Customer Reviews
OK, but not Great 
2008-05-28
Blood and Chocolate was a good and quick read, but the writing was not very good. Many of the characters seemed to have multiple personalities throughout the corse of the book. The story was good, but I think that it could have been better if it had had a sequel or had been the start of a trilogy or something. It is very fast paced, and won't take you long to read. If you enjoy werewolves I would recommend this book to you. If you get bothered easily about writing style, I would definitely surpass this book. After you finish it, you have a feeling of "well that was nice....now what should I read next" so if you have a long car ride or airplane trip, this is a good book to pass the time.
how'd i miss this as a teen? 2008-04-22
I did enjoy this book. The writing was very amateur, oh well though. But more importantly there should have been a SEQUEL. She could have done so much with these characters and continuing the story...I think it fell flat as a stand alone book. I probably would have appreciated it more if I was 15.
wich is sweeter blood or chocolate 
2008-03-25
this book is the mots interesting oh i give it five stra i love the story and it was just breath taking it kept me oin the edge of my seat and the end suprised me more than anything
My Flesh, My Blood! Revised 2008-03-16
When I first reviewed this book, I took a stance as a fan happy reviewer. After reading other reviews I thought someone should clear things up. (Though I'm not sure I'm quite the person for the job.) So I'll try my best.
Yes, for a young adult book this has a lot of sexual content. NOW before you stop I'm not saying porn. Sexual content and porn are two different things. (No matter what or who says otherwise.) The main character is a very sexy girl; it doesn't mean of course she has rights to be thinking whom will I jump next. Contrary to what people are saying this book is not about whom Vivian is going to sleep with, and her choices toward this topic. This is about a teen girl who is in love and wants to share more than words, and a deeper intimate thing. Though by no means no single relationship should be based or have to go to that level, but people are different. I personally don't like books that are romance, or sexually charged. It takes a deep plot and meaning for me to consider reading them. I thought the author executed this nicely.
A friend of mine who is very religious read this book. I thought she was going to go running into the hills screaming blasphemy about the book. But to my surprise she loved it, saying the ideas and views where a fresh take on the views that we face today.
The book doesn't take place in school, so it doesn't deal with being a teen. Wrong, just because only bits of school life are in this novel does not mean it does not protean to what a teen goes through. There is a life outside of school. I thought it was nice that the author took focus outside of school life. For most people this is when they can be themselves, when they truly start living. And this isn't just issues facing teens, this is issues being faced that is close to every human.
Drinking and smoking. Yes this novel has it, and the character does participate in these actions, sometimes full heartily. Personally I'm not for any of that. But this isn't you or me. This is a different person, and when you read a book you are participating in that other persons life. After reading this book, in no way am I going to go out and start drinking and smoking. I still think it's stupid no matter what media and others say. Personally after reading some of those drunken moments, it reinforces my thoughts that I will never drink or do other thing like that.
Vivian does go to a bar with her mother. But Vivian knows she can handle herself. Still not a smart idea.
Older man and girl relationship. Yes, but first off Vivian herself is not cool with the idea. And while I say age doesn't matter, sometimes it does. This brings me to the main point of everything. These are not HUMANS these are WEREWOLVES. The issues are different for them. And that is what makes this book so entrancing. While it touches on human issues, it goes deeper into a realm people dream about. A realm people are reading about, and that's why they are reading this book. To have a different feeling. This is a different world so of course the views and actions would be different.
**** Now for my fan gabbing. The men are hot, humors great, and the story deep. I loved this book. The character is sassy, which is always a plus for me. If you really don't think you can deal with this book I'm saddened. The points that it gets across are real. While this may be too mature for some, I'd still tell them to read it. Cause parents, even in this age, don't go over this stuff. This novel also deals with loneliness and the need to feel it, which I found refreshing and sometimes very, very thoughtful.
A great tale for werewolves, and just great ideas. It really gets you wolfish!!! (Oh, yes there is a movie. I wouldn't suggest watching it first though. It is not like the book at all. It should be it's own little thing. I think they just used the book to try and sponge off the fans.)And read here other great book The Silver Kiss
Terrific !! An Awesome Story !! 2008-02-06
I LOVEEEEEE this book !!! I didn't know what to expect .. but I decided to read the book before watching the movie.. and boy am I glad I did !! This is one of my favorite books of all time.. and the movie was a sad waste of time. They went wrong in everyway they could think of in the movie version. Even if the book never was written.. the movie would still be horrible with nothing to compare it to. Please stick to the book.. I beg you !!
Prejudice masquerading as realism 
2008-07-19
Or as much realism as you're apt to find in a werewolf story...
Ultimately this book had promise. It started off well and the characters were engaging, but it started to fall flat when the "romance" between Vivian and Aiden suddenly just happened with little to no build up. But that seemed to be the case with the entire story. All the action occurred with little suspense, little build up, and often with little purpose. Even characters were introduced with almost no function at all and I was left wondering why they'd even been mentioned. Like Aiden's pervy but at the same time ultra conservative father - why was he acting perverted with Vivian? I didn't see where it served the plot in any way. Aiden's sister was similarly useless as well as many of Aiden's friends (shouldn't something have happened between Vivian and Kelly?) and even most of the werewolves. There was an entire ensemble of characters with nothing to do.
