This is a series review for all three books in the Full Moon Series by Ellen Schreiber (Once in a Full Moon, Magic of The Moonlight, and Full Moon Kisses).

 

 

[review]

REVIEW

I just. I can’t. I don’t…

Pull it together, Jenn.

*Inhale*

*Exhale*

You got this.

I just, I can’t even… how did this happen?

I need a minute to get over the fact that this book even got published. I don’t even know where to begin dealing with this.

 

Okay, so, assuming you’ve read the synopsis of at least the first book, you’ll learn that this is your basic girl-in-small-town-falls-for-werewolf-outsider story. I say “basic” because this story embodies almost every book cliche I know of. They are as follows:

 

Insta-love

 

Page 45 of Once in a Full Moon (Book 1): Celeste (Our MC) gets rescued from a pack of wolves by Brandon Maddox.

 

Page 55: “I’d never be able to admit my doughy, in-love-with-a-Westsider feeling to Ivy or Abby.” (Celeste)

 

So, over the course of ten pages, she managed to fall in love. And did I mention that she already had a boyfriend at this point?

 

Then (remember, she’s only spoken to this guy once) Celeste is all like: “Brandon was a true hero— brave, modest, humble.” (pg. 57)

 

Really? Do I look stupid to you?

 

Pancake/One-dimesional Characters 

 

I couldn’t differentiate betweeen Ivy and Abby (Celeste’s bffs) until book two. The only thing I could remember was that Abby was athletic and Ivy was prissy.

I still can’t tell the difference between Dylan and Jake (Abby and Ivy’s boyfriends).

 

Love Triangle… or is it? 

I’ve never read a book and actually been confused about whether or not it was a love triangle. I’m entirely confounded.

 

The Hot Outsider/Forbidden Love

Brandon is a Westsider, the rivals of the upper-class Eastsiders, of which Celeste is a part.

 

The entire Eastsider/Westsider rivalary thing seemed stupid to me. I guess Schreiber was going for the whole “forbidden love” angle, but in the end it just seemed like a bunch of shallow teenagers from different sides of a river.

 

Dingie Best Friend(s) Syndrome

I want to kill Ivy. She’s ditzy, slutty hypocrite. She was ALWAYS criticizing Westsiders, then when Celeste reveals her feelings about Brandon to her, she’s all like:

 

“I don’t care that he’s a Westsider, Celeste.” Uhm, you did in a couple chapters ago!

 

Just. Shut. Up.

 

Abby isn’t really any better. Just a bit less slutty I think.

 

Invisible/Must-Be-Blind Parents

Celeste is 17. I saw her parents VERY few times throughout the books, and really, if my kid was randomly leaving at night, spending hours who-knows-where and dating a werewolf, I’d make it my business to know!

 

Brandon lives with his grandparents. I think they entered the story maybe one time.

 

In addition to the aforementioned issues, this book also had some MAJOR PLOT HOLES, for example, THE ENTIRE ENDING. When you end a trilogy/series/quartet/ANYTHING it needs to be at least somewhat conclusive. I’m not saying that all the questions have to be answered and it HAS to be neat and tidy, but there needs to be something accomplished, something that made it worth reading all three books.

 

The cheesy romance wasn’t even cheesy, it was just stupid. There were also some grammatical errors, and the dialogue sucked. Like, it was so bad. Nobody that I have ever come into contact with speaks how these people spoke.

 

Ms. Schreiber, there’s these new things, they’re called contractions. You should give them a try.

 

But it wasn’t just the lack of contractions. The writing itself is awful. It’s so shallow and amateurish and the descriptive wording is just lame. Phrases like:

 

“My heart almost burst through my chest.” and

 

“…my heart was going to explode with love.” (This is where I lost all hope. Explode with love? C’mon. Get real.) in addition to the constant overuse of adjectives (We KNOW Brandon is brave, heroic, humble, selfess, handsome, kind, hot, sexy and strong, Celeste. You don’t need to keep telling us.) make this a very tedious, very frustrating series.

