Tantalize by Cynthia Letitch-Smith

Quincie Morris is the heir to her deceased parents Italian Restaurant, and her uncle, Davidson, had been helping her run it. Recently, though, the restaurant closed down to undergo a complete reimagining, moving to become a Vampire-themed eatery starring Quincie's longtime friend, head chef Vaggio.

But just a month before their scheduled re-opening, Vaggio is murdered, and it looks like it might have been a werewolf who did it. And Quincie does know a werewolf, her best friend Kieran. But while Kieran's mother is a full-on Werewolf, his father is strictly human, so Kieran is a half-breed, and might not actually be able to shift. Quincie loves Kieran, and she's sure that he feels the same way about her, but his mother thinks he needs a pack to be able to shift, and has been tutoring him in Werewolf ways to get him accepted.

Still, Kieran tells her that Vaggio's death, though ugly and brutal, wasn't done by a werewolf, but someone who wanted it to look like a werewolf had done it. A copycat, maybe even a real vampire, but not a Werewolf.

Quincie mourns for Vaggio, who was a close friend of her parents and hers as well, but must find a new chef to take over for the deceased Vaggio if she wants to re-open the restaurant to make sure it succeeds. She puts an ad in the paper and in several places online, but most of the applicants seem to be more cheesy than accomplished chefs.

As she fends off the applicants who aren't qualified for the job, her uncle hires a chef from Kansas, a cowboy-type named Henry Johnson, to be the new head cook. Being that the restaurant is supposed to have a vampire cook, can she transform Henry from Cowboy to Count in time for the restaurant to open? Because if she can't, she'll have to go with Uncle Davidson's girlfriend, Ruby, a goth-girl vampire wannabe. And since Quincie can't *stand* Ruby, Quincie will do it or die trying!

But as she seeks to transform Henry, he also transforms her from a girl into a woman, getting her to drink wine and eat his delicious Italian Cuisine. Will she finally move out of her girlish attraction to Kieran and move on to an adult relationship, or will she cling to the boy she has wanted for so long?

I was attracted to this book for the storyline, but there is quite a twist in the tale, and lets say that the heroine's name resemblance to a character from Dracula is there for a good reason, and not just because the Restaurant she is about to open is vampire-themed!

The story manages to lure you into thinking that the plot is all about one thing, when something quite different, and quite alarming, is slowly happening to Quincie and those she loves. When the twist comes off, you're surprised you didn't see it coming, and at the same time thinking you should have.

I don't want to give away the twist, but I am sorry the plot ended where it did and there are apparently no plans to continue with a sequel, as there were a lot of unanswered questions I would have been happier knowing the answers to. The ending left me feeling a bit cheated. I wanted justice for what happened to Quincie, but there was none to be had. I still recommend the book, with the caveat that the ending can be quite a letdown after reading the book.