Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Title: Tantalize

Author: Cynthia Leitich Smith

Summary:

Quincie Morris has never felt more alone. Her parents are dead, and her hybrid-werewolf boyfriend is threatening to embark on a rite of passage that will separate them forever.Then as she and her uncle are about to unveil their hot vampire-themed restaurant, a brutal murder leaves them scrambling for a chef. Can Quincie transform their newly hired chef into a culinary Dark Lord before opening night? Can he wow the crowd in his fake fangs, cheap cape, and red contact lenses - or is there more to this earnest face than meets the eye? As human and 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.

Rating: 3.5/5

This review is taking me awhile to really form... most likely because I've already analyzed the death out of it for a book report for my English class. Either way, there's not much for me to really say.

Good:

This take on werewolves and vampires is entirely new to me... and I thought it was an interesting point of view. I wouldn't call it my favorite viewpoint, but there's kudos to be given for a decent novel with a new idea (the new idea not being the werewolf/vampire idea, but the way they were presented).

I also want to point out how incredibly fast this novel went by. It wouldn't feel like I was reading that much, but suddenly I was halfway through and then I just breezed to the end. There are some 300 page books I really struggle to finish; this was not one of them. I was done quickly.

Bad:

Yes, I was done quickly. But with very little real impact. The book was entertaining, but it didn't stick with me. I closed it at the end and looked at it, then promptly put it aside so I could finish my book report and move onto my next book. I didn't hover, like I do with the books that I really like. I was sort of indifferent when it came to a close.

In fact, I am kind of disappointed with the ending. The beginning was great; it was a fantastic introduction to an interesting story and one hell of a page-turner. But the ending came too fast, and it was too rushed. Somewhere between the beginning and the end, it turned from a semi-normal fantasy novel, to something that was just a bit too bizarre and creepy for my tastes.

Although, it wasn't so bizarre that I'm not going to read the sequel, Eternal, when it comes out in February.