Cynthia Leitich Smith: Tantalize and Eternal
3. Cynthia Leitich Smith, Tantalize.
4. Cynthia Leitich Smith, Eternal.
Both novels are set in the same world, but Eternal is a prequel to Tantalize. Even though the two books don't share any cast members in common, the sequence would have been nice to know going in: what happens to the Eternal cast sets up the possibilities established for the Tantalize storyline, and there are aspects of the two stories that seem not to mesh properly unless you realize that Eternal happens first. It's hard to say anything more concrete about the interrelationship of the two without spoiling the conclusions of both books, so let's just leave it there: Eternal happened first. Okay?
(Book three, by the way, is supposed to integrate both casts: yay! I want book three!)
Tantalize was a nice enough -- light, fast, funny -- for about the first half. The premise seemed a bit ridiculous and lightweight to hang an entire book on -- an Italian-American high-schooler, with the help of her uncle, is trying to retool the family Italian restaurant around a vampire theme -- but around the halfway mark the plot became OMG OMG OMG I CAN'T TALK TO YOU I'M READING OMG OMG. I wish the ending wasn't so young-adult-page-limit-reached, because I wanted a lot more book. It's sequel-ready, of course, but who wants to wait for the sequel? My favorite part in most novels is the middle third, where everything is deliciously messed up (similarly, my favorite part of any trilogy is always the second book) and Tantalize left off precisely at the point where it was ready to start hitting all my personal narrative buttons. (insert growl of pain here) MUST HAVE SEQUEL.
Eternal, to my disappointment, was not the sequel that Tantalize was setting up. Also, it's about a guardian angel, which is totally the sort of narrative device that makes me roll my eyes hard. But then Eternal caught me, too -- not as hard as Tantalize, but still, it caught me good and solid. And it resolved all its black-and-white good-and-evil stuff to my satisfaction (that is, good-and-evil does not, and cannot, crisply divide into black hats and white hats). And its conclusion makes me want the sequel -- which will be a crossover sequel for both books, apparently -- even more.
Some random things:
4. Cynthia Leitich Smith, Eternal.
Both novels are set in the same world, but Eternal is a prequel to Tantalize. Even though the two books don't share any cast members in common, the sequence would have been nice to know going in: what happens to the Eternal cast sets up the possibilities established for the Tantalize storyline, and there are aspects of the two stories that seem not to mesh properly unless you realize that Eternal happens first. It's hard to say anything more concrete about the interrelationship of the two without spoiling the conclusions of both books, so let's just leave it there: Eternal happened first. Okay?
(Book three, by the way, is supposed to integrate both casts: yay! I want book three!)
Tantalize was a nice enough -- light, fast, funny -- for about the first half. The premise seemed a bit ridiculous and lightweight to hang an entire book on -- an Italian-American high-schooler, with the help of her uncle, is trying to retool the family Italian restaurant around a vampire theme -- but around the halfway mark the plot became OMG OMG OMG I CAN'T TALK TO YOU I'M READING OMG OMG. I wish the ending wasn't so young-adult-page-limit-reached, because I wanted a lot more book. It's sequel-ready, of course, but who wants to wait for the sequel? My favorite part in most novels is the middle third, where everything is deliciously messed up (similarly, my favorite part of any trilogy is always the second book) and Tantalize left off precisely at the point where it was ready to start hitting all my personal narrative buttons. (insert growl of pain here) MUST HAVE SEQUEL.
Eternal, to my disappointment, was not the sequel that Tantalize was setting up. Also, it's about a guardian angel, which is totally the sort of narrative device that makes me roll my eyes hard. But then Eternal caught me, too -- not as hard as Tantalize, but still, it caught me good and solid. And it resolved all its black-and-white good-and-evil stuff to my satisfaction (that is, good-and-evil does not, and cannot, crisply divide into black hats and white hats). And its conclusion makes me want the sequel -- which will be a crossover sequel for both books, apparently -- even more.
Some random things:
- In Tantalize, Quincie's boyfriend Kiernan is both Latino and half-werewolf. (Ethnicity =/= species! Yay!) He needs to join a wolfpack, for both his safety and emotional wholeness, but he can't just trot off and join: he as much doesn't fit among the Wolves as he does among non-Wolves. Even though biology is a major part of what makes one a Wolf, there is no biological essentialism to being a Wolf: if he is to join a pack, he has to study and learn and catch up on the things that he did not learn when he was growing up outside of a pack. He has to earn his way in.
- In Eternal, the heir to Dracula's throne is half-Taiwanese (I think -- I can't find the reference) and half-white. Dracula is a hereditary title, based on the Latin word for dragon, and it is thus customary to refer to the bearer as the Dragon, or to his heir as the Dragon Princess. Even so, Dracula executed the henchman who referred to her as the Dragon Lady.
- Dorky whitebread vampires in polo shirts and khakis.
- Weredeer! Werebears! Wereopossoms! Werearmadillos!