A review by ashreads10k
Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith
3.0
Tantalize had so much potential to be a completely amazing and unique book in the vampire world, but I felt that it just didn't do it. I was confused most of the time, and felt it took me longer to read Tantalize than it normally should.
The concept is great--a vampire themed Italian restaurant wrapped up in a supernatural murder mystery. But the murder mystery is never even looked into. The fact that the first chef was murdered in the restaurant is basically brushed aside, when I thought it could've added way more suspense and intrigue to the novel.
Also, the romance, well, wasn't romance-y. It was supposed to be a love triangle between Quincie, the new young and cute chef she hired, and her best friend who also happens to be a werewolf. The problem is that Mr. Werewolf Bestfriend only stops by a few times throughout the novel for a quick argument, and then leaves again, all culminating at the end with an even bigger argument. And Mr. Hot Chef, well, I didn't really know what to think of him. My opinion of him changes several times throughout the book, and at the end I was just kinda like ".....Okay then."
The plot didn't do much for the first portion of the novel. There comes a moment where something monumental is revealed about one of the main characters, and only from there do things pick up. But it just took too long to get started. I do think that Cynthia Leitich Smith has a great writing style, and was able to paint a vivid picture with her prose, though.
Even though I wasn't too keen on Tantalize, I will read more of Cynthia's work. Even if I don't like the first book in a series, I always give the benefit of the doubt and continue on for at least one more book. Overall, I give Tantalize 2 out of 5 stars.
The concept is great--a vampire themed Italian restaurant wrapped up in a supernatural murder mystery. But the murder mystery is never even looked into. The fact that the first chef was murdered in the restaurant is basically brushed aside, when I thought it could've added way more suspense and intrigue to the novel.
Also, the romance, well, wasn't romance-y. It was supposed to be a love triangle between Quincie, the new young and cute chef she hired, and her best friend who also happens to be a werewolf. The problem is that Mr. Werewolf Bestfriend only stops by a few times throughout the novel for a quick argument, and then leaves again, all culminating at the end with an even bigger argument. And Mr. Hot Chef, well, I didn't really know what to think of him. My opinion of him changes several times throughout the book, and at the end I was just kinda like ".....Okay then."
The plot didn't do much for the first portion of the novel. There comes a moment where something monumental is revealed about one of the main characters, and only from there do things pick up. But it just took too long to get started. I do think that Cynthia Leitich Smith has a great writing style, and was able to paint a vivid picture with her prose, though.
Even though I wasn't too keen on Tantalize, I will read more of Cynthia's work. Even if I don't like the first book in a series, I always give the benefit of the doubt and continue on for at least one more book. Overall, I give Tantalize 2 out of 5 stars.