Recommended with Caution

This is the second book in the Full Moon trilogy. There is a lot of lunch room angst in this book. Celeste is keeping Brandon a secret from her friends. Ivy and Abby are working really hard to get her back together with Nash. Nash is blackmailing Brandon and Celeste because he saw Brandon’s transformation into a werewolf. Celeste insists on punishing herself and goes back to the psychic for a reading. Every time she goes for a reading, it’s more bad news. Brandon’s dad creates a serum to cure lycanthropy and it needs to be taken during the full moon. In the meantime, Nash gets bitten by a pack of wolves and he turns into a werewolf. Brandon is willing to give up the cure so that Nash can return to normal. There is a slight risk with the cure. Either you return to normal or you stay in werewolf form forever.

This book is definitely a continuation from the first book. The cover art is appealing and each chapter starts with a full moon background. The story plods along and the dialogue remains stilted. There are parts that are hard to read without cringing at the ridiculousness of the situation. The romance is mild and there is no offensive language. There is no talk of sex or drugs/alcohol. I would still put this in more of a middle school library because I think high school students would get bored.

This book would just be an addition to a school library if there is extra money in the budget. I would not recommend this series to a classroom teacher. It is just for fun reading. I agree with the other professional reviews that I found for this book. ( )

I had to stop after reading: "I wanted to bring something special for my hot carnivore". I couldn't stomach it anymore. I enjoyed the first book, but this one just tanked. Won't be reading the rest of the series.

I tried to read this book two or three times. I should have known better as I barely got through the first book in this series. It was just too slow and boring. It was like the story kept looping back around itself instead of going forward. The characters took forever to do anything and were so wishy-washy in their decisions that it was just annoying. Eventually, I just gave up. ( )

I really like this cute and entertaining series by Ellen Schreiber. The first book left off with Celeste's ex- boyfriend Nash finding out her new boyfriend Brandon's secret. Brandon is a werewolf. In "Magic of the Moonlight", the story takes up right where the first installment left off. Celeste and Brandon have to deal with the consequences to Nash knowing the big secret. Nash is prepared to use it as a bargaining chip. Celeste needs to start dating him again or he will out Brandon to the entire school. Brandon tries to find a way to get an antidote and agrees that he and Celeste should keep their relationship a secret for now. And Celeste deals with the guilt she feels in keeping the secret from her best friends Abby and Ivy.

I like Celeste a lot. I think she is a strong character. She judges right from wrong and she tries to do the right thing even when it's hard. Later on in this book she makes a bad decision that I felt was out of character for her. Since she has stood up to consequences so often and even if her friends got mad at her this decision felt really wrong. Still in a book world filling with wishy- washy heroines, I think Celeste is very refreshing.

I would like to see Brandon filled out more as a character. He is made to sound so perfect that it would be nice to see him get jealous or really mad. Really just to see him do anything to show he is a real person. Nash is more realistic. He does bad things but he isn't a bad guy. He believes his motives are pure. I also appreciated that everything wasn't all roses and rainbows when Brandon's dad found out his son's situation. This series could benefit from a little more depth and characterization all around.

This series is not a deep and dark one. The vampires in Schrieber's Vampire Kisses novels were similarly drawn. Readers of that series would probably really like this one. The werewolves here are more like wolfmen in the old movies. They still retain the human shape but get extra furry and grow fangs. It is actually a unique concept as far as how werewolves are portrayed in modern books. (A very unique non-unique idea, I guess). I am an adult and I think they are fun, breezy reads. I think younger teens would do well with these books. They would be a nice, fun, safe introduction to paranormal novels for those readers. ( )

Schreiber continues Celeste and Brandon’s story in Magic of the Moonlight. While this author promises a sweet little romance; I struggle with the lack of depth to the story. The plot thickens in this second installment, and Celeste and Brandon themselves in a fighting for one another. This is a fast and effortless read that would be good for the younger ages. While I find this to be a good read; it is not a novel that I would see myself revisiting. ( )