Review: Awake at Dawn by CC Hunter

Summary

Step into the world of Shadow Falls, a camp that helps teens tap into their special…talents. Once you visit, you’ll never forget it—and you’ll never, ever be the same.
From the moment Kylie Galen arrived at Shadow Falls Camp, she’s had one burning question: What am I? Surrounded by vampires, werewolves, shape-shifters, fairies and witches, Kylie longs to figure out her own supernatural identity…and what her burgeoning powers mean. And now she’ll need them more than ever, because she’s being haunted by a new spirit who insists that someone Kylie knows—and loves—will die before the end of the summer. If only she only knew who she was supposed to save. And how…

But giving Kylie the most trouble is her aching heart. Gorgeous werewolf Lucas left camp with another girl, but he’s still visiting Kylie in her dreams. And Derek, a sexy half Fae who’s always been there for her when she needed him, is pushing to get more serious—and growing impatient, especially when Lucas returns. Kylie knows she needs to decide between the boys, and it’s tearing her up inside.

Yet romance will have to wait, because something from the dark side of the supernatural world is hiding in Shadow Falls. It’s about to threaten everything she holds dear…and bring her closer to her destiny.

Review

4.25 Owls

Awake at Dawn is the second book in CC Hunter's BORN AT MIDNIGHT series, and it is such a vast improvement on the first one. I cannot stress that enough: Hunter realized what writing was in between the first and second book, and this book reflects that very well.

Kylie Galen is a resident at Shadow Falls Camp, a place for "troubled teens," a.k.a. supernaturals, to find themselves and come into their powers. Kylie is at this camp because she sees ghosts -- the only problem is, she doesn't know what she is yet. I really like how Hunter isn't afraid to take a whole mosh-pit of supernatural beings and put them together in one place. This book has it all: vampires, werewolves, fey, shape-shifters . . . you name it, Shadow Falls has got it. It's quite an eclectic mix, and it makes for fun reading, seeing everyone interact and accept their differences.

It's also fun watching Kylie deal with family drama -- Hunter writes family issues very nicely. I enjoy watching Kylie try to deal with her mother, father and (view spoiler). One of my favorite things about the series is how Kylie has to balance her old life with her new one here at Shadow Falls -- it's really interesting.

At Shadow Falls, there are many, many boys. The thing that still bugs me about the series is how many guys seem to be attracted to Kylie. Derek, Lucas, other spoilery characters . . . all of them are fawning over her. It bugs me a little how Kylie is so perfect that way. She is a likable character, but everyone is supposed to have flaws. I haven't found Kylie's yet. Hopefully those will come into play more in the third book.

As for Derek and Lucas, I am having a very hard time finding out who is more right for Kylie. I know they're the only two she's even considering, but I can't tell which one she is drawn to more. I'll have a certain opinion, and then something will happen to change that -- I can never keep a solid grasp on who Kylie will end up with. In a lot of series, there is an obvious love interest who will prevail in the end, then the author just throws someone else in to throw you off and make you go, "Hey, this guy is there, too," even though he's obviously just a plot device. In this series, there isn't one of those . . . which is a really good thing.

As far as the plot goes, Awake at Dawn really steps it up. I love how the titles relate a lot to the books. In this one, Kylie received a cryptic message from a ghost and she has to figure out what's going on . . . as well as what's going to happen to the camp in the future, what's going on to her two loves, and what's going on with her family. There are a lot of things going on, which makes for good reading. The climax is explosive -- the book ended on a sick cliffhanger, too, which makes me glad I have TAKEN AT DUSK right here next to me, ready to be read.

If you'll let me, I'm going to go do that now.