Born at Midnight (Shadow Falls, #1)

by C C Hunter

[Angie]

I liked Born at Midnight, in a way, but I do think I found it more ridiculous and fun than good. Kylie's parents are getting divorced and her father has just moved out. She goes to a party to escape, but it's broken up for a drug bust. Kylie wasn't drinking or doing drugs, but under her psychiatrist's suggestion, her mother sends her off to a camp for trouble teens. Well, Shadow Falls isn't really that kind of camp. It's for supernatural teens to come together, bond, and learn to use their powers. Kylie doesn't believe in that stuff, but eventually she must accept that she's one of them. Except no one can tell what she is exactly other than a ghost whisperer.

Born at Midnight had all the makings of a great YA paranormal novel, but it didn't really use any of it. From the beginning, it reminded me of Fallen, but less frustrating. It does use the camp setting a lot better than the former, but other than that, I was underwhelmed. Kylie is the typical good girl, upset about life, and being punished for something she didn't do. She's also super special, although no one knows why she's special. Immediately, there are two mysterious boys fawning over her, and she makes quirky new friends within a day. Cliche, after cliche, after trope, after trope. It was a bit much.

The plot of Born at Midnight was my main issue. It's more like a lack of plot. There's some mentions at the beginning about the camp being shut down, but it's always in whispers and half-heard conversations. No one knows why the camp is being threatened. During the last quarter is when this mystery comes to the front, but by then it felt tacked on for the sake of plot. The camp is in jeopardy for very stupid reasons. I couldn't even roll my eyes because it was so ridiculous. It's also solved and righted almost as soon as it gets rolling.

I don't even know about Born at Midnight. I really liked some parts of it, but I think it failed in general. I liked Kylie well enough, but I couldn't care less about her romance, since I couldn't even keep the guys straight. The plot is non-existent, and everything else has been done to death (and better). I did like how Kylie's mom went from the worst ever, to kind of great, since a lot of YA lacks parents in general. There was a twist that I didn't see coming, so I liked that, too. I am interested enough to want to continue the series, especially since I'm a sucker for "special" school settings.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.