Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith, 310 pages
Quince Morris is a 17 year old orphan who has lived with her young and distracted Uncle since her parents' death years before. Together they run a soon-to-be vampire themed restaurant that is Quince's legacy. Her only solace is her longtime bestfriend/ love interest/ half-werewolf, Kieran, who will be leaving her soon to join his werepack. When the longtime chef of the restaurant is murdered within hearing distance of Quince, she and her uncle scramble to find a replacement "vampire" chef. Young, idealistic "Bradley" steps into the position and Quince is quite taken with his culinary gifts. Soon Kieran starts to fade to the background as Quince starts to notice there is more to Bradley than meets the eye. In the meantime, a killer is on the loose in her town and many have fallen victim. When the killer once again stalks closer to home, Quince is shocked to discover who it is. This vampire/were-creature tale and love triangle teen story was predictable and a little hard to digest (pun intended). I did get a kick out of the menus and how the chapters are divided up into food courses, however, and that kept it entertaining.
