Blood and Chocolate is one of many books in a field of literary interest for young adults that has literally exploded in the last decade, especially the late 1990s: the genre of romance horror for young adults. Two authors in particular both precede and continue to publish similar books alongside Annette Curtis Klause: Vivian Vande Velde and Lisa Jane Smith. Vande Velde's Companions of the Night (1995) has become a classic for teens interested in this genre, and it was awarded the ALA Best Book for Young Adults Award upon its publication.

Companions, like Blood and Chocolate, achieves its primary tensions (as with many books in this genre) through a central love affair between a human and not-so-human being.

Kerry, a non-vampire girl, is in love with the seductive vampire boy Ethan. Smith's Huntress (1997) in particular, shares very similar themes and a similar plot to Blood and...