef is suddenly murdered by Want to see more bookish things from me? Check out my youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfer...

1.5/5 Stars

*This review is going to be filled with sarcasm - sorry not sorry*

After the death of her parents, Quince is trying to reopen her family's Vampire themed restaurant. Not to mention that her bestfriend (boyfriend????) is a hybrid-werewolf who is almost the age when he will have to leave her to find his own pack. Talk about stressful! But then, the chef is suddenly murdered by what appears to be a were-beast attack and Quince must quickly find a replacement and train him to be the vampire king before the opening night. Mysterious Brad shows up on her doorstep saying that her good ol' Uncle D hired him for the job without consulting anyone so OBVIOUSLY she instantly trusts him and he begins his seduction of the UNDERAGE GIRL.

This book was... not good. Quince is probably the DUMBEST person alive. She's a senior in highschool trying to act like an adult but she acts like she is 5 years old. She spends 3/4 of the book drunk and making dumb decisions because of it. She makes the stupidest decisions left, right and centre and then is surprised when things fall apart. ALSO... she is apparently in the restaurant when her very good friend the chef is brutally murdered and she just goes about her day like its no big deal... like I'm sorry... I thought you considered him to be family? I am mucho confuso... For a good chunk of the book Quince just complained about how her best friend kind of maybe sort of boyfriend Kieran, the half werewolf half human, wouldn't hold her hand. Like girl, no one cares... She goes on and on about how he's going to leave her forever to join his wolf pack but then Bradley shows up and suddenly her best friend kind of maybe sort of boyfriend Kieran, the half werewolf half human doesn't matter to her anymore and is a big bad scary wolf man trying to kill people. Like girl make up your mind damn.

Also... very confused on the whole world building of this book... apparently humans know that vampires, werewolves, and other creatures exist but it's never explained why... like why are there werepossoms... who decided that should be a thing!? For more than half the book I had honestly no idea what was even happening or what direction the book was going and then all of a sudden she's drugged in a basement being groped by a vampire.

dumb. ...more

flag 8 likes · Like · see review

Dec 09, 2008 Sharee rated it did not like it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Jun 05, 2009 Arlene rated it it was ok

Shelves: vampires, read-2009, awful, young-adult, weres-shifters, paranormal

I was so tempted to give this book one star, but I only reserve that honor for ones I simply can't finish. If you're in the mood for one of the worst vamp/were tales, Tantalize is the book for you.

Tantalize, by Cynthia Leitich Smith, ranks up there with one of the most disappointing stories I've come across. There was nothing tantalizing about this story, the characters or the plot. The only thing the book has going for it is good art cover.

The basic premise of the story is that Quincie ...more

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

Jul 23, 2019 Andrea rated it liked it

Shelves: 2019-read

This book has been haunting me for years. I swear I used to see it almost every time I went to my local library when I was younger. I bet I even checked it out a couple times. And now I finally FINALLY read it!!

Tantalize tells the tale of young Quincie Morris. She's an orphan raised by her uncle and loves the restaurant her parents established. Together, she and her uncle are re-opening Sanguini's to be a vampiric delight. When their head chef is murdered weeks before the opening, they scramble ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Mar 31, 2015 Dark Faerie Tales rated it it was ok

Shelves: reviewed-by-bridget

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

d preternatural forces clash, a deadly love triangle forms, and the line between predator and prey begins to blur. Who’s playing whom? And how long can Quincie play along before she loses everything? TANTALIZE marks Cynthia Leitich Smith’s delicious debut as a preeminent author of dark fantasy.

Quick & Dirty: Tantalize had great potential, but with the frustrating characters and over exaggerated moments it ended up just being an okay read for me.

