Blood and Chocolate

Title: Blood and Chocolate
Author: Annette Curtis Klause
Genre: YA fantasy

Summary: I went into this expecting a new atrocity to rip into shreds, but was left pleasantly surprised – for some of it.  While the book falls flat in some places (like most YA novels, the amount of angst and high school drama quickly gets irritating), it also shows a surprising amount of balls in regards to certain outcomes and character defects. Spoilers ahead, matey.

Synopsis: Vivian is a sixteen year old werewolf, part of the remnants of a pack that has temporarily settled in a suburb in Maryland.  The pack was shattered a year ago when humans attacked their homes and their alpha male, Vivian’s father, was killed.  Now, as the pack struggles to find a new leader, Vivian finds herself attracted to a human boy named Aiden even as one of the prime competitors for the alpha, Gabriel, shows his interest in her. As their romance deepens, Vivian finds herself torn between protecting her pack and revealing to Aiden of her true nature. What oh what will our heroine do?

 The Good: Vivian is one of those rare heroines who is not only described as being hot-tempered, but is actually shown to be as well.  Her temper gets her into trouble, makes her do stupid things, and it’s refreshing to read.   The rest of the characters are painted with broad strokes, but are given enough personality to make it work.  And then of course, there’s the twist.

*SPOILER*

Vivian eventually reveals her true self to Aiden, and he’s immediately repulsed and throws shit at her until she leaves. Not only that, but he eventually tries to kill her. The wonders of love, eh? Unsurprisingly, Vivian eventually chooses Gabriel for her mate.

*/SPOILER*

Honestly, I thought this was a great take on the situation. Not only did it feel fresh (because, come on, how many times have we seen the “unlikely couple perseveres over all” plotline run into the ground?), but it fit with the rest of the story. It made sense. Klause hints at Vivian’s dissatisfaction with Aiden even as her infatuation with him grows, how his differences are exactly what make him so attractive yet so incompatible with her. Full golf clap to Ms. Klause for that alone.

The Bad: The angst. I know, Vivian’s a teenager, but it still BURNS. The worst of it is during the highschool scenes, or the scenes with Aiden’s friends. And speaking of Aiden, his poetry is made of fail. A small sample:

Corsair of the wood
discard your skin
your pallid, wormlike
vulernerability

*gigglesnortgiggle* Yeah. His poetry supposedly touched Vivian to the core, but it reads like the dreck found in your average teenaged Goth’s math notebook, right next to the scrawled pentagrams and H.I.M. lyrics.

Rating:   B.  Not a book that will stick with you after you read it, but it’s a pleasure that you don’t have to feel too guilty about.