 

The fact that this was published by Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollins just shocks me. They usually publish legit books. This is just pathetic. The plot isn’t even a real plot, just one giant run-on sentence. It this wasn’t an e-book, I would’ve thrown it against a wall or onto concrete or into a lava pit or something.

 

And if you’re wondering why I read all three books if I hated them so much (which you will, ‘cuz that’s how people are. Curious and shiz.), I read them because 1) I despise people who read halfway through a book or series then review it. You can’t accurately review what you haven’t read, idiot, and 2) If you don’t read the bad, how can you appreciate the good?

 

In Conclusion,

 

Major disappointement. Finishing this series may have been the most difficult thing I have ever done.

I think I just lost faith in humanity.

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Once in a Full Moon by Ellen Schreiber

(Full Moon, #1) 

Celeste Parker is used to hearing scary stories about werewolves—Legend’s Run is famous for them. She’s used to everything in the small town until Brandon Maddox moves to Legend’s Run and Celeste finds herself immediately drawn to the handsome new student. But when, after an unnerving visit with a psychic, she encounters a pack of wolves and gorgeous, enigmatic Brandon, she must discover whether his transformation is more than legend or just a trick of the shadows in the moonlight.

Her best friends may never forgive her if she gives up her perfect boyfriend, Nash, for Brandon, who’s from the wrong side of town. But she can’t deny her attraction or the strong pull he has on her. Brandon may be Celeste’s hero, or he may be the most dangerous creature she could encounter in the woods of Legend’s Run.

Psychic predictions, generations-old secrets, a town divided, and the possibility of falling in love with a hot and heroic werewolf are the perfect formula for what happens . . . once in a full moon.

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Magic of the Moonlight by Ellen Schreiber

(Full Moon, #2) 

Celeste has more to worry about than a secret romance with a hot guy from the wrong side of town. That guy, Brandon, is a werewolf. With gossip and hostility swirling at school, it’s time to find a cure for his nocturnal condition, and perhaps the one person who can help is his scientist father. But what if a “cure” makes things worse and Brandon becomes a werewolf full time? And with rumors circulating that there are werewolves in Legend’s Run, is it possible that there is another among their classmates?

To keep Brandon’s secret safe, Celeste must hide her relationship with him from her best friends, but with the Moonlight Ball approaching, she must make a choice. Her dream is to go with her one true love—Brandon. But once the sun goes down, the clouds separate, and the full moon appears, could she really walk into the dance on the arm of a werewolf?

In this installment of the sumptuously romantic Full Moon series, Celeste faces her fears and her friends and finds out whether she’s strong enough to stand up for herself and her one true love.

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Full Moon Kisses by Ellen Schreiber

(Full Moon, #3) 

A werewolf wants to take you into his world. Forever.

Celeste and Brandon know that Nash in werewolf form is bad news. But a new prediction from psychic Dr. Meadows has Celeste wondering: Which of them wants to turn her into a werewolf?

Still on Celeste’s and Brandon’s minds is the “cure” from Brandon’s father. Brandon must face one dilemma he hadn’t anticipated—if his dad’s serum really does work, is he willing to give up being a werewolf for good? Is Celeste willing to give up her heroic werewolf boyfriend? And when Nash finds out there’s a cure, will he try to take it from Brandon as they continue to deal with their rivalry, their competing affections for Celeste, and their struggles with their werewolf identities?

Then things grow still more complicated when a gang of sketchy guys from a neigh-boring town comes to Legend’s Run just before the big Werewolf Festival. What, or whom, are they looking for?

The third installment in the sumptuous series about werewolves and the popular girl who loves one is full of danger, mystery, and undeniably romantic full moon kisses.

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About Jennifer (Paranormal YA Reviewer)

Besides writing book reviews, Jennifer also enjoys reading, horseback riding, and playing the piano. She is homeschooled and lives in Louisiana with her parents, four siblings, and a large assortment of pets.