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Available
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Series
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Publication
Cambridge, MA : Candlewick Press, 2010.
Description
When multiple murders in Austin, Texas, threaten the grand re-opening of her family's vampire-themed restaurant, seventeen-year-old, orphaned Quincie worries that her best friend-turned-love interest, Keiren, a werewolf-in-training, may be the prime suspect.
User reviews
LibraryThing member LupLun
Sometimes in literature, the hero will have a poorly-written love interest. You know the type: not a really defined character, little personality, even less agency in the story. She hangs around the hero a lot, just kinda being there, not really contributing anything except maybe a sex scene or two
Read the full review at Lupines and Lunatics
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(If it's an adult book, instead of YA). Then, in the last act, she finally serves some purpose in the book by being kidnapped by the bad guy, prompting the hero to get really steamed and race to the rescue. Tantalize is this girl's story: the story of the shallow, uninteresting, totally-irrelevant-to-anything love interest. Who thought this was a good idea?Read the full review at Lupines and Lunatics
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LibraryThing member TeenBookReviews
I really, really enjoyed this novel. Quincie is a fun and interesting narrator. The vampires and werewolves are realistic as is the setting (the story takes place in Austin, TX). My only complaint is that I did not want the story to end where it did, I would have enjoyed a bit more resolution.
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However, I believe that will be taken care of in another installation. I look forward to more books by Ms. Smith. Show Less
LibraryThing member bluesalamanders
In a world where vampires and werewolves (and so on) are real (if not necessarily accepted), Quincie's uncle decides to start a vampire-themed restaurant. Then bad things start happening to the people connected with it.
The first half of this book is fairly blah. It's all setup for what happens in
**SPOILERS**
I recognized that Quincie had been turned when she thought the olives were off. I was fascinated by the book being told from the perspective of Quincie-as-vampire after that point, though it took me a while to get into it after how blah the first half had been. I mean, how often are there female vampires in these kinds of books? And how often is a vampire story told from the perspective of the vampire? And then to combine those two - really, it was very interesting.
I was surprised at who all were what kinds of non-humans. I hadn't figured it all out, although I suspected Brad and her uncle alternately (but not both of them! and not Ruby, I just thought she was a b*tch...though I think I liked her at the end.)
The first half of this book is fairly blah. It's all setup for what happens in
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the second half of the book. The second half is much more interesting, and the more I think about it, the more I like it. There are twists that aren't normally found in the vampire books (at least, not the ones I've read).**SPOILERS**
I recognized that Quincie had been turned when she thought the olives were off. I was fascinated by the book being told from the perspective of Quincie-as-vampire after that point, though it took me a while to get into it after how blah the first half had been. I mean, how often are there female vampires in these kinds of books? And how often is a vampire story told from the perspective of the vampire? And then to combine those two - really, it was very interesting.
I was surprised at who all were what kinds of non-humans. I hadn't figured it all out, although I suspected Brad and her uncle alternately (but not both of them! and not Ruby, I just thought she was a b*tch...though I think I liked her at the end.)
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LibraryThing member vanedow
I was "sucked in" by the cover art of this book. (haha)
This is a terrible book. Normally I hate to say something like that, even if I didn't enjoy the story, but in this case I just can't think of anything nice to say. Well, the first half of the book was only mediocre. And it has nice cover art
The storytelling is choppy and disjointed, the characters are paper-thin (and annoying to boot), and the plot is hackneyed. Give this one a miss.”
This is a terrible book. Normally I hate to say something like that, even if I didn't enjoy the story, but in this case I just can't think of anything nice to say. Well, the first half of the book was only mediocre. And it has nice cover art
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and a compelling title. The storytelling is choppy and disjointed, the characters are paper-thin (and annoying to boot), and the plot is hackneyed. Give this one a miss.”
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LibraryThing member dmac9000
On a recent drive back to Austin from El Paso (a long drive if you’ve never done it), my wife and I took turns driving, the passenger reading aloud from Tantalize, something neither of us had done before. We found the book to be a page turner, as well as helping us chew up the miles of asphalt.
