Almost Midnight

Almost Midnight
Author(s)
Age Range
14+
Release Date
February 02, 2016
ISBN
978-1250081001
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A vampire and a werewolf who never fit in. A witch whose spells don't always work as planned. And a mysterious new guy who's hiding something. Together they will discover who they're meant to be... Hidden from the human world, Shadow Falls is a secret camp for teens with supernatural powers. But for four very different teens, it's much more than just a camp-it's where their destinies will unfold. Independent and strong-willed Della Tsang didn't believe in vampires...until she became one. Chase Tallman is the newest member of Shadow Falls, but what made him into the sexy, mysterious vampire he is today? And what led him to Della Tsang? For Miranda Kane, magic has always been something she's struggled with-until she finally has a chance to prove herself a witch to be reckoned with. And for Fredericka Lakota, the one guy who challenges her the most will lead her to the life she's always wanted. C. C. Hunter's New York Times bestselling Shadow Falls series captured hearts all over the world. Now available in print for the first time, these enchanting novellas will reveal a side of the camp that you've never seen before...and live in your heart forever. Fans won't want to miss these four remarkable stories of love, magic and friendship.

Editor reviews

2 reviews
An Urban Fantasy Antrhology
(Updated: December 26, 2015)
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3.3
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It’s always a bit of a challenge to review a literary collection, and so I’ll try to give each work within this 5-piece anthology its own just consideration. I’ll also preface this assessment by openly divulging that this was my first true introduction to the Shadow Falls series.

My individual star ratings for each short-story/novella are be as follows…

Turned At Dusk: 2 stars
Saved At Sunrise: 3 stars
Unbreakable: 3.5 stars
Spellbinder: 2.5 stars
Fierce: 4 stars

First off we have TURNED AT DARK -- an origin short-story for the Vampire character of Della.
Unfortunately, his reader wasn’t able to find any of the characters likable. Della’s parents were pretty good-cop/bad-cop one-dimensional; her boyfriend had no discernible personality; and her supposedly dead cousin, Chan, had little by way of backstory. Della herself is angry, self-pitying, and bull-headed—living in denial through most of the story even when faced with glaring evidence of the supernatural evidence in her very blood. She continually makes decisions that would earn most heroines the title of “too stupid to live”…so I suppose it’s a good thing she’s a Vampire, and so not technically “alive” to begin with? That point remains unclear, however. Though Chan seems to be our window into the specifics of vampirism, readers receive precious few details outside of blood tastes and preferences… and the fact that they hate werewolves.

Which relates to my greatest disappointment: The worldbuilding was scant. As a result, I can’t recommend this as an introduction or even recap on the Shadow Falls world. While the writing is polished, the overall story isn’t particularly memorable—and for something billed as a YA, it had a strangely New Adult feel to it. I can only conclude that this is the wrong place to try to pick up the series.
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Next we have SAVED AT SUNRISE -- a novella immediately following ‘Turned at Dark.’ It tracks Vampire Della and her potential love interest--a shapeshifter named Steve--as they perform a recon mission for the supernatural world’s version of the FBI. While Della isn’t much more likeable than she was in her origin story (still rash, judgmental, and headstrong to the point of stupid), there was at least some fleshing out to entice more reader investment in her character. Steve, however, makes the story worth reading. Not only is he easier to connect with, but he’s somehow able to be patient with Della’s many faults and wounded self-absorption. It’s just a pity we never experience any telling from his point of view—as Della can be a tiringly acrid head for readers to be stuck in.
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Then there’s UBREAKABLE -- easily the most unique and heavily foreshadowed novella in the ‘Almost Midnight’ collection. It’s told in a sort of back-and-forth format between single page BREAKING NEWS segments detailing a plane crash and attempted rescue, and the events of a day prior--as given from the 3rd-person-limited perspective of 14-year-old Chase Tallman.

This felt like the truest YA piece in the entire paranormal anthology. The emotional conveyance generally feels accurate to what one would expect from the 14 and 15-year-olds primarily featured—if not a touch older. Chase is perched on the cusp between awkward and brave; his single-minded quest forgivable due to his otherwise beneficent and believable temperament.

I actually wish this had been the first story in the ‘Almost Midnight’ collection. The supernatural elements are more eerily hinted at throughout most of the novella, only making a clear showing toward the very end. For anyone reading the anthology it belongs to without previous knowledge of the Shadow Falls world, this may be the smoothest way to ease into it. It also has the benefit of presenting a more endearing main character.
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SPELLBINDER is the plucky tale of a screw-up spellcaster, which rapidly turns into a murder mystery. Miranda is a largely sympathetic and sometimes even likeable character—well meaning and kind almost to the point of blandness. Her failures are often comedic, and her sense of loyalty is beyond reproach.

