Book Review: Born at Midnight by C.C. Hunter

Synopsis (from Goodreads): 

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, shapshifters, 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 Thoughts:  I had so much fun reading this book!  I loved the sarcastic humor throughout the book and it was a fast and easy read.

Kylie is not having the best time of her life.  Her Nana passed away, her parents are getting a divorce and her father insists that Kylie stay with her "ice queen" mother and her boyfriend broke up with her.  To take some of the stress off, Kylie heads to a party with her best friend.  Of course, as luck would have it, this party gets busted by the cops for underage drinking.  To deal with this "rebellious" behavior, Kylie's mom ships her off to a summer camp for juvenile delinquents that Kylie's shrink has recommended.  Kylie is so not looking forward to a summer with the "freaks" she meets on the bus.

After Kylie gets to the camp, she realizes it is not what it appears to be at all.  Instead of juvenile delinquents, these "freaks" are supernatural beings.  Kylie is not sure why she is at Shadow Falls since she is a "normal" human being....or is she?  As her camp counselor talks to her and shows her that Kylie is seeing ghosts, Kylie has to wonder if she really is normal and if not, what kind of supernatural being is she?

Kylie was snarky and fun and she really wasn't a "bad" girl.  She was in the wrong place at the wrong time.  I really liked how she pined for Trey a little but when it came down to it, she was strong enough to say "enough".  She was not whiny, just sarcastic.  I didn't find Kylie at all annoying.  I found myself not wanting to put the book down so I could find out what exactly Kylie was.  I loved the mystery that surrounded her. 

Kylie's roommates were awesome!  Miranda is a cute little witch that is super boy crazy.  She was dyslexic and felt like a failure because she always messed up her spells (just ask poor Mr. Pepper).  I loved the curse she put on Mr. Pepper and I enjoyed how he would just "pop" in to say hi to Miranda. 

Della is a vampire who comes across as strong and untouchable.  However, she is deeply afraid of how her traditional Chinese father and the rest of her family will take the news that she's a vampire.  She is hurt by Miranda and Kylie's disgust of her drinking blood and won't even ask them to donate blood for her.  I really liked Della and liked how her problems were semi-solved in the end.

Then there are the boys!  Trey, Kylie's ex-boyfriend is a jerk.  He wants sex and only sex and when Kylie won't give it up, he breaks up with her.  Lucas is a boy from Kylie's past.  I'm hoping his story develops more in the next because otherwise, I'm not quite sure what his part was all about besides just being a part of a love triangle.  It could have been left out and there wouldn't have been a huge difference.  Derek is a Fae and another love interest.  I really liked Derek.  He was a gentleman but not so much that he didn't come across as a real teenage boy.  And finally, Burnett, the FRU agent that has the hots for Holiday, one of the camp counselors.  He comes across as a jerk but really I think he was a decent guy.  And finally, there's Perry.  Perry is a shape-shifter who is madly in love with Miranda but won't tell her.  I loved Perry, especially as a kitten (must read the book to find out what this means).

This book was funny, mysterious, romantic and slightly suspenseful.  It was a super fast read and completely entertaining.  I cannot wait for Awake at Dawn now!