Title: Diabolical (Tantalize #4)
Author: Cynthia Leitich Smith
Published: January, 2012 by Candlewick Press
Thanks: Candlewick Press via NetGalley
Pages: 368
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

Prepare for a hell of a ride as Cynthia Leitich Smith calls on characters from her previous novels – and conjures up new ones – for a climactic showdown.

When “slipped” angel Zachary and his werewolf pal, Kieren, arrive under suspicious circumstances to a mysterious New England boarding school, they quickly find themselves in a hellish lockdown with an intriguing assortment of secretive, hand-picked students. Plagued by demon dogs, hallucinatory wall décor, a sadistic instructor, and a legendary fire-breathing monster, will they somehow manage to escape? Or will the devil have his due? Best-selling author Cynthia Leitich Smith unites heroes from the previous three novels in the Tantalize Series – including Zachary’s girl, Miranda, and Kieren’s love, Quincie – along with a fascinating cast of all-new characters for a suspenseful, action-packed clash between the forces of heaven and hell.

Final Thoughts:
I’ve stuck with this series because I like to finish things once I start them, but I just don’t think these books are for me. I enjoyed Blessed more than the first two, but something about Diabolical just didn’t work for me. I’m not quite sure why the books in this series are alternating between present and past tense, but this one is written in present. There were also a lot of POV switches back and forth between three of the characters. Ditching the vampire plots for a demonic boarding school during this book did bring some interesting moments, but unfortunately, the romance took a back seat to the hellish game of survivor the characters were trapped in.

Title: Blessed (Tantalize #3)
Author: Cynthia Leitich Smith
Published: October, 2011 by Walker Books
Pages: 454
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

Quincie P. Morris, teen restaurateur and neophyte vampire, is in the fight of her life. Even as she adjusts to her new appetites, she must clear her best friend and true love, the hybrid-werewolf, of murder charges; thwart the ambitions of Bradley Sanguini, the seductive vampire-chef who ‘blessed’ her; and, keep her dead parents’ restaurant up and running. She hires a more homespun chef and adds the preternaturally beautiful Zachary to her waiting staff. But with hundreds of new vampires on the rise and Bradley off assuming the powers of Dracula Prime, Zachary soon reveals his true nature – and a flaming sword – and they hit the road to staunch the bloodshed before it’s too late. Even if they save the world, will there be time left to salvage Quincie’s soul?

Final Thoughts:
Things really turned around for me with this instalment, the first two weren’t exactly books I’d rave about, so I was surprised when I actually enjoyed almost the entirety of Blessed. The extended page count helped with the development and the pacing—generally the plotting just felt better put together. I’d probably like the series a lot more if I had started with this one, but then I would have missed out on all of the character backstory. I really liked the culmination of the two different casts and the change in Quincie’s persona. She still has the restaurant at heart, but she’s got bigger problems to worry about than organising menus and hiring staff.

Title: Eternal (Tantalize #2)
Author: Cynthia Leitich Smith
Published: December, 2009 by Walker Books
Pages: 306
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

At last, Miranda is the life of the party: all she had to do was die. Elevated and adopted by none other than the reigning King of the Mantle of Dracul, Miranda goes from high-school theater wannabe to glamorous royal fiend overnight. Meanwhile, her reckless and adoring guardian angel, Zachary, demoted to human guise as the princess’s personal assistant, has his work cut out for him trying to save his girl’s soul and plan the Master’s fast-approaching Death Day gala. In alternating points of view, Miranda and Zachary navigate a cut-throat eternal aristocracy as they play out a dangerous and darkly hilarious love story for the ages.

Final Thoughts:
Apparently this book is set before Tantalize, and so, the entire restaurant-operating ensemble is nowhere to be seen. It reads more like a companion, set in the same world, but in a different city. Unlike the previous book, which focussed on the workings of a restaurant, Eternal delves right into the paranormal. A vampire kingdom full of aristocracy, human servants and dungeons gave this book an entirely different feel. While this one still suffered from some of the same problems as the last one, I found the alternating perspectives gave a better insight into the characters. Plus mixing vampires and angels, how could I resist.

Title: Tantalize (Tantalize #1)
Author: Cynthia Leitich Smith
Published: February, 2007 by Walker Books
Pages: 311
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

This is a terrific teenage gothic novel – vampires and werewolves abound! Orphaned and in her uncle’s care, fiercely independent Quincie may be the most over-achieving high-school student around, but even she has her hands full with a hybrid-werewolf boyfriend and the opening of Sanguini’s, her hip vampire-themed restaurant, which turns out to have way more bite than she’d intended.

Final Thoughts:
Things started out okay, but went downhill the further I progressed. While I found it to be a quick read, the main character, Quincie, continually frustrated me with her poor decision making and general lack of observation skills. Also, the sudden renaming of a person just felt weird. Using a stage name in front of the customers is somewhat understandable, but in everyday reference to the guy, I just couldn’t wrap my head around that one. Kieren, the half werewolf, was about the only sensible, almost likeable character out of the lot—yet he was hardly around!

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by The Story Siren, which allows bloggers to share what books they’ve received in the past week. They can be from stores, contests, tours or publishers!

• Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith (library)
• Eternal by Cynthia Leitich Smith (library)
• Blessed by Cynthia Leitich Smith (library)
• Solitary by Alexander Gordon Smith (library)
• Death Sentence by Alexander Gordon Smith (library)
• The Slayer Chronicles: First Kill by Heather Brewer (purchased)
• Witch Eyes by Scott Tracey (purchased)
• Carrier Of The Mark by Leigh Fallon (purchased)
• Torchwood: Miracle Day (purchased)

Sorry for the blurry pic. I had to resort to iPod photography while my camera was on holiday. I turned 22 last week. My parents got me a kindle, which I was especially excited about as I finally have an ereader. I also grabbed that copy of the new series of Torchwood during a 20% off sale which happened to be going on, on my birthday – so can’t wait to get back to Captain Jack. Okay, onto the books… I stopped by the city library and picked up the first three in the Tantalize series. I’m not expecting a lot from them, but I thought give them a shot. I also read the first in the Escape From Furnace series last Monday and picked up the following two. It was kind of like Prison Break for teens, and kind of violent… so obviously I want to read more of it. With the purchased books, I’ve only read the first in the Vladimir Tod series, so I probably won’t get around to this spin-off series for a while… that didn’t stop me buying it though. Witch Eyes and Carrier Of The Mark are ones I’ve been wanting to check out in the near future, so if I can make it through my increasing library pile with any kind of haste, I’ll slot time in for them.

Here is my latest review if you want to check it out:
Smith, Alexander Gordon Escape From Furnace #1, Lockdown

Link up to your mailbox and I’ll be sure to check it out!