Novel Review: Once in a Full Moon (Full Moon, #1) by Ellen Schreiber

Genre: YA Supernatural Romance

Rating (Out of 5): ~2 (actually, probably less)

Publisher: HarperTeen (Katherine Tegen Books)

Spoilers?: Yes. Majorly.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Beware of a kiss under the full moon. It will change your life forever.

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.

Available on Amazon.

Review:

I’ve had this book sitting on my shelf since it came out, as at that time I was quite a big fan of Schreiber’s Vampire Kisses series, but I think maybe I’m a bit too old for it now. For Schreiber’s type of storytelling in general, really. But even taking that into consideration, I still had a lot of problems with this book (and the Vampire Kisses book that I read right before this one, but that will be getting its own review).

This series is very different from Schreiber’s vampire one, which I am glad for, but not particularly in a good way. Once in a Full Moon is about Celeste, who is dating a boy named Nash (whose name, I’m sorry, I keep relating to the Nash from the Soul Screamers series, but that Nash is much better), but really only to keep her friends happy, since she is totally not in love with him. But, really, she doesn’t see why she’s not, because he’s so hot, you guys. Instead, though, there’s Brandon, the new boy in her small town, who’s caught her attention, and saves her, and gives her all these tingly feelings upon first sight. And he’s such a nice guy, plus he’s totally hot, too. The only problem is that he’s from the wrong side of town, and her friends would never accept it, because, you guys, he’s from the Westside of town. But she doesn’t care about that, no, of course not, it’s just everyone else that cares. Totally.

I don’t like Celeste. She’s supposedly very practical and nice and doesn’t care for the Eastside/Westside rivalry, but I didn’t really believe that. I didn't believe her. I believe that she’s nice, because we are actually shown some nice things she does, even if they aren’t all that backed up with selfless feelings. But we’re told, about, three times that she practical and pragmatic, but are never really shown that it’s part of her personality. And if she really didn’t care about the rivalry thing, then why does she bring it up all the time? And why doesn’t she ever show us that she doesn’t care? She only ever says she doesn’t, but then never tries to show her friends that she likes the people on the other side, or hang out with them or anything. She sticks up for Brandon a couple of times, weakly, but won’t tell them that she likes him. And she is so superficial. Every time she describes the boys, and why she likes them, and why she should like Nash, it’s about their looks. They’re both so hot, and sexy, and they have chiseled abs, and Nash is on some sports team and everyone likes him. Nash is confident, and Brandon is nice; that’s pretty much the only personality descriptions we get about them, ever, which tells us nothing, really.

And her friends. My god, was I annoyed with them. They’re supposedly there for her, and yet are constantly pushing her toward Nash, who is a jerk. They don’t care that she doesn’t like them, but tell her that she’s happier around him and that she should just forgive him already. Nash is just a pissy jerk who needs to get over himself.

I didn’t mind Brandon, but I didn’t really have any strong feelings for him, either. He likes Celeste for some reason, and he worries about her safety, but he’s not controlling about it. He deals with the whole Eastside/Westside thing rather well, even though he has reason to be more upset about it.

Everyone at Celeste’s school only care about what side of town they’re from and how they look. And Celeste and her friends go to meet the town psychic, and the psychic is pretty much a huge despicable fake; that’s all I have to say about her. And, again, Nash is just a huge jerk that only cares about what everyone else thinks.

Another of my big problems with this, is the writing. It’s easy to get through, but it’s not very pretty, or scenic, or nice, and it's repetitive. It’s constantly telling the reader everything instead of showing them. Like telling us that someone is frustrated or is saying something 'seductively', but not showing us how we should know that. And the kissing scenes are just pathetic in detail.

And pretty much everything about the book is childish. The town rivalry is dumb, Celeste’s thoughts on everything is superficial and not at all mature, how everyone has to be in love and falls into it so easily is childish, and the way the Brandon gets bitten and turned into a wolf is stupid and not believable at all. There’s barely any mythological work here at all.

I can say that I was expecting him to already be a werewolf, so that was a nice surprise, but I don’t see how being bitten by a real wolf and then getting kissed under the full moon is supposed to change you into a werewolf, and one that stands on two feet and can talk and is just a bit more hairy than normal, at that. Plus, why does he change on the nights when the moon looks full? It’s not full, that's a different thing. And why isn’t he dangerous, at all? And why couldn’t he remember any of it until he got kissed again? None of it makes any sense to me.

The whole love thing is in both series, I believe. The fact that, as soon as you're dating someone, and sometimes even when you're not, that you're in love. Her friends are in love with their boyfriends, no matter how long they've been together, because they look happy. And Celeste is bothered by the fact that she's not in love with Nash, but is falling in love with Brandon. Because falling in love happens so easy and fast, right? It's an immediate thing, and it's such an important part in your life. Right?

Also, it bothers me that this is such an immature, childish book, and yet words like 'sexy' are used constantly. That's a bit of an unsettling contrast right there. And it's a tiny bit sexist, too. Like how Celeste points out that Nash is a bit cowardly, among other things. I probably wouldn't have noticed this too much, but I read a review (a very good review, with a low rating) that mentioned it, so I paid more attention, and it is there.

It’s safe to say that I am probably not going to be reading the next book. I just had too many problems with this one, and while I am mildly curious to see what happens, I don’t plan on buying the next book. Or borrowing it.

Review: Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

4.5 of 5 Stars

Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.

Goodreads Synopsis:

The thrilling conclusion to #1 bestselling Shiver trilogy from Maggie Stievater
In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. In Linger, they fought to be together. Now, in Forever, the stakes are even higher than before. Wolves are being hunted. Lives are being threatened. And love is harder and harder to hold on to as death comes closing in.

