ARC Review--Awake at Dawn by C.C. Hunter

Now that she’s settled in at Shadow Falls Camp, Kylie Galen’s determined to discover the extent of her supernatural abilities. But with a ghost insisting someone Kylie loves is about die, a rogue vampire on a murdering rampage, and her sixth sense telling her someone is watching her, Kylie’s quest for answers is quickly put on hold.

To make matters worse, just when she’s about to give her heart to Derek, a half-fairy, he starts pulling away. When Lucas, a werewolf with whom Kylie shares a secret past, returns, Kylie’s feels more conflicted than ever. Her weekend with her mom should have been the just the break Kylie needs, but it turns out to be her breaking point. Someone from the dark side of the supernatural world has plans for Kylie--and it'll take all her resources to get back to Shadow Falls alive...

I received this ARC from the author (in a contest!) for review

I was totally blown away with C.C. Hunter's Born at Midnight! I loved it for personal reasons and because it was just freakin awesome! And Awake at Dawn is just as amazing!!

All right, there's no point in my denying it I am totally Team Lucas! Probably because I have a thing for him being a childhood friend Kylie hasn't seen in years, but I digress. Not that Derek was a total bad choice, but I was still uneasy of him for being part faerie. He tricked Kylie (innocently) and messed with her emotions at times (not cruelly), and there was always something about him that I didn't like. Possibly, because he was fae and I know from my reading to never trust the fae easily, they are very tricky and whatnot.

But Derek really steps up to the plate in this book since Lucas is AWOL With Fredericka no less. And Kylie has long since denying that she has feelings for him. But the thing is her feelings are going too deep. And he always knows about them, which causes her to push him away. They kinda play a game here, Derek insists Kylie is in control, which is endearing, yet there are still problems with their budding relationship.

Kylie is still struggling to learn what she is. She does everything possible, yet it's still hard. There are times she thinks she onto identifying herself but things change.

Another issue is that someone is prowling the outskirts of the camp. Kylie feels them watching her yet she can never find them. She doesn't even know for sure if anyone's there, except for that uneasy feeling. Then there are the dreams and the fact that a ghost keeps haunting her. And it's not just her biological father either, another ghost is haunting her and shouting out an omen of sorts that Kylie must save someone before it's too late. If she doesn't act soon, she will lose someone she cares for. And I was quickly able to put the clues together and solve that mystery! I was even able to deduce another part of the mystery as well.

But as for Kylie's stalker, that was a total surprise!

I absolutely love this series! I love how there's a mix of supernatural characters. I also really like Kylie, I think she's a great teen protagonist. I feel another sort of connection with her as I do some other teen protagonists and I like that, even though I am far from being a teen again! I like how I can see some of myself in them in a few traits here and there. 

There's quite a bit of suspense in this book! Chapters end with total cliffhangers so it makes it insanely hard to stop reading at any given point! I loved it from beginning to end and at the end there were some amazing revelations that are going to likely carry over to the next book, Taken at Dusk, which releases April 10, 2012. And after reading this one I can already say the wait is gonna be heck! Waiting just sucks! ;) Especially since after reading this one I have so many thoughts running through my head at what this title might mean!!

Overall rating 5/5 stars

Awake at Dawn releases October 11, 2011