Review: Once in a Full Moon by Ellen Schreiber

Title: Once in a Full Moon
Author: Ellen Schreiber
Publisher: Harper Collins
Publish Date: December 28, 2010
Pages: 189 (Kindle edition)

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. 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. Brandon may be Celeste’s hero, or he may be the most dangerous creature she could encounter in the woods of Legend’s Run.

The bestselling Vampire Kisses author, Ellen Schreiber, weaves together psychic predictions, generations-old secrets, a town divided, and the possibility of falling in love with a hot and heroic werewolf—the perfect formula for what happens... once in a full moon.

From Goodreads

To be honest, I wasn't entirely sure how I felt about this book when I finished it. The story was good: short and sweet, and it was a different take on werewolves compared to the ones I've recently read.

The part I did not enjoy, however, was the writing. I felt as if there were too many words being repeated and like the vocabulary was not very diverse. The author would use the same words to describe the same things, over and over, and I found it tiring and boring at times. Also, the dialogue did not sound like the way teenagers actually talk. It felt too proper and almost fake a lot of the time.

Once I was able to get used to the writing and actually focus on the story, I enjoyed it. I could really feel how Celeste was feeling about being caught between her friends and the boy she loves. It really puts a strain on her because she doesn't want to lose her friends. I really liked the way Schreiber never made Celeste deliberately lie to her friends while hiding things from them. She would evade questions and tell half-truths, but never full-out lied, and that made me happy.

I won't put any spoilers here, but the end of the story was Oh-My-God! It was such a major cliff-hanger, I was almost angry. I sometimes like cliff-hangers, but this was one a little awkward. It ended really abruptly and I was confused as to whether it was the actual end of the book or not. I had to re-read the last chapter again because I thought I'd missed something. I didn't, though. I quickly looked up if Once in a Full Moon was part of a series, and it is the first in the Full Moon series. So, I guess I'll just have to read the next one, too, to see what happens.

Thanks to Net Galley and Harper Collins for the digital ARC!