Born at Midnight: Shadow Falls, Book 1

[...]There's nothing like a delicious YA novel to get you through an otherwise stressful time. So, while I was neck-high in exam revision, I clung desperately onto the lifeboat of C.C. Hunter's "Born at Midnight", the first book of the "Shadow Falls" series. This book was on my recommended books list on my Kindle, so I decided to give it a go after seeing the good reviews. Plus, the title itself sounds pretty juicy, doesn't it?Sixteen-year-old Kylie Galen doesn't drink or do drugs. Heck, the farthest she's ever gone is kiss her now-ex-boyfriend Trey. When she's caught at the wrong party with the wrong people, Kylie finds herself whisked away to Shadow Falls Camp, a camp for troubled teens nestled deep in the woods of a town called Fallen. But within hours of arriving, Kylie becomes painfully aware that her campmates aren't just troubled. Instead, she's surrounded by vampires, werewolves, witches, fairies and shapeshifters who are trying to learn to control their magic and live in the human world. Kylie's never felt entirely normal, but she sure isn't a paranormal freak either. Or is she? As if that wasn't enough, Kylie finds herself drawn to both Derek and Lucas, a half-fae and a werewolf who couldn't be more different, but have a powerful hold on her heart. But with all her uncertainties, Kylie soon becomes certain of one thing: Shadow Falls is exactly where she belongs.If you just read the synopsis, it becomes pretty darn obvious that there's one serious love triangle going on between Kylie, Derek and Lucas. Unfortunately, I felt like this time, it was one of those love triangles where you end up finding the girl stuck in the middle incredibly annoying. Sure, Derek and Lucas are both good lookin' and warm and mysterious in their own ways, but that doesn't mean she has to make out with both of them! Oh, and it gets worse. Instead of just having two boys like any normal YA heroine, Kyle has three! So she ends up kissing Derek, Lucas and Trey. Kylie sure gets around. And while she does (sort of) try to stop herself so that she can sort out her feelings, she just doesn't exactly seem to care whoever she ends up making out with. Now don't get me wrong, Kylie's a sweet girl who's a pretty realistic teenaged character, but sometimes you gotta draw the line with these boys! What I think especially emphasized the whole annoying-player vibe with Kylie was that there hadn't really been enough build-up between any of the potential couplings to make the development of their relationships really believable. Instead, it was the boys just flocking towards Kylie for some reason, and that was that!Wow, that was a long rant. But it's not as bad as I may have made it out to be, trust me! She just kisses too many guys in a 400-page span. Other than that, "Born at Midnight" is a great book to read. I like the idea of a camp for paranormal teens. It kind of reminds me of Percy Jackson and Camp Halfblood, except with vampires and other things that go bump in the night. The characters are really fun to read about, especially the friendship between Kylie, Miranda and Della. The three seem to get into such amusing situations, like the perverted piano teacher who turns into a toad whenever he thinks inappropriate thoughts! The way their friendship developed was sweet and believable, and you can tell that they'll always have each others' backs, no matter how many times they bicker or tease each other.The plot of "Born at Midnight" can best be described as introductory. There's a lot of Kylie getting used to the idea of paranormals and trying to figure out who and what she is, and establishment of different characters and their personalities. In terms of tension in the storyline, I feel like there wasn't much of a climax or real action-y plot to follow. Instead, we read about Kylie and her friends at Shadow Falls Camp. The ending, however, definitely suggests that there'll be more antics and possibly a bigger picture to things, and hopefully the next books in the series will have some thrilling adventures of sorts.Overall, "Born at Midnight" is a fun start to the "Shadow Falls" series, with a nice cast of characters (despite the easy-lipped heroine) and build-up for some potential excitement and tension. I'd recommend this book to anyone looking for an easy YA read, or anyone who is head-over-heels in love with paranormal creatures.[...]There's nothing like a delicious YA novel to get you through an otherwise stressful time. So, while I was neck-high in exam revision, I clung desperately onto the lifeboat of C.C. Hunter's "Born at Midnight", the first book of the "Shadow Falls" series. This book was on my recommended books list on my Kindle, so I decided to give it a go after seeing the good reviews. Plus, the title itself sounds pretty juicy, doesn't it?Sixteen-year-old Kylie Galen doesn't drink or do drugs. Heck, the farthest she's ever gone is kiss her now-ex-boyfriend Trey. When she's caught at the wrong party with the wrong people, Kylie finds herself whisked away to Shadow Falls Camp, a camp for troubled teens nestled deep in the woods of a town called Fallen. But within hours of arriving, Kylie becomes painfully aware that her campmates aren't just troubled. Instead, she's surrounded by vampires, werewolves, witches, fairies and shapeshifters who are trying to learn to control their magic and live in the human world. Kylie's never felt entirely normal, but she sure isn't a paranormal freak either. Or is she? As if that wasn't enough, Kylie finds herself drawn to both Derek and Lucas, a half-fae and a werewolf who couldn't be more different, but have a powerful hold on her heart. But with all her uncertainties, Kylie soon becomes certain of one thing: Shadow Falls is exactly where she belongs.If you just read the synopsis, it becomes pretty darn obvious that there's one serious love triangle going on between Kylie, Derek and Lucas. Unfortunately, I felt like this time, it was one of those love triangles where you end up finding the girl stuck in the middle incredibly annoying. Sure, Derek and Lucas are both good lookin' and warm and mysterious in their own ways, but that doesn't mean she has to make out with both of them! Oh, and it gets worse. Instead of just having two boys like any normal YA heroine, Kyle has three! So she ends up kissing Derek, Lucas and Trey. Kylie sure gets around. And while she does (sort of) try to stop herself so that she can sort out her feelings, she just doesn't exactly seem to care whoever she ends up making out with. Now don't get me wrong, Kylie's a sweet girl who's a pretty realistic teenaged character, but sometimes you gotta draw the line with these boys! What I think especially emphasized the whole annoying-player vibe with Kylie was that there hadn't really been enough build-up between any of the potential couplings to make the development of their relationships really believable. Instead, it was the boys just flocking towards Kylie for some reason, and that was that!Wow, that was a long rant. But it's not as bad as I may have made it out to be, trust me! She just kisses too many guys in a 400-page span. Other than that, "Born at Midnight" is a great book to read. I like the idea of a camp for paranormal teens. It kind of reminds me of Percy Jackson and Camp Halfblood, except with vampires and other things that go bump in the night. The characters are really fun to read about, especially the friendship between Kylie, Miranda and Della. The three seem to get into such amusing situations, like the perverted piano teacher who turns into a toad whenever he thinks inappropriate thoughts! The way their friendship developed was sweet and believable, and you can tell that they'll always have each others' backs, no matter how many times they bicker or tease each other.The plot of "Born at Midnight" can best be described as introductory. There's a lot of Kylie getting used to the idea of paranormals and trying to figure out who and what she is, and establishment of different characters and their personalities. In terms of tension in the storyline, I feel like there wasn't much of a climax or real action-y plot to follow. Instead, we read about Kylie and her friends at Shadow Falls Camp. The ending, however, definitely suggests that there'll be more antics and possibly a bigger picture to things, and hopefully the next books in the series will have some thrilling adventures of sorts.Overall, "Born at Midnight" is a fun start to the "Shadow Falls" series, with a nice cast of characters (despite the easy-lipped heroine) and build-up for some potential excitement and tension. I'd recommend this book to anyone looking for an easy YA read, or anyone who is head-over-heels in love with paranormal creatures.Rating: 3.5/5

