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

Title: Born at Midnight
Author: C.C. Hunter
Series: Shadow Falls #1
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Date of Release: March 29th 2011
Pages: 398

Don’t miss this spectacular new series that will steal your heart and haunt your dreams, 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, shapeshifters, 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…

This is fun, action and adventure, romance and friendship, supernaturals, paranormals all rolled into one… an AMAZING read! The cover is stunning, I love it. So mysterious and interesting, you are immediately pulled into Shadow Falls Camp.

When Kylie is found at a party that is filled with kids doing drugs, Kylie is whisked off to Shadow Falls Camp for special kids, with the persuasion of her councillor and the divorce of her parents, Kylie begrudgingly goes. Here the kids are not all they seem, they are special in a supernatural way. At Shadow Falls Camp they learn to deal with the powers, how to control them and specifically use them for good, making the most of them. But Kylie doesn't know what she is, and neither do those around her, but this is the least of her problems.

My favourite characters:

• Kylie, our protagonist, is an amazing character. Kylie is full of life, kind and friendly to all; she has a great sense of humour immediately making her one of my favourite characters. She doesn't stand back and watch, she does takes action, she always has good intentions on her mind, always trying to help others and make something right.
• We have Della and Miranda, constantly at each others throats they really bring a sense of fun and friendship to the story (in a strange way!). Miranda is a witch who is perky and energetic whilst Della is a vampire conveying a calm and collected persona.
• Perry is a peculiar character. He is a Shapeshifter, known to be one of the angriest species and have a short temper he is mysterious but at the same time innocent and appears vulnerable on occasions. He is definitely a character whom I want to know more about.
• There is Derek and Lucas… oh my! Derek is half Fae, he is loving, kind, caring and good-natured but he is able to manipulate your emotions.  And Lucas is a werewolf, with him having a history with Kylie when they were younger he still appears mysterious and puzzling, alongside being suspected to be dangerous.
• Lastly we have Holiday. Holiday is fiercely loyal to the camp and does anything to keep it, she is kind-hearted and treats all the teenagers as her own, never rejecting them and always searching for ways to help.

This is a brilliantly engaging and gripping story that had questions consistently spinning in my mind. There is danger and action, alongside fun and humour with emotional scenes of a teenager girl trying to truly figure out who she is once and for all. The second book in the series: Awake at Dawn (TEAM DEREK!)