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Blood and chocolate
First published 1997 · 288 pages
A visceral, moonlit exploration of teenage angst and the intoxicating freedom of embracing your own wildness.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like running through a moonlit forest—it is breathless, feral, and unapologetically raw. The narrative drips with sensory details, grounding you completely in a world where physical instinct and fierce desires override polite society. It captures a very specific, brooding nineties paranormal angst, but elevates it with a surprisingly sharp exploration of female autonomy and the tension between wanting to fit in and needing to run wild. The prose is visceral and sensual, leaning into the blood and dirt of its premise rather than sanitizing it for a younger audience. It is a perfect match for readers who love dark, atmospheric coming-of-age stories where the heroine ultimately chooses her own sharp teeth over the safety of a cage.
- Mood
- feral
- brooding
- moonlit
- visceral
- Tone
- fierce
- sensual
- angsty
- unapologetic
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- embracing wildness · female desire and autonomy · the illusion of normalcy · grief and belonging · torn between worlds
- The writing
- Sensory and visceral, dripping with physical detail that grounds the reader in the protagonist's animal instincts.
- The arc
- Moves from a desperate yearning for human normalcy to a fierce, unapologetic embrace of one's own monstrous nature.
- Who it's for
- Fans of dark, atmospheric paranormal romance who prefer their heroines with sharp teeth and a refusal to be tamed.
Content notes
- violence
- grief
- sexual content
- animal death
- murder
About the book
Vivian Gandillon relishes the change, the sweet, fierce ache that carries her from girl to wolf. At sixteen, she is beautiful and strong, and all the young wolves are on her tail. But Vivian still grieves for her dead father; her pack remains leaderless and in disarray, and she feels lost in the suburbs of Maryland. She longs for a normal life. But what is normal for a werewolf?Then Vivian falls in love with a human, a meat-boy. Aiden is kind and gentle, a welcome relief from the squabbling pack. He's fascinated by magic, and Vivian longs to reveal herself to him. Surely he would understand her and delight in the wonder of her dual nature, not fear her as an ordinary human would.Vivian's divided loyalties are strained further when a brutal murder threatens to expose the pack. Moving between two worlds, she does not seem to belong in either. What is she really--human or beast? Which tastes sweeter--blood or chocolate?From the Paperback edition.
Description from Open Library.
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