Book Review: Awake at DawnTitle: Awake at Dawn (Shadow Falls)
Author: C. C. Hunter
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin

I’ve been waiting for Awake at Dawm  ever since I finished the last page of Born at Midnight,  and although patience has never been a strong point for me, it was worth the wait. In the first book, Kylie Galen was sent off to what she thought was some sort of reform-school camp for trouble makers, although going to one wrong party shouldn’t really qualify anyone for reform school. When Kylie arrived, she realized quickly that the camp wasn’t for troubled kids, but for supernatural teenagers Kylie never knew she was considered a supernatural being, and by the end of the first book, she still hadn’t figured out exactly what kind she was.

Awake at Dawn starts off pretty much where the first book left off. Kylie still had yet to make a commitment to Derek, the cute Fae guy that she’s been sort of seeing since the Born at Midnight. She’s also having really steamy dreams about a certain werewolf that up and left her behind. Then there’s the ghost who keeps telling her that if she doesn’t act, someone will die. But the ghost doesn’t say who, or even how. So Kylie is left trying to figure out who or what she is, who she should date, and who she needs to save from an untimely death.

I read the entire 400 pages in one night. I started at 10PM and blew way past my “late-night” bedtime to finish it. The story moves constantly forward from the first page through to the last. I can’t think of a single part that I thought was too slow or drawn out. Although all Kylie’s secrets are not yet divulged, we do learn quite a bit about her potential origins and powers. Awake at Dawn is filled with such great multi-dimensional characters, from her roommates to her love interests right down to her camp counselor.  They each have wonderful back stories that I hope will be further explored as the series progresses.

I’m not usually a big fan of the whole love triangle thing, as a certain best-selling series about glittery vampires kind of killed that whole plot line for me, but Hunter does it very well. Kylie isn’t pining away over either of the guys and falling into “woe is me” funks when one of them disappears on her; she’s acting like a normal teenager who sees the pros and cons in both potential relationships and is trying to decide how to best make her without hurting herself or someone else.

If you haven’t read Born at Midnight,  I suggest starting with that one because this isn’t really a series that you can read out of sequence. Hunter takes a little time to catch readers up and refresh their memories when it’s really important, but she didn’t waste a significant amount of time rehashing the first book.  I am anxiously awaiting the next installment of the Shadow Falls series, which is set to release in April 2012.