Opening ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

May 12, 2008 Jennifer Wardrip rated it it was amazing

Shelves: trt-posted-reviews, teen, jen-owns, series-bk-1

Reviewed by Karin Perry for TeensReadToo.com

Quincie Morris leads a stressful life; playing the part of a responsible adult since the death of her parents has left her the owner of the family restaurant. Fat Lorenzo's was a successful family business until a large Italian restaurant chain moved in down the street. The small business couldn't compete, so in order to keep the doors open, her Uncle Davidson, now her guardian and manager of the restaurant, decided to change Fat Lorenzo's into a Reviewed by Karin Perry for TeensReadToo.com

Quincie Morris leads a stressful life; playing the part of a responsible adult since the death of her parents has left her the owner of the family restaurant. Fat Lorenzo's was a successful family business until a large Italian restaurant chain moved in down the street. The small business couldn't compete, so in order to keep the doors open, her Uncle Davidson, now her guardian and manager of the restaurant, decided to change Fat Lorenzo's into a vampire-themed Italian restaurant called Sanguini's. The chef would be the center of the act, leading a midnight toast every night. Quincie's close friend, Vaggio, has been with the restaurant for years as its chef and is looking forward to the new challenge.

Quincie works late many nights a week. She is either working with Vaggio, taste-testing for the new menu, or organizing some of the many tasks left to do before opening night. One night while she is in the office reviewing her "To Do List," she hears a noise from the kitchen. Thinking Vaggio simply dropped something, she continues to work. She is also waiting for Kieren, a half-werewolf that has been the love of her life and best friend for years. She is startled when she hears Kieren's frantic cry calling her name from the kitchen. Immediately going to meet him, she is horrified by the site of Vaggio dead on the kitchen floor, bloodied and mangled as if torn apart by wolves. Kieren is bloodied from attempting to help and is desperate with worry about Quincie. He quickly pulls her from the restaurant and goes down the street to call the police. Once the police arrive, they return to the scene of the crime to answer questions.

Quincie feels her world closing in on her. She has lost her parents and a dear friend within a short period of time. Her Uncle Davidson has been preoccupied with Ruby, his wannabe vampire girlfriend, so much so that he isn't ever home and rarely spends time with Quincie anymore. Now, she learns that Kieren is planning to leave. He is going to join a werewolf pack for support while he learns the ways of his culture. Once he joins, he will never be able to come back. The thought of never seeing, touching, or talking to Kieren again leaves her shaken.

Quincie is in a vulnerable state when the new chef for Sanguini's shows up unexpectedly. Uncle Davidson hired him without even consulting her, which irritates her since she is usually considered a partner when it comes to major decisions. Henry Johnson is the new chef and as he and Quincie work together to make him more vampire-like, they grow closer. The first thing they change is his name, and Henry Johnson becomes Bradley Sanguini. Bradley cooks for her daily, constantly trying new recipes for the possible menu. He also introduces her to wine. Never one for drinking, she quickly develops a taste for it, seeming to always have a glass of wine in her hand while she is working. She is surprised that her uncle doesn't say anything about her drinking. She is even more shocked when Uncle Davidson allows her to drink wine at home.

Quincie's life seems to flash before her eyes. Her mind is occupied with thoughts of the restaurant so much that her grades at school begin to fall. She loses interest in any activity that isn't surrounding Sanguini's. She begins to spend less time with Kieren, both because she is afraid of her feelings when he is gone for good and because Bradley and Uncle Davidson plant the seed of suspicion in her mind that Kieren might have lost control of his change and killed Vaggio himself. All of these thoughts distract her to the point that she is lured into a dangerous situation where there is no way out. Her life will be forever changed.

TANTALIZE by Cynthia Leitich Smith is a stimulating paranormal mystery mixed with romance. The relationship between Quincie and Kieren is touching and so deep that the reader feels Quincie's pain at the thought of losing Kieren, while at the same time understanding Kieren's reasons for keeping Quincie at arms length and never following through on the emotions he feels for her. There are a few loose ends at the end of the book that leave the reader begging for more, which will most likely lead to a sequel. ...more

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

Mar 25, 2012 Pamela rated it did not like it

Recommends it for: No one. Ever. For real--I mean it.

Shelves: clunky, series, ya, confusing, readforschool, bizarre, pointless, readin2012, ya-lit-course

I am so, so confused. I feel like I've just been on an LSD trip filled with strange puns, werewolves, werepossums (?????), and vampires living in Austin, Texas.

