Plot: Vivian Gandillon is not like other teenage girls, she's a loup-garou, which means that she can shift shape into a wolf. She's fairly isolated from other humans and only sticks to her kind until she meets a human boy, Aiden. He's different and loves anything mystical, such as werewolves and witchcraft. He falls for Vivian. She doesn't know whether or not she should tell him the truth about her true nature. Telling Aiden the truth would also strain her relationship with her clan of werewolves. She must decide what to pick: the taste of blood or the lovely sweetness of the human boy.

Evaluation: It seems that it's become quite common for teen novels to combine horror, fantasy or history with romance. Tantalize and Twilight are just a few examples of horror and romance that come to mind. What struck me about Blood and Chocolate was that this novel has a protagonist, who is the so-called "monster." She doesn't need to be rescued rather it's Aiden (the meatboy) that needs to be protected from the other werewolves in her clan. Vivian also finds herself struggling to control herself whenever she's around him. She is wild about Aiden's scent and his skin. She even sips the water from his bath just to taste him. Vivian has an animal like lust that is completely natural since she is a werewolf, but she can't share this completely with Aiden, which is the unfortunate conclusion at the end of the narrative.

Vivian learns that in order to be truly loved, she must be able to share her wolf side as well as her human side. Her dual nature cannot be suppressed and she struggles with it throughout the entire novel. In a sense, Vivian struggles the way many people do with their ethnicity or sexuality. Vivian's character is akin to Dimple's in Born Confused; in other words, Vivian has two parts that make up her character (human and animal) and Dimple has two ethnic identities (American and Indian) that she struggles to come to terms with. Both girls have to have both identities recognized and accepted by their romantic interest or else the relationship is doomed. Vivian couldn't have a solid relationship with Aiden because he rejected her wolf side, so it was no surprise when she ended up with Gabriel with whom she could identify with and share her dual nature. Gabriel loved and appreciated both sides. Similarly, Dimple can never have a relationship with a white boy, Julian, who doesn't understand both her American and Indian identity, so that is probably why she ends up dating Karsh because he understands these identities.

I think one of the biggest obstacles that Vivian has to face in this novel is rejection. In general all people fear what others, especially a romantic interest, might think of them. When you really like someone, you want them to accept you for who you are and the real horror probably lies in finding out that that person not only doesn't like you, but is repulsed by your true nature.