Blood and Chocolate

By: Annette Klause

Narrated by: Alyssa Bresnahan

Length: 7 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's Summary

Vivian Gandalon is a teen-aged werewolf with problems. Her father, the pack leader, was killed in a fire, and so the pack is in disarray. The young male members of the squabbling pack howl for her, but still she feels alienated and alone. To be more than human is a lonely thing. Vivian longs to have friends and fit in at school. She yearns to escape her legacy of violence and forbidden appetites, but the beast within her longs for something elementally deep and rich. She glories in her ability to change from woman to wolf. How can she choose between being human or beast? She fiercely hopes that her relationship with a kind and sensitive meat-boy, a human, will help her find some answers. Talented narrator Alyssa Bresnahan casts a spell over listeners as she becomes the beautiful and sensuous young werewolf princess. This suspenseful, haunting, and magical tale is best read by the light of the full moon.

©1997 Annette Curtis Klause (P)1997 Recorded Books, LLC

Relive teen werewolf romance with weird narration

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I read this book the first time as a teenager probably ten or so years ago and at the time it was a favorite. I don't know if the story's held up well enough for me to still say that as an adult. It's admittedly a little silly. Some of the dialogue especially made me cringe/laugh. It definitely has that feel of how middle aged women think teenagers think and speak. That aside, I still greatly enjoyed this book. I got through it in 2 days and it was still a thrilling, enthralling, slightly sexy read. Maybe it's not great literature but if you're someone - as my teenage self was - who has a thing for the fantasy, vampire, werewolf, romantic ya fiction genre - you could do worse. It's probably a little better than twilight, although values and message-wise, they're probably on the same level. There's some nice stuff about loyalty to family and being yourself in there but upon reading this as an adult, Gabriel is kind of creepy. Without giving too much away, I see now why they changed so much for the movie.

What other book might you compare Blood and Chocolate to and why?

Twilight, Hawksong, Vampire Diaries, The Silver Kiss

How could the performance have been better?

My larger complaint is the quality of the narration. Firstly, I don't think I like choice to use an older actress. I understand that the book is in the third person and the author probably is older but I just think a younger narrator would have made some of the dialogue feel more natural. That's a stylistic choice I guess - more annoying than that was the background noise in some sections. I don't know where or when this was recorded but I swear when I wore headphone or listened in a quiet room towards the end I could hear distant voices in the background talking about something indistinct - very distracting! I've never experienced that with anything else on audible, they should re-record and it'd be even better!

Any additional comments?

Blood and chocolate

I really love blood and chocolate. This has been one of my favorite stories forever. I do not however like the narrator. Horrible performance. Seriously dreadful.

My favorite book of all time

I have read this book at least 300 times and love it still so much. Annette Curtis klause is an amazing author. with other books like the silver kiss that I just adore as well.

weird narrator, decent story.

The story is okay, predictable story line. The narrator makes the story seem off, not a good match for the book.

Fun story, different sort of werewolf book

I really enjoyed a lot about this book. The story was in a way formulaic, but I enjoyed that the main character was really tough. It's nice to hear about a teenage girl who is unapologetically tough and sexually empowered. That's a nice change.

I knocked one star off the performance because the narrator was a little strange. Not bad, just a little. The other star got taken off for the abysmally bad choice of cover. Really? It's horrible and straight out of the 80s. The whole production seemed pretty dated.

love!!

this has been one of my favorite books since I was a teen! I'm 28 and still love it!

Chills

This book gives me chills every time I read it. It is beautiful, and Ms. Bresnahan has the most fantastic voice I have ever heard.
What a vivid, smooth, and absolutely stunning performance of a story I will always cherish.

love this book

great book could not stop listening . the story is well written and read well

Light & Sweet or Dark & Savage

I’ve steadily read this book every fall for over ten years. This audiobook brought it to life while still allowing me the imagery to take form in my imagination. Following Vivian, as a bold teenager by day and powerful Loup-Garou by night, the reader gets to experience her dance between two worlds. She craves the simplicity and freedom of the dark woods her ancestors used to roam while trying to navigate the foreign rules and hierarchy of the modern, human teenage world. She’s pulled both ways and has a choice to make, a love that is soft and smooth like chocolate or dark and rich like blood.

A Favorites Standalone Fantasy Book!

This is one of my fav YA fantasy books. but it is a mature read, best suited for 14+ in my opinion. One of my favorite books in highschool, when I signed up for Audible a few years ago, I rediscovered it and love it even more with the narration! I think the best type of fantasy books are those in which the fantasy element is an organic canvas/backdrop to the story and helps drive some conflict but doesn't replace the exploration and resolution of real human stories. This is a tale about growing up, family, duty and love. This compelling story speaks to the 16 year old girl in all of us, partially as a wish fulfillment fantasy and partially as a voice empathizing with those of us who just didn't quite fit in.