Admittedly, I don't know very much about Austin, except that it's a) in Texas, and b) the capitol of Texas. Evidently ... it's a strange place? Smith sets her story here, with the central character being Quincie (Smith's bizarre homage to a character in Stoker's Dracula). Poor, poor Quincie. Her best friend is a Werewolf-hybrid who can't I am so, so confused. I feel like I've just been on an LSD trip filled with strange puns, werewolves, werepossums (?????), and vampires living in Austin, Texas.

Admittedly, I don't know very much about Austin, except that it's a) in Texas, and b) the capitol of Texas. Evidently ... it's a strange place? Smith sets her story here, with the central character being Quincie (Smith's bizarre homage to a character in Stoker's Dracula). Poor, poor Quincie. Her best friend is a Werewolf-hybrid who can't fully shapeshift (boo hoo?), who wants to run away to join a wolf pack so he can ... y'know, find himself, and she hasn't even gotten down with him yet! In between plots to have a little bow chicka wow wow time with Kieran, the predictably gorgeous Were-dude, Quincie needs to figure out the logistics of reopening her late parents' Italian restaurant. Her uncle, loafer and all-around sleazebag Davidson, wants to turn it into a vampire-themed restaurant. Somehow everyone thinks this is a great idea--especially Davidson's vampire-crazy girlfriend Ruby. When the head chef is killed (dun dun DUNNNNN!), Quincie and Davidson must find a new chef before the grand opening! (How is this even a plot?)

Enter, stage left, Bradley. He is in his early twenties, balding, and the most amazing chef ever. Of course he'll save Sanguini's. Can he save Quincey from the crazy lunatic who may or may not exist and who may or may not be attempting to kill her and who may or may not be Kieran? Will Sanguini's be a success? Will Quincey finally have sexytimes with Kieran (her ultimate dream!!!)???

Who cares?

The strangest part about this book, which I read as a "dark fantasy" requirement for my YA lit course, is that it couldn't decide whether it was a straight up dark vampire YA sexy sexy book, or a goofy send-up of vampire novels. Smith goes ultra heavy-handed on the puns--fang shui? FANG SHUI????? The world of her book is one where evidently humans know that vampires, werewolves, and the like exist, but it's not quite explained why. The ending was beyond bizarre, and Bradley's treatment of Quincie utterly reeks of sexual predator. And (view spoiler). Eugh. I feel so dirty and gross and angry that girls think this an appropriate attitude to have. Lust after unattainable, dangerous boys. Skip school. Moon over boys some more. Boys sure define you, don't they?

Is it a comedy or serious? Is there a plot? Why won't the puns stop? Can anyone help me? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Jan 21, 2010 Bark rated it did not like it

Shelves: audiobook, dnf

I read Eternal which I found lacking and went back to read this one to see if I’d enjoy it any better. I should have known better.

The writing is still very off putting and the world building just as lame and inconsistent as book #2 in the series. I can’t quite put into words what is wrong but I feel a disconnect between myself and the characters which is annoying and frustrating.

This story is set in a world inhabited by humans, vampires and werewolves but the whole dynamic between the three is I read Eternal which I found lacking and went back to read this one to see if I’d enjoy it any better. I should have known better.

The writing is still very off putting and the world building just as lame and inconsistent as book #2 in the series. I can’t quite put into words what is wrong but I feel a disconnect between myself and the characters which is annoying and frustrating.

This story is set in a world inhabited by humans, vampires and werewolves but the whole dynamic between the three is sketchy and the author just throws it at you without bothering to explain anything. It drives me nutty when an author does this sort of thing as it just screams lazy to me. I figured with this being book #1 she’d do some decent setup but it’s a no go, instead she spends time describing more important stuff, you know, like clothing and food. Anyway, Quincie is a teenager trying her best to woo her werewolf/human hybrid boyfriend into holding her hand before he runs off to join a wolf pack, never to be seen again apparently. She is being raised by an uncle because her parents are dead and is helping him reopen the family restaurant which has been reinvented as an Italian vampire diner. But, uh oh, the head chef (and her close confidant) is found brutally murdered. She is at the restaurant when the poor guy is torn to bits.