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The only times we took breaks was when we were stopping for gas or food. When we arrived home, we still had about 25 pages left to read and couldn’t wait to unpack the car so we could go in on the bed and finish the story, still reading aloud. Way to go Cynthia. You really help make a long drive much more enjoyable as we were able to share and enjoy your book. Show Less
LibraryThing member Phantasma
This was a wonderful vampire story. Smith has an incredibly unique take on the genre. I found the entire novel captivating and devoured it. My family is in the restaurant business and I liked the relative accuracy of her portrayal of a small business owner. I hope there is another one because
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Tantalize kept me wanting more and more and more. Show Less
LibraryThing member TheLibraryhag
Quincie Morris is 17 going on 30 as she balances school and helping reopen the family restaurant. In her alternate universe, vampires and were-things are real creatures, but not necessarily accepted by society. So her friendship with Keiren, a half werewolf, is strained by the need for secrecy.
There were many things that I liked about this book. It did not offer pat answers and there were lots of twists and turns. However, there is a lot of back story that does not seem necessary and a lot of were-thing background that seems beside the point. These tended to clutter the story and were more distracting than helpful to me.
This book is YA but it is old YA. It is very dark and I would have a hard time recommending it to most of the teens I work with in the library. Even though the protagonist is a girl, this might appeal to boys more than most YA girl readers. I think it might appeal to some adult readers who like things like Twilight.
I am not sure if this is going to be a series or not. If there was another book, I would probably read it just to see where it goes.
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Quincie lives with her uncle since her parents death, and together they are trying to keep the family business alive by reopening the restaurant with a vampire theme. Shortly before they open, the chef is brutally killed in what could have been a werewolf attack. Quincie needs a new chef and a new menu like yesterday.There were many things that I liked about this book. It did not offer pat answers and there were lots of twists and turns. However, there is a lot of back story that does not seem necessary and a lot of were-thing background that seems beside the point. These tended to clutter the story and were more distracting than helpful to me.
This book is YA but it is old YA. It is very dark and I would have a hard time recommending it to most of the teens I work with in the library. Even though the protagonist is a girl, this might appeal to boys more than most YA girl readers. I think it might appeal to some adult readers who like things like Twilight.
I am not sure if this is going to be a series or not. If there was another book, I would probably read it just to see where it goes.
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LibraryThing member froggiesl
Good book, great twists at end even though a few were obvious right from the get go.
LibraryThing member melissathelibrarian
Quincie Morris is surrounded by loss… first her parents died; then her dear friend and cook at her family restaurant is brutally murdered; and now her best friend and true love is preparing to leave her…forever. She’s supposed to be preparing for the grand re-opening of the alluring
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vampire-themed restaurant, but can she train the new guy to be a “culinary dark lord” in time for opening night? This book has it all… murder, heartache, betrayal, struggle for power, vampires… and some strange-but-hilarious were-beings. Show Less
LibraryThing member lunanshee
I really, really enjoyed this novel. Quincie is a fun and interesting narrator. The vampires and werewolves are realistic as is the setting (the story takes place in Austin, TX). My only complaint is that I did not want the story to end where it did, I would have enjoyed a bit more resolution.
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However, I believe that will be taken care of in another installation. I look forward to more books by Ms. Smith. Show Less
LibraryThing member xRileyx
Well, when I first started reading this book, it was the complete opposite of what I had expected. Surprisingly enough, it was about restaurants! But it ended up being pretty good, after they added the vampires and werewolves into the mix.
LibraryThing member Kegsoccer
Amazon recommended this book to me, so I decided to check it out. The cover art immediately drew my eye, as well as the title. "Tantalize" by Cynthia Leitich Smith has an interesting premise. The main character is Quincie Morris, a regular girl with a werewolf bestfriend. Well, they'd like to be
I agree with some of the other reviewers who stated that the first half of the book was the best. I liked Kieren, and wished we had seen more of him. The new chef, Brad, was a pretty good character, and his two menus (Predator and Prey) for the restaurant were neat. I'm not sure what bugged me about the end of the book. Again, I agree with other reviewers when they say it isn't on par with Twilight. I think it was kind of in the middle of serious and lighthearted which confused me. One minute people are joking around, and the next minute somebody else is dead. And after the first death (of the head chef), none of the characters really seemed to care.