Review:

The prologue of this book was misleading. It's in Shelby's point of view and it made me think that she was adding even more character chapters. I was confused at first, but glad when I realized that this isn't true. After that chapter, it's Grace's point of view. And we find out that she's been a wolf for a while, and Stiefvater is practically teasing us as we wait for her and Sam to get to see each other. And then in Isabel's chapter how long it's been since the end of the last book, and that apparently she hasn't been talking to Cole either. And we find out that Cole has been leaving her messages that are funny and sad. And Sam has been dealing with Cole and with trying to find out how to fix and find Grace while missing her.

I love all of these characters even more now. They are all so different from each other, with their own voices and problems.

Isabel is harsh at nature, and she's trying to resist Cole and deal with her family. We see her get closer to her family some, mostly her mother, while staying away from her father until she decides to stick up for the wolves. And I love seeing her fall for Cole, and get emotional over him as she tries not to. I like also that she doesn't put up some huge wall between them or do some big denial thing, she just tries to stay away from him and reverts to being harsh.

Cole is still dealing with Victor's death and his family, and slowly finding that he doesn't want to lose himself completely. It's nice seeing him become not so self-destructive as he finds that he prefers being Cole to being Wolf. And his attraction to Isabel is nice. He doesn't seem to think about it a lot, and instead we get all the scenes in her point of view, but it's obvious how he feels by what he does around her, and he's always the first one to make a move.

Sam is such a sweetheart. He has to deal with Beck and how he might not know him as well as he thought, and with Grace. We get most of the romantic moments in his point of view, which is just so cute. He thinks about her so much, missing her and wanting her, and it's so obvious how much he loves her. And he gets so embarrassed around her, it is so cute.

Grace is dealing with her parents and friends and being a wolf. I like that her parents take a role in the series, because parents don't as much as they should sometimes, but they are just so unreasonable sometimes. Mostly her dad. It's good that she's standing up for herself, it's nice to see how she's grown up from running away from them.

I just love the romantic aspect of the book. It's obvious how much Sam and Grace love each other, and it's so sweet and true. There isn't a lot of actual kissing, at least, not enough of it for me, but with how Sam and Grace are affected by each other and how much they think of each other, definitely ups the swoon for me. They're just so cute together.

There's some swoon between Isabel and Cole, but they're kind of a side story to Sam and Grace. There's still definitely an attraction, and obviously something growing between them even more than the last book. There's also a bit of kissing, which is cute, and also not enough to sate me. There's seemed more of a relationship still growing, whereas Sam and Grace's was already there and obvious.

I'm a little skeptical to how the scientific parts were explained, and how the supposed mostly-cure works, but I'll live with it. And the ending is a little open. It doesn't give as much closure to everything as I'd have liked. I'm going to forever believe that it worked for Grace and her and Sam live happily ever after, or at least mostly. And that Cole followed Isabel, if maybe after a while as they talk long distance, because I don't want them to separate and believe they wouldn't be for too long. I do believe, though, that the relocation would have worked.

Despite it being open, I do think it's a pretty good ending and I rather enjoyed the book. Even if I'd have liked some more kissing scenes, or just more scenes between them all later. Because I love the characters so much.

Review: Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

4 of 5 Stars

Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Grace and Sam share a kinship so close they could be lovers or siblings. But they also share a problem. When the temperature slips towards freezing, Sam reverts to his wolf identity and must retreat into the woods to protect his pack. He worries that eventually his human side will fade away and he will be left howling alone at the lonely moon. A stirring supernatural teen romance

Review: 

I read this a while ago, so I am probably forgetting some things. Plus, I've read the second books, so that one's more clear in my head than the first.

I did really like it, though. It was the first book of Maggie's that I read, and I was caught from the beginning. I was intrigued by the synopsis on the back and that didn't lessen any when I started reading it. I love her writing style. It's very lyrical and pretty, calm and exciting. I've read more of her books now, and it just gets better, prettier. Her characters are very different. I usually like reading from different points of view, and she does it very well. And she creates such interesting worlds in her books, and I love how she created her wolves in this one.

I like how her wolves are actual wolves when in that form and actual people when human. It kind of bothers me that they supposedly turn into wolves in the winter and are affected by weather. It is kind of believable, and it bothers me as it should because of how it doesn't work for Grace and Sam. Mostly, as I usually do with books, I accepted it and moved on. The end, though, didn't make much sense to me. It seemed like a cheesy, cop out type of ending. I hadn't really processed that there was going to be a second book, though, when I first read it. I thought of that as the actual ending. Now that I've read the second book, I realize and understand that there's more to the story and am very happy about it.

I didn't get much of a feel for Grace or Sam in this book, actually. Not that I can remember, at least. I enjoyed reading them, and I'm pretty sure that I wasn't paying enough attention and not that the author didn't write them out very well. I remember that Grace was interesting, and I did like what I read of her. And Sam I might have actually enjoyed more, because how he thinks and with his wolf problem on his mind, I know that I liked his chapters. I don't particularly remember any of the side characters, none of them stuck out, and they got mixed up in my mind.

I did feel their connection even from the beginning of the book. I felt why Grace was attracted to Sam, was pulled to him and wanted to be close to him. It made sense to me and I liked it. I never got the creepy feeling that other people apparently did. It seemed very sweet and natural to me.

Even with it a little blurry in my mind, I really enjoyed it and it got me sucked into reading more. My review of the second book, Linger, will be up soon. Probably later in the week.