Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Don't read this book on an empty stomach!

I'm serious. In the very first paragraph of the first chapter, we find Quincie, our heroine, eating fettuccine with scallops and garlic. I think my mouth actually started watering at that point.

Okay, so Quincie is 17, starting her senior year of high school. Her parents died a few years earlier, leaving her heir to an Italian restaurant (which is currently being redecorated with a vampire theme). Oh, and her best friend, Kieren (who she has been in love with for years) just so happens to be a hybrid Werewolf.

One night, however, while Quincie is in the back of the restaurant, waiting for Kieren (and hatching up plans for how to seduce him), the chef is murdered in the kitchen. And it doesn't look like the killer was human...

There are of course, obvious comparisons to be made to Twilight and New Moon. And personally, I liked Quincie a bit more than Bella. Bella just moped around too much for my taste (especially in New Moon); Quincie has more spunk. Fans of Stephanie Meyer will definitely eat this one up.

And isn't that cover just gooooorgeous?