I'm not sure I'd recommend this to somebody else. If you're looking for serious vampire/werewolf stories, check out Stephenie Meyer's books. If you'd like lighthearted vampire/werewolf stories, check out books by Charlaine Harris. Specifically the first book in her Sookie Stackhouse series: Dead Until Dark (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Bk. 1)
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more than friends, but let's not get into that... Quincie's uncle has decided to remodel the family restaurant with a vampire them. It's going swimmingly until the head chef is found dead; the police suspect a werewolf to be the culprit. I agree with some of the other reviewers who stated that the first half of the book was the best. I liked Kieren, and wished we had seen more of him. The new chef, Brad, was a pretty good character, and his two menus (Predator and Prey) for the restaurant were neat. I'm not sure what bugged me about the end of the book. Again, I agree with other reviewers when they say it isn't on par with Twilight. I think it was kind of in the middle of serious and lighthearted which confused me. One minute people are joking around, and the next minute somebody else is dead. And after the first death (of the head chef), none of the characters really seemed to care.
I'm not sure I'd recommend this to somebody else. If you're looking for serious vampire/werewolf stories, check out Stephenie Meyer's books. If you'd like lighthearted vampire/werewolf stories, check out books by Charlaine Harris. Specifically the first book in her Sookie Stackhouse series: Dead Until Dark (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Bk. 1)
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LibraryThing member pacifickle
Quincie Morris is a native Austinite. I find this mentionable because it's characterization of Austin is spot-on, mentioning all kinds of local color, making the city a secondary character.
Besides being homegrown, Quincie is a third generation Italian restaurant owner, taking over the reigns early
Before they can get the new restaurant open, though, they are plagued by a suspicious string of murders. The prime suspect? Kieren. Quincie tries to make sense of it all, and herself, in this coming-of-age story that treats vampires and werewolves as real-life underrepresented subcultures with no civil rights, suffering from unfair prejudices.
This is a good pick for vampire fans,Texans, or especially for readers awaiting the next installment of Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight series."
Besides being homegrown, Quincie is a third generation Italian restaurant owner, taking over the reigns early
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after her parents die in a tragic car accident. Quincie is 17, and has always been in love with her male bff, Kieren. Since she is still technically a minor, the restaurant is temporarily in the hands of trusted family friends and Quincie's uncle Davidson. Davidson and Quincie, spurred by sky high rents on South Congress and failing financially, decide to "revamp" the restaurant as Sanguini's, vampire themed Italian. Before they can get the new restaurant open, though, they are plagued by a suspicious string of murders. The prime suspect? Kieren. Quincie tries to make sense of it all, and herself, in this coming-of-age story that treats vampires and werewolves as real-life underrepresented subcultures with no civil rights, suffering from unfair prejudices.
This is a good pick for vampire fans,Texans, or especially for readers awaiting the next installment of Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight series."
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LibraryThing member allify
Rich characters but failed to execute an compelling story. Extremely unsatisfying ending.
LibraryThing member MeriJenBen
A young woman attempting to run a vampire themed restaurant is caught up in unrequited love and multiple murders in this fun, but ultimately disappointing romantic thriller.
Following the death of her parents, Quincie Smith is reshaping the family's Italian restaurant into vampire-themed supper
This book starts out really strongly, as the fusion between food and vampires feels fresh and new. Smith does a good job of creating a believable world where werewolves (and armadillos) and vampires can exist. However the book becomes far more predictable and gothic in it's final third, and the conclusion is both rushed and tired.
Following the death of her parents, Quincie Smith is reshaping the family's Italian restaurant into vampire-themed supper
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club; all while managing high school and burning crush on her half-werewolf best friend, Kiernan. However, following the brutal murder of their longtime chef, Quincie's work grows more difficult, as the slaying looks to be the work of werewolves, and she must transform the nerdy new cook, Henry Johnson, into Bradley Sanguini, vampire chef. As Quincie works, worries and develops a hell of a drinking problem, more murders occur and more questions arrise, both about Kiernan and Bradley.This book starts out really strongly, as the fusion between food and vampires feels fresh and new. Smith does a good job of creating a believable world where werewolves (and armadillos) and vampires can exist. However the book becomes far more predictable and gothic in it's final third, and the conclusion is both rushed and tired.