But what clinched the two-star rating was the ending. --- Warning Spoiler --- Like the previous reviewer pointed out, the message was essentially "stick with your own kind." That's just not something I can get behind. It's not that I think every story needs a happy ending. I wouldn't have had an issue had it just not worked out between the characters - even if the reason was the same (that Aiden couldn't deal). But the author goes on to support his prejudice by having Vivian get together with Gabriel who is "really" the right one for her because he's a werewolf too. Not because she loves him, since through most of the book she hated him (and not the "I love you but will act like I hate you" kind of hate, but real honest to goodness hate).
Overall, this book started off well, then became a bit flat and then ended with a horrible message that left me wondering why I'd just wasted my time.
Not terrible... until you get to the end 2008-07-18
Annette Curtis Klause, Blood and Chocolate (Laurel Leaf, 1997)
After all the flap over the film version of this novel (and its subsequent bombing at the box office), I figured I'd give the book a shot to see just what all the fuss was about. And fussworthy it is, though I'm not entirely sure I found it such for the same reasons as most folks. I will warn you at the beginning of this that in order to talk about what really bugged me about this book, I will have to reveal its ending, in part; I will cloak it as much as possible, but certain portions of this review could be considered major spoilers. Thus, if you are planning on reading the book and haven't yet, skip to the last paragraph.
Vivian Gandillon is a werewolf. At the opening of the book, her pack's inn is set afire, and the surviving members of the pack are forced to flee; they end up in suburban Maryland. (Yes, suburban Maryland.) Everything's going about as well as can be expected until Vivian meets Aiden, a human high-school student with whom she instantly feels a connection. Soon, they're dating and the inevitable question arises: should she reveal her true nature to him, or keep it a secret? Would he accept her and love her for what she is, as no human has loved a werewolf as long as the pack's memory can discern?
All well and good, and the book does seem as if it's going toward the whole Romero-and-Juliet "love as thou wilt" path, but Klause does a one-eighty at the end of the book and drops the "loving outside your [race, creed, color, fill in the blank] is bad, mmmkay?" moral in our laps. I really had hoped, as human beings, we'd gotten past that sort of neanderthal thinking. What had been a previously interesting, if not terribly well-written, novel suddenly, in its last few pages, turned deeply offensive. It's probably worse that in order to do so, Klause had to have her main character also do a one-eighty and simply give up all her beliefs in order to make the moral work. (She does give a reason for this, but it's a bit of a stretch, to understate the case.) I just couldn't bring myself to buy it, though it did fit in with many of the book's other flaws, such as its inconsistent characters and generally loose, lackadaisical writing style.
Still, despite all this, as with most plot-based books of this stripe, it's written in such a way that one can't help but keep turning pages in order to see how this is all going to come out. (This, again, makes the ending all the more of a pain; you've gone through all this to get to... that.) And because of this, I've certainly read worse books in the recent past, from the point of readability; I can't think of one, however, that seemed as much of a letdown as this one was. **
Engaging Werewolf Fiction 2008-07-12
I agree very much with E.R.'s review of this book- it is a wonderful story with a very engaging plot. I disagree with it being banned, especially when in comparison to today's television programming, but I'll leave it at that.
If you don't mind a book containing what I believe is on par with today's teenage community, then I suggest reading this book.
I myself have always liked vampires more, but this book drew me into werewolves, which was a difficult task to accomplish.
The third in my top 3 fiction novels, this deserves at least a screening. Also, please look into Companions of the Night and The Silver Kiss - both vampire fiction, both amazing books.
Somewhat enjoyable.... 2008-07-05
Three stars because I take into account a heroine, Vivian, that's not Mary Predictable Sue, the unique circumstances of the book, the understanding of wolves, and the decency of writing ability. I somewhat enjoyed the book.
Only somewhat enjoyable because Vivian is so far gone as a wolf, stuck on her instincts, that she couldn't converge into a realistic teenage lifestyle to deepen her character and the story.
Instead, forced by the constraints of too much wolf and not enough human, an unlikely romance forms between herself and Aiden, this romance is totally void of any substance and human emotions excluding lust. This relationship is a big part of the premise for the book. But it's a cracked foundation that lends a helping hand on knocking off the two stars in my rating.
Also it seemed to me that most of the characters were too extreme. There were no likable human qualities- only vices. It didn't feel like Vivian was a person. To add to that I felt the book was too methodical. Everything was planned to work out with the ending and so I lost the hint of a grip on the already bad characters. They became puppets.
Overall I think this book had a lot of potential but I didn't really enjoy reading it.
Twilight, The Host...and now Blood and Chocolate 2008-07-03
I thought I'd never find an author I enjoyed as much as Stephenie Meyer, but Ms. Klause hit the spot for me in this intense and speedy read! It's not too slow paced and it kept my face buried till I finished. I only wish she made it into a series...
