After finishing the last page of
Born at Midnight, I didn’t think about the story once the entire night. It was only when I sat down at my computer to write this review that I realized that while I enjoyed this book, the story left no lasting impression. The main character, Kylie, is a supernatural being that can see ghosts, but she is unwilling to admit that she is any different from any other 17 year old. Her parents are on the verge of a divorce and at the recommendation of Kylie’s therapist, she is shipped off to Shadow Falls Summer camp for troubled youth. While Shadow Falls is indeed a place for troubled teens, Kylie quickly learns that this is no ordinary camp. Surrounded by witches, fairies, vampires, shape shifters, and werewolves; Kylie must accept that she too is a descendant of the gods. The only other alternative is that she has a brain tumor. This premise is nothing new, but the story is entertaining nonetheless.
The most appealing aspect of this book is the characters. Kylie is a very likable protagonist who is on a journey of self-discovery. Learning to accept that there are things in her life that she cannot change is just one of the many hurdles that she must face. Her anger towards her parents and reluctance to admit that she is anything other than ordinary is understandable given her unique situation. Often times when characters are in these types of situations they come off as whiny or slow on the uptake, so it’s refreshing to have a protagonist that readers can empathize with. Kylie’s roommates Miranda and Della are quirky and fun and some of the more humorous scenes are when they are giving Kylie a crash course in what life can be like when you’re rooming with a witch and a vampire. There is even a perverted shape shifter that is sure to give more than one reader a chuckle.
The laughs stop however, when the plot begins to tread on familiar ground. Tell me, have you ever found yourself in a situation where you had to juggle the affections of three different men? No? Honestly, unless you’re a rock star, the likelihood of this happening is fairly slim. Kylie, however, constantly finds herself at the center of a lot of male attention. There is the handsome, emotionally available fairy that just wants to make it work, the sexy werewolf that tries to keep his distance, and the sleazy ex-boyfriend who just can’t take a hint. Kylie makes out with, agonizes over, and rejects all three of these men at least once in this novel. I’m all for love triangles and even the occasional love square, but this whole scenario was over the top.
Reading
Born at Midnight was a little like watching a movie on cable. Chances are you’ve seen several movies just like it, but you continue to watch regardless because it’s entertaining. The problem with these types of movies is that once the credits start to roll, you get up and get on with your life, instantly forgetting what you just watched. Or in this case, what you’ve just read. This isn’t to say that this is a bad book. It just isn’t anything that fans of the genre haven’t read countless times before.
Rating: 3/5 Stars
While reading Falling Under I alternated between disliking it and not being able to put it down. The story is reminiscent of Jim Henson’s The Labyrinth in the sense that nothing is what it seems and that a young, innocent girl finds herself inexplicably caught between two worlds. Much like Sarah who journeys to the Labyrinth to challenge the Goblin King who wishes to possess her, Theia travels to Under only to become the fixation of Haden—a mysterious supernatural being that exists both in her reality and in her dreams. You can’t quite call what Theia and Haden feel for one another love, because quite frankly the two haven’t known each other long enough to develop that level of passion. Therefore, obsession is the only way to describe this fascination that they have with one another. 
I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed Matched and I am happy to say that I have every intention of purchasing a copy of this book for my very own. Admittedly, Matched didn’t hook me at first. The book started out rather slow and while I enjoyed learning about the dystopian society, I was wary of the direction that this story seemed to be heading. In the beginning, much of the focus is on the matching ceremony, the main character Cassia’s feelings about being matched to her best friend Xander and her shock and dismay when she discovers that she has not one, but two possible matches. Prior to reading Matched, I read a YA novel where the main focus of the story was on the complicated love lives of four desperate teenagers, hopelessly in love with one another but doomed to never be loved in return. Very little attention was given to the overarching plot and I didn’t want to read yet another YA novel where the main character agonizes over who she should choose to be with. Thankfully, this was not at all the case!
Vampire predators run wild in this exciting steampunk adventure, the first in an alternate history trilogy that is already attracting attention. In 1870, monsters rise up and conquer the northern lands, As great cities are swallowed up by carnage and disease, landowners and other elite flee south to escape their blood-thirsty wrath. One hundred fifty years later, the great divide still exists; fangs on one side of the border, worried defenders on the other. This fragile equilibrium is threatened, then crumbles after a single young princess becomes almost hopelessly lost in the hostile territory. At first, she has only one defender: a mysterious Greyfriar who roams freely in dangerous vampire regions. A trade paperback original; buyer's choice.
Sailing aboard her father’s trade ship is all seventeen-year-old Camille Rowen has ever wanted. But as a girl of society in 1855 San Francisco, her future is set: marry a man she doesn’t love, or condemn herself and her father to poverty. On her final voyage before the wedding, the stormy arms of the Tasman Sea claim her father, and a terrible family secret is revealed. A secret intertwined with a fabled map, the mother Camille has long believed dead, and an ancient stone that wields a dangerous—and alluring—magic. The only person Camille can depend on is Oscar, a handsome young sailor whom she is undeniably drawn to. Torn between trusting her instincts and keeping her promises to her father, Camille embarks on a perilous quest into the Australian wilderness.
