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? Tantalize marks Cynthia Leitich Smith's delicious debut as a preeminent author of dark fantasy.

Are you predator or prey?

"Following her parents' death, Quincie Morris was left in her Uncle Davidson's care, and the fate of the family's Italian restaurant was left in hers. Now 17, Quincie, who narrates, and her uncle have renamed the place Sanguini's. They've remodeled it with a 'vampire theme,' which they believe will sell in their Texas college town since 'vampires are a fringe population, and Austin is a tolerant place.' A month before the grand re-opening, however, the longtime chef is mauled to death in the kitchen, and the murder suspect is a werewolf. Quincie finds this problematic, since her lifelong best friend and love interest, Kieren, is a 'hybrid werewolf' who traces his lupine heritage to the wolves that roamed Ireland with St. Patrick. A new chef shows up who may be talented but is also spooky, with red contact lenses, pale hair and a menu featuring sweetbreads, blood sausage and baby squirrels in honey cream sauce. Best known for her Native American stories, Smith uses advertisements, newspaper clippings and menu pages to liven the pace, and creates palpable tension in the novel's second half. Quincie's story hews closer to the campy Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes (e.g., ' 'You ate the police?!' I exclaimed') than to the elegant romanticism of Stephenie Meyer's books, but horror fans will be hooked by Kieren's quiet, hirsute hunkiness, and Texans by the premise that nearly everybody in their capitol is a shapeshifter. Ages 14-up." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"Cynthia Leitich Smith's dark fantasy creates an interesting...secondary world set in Austin, Texas." Children's Literature

"The storytelling is straightforward but elegant and will hold infinite appeal to the vampire-loving crowd." Kirkus Reviews

"Smith juices up YA horror with this intoxicating romantic thriller." The Horn Book

"Whether it’s the whirlwind plot, the unresolved ending, the fabulous Italian food or all that blood, readers will certainly be licking their lips at the end of Tantalize, their appetites whetted for Smith’s next enticing adventure." Book Page

"Smith cleverly manipulates typical YA experiences to suit the book's alternate-reality context....The immersion in food culture — including an overhauled menu, as grisly as it is gourmet — successfully builds on the sensual aspects of vampire mythology." Booklist

"A stimulating paranormal mystery mixed with romance." Teenreadstoo.com

"Full of unexpected, delicious delights that kept me guessing and turning the pages." Annette Curtis Klause, author of Blood and Chocolate

"Looking for something to read that will make your TV jealous? Tantalize has it all — hot vampires and wolf-boys, a super-cool heroine in cowboy boots, nail-biting suspense, romance, chills 'n' thrills, and Austin, Texas. What more could you want?" Libba Bray, author of A Great and Terrible Beauty

Werewolves, vampires, and human hybrids all work up an appetite in this delicious debut novel of dark fantasy, young love, and culinary secrets.

Cynthia Leitich Smith is the author of several acclaimed books for younger readers. Of Tantalize she says, "I tapped into my romantic nature, my love for monsters and marinara. Hold the garlic and enjoy!" A member of the faculty at the Vermont College MFA program in writing for children and young adults, she lives in Austin, Texas.