A young adult werewolf classic, I'm truly surprised it took me this long to read Blood and Chocolate. A quick, engaging read, Blood and Chocolate tells the story of Vivian Gandillon, a teenage girl who is part of a larger shifter pack that can change to wolves at will.

I found Vivian a compelling enough character and Annette Curtis Klause's prose sets out a very clear difference between the wolf pack and ordinary humans. ( )

2020 review: I read this again because I wanted to laugh at the stupid parts. I didn't laugh a single time. This book was stuffed full of adults preying on teenagers, teenagers being melodramatic in ways that could cause injury and death, relocation choices that made no sense, financial decisions that made no sense, and when the book wasn't creepy, it was stupid. Ugh. I just did not -care- about anything, and I again wondered how the book would be different if Vivian had talked more about missing her dad, and memories she might have or something. And I noticed something that made my skin crawl: she thinks about her dad when Gabriel is preying on her. I readjusted the star rating to two on account of--it was interesting and good to me in my teen years, and nostalgic last year, and I don't just wanna--I don't know. I'm leaving it at two and my skin is still crawling.

2019 review: The...Goodreads blurb of this book is um, a far richer--it's not false advertising, but the actual product is not so majestic. I wrote a much longer review on my Dreamwidth than I anticipated, with such content that I'm...gonna write a different review for Goodreads.

I read this in one sitting tonight and consider it a guilty pleasure. The four star rating is because I was laughing when I wasn't creeped out. I couldn't figure out why I was laughing so much at parts that weren't funny, why it was a guilty pleasure, and why I couldn't put it down. I smiled when I finally figured out what I was thinking: I can't take the main character or anyone seriously. I read another review on here that hated it, and cheered the reviewer. I don't hate this book. I find it melodramatic and read it for the nostalgia factor--I read it when I was a tween, and I was in love instantly. Now? Laughing when I'm not creeped out by the normalization and encouragement of predatory behavior, rampant sexism, shocking maturity gaps between couples, and the wtf-ery of some moments. The wtf moments were sometimes also entertaining. Cognitive dissonance, indeed. I liked the reliance on French and German werewolf folklore, and the way things were described in the story. I enjoyed the nostalgia factor. I'm glad I got to read it again. ( )

I finally figured out what bugged me about this book, ever since I first read it.

I will emphasize that the world is interesting. The concept of werewolves as a modern insular pack-oriented society is probably not a new one, but it is well-done here. That's not the problem.

The problem is the main love triangle between Vivian, the protagonist, the human Aiden, and the werewolf Gabriel. The author spent so much time developing Vivian's relationship with Aiden, claiming him to be a sensitive, open-minded boy. And then . . . he finds out she's a werewolf and tries to kill her. What, was all that character development for nothing? Is his open-mindedness really just an informed attribute? I don't enjoy it when an author subjects her own character to character derailment, especially when it seems to be for no good reason. Yes, she's a werewolf and werewolves are scary, but the context in which she told him, combined with his alleged fascination and appreciation for the occult make his reaction completely illogical. It feels like intentional demonizing of the character, and why would you create a character only to destroy it in such a way?

And Gabriel: first, he's 24. Vivian is 16. A little gross, I think. Second, he spends most of the book harassing her and teasing her, and then at the last minute she decides to date him? Wait, what? I don't find sexual harassment hot. I find it creepy. I think a lot of girls would, and I don't think this sends a particularly positive message to them.

Overall, the ending feels entirely pointless. It felt like it was building up to be this great inspiring tribute for the power of love to transcend social and cultural boundaries . . . and then it completely denies it. Disappointing. ( )

One of my favorite books of all time!

Even though it didn't end the way I would've liked, I was happy with the ending because it felt like it had a purpose. It didn't feel like Annette Curtis Klause ended it the way she did because she felt like it, or she wanted to please anyone, but because it was the deeper meaning she wanted to give the story. ( )

I didn't like how the author kept switching between telling the story through a third, then first person point of view. The plot was interesting and kept me going, but I felt like I was obviously out of the age reading group. I was a little concerned about the idea that this 16 year old girl ended up with a 24 year old guy and that was how it was supposed to be. ( )