Book Shelf: Born at Midnight (Shadow Falls #1) by C.C. Hunter

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…

Blurb from Goodreads.....

Review:

C.C Hunter creates a fun, mysterious, captivating tale with her debut novel. Shadow Falls is a world I was drawn into from the very beginning and no matter what I did this book just wouldn’t let me go!
Going into this book I’d heard all kinds of great things about it, but I never expected to love it as much as I ended up loving it. I finished it in less than two days and every time I was reading it I just didn’t want to stop. It was a fight to put the book down at times.
The thing is though, that there’s nothing overly unique or extraordinary about this book, and yet that’s what I think makes it such a great read. The characters and the story are so normal, there’s no action packed storyline going on 24/7 or endless drama, but the characters, the story and the mystery that surrounds this book still managed to captivate me regardless. The idea of this story and the camp isn’t anything out there, but the way it all flows and even the way C.C Hunter writes manages to create something that is so addictive.

There are so many characters in this book, that at times it is confusing, especially at the beginning, but this really does add an aura of authenticity to the story. It’s set in a camp and what does a camp have? Tonnes and tonnes of different individuals with different personalities and different purposes and that’s what we have here. Each and every character.....from Kylie’s two roomies Miranda and Della, who I just loved by the way, to her love interests Derek and Lucas to Perry and Helen and Holiday the camp counsellor, are just so fresh and fun and add real flavour to the story. Honestly, I can’t get enough of these fantastic characters. They make me wish I was attending Shadow Falls!
As for the main character, wow, I thought she was brilliant! Kylie is such a regular, normal girl. She has her flaws, her faults and she spends the majority of this book in denial, denial, denial, but there’s just something about her that is so likeable. She’s the kind of girl you can relate to. The kind of girl-next-door gal that you can see, either as yourself or as your best friend. Kylie’s not overly brave or tough, but is instead finding herself and learning who she is, not only as a supernatural, but a person. It’s so nice to discover a MC that you actually care about. One that you actually want to see do well and not just because she’s the MC and you need that to happen in order for the storyline to move forward.

The male leads in this book are wonderful. With sexy half fae Derek and smokin’ werewolf Lucas, Kylie certainly is spoiled for choices. Both male leads are tough and brilliant and it’s really hard to know who is a better option for Kylie. Personally, I think they’re both great choices and I certainly wouldn’t want to be in Kylie’s shoes (or would I?) but if I was completely honest here, there is a part of me, the bigger part that screams, “Lucas, Lucas, Lucas!” and I am inclined to agree with that side. Some of the things Lucas did for Kylie....they’re just too cute for words. While I think Kylie and Derek could have great potential--he’s kind and understanding and sexy too--if Lucas wasn't in the picture, I just don’t see the same spark that Kylie and Lucas have.
I can certainly see Kylie having a difficult time in future books with her feelings involving these two!

This story is mysterious and entertaining and I just couldn’t get enough of it. There are so many questions floating around about what Kylie is and about some of the other characters in this book. The ending isn’t necessarily a cliff-hanger, but it still left me wanting more.
This is a fantastic debut and first book in what I’m sure will be a fantastic series! Fans of Rachel Hawthorne’s Hex Hall and Kelley Armstrong’s Darkest Powers will love it and anyone who loves a good, fun tale will be lost to this book as they’re drawn into Kylie’s quest and world....

Rating: **** stars
Recommend: Yes!
Did I Buy, Borrow or is it an ARC: ARC from Pan Macmillan
Recommend Buy or Borrow: Buy
Ebook or Actual Book: Actual Book
Cover: The covers really nice, mysterious and I love the purple foiling of it
Read sequel/continue with series: Oh, yes!

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