A major problem with this book and its sequel is that it sets up these huge dramatic moments that should be emotionally painful but are just . . . not. The books are emotionally dead. Quincie has two friends, the werewolf/human guy who won’t touch her and the dead chef. Supposedly she admired the chef but when he dies his dreadfully painful death she just goes about her day, worrying about getting the restaurant going and wondering if the new cook can pull off the whole “vampire diner” dynamic because he doesn’t have the right look. Never mind the fact that he’s only 20 and is going to be the head chef (where’s Chef Ramsey when you need him?!). I’m supposed to believe this girl is in her late teens and has the emotional capacity of a mannequin? I haven’t been a teen for awhile but come on; teens are just as emotional as the rest of us jaded [cough:] slightly older, world-weary folks, if not more-so. Much more-so in my experience. I’m supposed to swallow the fact that she doesn’t have even a mini emotional meltdown after this drama? Is she that incredibly shallow? Yes, she is and that’s why I will not bother finishing this book.
...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Jan 28, 2013 A.L. Davroe rated it really liked it

This story is about an orphaned girl -- Quincie -- who is crushing on her werewolf best friend and trying to re-vamp (literally) her family's restaurant when the head chef and family friend is brutally murdered. The problem? The murder looks like it was done by a shifter -- possibly her best friend? AND the restaurant is opening soon and now there's no chef! Luckily, Bradly show up out of nowhere, ready to fill Quincie full of cheesy lines, heady wine, and promises of a flowering future for her ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Aug 29, 2012 Melissa rated it did not like it

Shelves: read-in-2012

I try to let every book settle on my brain a good 24hrs before doing a review, especially if I feel it might be unfavorable.

I'm a longtime fan of Paranormal YA literature. I've seen it evolve. I've read the good and the bad. You say it, I've probably read it.

When I read the back of this book, I immediately thought it was going to be good. I liked the idea of it revolving around a restuarant. My own father has been a chef all my life, so I know kitchen life like the back of my hand (even though ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Aug 13, 2009 Megan rated it it was ok

Shelves: summer-2009

I'm not really sure what to say about this book. It's . . . strange. And not strange in the good, wow-that-was-crazy-scary-and-I-would-totally-see-that-movie! strange. Not the creepy, sexy thing I thought it was.

Think about it: Girl has best friend/werewolf/potential lover. Girl runs wierd restaurant that needs a new theme -- and it's a vampiric one!

Sounds crazy right? In the crazy-look-'em-up way.

And I'm just so confused by the whole book that I have no idea what to write.

Confession: The only ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Apr 08, 2009 Jessie rated it did not like it

I hate it when you are halfway through a book and finally realize that the story isn't going to get any better, but you can't put the book down because in the back of your mind you are hoping that there will be some redeeming quality that justifies the time you have spent reading the book. I am so sorry that that didn't happen with this train wreck of a book. The story is so all over the place and disjointed that it was very difficult to follow the plot let alone care at all about the ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Feb 15, 2009 J.D. Stroube rated it liked it

Shelves: young-adult, series, vampire-immortals-succubus, were-shifter, waiting-for-sequel

This was somewhat unique. I found the "restaurant" to be an interesting bend...
It had humor, but I felt that the author could have done more with this book!

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Dec 28, 2018 Cindee rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I really liked this book it was a bit weird but in a really interesting way I tend to like books like this. I really liked the characters especially Quincie and Keiran although I did dislike her obliviousness I liked the relationships between the characters as well. I liked the story even if it was a bit weird it was still rather enjoyable. So overall I liked this book and will continue the series soon.

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

May 27, 2010 Angela rated it did not like it

Shelves: paranormal, vampires, young-adult, weres-and-shifters, urban-fantasy, read-in-2010

Could have been tantalizing but wasn't, 1.5 stars

Cynthia Leitich Smith's Tantalize begins as Quincie Morris, placed into her uncle's care after her parents' death, is helping prepare the family's restaurant for its grand re-opening. Quincie helps runs the restaurant, which is undergoing a renovation to become Sanguini's, a vampire-themed dining experience. When the head chef is murdered, Quincie must decide whether to trust her best friend and crush, Kieran, a half-werewolf hybrid, to not be the Could have been tantalizing but wasn't, 1.5 stars

Cynthia Leitich Smith's Tantalize begins as Quincie Morris, placed into her uncle's care after her parents' death, is helping prepare the family's restaurant for its grand re-opening. Quincie helps runs the restaurant, which is undergoing a renovation to become Sanguini's, a vampire-themed dining experience. When the head chef is murdered, Quincie must decide whether to trust her best friend and crush, Kieran, a half-werewolf hybrid, to not be the culprit. Soon, new chef Henry Johnson sweeps in, complete with quirky comments, red contact lenses, and a wish to make the place as vampirific as possible. Henry also takes a decided interest in Quincie. As things get weirder and weirder, Quincie must decide whom to trust: the now-suspect Kieren or her uncle and the intriguing new chef?

