Ellen Schreiber

I am the sort of person who cannot not finish a book series no matter how much I may dislike reading it/ dread doing so/ no matter how many times I hold my head in my hands thinking to myself, "What in the world am I doing to myself?!?" and this is very much the case for author Ellen Schreiber's books. I was first introduced to Ellen as an author when "Vampire Kisses" (the first book in the "Vampire Kisses" series) was first released way back when. Since then I have read the other 8 books in show more the series. These books are possibly the most cliche-ridden vampire books ever and they contain everything that I hate about YA novels (love triangles, love at first sight, "I would rather die than live without you", overall mindlessness, and all of that jazz) but for some gosh darn reason I CAN'T HELP MYSELF! If I were to go to Chapters and see that they had these books in the bargain section for like $5/piece I would (without any thought) pick them up and buy then! So what does this mean? Ellen Schreiber: 1, Avery: 0.

Could you say that her books are my guilty pleasure? Totally.

"Once in a Full Moon" does not disappoint with Ellen's typical cliche-ness. We have a jerkface jocky boyfriend who doesn't appreciate his girlfriend until he is about to lose her, said girlfriend doesn't really have a personality and appears to be solely defined by the boys in her life (aka so that any girl could imagine herself in her place a la Bella Swan) and who happens to be torn when a second boy comes along and she feels herself falling for him DESPITE the fact that he is a complete stranger and she knows nothing about him (save for the fact that he is drop dead gorgeous).

Here are some of the most memorable lines from the story, in my opinion, which I thought I would share/ analyze:

"I couldn't tell him that I was writing down his name next to lips and hearts" (pg. 120).

Ummm... Celeste, you just met this boy and have had what? A total of one conversation with him? Plus... The boy whose name you keep writing over and over again? Yeah- he ain't your boyfriend! What would your boyfriend think of you writing some other boys name all over your stuff?

"Then he stepped out from behind the tree. Brandon's short wavy hair was now savagely wild and shoulder-length. His normally clean-shaven face sported a goatee. His once-smooth chest was now lined with a thin layer of hair. His stomach was as ripped as an Olympic swimmer's, and his biceps were cut like a triathlete's. His eyes were a gorgeous gray. He was breathing heavy, as if he'd run a marathon" (pg. 138).

Wow... "... stomach was as ripped as an Olympic swimmer's"? "... biceps were cut like a triathlete's?" Of course Celeste cannot help herself! Boy is one sexy werewolf! ;)

"My heart broke. I'd finally fallen in love, and I wasn't able to be with the person I'd fallen in love with. It felt as if he were being shipped off to an overseas boarding school never to return" (pg. 181).

This may potentially be the funniest line of the entire book. Oh the horrors! Being sent to an overseas boarding school!

Or hows about this little gem? What does it sound completely like? "Twilight's" infamous quote: "About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him-and I didn’t know how potent that part might be-that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him." You bet!

"I'd managed to keep three classified secrets: one, that Brandon Maddox had rescued me from the wolves; two, that I was in love with him; and three, the Westsider I was in love with might possibly be a werewolf" (pg. 171).

All in all? If you are looking for a fun/ somewhat silly read then this is is a must read for you... I would recommend Ellen's books for to those occupying the lower ages of the YA spectrum or to those who love "Twilight", I think that they would be really pleased by them/ love them. Me? Not so much. And if you are looking for something more serious? Well, don't even bother with these. show less

The art is well done here, and that is half the battle, isn't it? The story is almost a caricature of itself--Raven is the penultimate goth-girl, and Alex Sterling the quintissential handsome and artistic undead.

"Even I believed it after I met him and fell in love with his dark, soulful eyes, so dreamy yet sad. After all, the proof was there. He was never seen in daylight, he had covered mirrors in his basement, and he told me he wanted a relationship he could 'really sink his teeth into.'"

show more The mystery here is thin, but entertaining, and the story moves so quickly there isn't too much time for complaining about the thinness of the plot. After the Twilight series, nearly everything is going to seem derivative, anyway, isn't it? This is sort of like the 21st century version of Archie and Jughead, really--they had even less of a plot, and we all ate them up (pun intended!). show less

Ah, yes. Another throwback from my teen years - Kissing Coffins, the second book in the marvelous Vampire Kisses series.

Just a gentle reminder, these books are Young Adult novels with young, lovely characters who act like immature kids (because, they are YOUNG). If you're looking for a True Blood or Game of Thrones level of maturity, you've come to the wrong place.

As a teen, these books were my LIFE. They were a big part of my high school years and I was madly in love with them. I wanted to show more find my own Alexander and live in a big, spooky house. I idolized Raven and her style (because, let's be honest, she was my inner self). At the time, these books made so much sense - young mistakes, young love, lots of young fun! Reading them as my older self, obviously I wouldn't make the same decisions as Raven because I have life experience. But I believe Ellen did a really good job of making Raven feel like a real teen. Well, a real teen from my timeline.

That being said, this book is a lot of fun, full of goofiness and full of adorable romance. Alexander and Raven are a really cute couple and they really deserved the many books they got in this series. I found this series was a lot more fun to binge read then read alone. I wanted the story to keep going because I was so addicted. Not every reader has found this to be true, but I sure did! I love escaping into a YA like this series, and sinking into a fun, not totally realistic book. Did anyone really expect a vampire romance to be realistic? This series is like a vampire, soap opera for teens! It's excellent.

My biggest con for this series was at the time of my initial reading, I had to actually WAIT for the next series in the book. Oh man, was it frustrating. I'm glad I can jump back into this series as an adult and read it all in a row like I dreamed of back in the day. Other than that, I found this book to be fun and flawless! I love Ellen and her books!

Five out of five stars! show less

This is one of my fave throwbacks to my teen years - Ellen Schreiber and her Vampire Kisses series. To say I was obsessed with this series is an absolute understatement. Recently, I picked this book up again and decided to throw myself into this series, and I still love it!

This series is full of cute-sy YA romance with Alexander and Raven. The book is written for a younger audience, but if you're like me and love sinking away into a fantastical world then it will be no issue to you. If show more you're expecting a "True Blood-esque" novel, then you've come to the wrong place.

The fourth book in this series, Dance with a Vampire, continues Alexander and Raven's epic love story. Except, this time around we've got more crazy antics that the pair have to deal with. Valentine is now up to her trouble, making it seem impossible for our love birds to have a happy ending.

A note for the reader: These books are relatively short, which makes them a fun, sweet, and smooth read. It's really easy to binge all of these books in a day if you have the nerve to. I read the first four books (back in the day) on a bus ride to a school swim meet. I re-read these books many times because of how short and fun they were. So, it's not a big time commitment if you read these babies one by one.

Final note: The manga version of this series was one of the first mangas I ever read and made me fall in love with that "genre" (is genre the right word? Probably not). The pictures were beautiful, the story was magical and I'm glad it got me so into reading! Thank you Ellen for being one of my early reading addictions. Hopefully I'll find some more newer books by her soon! Her writing just vibes well with my reading style.

I'd highly recommend these books. They are on the younger side of YA, but they are funny, sassy and absolutely adorable. My biggest con for this whole series was that it ended! I loved each book and I really want more by this author. So many YA novels take themselves way to seriously and try to make the teen be an adult. This series makes Raven be a fun, young girl who makes mistakes along the way (but she somehow gets an epic romance out of it).

Five out of five stars! show less