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Tantalize
(Tantalize #1)
by
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
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
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Hardcover, 310 pages
Published
February 13th 2007
by Candlewick Press
(first published February 1st 2007)
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Start your review of Tantalize (Tantalize, #1)

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
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

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

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
There are some recognizable ...more

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 ...more
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 ...more

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

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
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

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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 ...more
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 ...more

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

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
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

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
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

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
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

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 ...more
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 ...more

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 ...more
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 ...more

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 ...more
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 ...more

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

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
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

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
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

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

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!
It had humor, but I felt that the author could have done more with this book!

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.

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 ...more
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 ...more

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
...more

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
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

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
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

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

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
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

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

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

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
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
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 |
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, ...more
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, ...more
Other books in the series
Tantalize
(4 books)
7 trivia questions
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“It was funny, though, the things you didn't learn about people until after they died.”
—
43 likes
“But adulthood," continued the barely twentysomething, "doesn't give you power over what matters most. It doesn't protect you from pain, loss, fate. That's part of being human.”
—
26 likes
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