Very rarely have I seen such widely-ranging reviews as I did for TANTALIZE, so I decided to pick up the book and decide for myself. Unfortunately, I fell among those who did not enjoy this book. Smith's writing was stilted and jumpy, and there were little to no transitions between scenes. In the first two-thirds of the book, the plot and setting were somewhat interesting, but the big plot twist that occurred in the final third was very abrupt and unpleasant. The incomplete character development didn't make me care for any of the characters, and the villain was obvious from his first introduction. Overt attempts at sensuality throughout felt forced. Finally, the climax and ending felt very rushed, and the villain and love interest both acted in unbelievable ways.

Underneath these problems, I could see glimmers of what could have been a great story. The restaurant setting, complete with described menus, décor, and subculture, provided a unique backdrop and way to tell the story. Smith's use of inserted want ads and menu displays in the book, along with the segmentation of the book into meal courses, was very clever. In the beginning of the story, Quincie and Kieren are likeable characters and their lifetime history as friends felt endearing and real. The modern-day setting of Austin and a world where vampires and weres exist as known human subspecies could have also provided for an interesting mythology.

Even with this potential, the book was simply an unsatisfying read with too quick a resolution and characters that become unlikeable and difficult to understand. In future books, I hope that Smith uses the creativity and cleverness she obviously has and puts it into a more consistent and enjoyable storyline. ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

May 21, 2013 Sage rated it it was ok

Recommends it for: Anyone with a taste for baby squirrels.

Recommended to Sage by: Goodreads

Bleh. Horrible ending, okay plot, shallow characters, and just a whole lot of weirdness. Like, the entire story is about their stupid vampire restaurant. And then at the end (view spoiler) You never find out what happens to her, only that her half-werewolf boyfriend (yes, I did say HALF werewolf.) will be with her forever. This is the same friend who stabbed through her hand with his half-werewolf Bleh. Horrible ending, okay plot, shallow characters, and just a whole lot of weirdness. Like, the entire story is about their stupid vampire restaurant. And then at the end (view spoiler) You never find out what happens to her, only that her half-werewolf boyfriend (yes, I did say HALF werewolf.) will be with her forever. This is the same friend who stabbed through her hand with his half-werewolf claws one time - if not for some extreme healing efforts, she would have lost the use of her hand. What a FANTASTIC boyfriend, right?

Oh, yes, and there's this pathetic sub-plot about her half-werewolf boyfriend needing to get accepted into a werewolf pack. Like, he needs to apply or something, like an office job. And Quincie is all heartbroken all the time because her little, adorable wolfie is going to be leaving her to go join a pack. *sob* :( Poor little shallow Quincie.

One other thing about the story. Prepare for a huge amount of hearing what food tastes like. Probably a third of the book is spent with Quincie taste-testing food for the restaurant. And let's just say she ate a baby squirrel and described what it tasted like. She ate it to impress some dude she's crushing on. I mean, really? I never considered baby squirrel breath to be attractive. Unless it's some sort of guy thing. Or Texas thing. (by the way, this book takes place in Texas)

The reason why this book even gets 2 stars is because it was so ridiculously stupid that it was mildly funny. I mean, the major conflict of the story is that Quincie is trying to recruit a new chef to their vampire themed restaurant, and then she's trying to train "Brad" (that's not even his real name, just one Quince made up for him), the new employee, to be a good vampire king. Plus there's all the conflicts with half-werewolf boy and the whole classic orphan backstory. Authors just love orphans, don't they?

