Shadow Falls Series

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: C. C. Hunter
Format: Paperback
Series Rating: 7 out of 10

I'm far too scared to review each of these novels. I don't want to spoil anything and I'm sure that if I review them individually, I will.

Summary for Born at Midnight (from Goodreads.com): 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…

My Review for Born at Midnight

Thoughts for the series: I was a little wary of starting a new series but, luckily, all of these novels have been released so it went pretty fast. This is a series that you could read in a week. None of these books took me very long. There were no huge lost gaps of time that you had to account for because the novels only cover the span of a few months. The transitions were seamless between each novel. The only trouble I had with starting the new novels was that they recap literally everything that is happening. This is a good thing when it's been months since you read the last novel but reading them in the same week means rereading or reviewing most of the story every other day. I survived though.

I loved the characters. This is really a character driven novel, not a plot novel. We get to see how each character grows and changes. Five novels is a lot of time to spend with the same characters so you really grow to love and care for them. I found that I always had an opinion about what should happen in their lives. I found it both comforting and annoying at some points that everyone had someone. On that topic, why do all girls in novels have multiple guys fighting over her? oh well. I love that the characters may not get along but as soon as they need to, they are able to work together to get stuff done.

As I said above, this series is character driven. The series is about the characters and their relationships to one another. It's about their personal growth and struggles. Well...these were mostly about the relationships but still. The point I'm trying to make is that the supernatural plot wasn't the center of the story. It affected their interactions and choices but really didn't hold the story up on its own. This led what I thought to be the climax to move quickly. I felt that there were so many times that the author could have slowed down and given the reader a bit more of the character's emotions. There were points where I could have been terrified for Kylie but the time wasn't taken. The action went by so quickly. It was the most annoying part of these novels. That might be because I like the action with love on the side not the opposite like this novel was. In addition to this, there were parts of the novel, not the climax, that the author could have had me crying. The potential was there but was missed or ignored. I'm not sure which. I wish that the author would have slowed down those scenes and pulled the reader in a little bit more. Tell me exactly what she feels, go slow, don't smooth everything over when there is obviously something huge happening here.

The books weren't too complicated. I was figuring some stuff out before they were explained to the reader. It didn't bother me but I should mention it anyway.

The wrap up was sufficient but not much more than that. I thought that some stuff needed more explanation. I won't say that the author took the easy was out with some things but I wish there would have been a little bit more in the end. Maybe a longer chapter instead of just a little section. I want to be able to tell myself that I know exactly how her future and the futures of the other characters will play out. This was the kind of series that I thought would give me all that but it didn't. It wasn't a horrible ending though so I should be happy. I did, however, love the scene that it ended with. I thought it was perfect as was the thoughts about change that the series ended with. 

So: I would recommend this series to someone who wants an easy, cute, smooth flowing story that doesn't require a lot of thought. It would be good for a person that like their love stories with a bit of action on the side as well as self exploration. Careful though, Kylie is a bit dramatic and self-pitying at some points and you may want to strangle her.