Shadow Falls is a series of fantasy-themed novels by American author C.C. Hunter. The series centers on 16-year-old teen Kylie Galen, who is sent off to Shadow Falls Camp by her mother and discovers the camp is covertly a summer institution for supernatural beings. The discovery sets her on a quest to discover her own supernatural identity, frequently interrupted by confrontations with spirits.
The first novel, Born at Midnight, was published on March 11, 2011; the second, Awake at Dawn, on October 11, 2011; the third, Taken at Dusk, on April 10, 2012; the fourth book, Whispers at Moonrise, on October 2, 2012. The fifth and final novel, Chosen at Nightfall, was released on April 23, 2013. On March 15, 2011, a related short story, entitled "Turned at Dark", was released. A side-story, "Saved at Sunrise", was released as an e-book on Amazon on April 2, 2013, followed by "Unbreakable" on September 30, 2014, and finally "Spellbinder" on June 30, 2015. The three short stories were eventually released as a novella on February 2, 2016, with the addition of a new story titled "Fierce".
C.C. Hunter subsequently announced that she would continue the series from the perspective of vampire Della Tsang, Interview with The Bemis Promotions Team calling the continuation Shadow Falls: After Dark. A standalone novel, Midnight Hour, was released on October 25, 2016 as the concluding chapter of the franchise.
Characters
Protagonists Kylie Galen is the protagonist of the Shadow Falls series. She has always felt that she didn't belong, but she never imagined how much. When her mother sends her to Shadow Falls Camp, she learns that the place is not filled with troubled teens as she's told, but with supernatural creatures: vampires, werewolves, fairies, shape-shifters, and witches. The problem is, she is one of them, but no one knows what she is, and her quest to find out begins. But problems don't stop coming from there - she is constantly followed by a certain spirit that only she can see, her heart is tormented by her parting family and two guys who have a strong affection on her; the handsome and generous Derek who shares her feelings, and the hotheaded werewolf Lucas, who shares a secret past with her.Throughout the series, she develops multiple special powers, such as "dreamscaping", superhuman speed, superhuman strength, and healing that only comes when she wishes to protect others. At the end of Taken at Dusk, she finds out that her species is called "chameleon": a hybrid that acquires abilities from several species passed down through the generations. In Whispers at Moonrise, she begins to show brain patterns and abilities of witches, vampires, fae and werewolves, respectively. At the end of Whispers at Moonrise, she leaves Shadow Falls to live with her grandfather. In Chosen at Nightfall, Kylie returns to Shadow Falls and discovers an enchanted sword to aid her in an upcoming battle against Mario. She searches in her heart and finally realizes her true feelings for Lucas. At the end of the novel, she confesses those feelings and successfully defeats Mario as well as his son John on the mission to save her mother while also ensures the acknowledgement of chameleons to the open world. Derek Lakes is one of Kylie's two love interests in the storyline. He is a half-fae with power to sense/control emotions, erase memories, dreamscape and communicate with animals. Because his father left him at an early age, he formed a deep dislike to his hereditary powers. In the beginning of Born at Midnight, he attends Shadow Falls Camp solely to learn how to give up these abilities, but when he uses them to save the camp and Kylie, he finally learns the benefits of having them and openly embraces them. He has a strong connection with Kylie, but her affection towards Lucas and his ability to sense a powered-up version of her emotions put them at a distance. Near the end of Awake at Dawn, he leaves the camp to go on missions for the FRU (Fallen Research Unit), but returns in Taken at Dusk with ex-girlfriend, Ellie Mason, whom he confesses to having slept with when they reunited. At the end of Taken at Dusk, he confesses his love to Kylie and maintains as her friend in Whispers at Moonrise. In Chosen at Nightfall, he tries to get close to Kylie again, but she turns him down, saying they both had moved on. From then on, the two become friends officially. Near the end of the novel, Derek meets and falls for another chameleon named Jenny Yates. Lucas Parker is the other of Kylie's love interests. He is a stubborn and possessive werewolf, who shares a secret past with Kylie. They first met when they were children, but Lucas has had a relentless affection towards her since then. They never saw each other again until 11 years later, when they reunite at Shadow Falls Camp. Near the end of Born at Midnight, he leaves the camp to free his half-sister from a werewolf gang.In Awake at Dawn, he is occasionally visited by Kylie in his dreams before his return to Shadow Falls, and saves her from a rogue vampire's capture. They begin a relationship sometime after Derek left the camp, but things become complicated when his pack and family refuse to let him be with someone not of their own kind. This very problem causes a rift between the two as Lucas himself wishes for Kylie to be a werewolf. He eventually finds out that she is a chameleon, but continues his relationship with her, saying that he loves her too much to let her go. At the end of Whispers at Moonrise, Kylie finds out that he is engaged to another werewolf in hopes of getting his father's vote to join the Werewolf Council and breaks off their relationship. In Chosen at Nightfall, Lucas gives up everything to