Release Date: Out now!Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Pages: 380pgs
The Story
Step into Shadow Falls, a camp for teens with supernatural powers. Here friendship thrives, love takes you by surprise, and our hearts possess the greatest magic of all.
Kylie Galen wants the truth so badly she can taste it. The truth about who her real family is, the truth about which boy she's meant to be with - and the truth about what her emerging powers mean. But she's about to discover that some secrets can change your life forever . . . and not always for the better.
Just when she and Lucas are finally getting close, she learns that his pack has forbidden them from being together. Was it a mistake to pick him over Derek? And it's not just romance troubling Kylie. An amnesia-stricken ghost is haunting her, delivering the frightful warning, someone lives and someone dies. As Kylie races to unravel the mystery and protect those she loves, she finally unlocks the truth about her supernatural identity, which is far different - and more astonishing - than she ever imagined.
The Review
TAKEN AT DUSK is the much anticipated third installment of C.C. Hunter's Shadow Falls series. Now I've been a big fan of this young adult series for a while now - like so many others out there loving these super-duper YA books - and while the last sequel didn't exactly live up to my expectations, but this next installment right here certainly doesn't disappoint readers on the entertaining side of things. However with that being said, I still found that this book wasn't the strongest one as of yet nor a favourite of mine but I'll deal with it.
Honestly there's still a lot to like in this book: the budding romances, the cutesy friendships, the family mysteries, the action sequences and of course that big-bang of a revelation that is revealed towards the end of the book concerning the main character (one I was a bit shocked by), but for some reason in the back of my mind, I thought this particular book had a somewhat different feel to it compared to the other two predecessors and I didn't particularly like this different feel. In other words . . . it lacked in certain elements to satisfy me.
One of these elements it lacked was firstly the storyline. While the flow of the story follows the exact same pacing as the previous two novels - both awesome and appealing to all those paranormal readers out there, although this time I found there was so much more happening in TAKEN AT DUSK and at times it was rather hard to keep up with all of these events that was going on. I mean, there was a lot to take on board. Also on a side note, some of these 'events' were too rushed in my opinion and I didn't necessarily see the reason behind why there were written there in that way if you get my meaning. Secondly, the element of characters was something the story lacked also and I had trouble with them which is rather disappointing considering I love these characters so, so much and they are very dear to my heart. So for the supporting characters in particular, I'm happy to say I have no real trouble with them whatsoever because they offer so much comedy to the story and I love them to bits, but sadly it was just the main characters, Kylie, Derek and Lucas, that really hit me hard with a lot of woo-hah full of drama. Too much drama in fact.
I will admit that Kylie as a main character has grown up a lot from books one and up until now. But just when I thought she was going to mature like she had done in the previous sequel . . . she goes straight back to her worst qualities, which including one with how she deals with boys. For sure, her boys, Lucas and Derek, have so much going for them - what with their pretty little faces, their charming little egos and their protective little natures - but Kylie should've chosen between these two boys by now because it's so unfair to them! You know, tossing the coin between them and giving them even more reasons to fight over her . . . it's like Twilight all over again I'm sad to say. But don't worry readers, have some faith because I still love Kylie as a heroine and she's no Bella, but the boy issues must be dealt with as soon as possible because I'm frustrated here. Clearly.
This now leads me to the one and only Lucas and dude I was totally on your team man but now I'm forever on Team Derek unless you convince me otherwise in the next book. For Lucas fans out there, he just peeved me off in this book (I know it's totally crazy because I loved him) and while I understand his aggressiveness and possessiveness already comes from his werewolf nature, but dude . . . let Kylie do what she wants to do (even if it means her having the hots for the lovely Derek) and let her have some space for once (even if it means her having hottie times with the lovely Derek) because a girl who has no idea who she is needs that space more than you will ever know. I mean, there's only so much hot-headed-ness that I can handle. But with Derek . . . now you are truly the only highlight for me in this book! The only redemption. You're so damn calm all the time which freaks me out and I love you for keeping your cool non-stop throughout this book. While Kylie may mistreat our Derek in this book - at least that's what I thought when I was reading scenes exchanged between them - mostly because he 'apparently' hit it off with some other girl, but that's probably the main reason why I didn't like Kylie all so much in this installment because she still acts like her and Derek are still together even though they're not. But moving on, Derek . . . I seriously love you with all my heart man and I can't wait to see what you bring out up onto the table! And Lucas . . . down boy! DOWN!
Overall, TAKEN AT DUSK may not have been the clear standout of the series so far but it will most definitely not be the last book I'll read of C.C. Hunter's because she can write a great young adult book with just the right amount of paranormal and romantic elements. If you're a fan of this series already, then you'll love this book no matter what, and even if you're one of those readers who has yet picked up this book series, then I highly recommend that you start this one very, very soon! They're great reads with lot's of hot boys around the corner! Yes Derek, I'm talking to you!
The Rating
3 1/2 / 5 stars