This story is almost eight years old. The same age my blog turns next month. As a matter of fact, I bought this book almost eight years ago. And it sat on my shelf waiting it's turn. And I really wish it hadn't have had to wait so long. Because it's a really good story. And I'm not the only one that feels that way. There are over 75K ratings and over 4K reviews on Goodreads for this book. It averages above 4 stars after EIGHT years. That's amazing. But I'm also glad I waited to read this story. Why? Let me tell you.First, I've been in slump. I'm not sure it was slump so much as a streak of reading meh books. I began to think it was me that had the issue and not all the really bad books I was reading. So I called it a slump. And I hid in the pages of old favorites to deal with my reading need. I was afraid to read a new book for fear it would be just as bad as everything else I'd read lately. Then I was wondering through the bookstore looking at YA books. And I found this book. This book that's eight years old. And I remember that I owned this book. And I went home and found it. And I got stuck in it's pages.Second, I'm really glad that the whole series is out and I can just beige read it. AND there's a spin off series I can dig into after that.Finally, it's clear I've just been reading the wrong books. I need to refocus my book choices to the things I really enjoy.You might wonder why this book is good. I'll tell you. It's got great characters. I love the struggle that Kylie is facing as she tries to deal with who she really is. I even love her indecision as she tries to decide which boy she likes. I actually really like both Derick and Lucas. I have a preference but I could be okay with either choice. Derick is there for her a lot. A good friend. Lucas has the mystery about him and he's not everything Kylie thinks he is. There's enough of a difference between them for her to be confused. I like that struggle. It feels real despite this book being paranormal.I'm a very character driven reader so it's important that I see the characters as real. But the story needs to be there too. It's not just the beginning of a story. There is a whole story here. Yeah, I want more. I have questions and the next book I read will be book two but this one ends in a good place. And the important threads of this book have answers. The mystery of who Kylie is evolves slowly and while there is no answer yet, a big question has been answered. There's nothing left that I'm growling about not being answered. It's clear they will be answered.The pacing felt like it was right for this story. Things unraveled as the characters could handle it. I had a hard time putting the book down and read it over just a couple of days. And like I said, I definitely want the next book now.It's nice to stumble upon a book, a series that can draw you in and make you happy. This one has that effect. Books don't need to be just released to be good. And I'm really glad I found this one at the exact time that I found it. Maybe you need this book now too.