Some readers may find the love triangle disappointing—at least for those who weren’t previously familiar with Perry outside of Miranda’s impression of his abandonment. Especially after we only see Shawn looking out for her in the first half of the story. Even after Perry is reeled in, the chemistry between him and Miranda is more distracting than convincing. On top of the issues she’s having with her family, it amplifies an atmosphere of drama that borders on supernatural soap opera. The pacing flagged at times, making this one of the more put-downable stories in the ‘Almost Midnight’ collection. Miranda’s personality and antics often lend a lighthearted air to the tale—despite the life-or-death underpinnings.
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And finally there’s FIERCE – a bonus novella, and this reader’s favorite of the ‘Almost Midnight’ collection. Fredericka made for an insecure “lone wolf” heroine with prominent daddy issues—yet her more positive traits of independence, self-determination, and emotional control created a believable and connective balance. There is a complexity to her unresolved and in-progress problems that gave the story more depth than any other piece in the anthology, without going slightly overboard into the overcomplicated drama waters like the preceding novella, Spellbinder.

Cary (a.k.a. pervy teacher) came across as pretty flat and may make readers wonder what about him Fredericka could have ever thought herself attracted to in the first place, but a number of other facets make up for the questionable antagonism. The tie-ins with Fredericka’s previous dislike for Kylie and longing for base friendship round out the story—and her character—nicely. I would have liked to see more worldbuilding in the realm of were-culture, but what was given here was enough to entice me into seeking out a full novel in the series that will hopefully do the job.
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While the overall line editing was clean, there were times when it felt as though the prose would have benefited from another content edit sweep. *Examples: page 344 - “From the puzzled look in the teacher’s eyes, she knew he found it as puzzling as she did.”
Also, the excessive use of the word “brighten” in the last novella.

CONTENT NOTE: For parents or teens to whom it may concern…
The sensuality level runs closer to a New Adult than YA in several of the works--and the second novella, Saved At Sunrise, includes a topless in-bed makeout session (sans actual relationship or commitment.) Readers can also expect that any of the works involving Della will also contain a higher degree of coarse language.

I would recommend this collection to existing fans of the Shadow Fall series, but advise those unfamiliar with the full length novels not to use this anthology as a preferred introduction to C.C. Hunter’s world.
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3.7
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A Great Addition to the Series
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3.7
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MY THOUGHTS
I love this series, and the original Shadow Falls series! So, of course I was more than happy to read this set of novellas that take place in the Shadow Falls world! I've already read a few of the novellas, because they were ebooks before they were put together in this book. Anyway, I enjoyed the novellas in this book!

The first novella is Turned at Dark. I read this one before reading this novella collection. This novella focuses on Della when she first turns into a vampire. It's a really quick story, but it gives you some background on Della's life and it kind of is a quick introduction for the spin-off series. I gave it 3 stars.

The next novella is Saved at Sunrise. This novella focuses on a mission Della is sent on, with Steve as her partner. This takes place before Della and Steve get into a relationship and Della currently doesn't like him. It's kind of interesting seeing their relationship, before there was an actually relationship, and I felt it I got to know Steve more. Also, Della is, of course, her badass and snarky self. I gave it 4 stars.

Spellbinder is the next novella and was the other novella that I read before, I actually received this one for review. This one focused on Miranda participating in a spell competition. I really liked this one! It was short, but it felt like a full novel! I also really enjoyed reading from Miranda's perspective! I gave it 5 stars! Read my full review here.

Unbreakable is the next novella. This one is about Chase's past. I feel like this one is kind of vital in a way. Chase's past is kind of mysterious and while we do find out about some of his past in the series, this novella delves deeper. I gave this one 4 stars.

The last novella was a surprise. Fierce is from the point of view of Fredericka and I actually really liked it! This novella was actually a bit longer than the others, but I felt like I was fully into the story! I vaguely remember Fredericka in the Shadow Falls series, where she was cruel, but she turned around at some point. I felt like in this novella, I got to know her better! This was probably my favorite of the novellas, 5 stars!

IN CONCLUSION
This set of novellas is not necessary to read in order to understand the series, but I do recommend it! It gives you a better background on the characters and it's just great to read more of the series! I'm definitely looking forward to any more inclusions to this world!
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