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LibraryThing member la_librarian
I'd love to say that Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith is a great book to read if you enjoyed Twilight by Stephanie Meyer but it really wasn't. Yes, it does have werewolves and vampires in it but it's nowhere near the caliber of Twilight. The reviews were so awesome that I was wondering if I had
I listened to the audio book read by Kim Mai Guest and one of my greatest complaints is that the reader makes the main character Quincie sound like she's about 9 years old. Quincie is supposed to be in high school but it's so hard to visualize this while listening. It really makes it funny that she's trying to convey how hot her boyfriend Kieren is and she sounds like a little kid.
That being said by second complaint is that the book is s.....l......o.......w. Mind you, it took me awhile to listen to it because I haven't been in my car a ton lately but if a book is really good I'll bring it inside and stick in my CD player. This one just didn't cut it. The story picks up towards the end but it's all so forgettable and some of the lines are a bit cheesy.
All in all, it was very so, so but if you are REALLY into vamps...you just might like it more than I did...just stay away from the audio version!
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the correct book when I actually listened to it which brings me to my first issue.I listened to the audio book read by Kim Mai Guest and one of my greatest complaints is that the reader makes the main character Quincie sound like she's about 9 years old. Quincie is supposed to be in high school but it's so hard to visualize this while listening. It really makes it funny that she's trying to convey how hot her boyfriend Kieren is and she sounds like a little kid.
That being said by second complaint is that the book is s.....l......o.......w. Mind you, it took me awhile to listen to it because I haven't been in my car a ton lately but if a book is really good I'll bring it inside and stick in my CD player. This one just didn't cut it. The story picks up towards the end but it's all so forgettable and some of the lines are a bit cheesy.
All in all, it was very so, so but if you are REALLY into vamps...you just might like it more than I did...just stay away from the audio version!
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LibraryThing member Lavinient
Quincie is helping her uncle re-open the restauraut her parents left them after their death. They are going to open it with a vampire theme. After their chef is brutally murdered, they hire Henry Johnson. Soon she stops showing up for high school, starts spending way too much time at work, and
I enjoyed this book even though I figured out what was going on pretty quickly. This book is a bit more disturbing than other recent supernatural young adult books, I think.
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starts seeing less and less of her best friend (and love) Kieren (a werewolf). Why is she changing?I enjoyed this book even though I figured out what was going on pretty quickly. This book is a bit more disturbing than other recent supernatural young adult books, I think.
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LibraryThing member Jenson_AKA_DL
Quince Morris isn't like most teenagers. Instead of hanging out with friends during her free time she instead spends all her time in her family's restaurant trying to live up to the legacy her mother left to her. Instead of dating she has been crushing for years on her best friend, Kieren, who
Well, you know what they say about best laid plans and just before school starts tragedy strikes. The restaurant’s head chef is murdered and it looks like a were is the culprit. Refusing to jump to conclusions about Kerien's guilt becomes harder for Quince as more strange things start to happen. Suddenly Quince finds herself only able to turn to her new head chef and faux vampire, Brad. Will Brad be the one to not only unearth the murder suspect, but to also be the one to save Quince's restaurant and sanity?
I will say I went into this book a bit apprehensively. I really wanted to like it because I won it in a contest, it has a personalized bookplate in it and the author just seems like a totally sweet person. Happily I can say that I did enjoy the story. Even though vampires and werewolves seem to be getting a lot of print time I'm always open to a new story and this did not disappoint in providing an imaginative twist on the old legends. The beginning of the book was a little confusing in parts to me, especially the flashbacks. But about halfway through everything smoothed out and I was quite happy to sit and read the entire book in one evening.
Those teens and adults who enjoy a good paranormal, vampire or werewolf book may want to check this one out!
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happens to be half werewolf. Quince kind of suspects Kieren likes her back but thanks to an incident that almost cost her hand when they were in middle school, Kieren is determined to keep a romantic distance between them. However, the summer is almost over and Quince is determined she's going to get Kieren to admit his true feelings, one way or another, before the end of summer.Well, you know what they say about best laid plans and just before school starts tragedy strikes. The restaurant’s head chef is murdered and it looks like a were is the culprit. Refusing to jump to conclusions about Kerien's guilt becomes harder for Quince as more strange things start to happen. Suddenly Quince finds herself only able to turn to her new head chef and faux vampire, Brad. Will Brad be the one to not only unearth the murder suspect, but to also be the one to save Quince's restaurant and sanity?