Read this book if you like major disappointment and seriously stupid characters and plots. :) ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Mar 23, 2010 Page (One Book At A Time) rated it liked it

Shelves: read-in-2010

I accidentally read the second in the series first. Since it's actually a companion novel, it turned out it didn't matter. I wanted to read this one because the 3rd in the series comes out soon and it's suppose to contain characters from both books. It wasn't as good as I had hoped, but wasn't a complete disappointment either.

For half of the book, I wasn't even sure the direction it was going to take. It seemed to be more about werewolves than vampires. And neither seems to be very well ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

May 01, 2011 Jeanine rated it it was ok

This book was slow pretty much up until the end. I am not sure why I kept reading on, but I did, and the end made me glad I did.

Okay... So I was glad that I stuck through it because I had the next book "Eternal," or what I thought was the next book. Turns out, "Eternal" has all different characters and I am not going to find out what happens with Kieran and Quince until the third book "Blessed". I am actually annoyed with myself that I made myself finish Tantalize now...

That being said, this ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Dec 03, 2008 Book_ivory rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: Vampire lovers

Recommended to Book_ivory by: the library's shelf

The beginning of the book gives you an edge and its action. What i like about books, because your intrigued and have your face buried in the book. Tantalize was thrilling and mysterious because you don't know who the killer is, she gives clues about certain people and your guess gets thrown off. So you keep going into the book and its amazing how the turn out is because you never suspected it coming. The bad guy is actually the guy that is with her 24/7 and she doesn't even realize it. I didn't ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Oct 04, 2009 Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ รђ๏รђคภคђ rated it did not like it

Shelves: audiobooked

Ugh. Just, ugh. Ok, I'll try to be coherent...

I can't tell you how many times throughout this book that I said "wait...what??" I literally had no idea how we just got to the point of action we were in!! The transitions and scene building, not to mention character and plot building, were practically non-exixtent! I honestly couldn't wait to finish this book. This author is better suited to children's horror ala Goosebumps.

The story is basically a vampire/werewolf rivalry story with the ever- ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Mar 21, 2009 Erica rated it did not like it

This book was terrible. I should have known, and I was clued in by even just the description on the back cover, that this was going to be a "teen vampire novel." But, I was a big fan of Buffy when I was a teen, and I thought I'd give it a chance. From the start, this book annoyed me. I listened to the audio book while working, and the narrator's voice was so irritating I had to shut it off a few times. She also attempted to do accents and voices, which was equally terrible. Plot-wise, the main ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Sep 19, 2007 Jenn rated it liked it

Recommends it for: fans of Twilight

I adore a good vampire novel and I enjoy young adult novels, and this book combines some of the best of both. If you have read Twilight, you will definitely enjoy this book. In some ways it feels like Twilight meets Like Water for Chocolate. There are menus and a fun sub-plot involving opening a vampire-themed restaurant. However, the vampires really weren't compelling to me and the "head" vampire, if you will, did not give off that sexy vibe. I thought that the main character was unfortunately ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Jun 03, 2009 Krista (I remember you, Min) (Critical) rated it it was ok

Shelves: boring, vampires, ya, werewolves, shifters, heroine-tstl

There is one word to describe this book: BORING.
I disliked all of the characters, and grew tired of hearing the name of the main character, Quincie, as well as the name of the restaraunt, Sanguinis.

Everything about this book annoyed me and seemed frankly ridiculous. I mean, werearmadillos and werepossums? This book was a mess. There was no character development at all, the ending was poor, and the writing style was quirky and overdone.

Random, unimportant sidestories were thrown in, and nothing ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
YA Buddy Readers'...: Tantalize By Cynthia Leitich Smith - Restarting February 18th 2017	16	40	Feb 28, 2017 04:59AM
A Million More Pages: 1 - Tantalize (Tantalize): Apr 24	15	19	Apr 28, 2015 10:15PM
Good book or what?????	1	12	Jul 19, 2013 07:46PM
I can't believe that she ripped off Twilight so badly!	40	813	Jun 28, 2013 03:44PM

Readers also enjoyed

See similar books…

Videos About This Book

1 comment

Genres

Young Adult

455 users

Paranormal > Vampires

371 users

Fantasy

283 users

Fantasy > Paranormal

209 users

Shapeshifters > Werewolves

132 users

Romance

120 users

See top shelves…

About Cynthia Leitich Smith

Cynthia Leitich Smith

940 followers

Cynthia's fiction is noted for its diversity, humor, lyricism, and mid-to-southwestern settings. Still early in her career, she has shown tremendous range and loves to experiment.

