Born at Midnight by C.C. Hunter

Release Date: 29th March, 2011

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Pages: 416pgs

The Story

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, shapeshifters, witches and faeries 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 . . .

The Review

BORN AT MIDNIGHT, the fantastic debut novel in C.C. Hunter's Shadow Falls series, was beyond addictive and a very engaging read. I wanted to read this book for ages and I admit I was one of those readers who was a little turned off by the mentioning of vampires and werewolves, since we have enough of them already in young adult fiction. Twilight. Nightshade. Shiver. You name it and it has been done. However, if you're like me, do NOT hold off reading this book any longer because it surprised me completely, especially with its refreshing idea - of that being the idea of putting a group of supernaturals together in a camp. Now I've never seen that done before and it was done beautifully. In a fun way.

Kylie, the leading star of this novel, was a great heroine, because she's much stronger than she cares to admit. She goes through a lot of stages of craziness and supernatural culture shock, and with the knowledge of she's not what she thinks she is, she still manages to hold it all together. She has many questions inside her mind but continues to adapt to this whole new world she is introduced to and takes in everything like a brave girl that she is.

Now there isn't a single young adult book without some romance, a love triangle and the forming teams of fictional boys. In BORN AT MIDNIGHT, you can be either Team Derek - the friendly boy with deep green eyes and wants to be more than just 'friendly' - or you can be Team Lucas - the dangerous, the sexy, the mysterious bad boy that can be sensitive and super sweet. When it comes down to both of the boys, they share equal chemistry with our leading girl, Kylie. Mind you there is some angst in Kylie's love interests. But who doesn't love LOVE some teenager angst in their lives? After devouring this book in one sitting, I'm still unsure which team I'm on. I switched all the time with Derek and Lucas because both of the boys were so different, so appealing and so yummy eye-candy worthy. As for Kylie and her internal struggle over the boys, the big question is: Who will she pick? I hope a final decision within the course of this series will be made and I'm sure it will. Though while I love Derek but I'm more rooting for Lucas's team but then again, I might change my mind again when I read the sequel.

Overall, there was a large number of characters and supernaturals in the book, and I assure all readers that you will love and adore them. The good, the bad, and the crazy. If you haven't read this book yet . . . then it's an absolute MUST if you're a paranormal fan freak like me or love some boys with some secrets and like hanging on the dangerous side. With C.C. Hunter's simple, clear writing style and a part-camp/part-forest scenery, BORN AT MIDNIGHT totally rocked my world and I can't wait to get my hands on its sequel because I have so many questions forming in my mind right now and I want to know what else is installed for Kylie and the rest of the gang!

The Rating

5/5 stars