I will say I went into this book a bit apprehensively. I really wanted to like it because I won it in a contest, it has a personalized bookplate in it and the author just seems like a totally sweet person. Happily I can say that I did enjoy the story. Even though vampires and werewolves seem to be getting a lot of print time I'm always open to a new story and this did not disappoint in providing an imaginative twist on the old legends. The beginning of the book was a little confusing in parts to me, especially the flashbacks. But about halfway through everything smoothed out and I was quite happy to sit and read the entire book in one evening.
Those teens and adults who enjoy a good paranormal, vampire or werewolf book may want to check this one out!
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LibraryThing member Jennyonfire
I tried to read this book but just couldn't get into it. I found the plot to be boring an predictable. I ended up giving this book to a friend who really enjoyed the twilight books. Even she said it was just ok. Would not have bought this book on my own.
LibraryThing member MonicaLynn
Qunicie really does feel alone in the book and it shows how some things happen in your life beyond your control however that you can make right choices and overcome the things life has handed to you. Good book for teens, fast read, fast paced. Definitely holds your interest. I read it in less than
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7 hours in between family and interuptions. Show Less
LibraryThing member DinoSPRINKLES
I enjoyed Tantalize for about 10 minutes. After then, I realized how shallow and underdeveloped it was. The characters were too...thin. From the prologue, it leads you to believe that Quincy is in love with Kieren yet it describes her as ogling his hotness and so on. That this book is compared to
Quincy is construed as a mature adult who is almostready to run her own restaurant yet ger views seemed whiny and immature.
All in all I REALLY disliked the second half of the book, it built up (slowly) to, what I thout, was a really unsatisfying, depressing ending. It had good potential but was just not right. (and the were-peope were just stoopid)
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Twilight is pretty much offensive. Although, the twist in the end was interesting and unexpected, this barely shadowed the slowness and tackyness of the book.Quincy is construed as a mature adult who is almostready to run her own restaurant yet ger views seemed whiny and immature.
All in all I REALLY disliked the second half of the book, it built up (slowly) to, what I thout, was a really unsatisfying, depressing ending. It had good potential but was just not right. (and the were-peope were just stoopid)
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LibraryThing member tjsjohanna
Set in an alternate world where were-people and vampires are all part of the scene, Quincy finds her life spinning out of control. While the concept was interesting in theory, and parts were inspired, the story as a whole didn't work for me. The story just didn't seem to go anywhere - except in the
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end Quincy is even more alone than when the story begins. Disappointing. Show Less
LibraryThing member allthesedarnbooks
This is an interesting YA vampire novel. It's an over-saturated genre of late, and it's hard to bring something different to the table, but Smith does that with her story of Quincie Morris, a teenager who is working with her uncle to open a new vampire-themed restaurant in Austin, TX. The
The plot really picks up in the last 1/3rd of the book, to the extent that the ending feels overly rushed. Nevertheless, Quincie is a likable heroine (although maybe not the brightest) and the world is suitably intriguing to make me wish for a sequel.
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world-building is good but maybe too subtle--- while werewolves are "out" and there are people campaigning for the rights of werepeople and vampires are real, it's never really explained how this got to be so-- were they always accepted as reality? Or is it a more recent development?The plot really picks up in the last 1/3rd of the book, to the extent that the ending feels overly rushed. Nevertheless, Quincie is a likable heroine (although maybe not the brightest) and the world is suitably intriguing to make me wish for a sequel.
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LibraryThing member knielsen83
Vampires, werecreatures, and culinary arts. This story focuses around an orphaned girl and her uncle redoing her parents' restaurant to attract vampires or wannabe vampires to their city. What underlays an innocent and trendy restaurant is something that can undo the relationship between our main
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character and her wanted love (a Wolf). Overall, the book was thoroughly enjoyable and had a nice spin towards the end that made you want to reread for clues of what was to come next. Show Less
LibraryThing member 4sarad
I liked this book and it was a quick, easy read. I wished the relationship between Quincie and Bradley was a little more realistic... maybe a little more time to develop. I also thought the ending was rushed and a little confusing. Plus... why did Bradley let Quincie know that she could be saved if
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someone shoved her mouth full of garlic? And then, why did Kieren not do that? He's supposed to be some expert on all of this... why didn't he just change her back to human? So confused... Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Language
Original publication date
2007
ISBN
0763651524 / 9780763651527