JINGLE DANCER, illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu, (Morrow / Harper-Collins, 2000)(ages 4-up) was a finalist for the Oklahoma Book Award, runner-up for the Western Writers Association Storyteller Award, Cynthia's fiction is noted for its diversity, humor, lyricism, and mid-to-southwestern settings. Still early in her career, she has shown tremendous range and loves to experiment.

JINGLE DANCER, illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu, (Morrow / Harper-Collins, 2000)(ages 4-up) was a finalist for the Oklahoma Book Award, runner-up for the Western Writers Association Storyteller Award, and Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies. It was also named to the Texas 2 x 2 List. School Library Journal said, “…a welcome addition to stories about traditions passed down by woman of a culture.” Book magazine named it among “Debuts that Deliver.”

RAIN IS NOT MY INDIAN NAME (HarperCollins, 2001)(Listening Library, 2001)(ages 10-up) also was an Oklahoma Book Award finalist and earned Cynthia the title of 2001 Writer of the Year from Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers. Kirkus said it was “tender, funny and full of sharp wordplay.” School Library Journal called it, “a wonderful novel of a present-day teen and her patchwork tribe.” Audio File adds,"Rich with sorrow and the longing for resolution in a life diminished by loss, the story of Rain's journey toward her own identity is captivating and exceedingly hopeful." And Bob Langstaff at WAMV AM/Amhert, VA noted, "It's kind of like a combination of 'Northern Exposure' and 'Party of Five'." The audio production was aired as the November 2005 Book of the Month by Red Tales, Aboriginal Voices Radio, The Earth 106.5 (based in Canada).

Cynthia also is the author of INDIAN SHOES (HarperCollins, 2002)(ages 7-up). Kirkus declared: "A very pleasing first-chapter book from its funny and tender opening salvo to its heartwarming closer. An excellent choice for younger readers." School Library Journal hailed: "a good book for any elementary-aged reluctant reader and a necessity for indigenous children everywhere." INDIAN SHOES has been named a Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies, a finalist for the Texas Institute of Letters Award, to the 2003 Best Children's Books of the Year, Bank Street College of Education; and to Choices 2003, Cooperative Children's Book Center. It also was named to the NEA Native American Book List and the 2004-2005 Crown List. Most recently, INDIAN SHOES was chosen as the featured intermediate title for "Read On, Wisconsin!" (an online book club for students sponsored by the state's First Lady) in March, 2005.

Cynthia's latest picture book is SANTA KNOWS (Dutton, 2006), a holiday title, co-authored by her husband, Greg Leitich Smith, and illustrated by Steve Björkman. SANTA KNOWS is Cynthia and Greg's first book written together. The Horn Book Magazine named it among "Holiday High Notes." Kirkus Reviews called it "…a newly minted winner." Publishers Weekly cheered it as "fantastic," and The Miami Herald highlighted it among "Worthy Titles for the Holidays."

Cynthia's first upper YA novel is TANTALIZE (Candlewick, 2007))(Listening Library, 2008)(Walker U.K., 2008), a gothic fantasy aimed at ages 14-up. It’s one of the new books that signal an expansion of her writing from contemporary realistic fiction to also embrace fantasy. TANTALIZE also is her first title set in Austin, where she now makes her home. The Horn Book calls the novel an "intoxicating romantic thriller." BookPage says the book "will appeal to fans—both teens and adults—of Buffy the Vampire Slayer." TANTALIZE was named a Borders Original Voices Nominee in March 2007 and Chapters (Canadian bookstore chain) named it a Junior Advisory Board Pick. In addition, the novel was chosen for the 2007 Texas Book Festival and the 2007 National Book Festival. The Bloomsbury Review cheers, "Cynthia Leitich Smith is the Anne Rice for teen readers."

Cynthia’s latest YA Gothic fantasy is ETERNAL (Candlewick, 2009), a companion book to TANTALIZE.

Cynthia has published short stories, including "The Gentleman Cowboy" ...more