Book ninety-three: Tantalize

Tantalize (2006)
Cynthia Leitich Smith

Rating: 1/5

Once again, an annoying main character I felt no sympathy for.

Yes, it was necessary for the plot. Yes, it was tricky. But I didn’t actually enjoy getting there.

This book feels like it should have been written from someone else’s point of view. Its like everything is happening outside of the main character, and all we get to see is her going costume shopping and being obsessed with the restaurant.

Which is disappointing, because the author has a really nice writing style and the first few chapters of the book are quite good. It showed so much promise, then crashed and burned into boring.

It also had my least-favourite kind of ending. The kind that makes the whole book feel like a waste of time because the thing you most want resolved is exactly the same as it was one the first page.

Quincie Morris has never felt more alone. Her hybrid-werewolf first love threatens to embark on a rite of passage that will separate them forever. And just as she and her uncle are about to debut Austin’s red hot vampire-themed restaurant, a brutal murder leaves them scrambling for a chef.

Can Quincie transform the new hire into a culinary dark lord before opening night? Will Henry Johnson be able to wow the crowd in fake fangs, a cheap cape, and red contact lenses? Or is there more to this earnest fresh 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?

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Finished: Wednesday 4/6