Born at Midnight - C.C. Hunter

Welcome to Shadow Falls camp, nestled deep in the woods of a town called Fallen…
One night Kylie Galen finds herself at the wrong party, with the wrong people, and it changes her life forever.  Her mother ships her off to Shadow Falls—a camp for troubled teens, and within hours of arriving, it becomes painfully clear that her fellow campers aren’t just “troubled.”  Here at Shadow Falls, vampires, werewolves, shapshifters, witches and fairies train side by side—learning to harness their powers, control their magic and live in the normal world.
Kylie’s never felt normal, but surely she doesn’t belong here with a bunch of paranormal freaks either.  Or does she?  They insist Kylie is one of them, and that she was brought here for a reason.  As if life wasn’t complicated enough, enter Derek and Lucas.  Derek’s a half-fae who’s determined to be her boyfriend, and Lucas is a smokin’ hot werewolf with whom Kylie shares a secret past.  Both Derek and Lucas couldn’t be more different, but they both have a powerful hold on her heart. 
Even though Kylie feels deeply uncertain about everything, one thing is becoming painfully clear—Shadow Falls is exactly where she belongs…


Why I Read It
It's about a summer camp for teens that's populated completely by supernatural beings--vampires, werewolves, fairies, the whole she-bang!  Also, I'm pretty sure this was another 2011 YA debut, so I wanted it for The Story Siren's challenge.

What I <3'd
Kylie, the main character, is a "troubled" teen (she's really not, she just keeps getting caught up in bad situations) that's going through some pretty tough times right now.  Her grandmother has just passed away, her boyfriend has dumped her, her best friend might be pregnant, and her parents are getting a divorce.  Oh yeah, and she has a stalker that no one else can see, so she's being shuffled first off to a shrink, and then, when she's caught at a party where there's drugs, her parents decide the shrink isn't enough, and send her off to summer camp.  The only problem is that the rest of the campers are freaks...literally. 
Encountering vampires and werewolves and witches and so on for the first time in her life, I thought Kylie has a very believable first reaction...disbelief.  Then, when it's proven to her that, yes, these things are real and she is one of them, I really liked the fact that Kylie really doesn't know what she is (and continues to maintain the hope that she really isn't a supernatural) and that she isn't perfect.  She doesn't suddenly come into her powers or make guys fall in love with her.  She's a lot more believable.  And while there is a love triangle, I enjoyed her interactions with the guys she was interested in, and the fact that she was interested in each of them for different reasons.
The characters were great.  I loved the campers, but I especially loved her forever-bickering roommates and Kylie's reaction to them, and their growing friendship.
All in all, a very fun paranormal read.

What I Didn't <3
The only thing I didn't love was that it was a little hard to keep track of the characters, because there were so many introduced all at once.  But other than that, nothing that I could really hold against it.

GEEKOUT Moment (no spoilers)
The unicorn.  Also, the kitten (the one that was once a unicorn).  Also, "stealing Big-Macs"...best metaphor ever.

This was a really fun read, and a great start to a new YA paranormal series.  I can't wait for book two, and this one is only coming out today!

Go get it.  You won't regret it.

Happy Reading!

-geekgirl

Comments

  1. Loved this book too! Can't wait for the next one!

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  2. I really want to read this! If I'm lucky enough to win your contest I might have to choose this one. Great review; I love fun reads!

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