Tantalize Review

Monday, October 25, 2010


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 are about to unveil their hot vampire-themed restaurant, a brutal murder leaves them scrambling for a chef.

Can Quincie transform their new hire 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?

Taken from GoodReads.

Tantalize details the story of Quincie, a teenager living in the heart of Texas and a world inundated with werewolves and vampires. It's the aftermath of her parents' death, and she's surrounded by a world of strange, losing her first love to the werewolf curse, trying to balance her life working at a vampire restaurant, and desperately trying maintain a semblance of normalcy in her crazy world. Will she be able to find her stride, or will she lose everything in the process?

I actually won Tantalize a long time ago, but I never got around to reading it. To be honest, I was really wary of yet another story merging the lore of werewolves and vampires, so I figured I'd wait until I had a lull in my reading schedule to really focus on the heart of the story. Written by author Cynthia Leitich Smith, Tantalize works on the premise that the main character lives in a world where werewolves and vampires are known entities, rather than hidden ones. Written in a clear voice with a definite unique writing style, Tantalize is clearly an effort to expand upon the original lore of such stories and invent a new type of life for vampires, werewolves, and humans coexisting. In that way, this book succeeded.

However, I'm going to be brutally honest...I really didn't enjoy Tantalize all that much. I felt that a lot of the prose was dumbed down - something that bugs me about some YA books because I truly don't believe YA literature has to be dumb, or plain, or any less than adult novels. Rife with stereotypes and overt name-dropping of Texas landmarks, more often than not, the plot line of Tantalize was disrupted by these oddly placed details. Furthermore, I felt that the plot had a lot of promise, and it truly had the potential to be compelling, but the climax was really anticlimactic for me, and I doubt that was supposed to happen. I also had an extremely hard time relating to Quincie as an MC. In fact, I rarely, if ever, felt anything for her.

I hate giving bad reviews. My followers know this, but I have to be honest, or I have zero integrity as a book blogger. So, in all honesty, Tantalize just didn't work for me. I give it a 2 out of 5, and though I'm sure there is an audience for this book, I wasn't the right one. I will, however, recommend it to more of a MG audience, and I would say that fans of fantasy novels probably have a decent chance of enjoying it. Have any of you read Tantalize? What did you think?

24 comments:

  1. I haven't read it -- but I do think it looks interesting, and while I generally prefer more mature voices I don't mind great MG, either. Stereotypes, on the other hand, I can't really deal with.

    Thank you for te honest review :)

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  2. i think you're right.it's okay for a MG reader. but i have to say, it's quite an enjoyable read.

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  3. Oh no :( I know how you feel, I hate giving bad reviews too, and that was sure one reason why I made someone else read the latest book I felt was not going the way i liked it.

    Better luck next time

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  4. Uh oh, I hate when YA is dumbed down! There's no reason for it as there are some really beautifully written YA books out there that are hugely successful both inside and outside the target YA audience. Thanks for the brutal honesty though Melissa:)

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  5. Sorry you didn't like this one that well. I have heard of this one before, but it never got my fullest attention, I don't think I will try this one. thanks for the honest review!

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  6. oh god, i thought this book was so awfull i wouldn't even review it. It was appalling!

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  7. Sorry this didn’t work out for you, but thanks for the honesty.

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  8. I haven't read many positive reviews on this. I'm also not a fan of dumbing down books.Don't think I'll be reading this one anytime soon.Thanks for the honest review.

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  9. uh oh, sorry you didn't like this one, melissa! i understand though if it was dumbed down :(

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  10. I'm sorry you didn't enjoy Tantalize too much-I actually really this one and the author's quirky sense of humor. I get what you mean about the ending-it's abrupt and made me annoyed but Tantalize is actually part of a series (which I had no idea about until a while ago) and Quincie's story is picked up from there. It's one of those weird series where the sequel has a different story but then the third book ties both stories together o_O

    But anyways, thank you for the honest review :)

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  11. ^liked. Somehow the word vanished o.O

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  12. While I enjoyed this one, I totally understand and appreciate your honest review :)

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  13. I am actually getting a bit tired of all the vamp and were books out too, so after reading your review plus my feeling about Eternal another of Smith's books, I think I will skip this one. Love your honest and sometimes we just got to say it like it is!

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  14. First of all-- for some reason I really love the word "tantalize" lol

    Secondly, I am always one that appreciates an honest review. Sometimes a book is a stinker. I want to know that. I think you did a good job explaining WHY instead of just slapping it with a "bad grade"

    I'm not a fan of YA being dumbed down either. I find it rather offensive!

    -Jamie at The Broke and the Bookish

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  15. I didn't like Tantalize either...in fact, I couldn't bring myself to finish the book. Thanks for the honest review, and good luck in NaNoWriMo! (I also appreciate your note about your blog being an award-free zone...those take a lot of time...)

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  16. I wasn't a fan of this book either, sadly. It had such a great premise. At least now I won't waste my time with the author's other books! Thanks for the honest review!

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  17. This one hadn't even blipped across my radar: Thanks for reviewing a book off the beaten path!

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  18. I haven't heard of this one before. There are some YA books where I feel so old when I read them-this sounds like it'd be one of them. Thanks for the honest review. :)

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  19. Too bad. Great review though - I love how you give a bad review but do a good job of explaining why you don't like it. You don't make it seem like it is a bad book, but just that it's not for you. Those are the negative reviews I appreciate the most.

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  20. I wasn't a huge fan of Tantalize, either. Thanks for hoppin by my blog this weekend!

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  21. Ah, it's always a bummer when YA is dumbed down. Thanks for the honest review :)

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  22. Oh Noes Melissa. When I read the word Texas I immediately wanted to put this one on my Wishlist, but after reading your review, I think I will pass.

    I can't even imagine, but it seems to me that writing YA is probably the most difficult genre to write for. That has always been my impression because on one side you don't want to undermined your audience, but on the other you need to make sure you stay within certain 'boundaries' (for lack of a better word).

    Anyhoo, sorry this didn't work out for you esp since the book did have potential , as you said. I know it is difficult for you to give a bad review, but I do appreciate your honesty. Thank you for that. :D

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  23. Interesting review. Thank you for the honest one. I really appreciate it. I won this book a little while ago and am curious as I have heard the same thing from one other review. But I have a lot of books to read here and this one is in the mix. Thanks for the review!

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Thank you so much for taking the time to comment! I always do my very best to return the favour :)

Please note that this blog is an award-free zone!

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