A great start to an addictive supernatural series.

16 year old Kiley Galen's life couldn't get worst. Her boyfriend dumped her, her grandmother died, she's been seeing this weird looking ghost who keeps on stalking her, and her parents are getting divorced.Wanting to forget about those things she goes to a party with her best friend - Sara. But after the party goes completely wrong and the police arrives, her mum decides to ship her of to Shadow Falls Camp ( A camp for 'troubled' teens).When Kiley arrives at Shadow Falls, she is really freaked out. She thinks that she doesn't belong to these bunch of freaks. Then she finds out that Shadow Falls isn't really a camp for troubled teens. It's a camp for supernaturals. As if Kiley's life couldn't get worst, enter Derek and Lucas. 2 hot boys that yearn for Kiley's heart.I'v read Born At Midnight a while ago and i still can't stop thinking about it!I LOVED all the characters. The camp leader ( Holiday) is so cool, she is so different from other camp leaders. Miranda ( Kiley's new best friend) is a witch. And she has a boy problem of her own. I really like her. Then we got Della ( Kiley's new best friend number 2) she's a really mean but hilarious vampire. She's also a good friend. I loved how Kiley cared about other people and tried to help then with their problems. I also loved the way she tried to help the ghost that was stalking her. Every Character is really interesting and described really well.Reading this book is like being on a roller coaster and holding on for the entire glorious ride. I couldn't put the book down.

Firstly, I'm a girl.I adore this series and am coming back to write a review because I want to share this book with as many people as possible. This book is all about a girl called Kylie who has a Mum that burns her fathers underwear, a Dad that is walking out on her and a boyfriend - make that ex - who wants nothing but sex. Her life is trashed. The worst happens when Kylie's physicist, or her shrink, suggests that she goes to a summer camp for troubled teens. Soon Kylie ends up rooming with a girl who drinks blood and another girl who thinks she make make things happen with her pinky. Worst of all, they think Kylie is one of them!Cast of ship, Kylie must swim hard to stay above water as ghosts start appearing to her, humans start changing into animals and the boy that killed her child hood cat sits next to her. Why do they all insist she is one of them? She has always felt like a loner but is she that different from humanity? As Kylie struggles to find a way to excuse herself from camp, she slowly falls for the hot boy called Derek and soon her world is torn up around her and replaced by something called Shadow Falls Camp. A place were werewolves, witches, shape shifters, vampires, fae all learn to tame wild powers. But even here, will Kylie fit in?

I have now found another great series! Shadow falls is unlike any other series I have read. I loved the idea of a camp for super naturals and every book had me hooked from the very first page. It was all I could think about whilst I was at work and I could not wait to get in, put my Jammies on and read the next chapter - in some cases the whole book. I think it took me four nights to read the whole series. I am a fast reader so when I finished the last book, I went back to Born at midnight straight away. This series is amazing! I kept wondering what Kylie was and what she was capable of. Who would be her love interest? and what would her two friends do next. This series is great for fans of fantasy, supernatural, romance and a good laugh every so often. I recommend this book and the whole series, because it is so awesome! I wish I was at Shadow Falls.

I couldn't remember where I came across from this book...but besides from that....this book is addictive! And from this afternoon I finished the book. Overall this book took me 4 days to finish! And after reading the extract to the next one... 'Awake @ Dawn'... I will be buying the next one and maybe the 3rd one too at this rate. There is friendship, love, emotions, and humour which is the flow of the book. The book DID'NT drag where in some books it did to get the main point/points in the book to the next part. Highly recommmended to people who are thinking to read an paranormal book and deciding which one to buy...I wished I discovered this book sooner because the book was that gripping and whenever I had to put it down and sleep that was the first thing to read when I woke up in the morning. However I have 3 other books in the sequel to read/BUY!! Can't wait to go back into the Shadow Falls Camp and start up again!