win back her trust and affection. He also assigns himself to teach Kylie how to fight with a sword after a magical crusader sword appeared to her, and finds a way to join the Council without having to go through marriage. He manages to save Kylie from John Esparza and help her kill him at the end of the novel. Kylie chooses Lucas instead of Derek by the end of the series. Della Rose Tsang is a newly turned vampire with a stoic and headstrong personality and a bad attitude. She is Kylie and Miranda's best friend and roommate. She became a vampire when she encountered her cousin Chan in January, the encounter which activated her vampire genes, and he taught her everything he knew about supernaturals. She is known to have been raised in a strict family, being half Chinese and half American. She had a boyfriend named Lee and dreamed of working in law enforcement rather than her father's plans of being a doctor. After her transformation, her family is led to believe that she is doing drugs and gets sent to Shadow Falls Camp for rehabilitation. In Born at Midnight, she befriends Miranda and Kylie, and helps conduct a plan to investigate the repeating murders of endangered animals in the next-door wildlife park. In Awake at Dawn, when Kylie mentions her knowledge about the death angels, Della begins to worry about what she might've done during her early stage as a vampire. Burnett takes her into the FRU agency for testing, and confirms her innocence. Near the end of Awake at Dawn, she returns home for parents weekend and finds out that Lee has found a new girlfriend. Della is assigned to be one of Kylie's shadows in Taken at Dusk, along with Jonathon, Perry, Derek, Miranda and Lucas. She also helps Kylie encourage Miranda's relationship with Perry, which she later regrets in Whispers at Moonrise since Miranda continuously talks about Perry. Burnett assigns her and Steve on a secret mission to confront a group of murderous vampires. During their time away, Steve comes to her aid again and again; first being when they confronted a drunken man beating up his wife; later when she runs into her ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend, Steve kisses her in public to save her from embarrassment; during the mission, Della is forced to fight a werewolf-vampire girl to the death and gets stabbed in the chest. Steve fights the vampires and escapes with her, and later saves her from a pack of werewolves. While being treated by Steve, they give in to their passions and make out, but regrets it almost immediately. She then makes it clear to Steve that they will never start a relationship. When she returns with a hickey in Chosen at Nightfall, Miranda and Kylie demand answers. Steve continues to fight for her affection, despite her constant avoidance. He goes as far as to turn to Kylie for advice and paying blood to get Della to spend time with him.She is the main character of the spin-off stories - Turned at Dark that journeys her transformation and her decision to attend Shadow Falls, and Saved at Sunrise where Burnett James sends her and shape-shifter Steve on a mission. Furthermore, after Chosen at Nightfall, Della is next protagonist in the Shadow Falls continuation: Shadow Falls: After Dark. Miranda Kane is a dyslexic witch, and Kylie's and Della's second best friend and roommate. She befriends Kylie and Della upon her second visit to Shadow Falls Camp. Though she is on good terms with both Kylie and Della, she often quarrels with Della using threatening remarks. In Taken at Dusk, she begins a relationship with shape-shifter Perry Gomez. She is known for messing up her spells due to her dyslexia. In Chosen at Nightfall, Miranda angrily turns Nikki, a shapeshifter, into a kangaroo and then curses her with large zits all over her body out of jealousy of her affection toward Perry. Miranda is the main protagonist alongside Perry and a warlock named Shawn Hanson in Midnight Hour.
Antagonists Mario Esparza is a member of the vampire council and the main antagonist of the entire series. He first appears in Awake at Dawn, where he has his grandson, Roberto, kidnap Kylie to make her his granddaughter-in-law. After this failed, he makes multiple attempts to kill her, including creating sink holes and summoning lightning. His grandson, however, stops him every time, and in the end, dies for his betrayal. Mario is supposedly a vampire, but his powers go far beyond the regular vampire for unknown reasons. At the end of Chosen at Nightfall, Mario confronts Kylie in a sword fight, but is stabbed to death by his own son, and his soul taken to hell. Roberto Esparza is the initial antagonist of the Shadow Falls series. He was a key member of the dangerous Blood Brothers Gang - a group of vampires - and aimed to shut down Shadow Falls Camp. During a run-in and struggle with Kylie Galen and Derek Lakes caught Red's affection of Kylie. He captured Kylie in Awake at Dawn in a failed attempt to make her his bride. In Taken at Dusk, he made multiple attempts to protect her from his grandfather's assassinations, ultimately sacrificing himself by taking a bolt of lightning meant for Kylie and dies, in which lands his soul a place in heaven. Collin Warren is the main antagonist of Whispers at Moonrise. He is a half-fae serial killer who went after Hannah, Holiday's twin sister, and later attempted to kill Holiday. He infiltrated Shadow Falls as a recommended history teacher. Hannah's soul tried to warn Kylie about Collin, but her lack of memory made her unable to recognize Collin. Kylie and Fredericka found him whilst trying to strangle Holiday and Fredericka killed him at the end of Whispers at Moonrise. John Anthony Esparza is Mrs. Galen's newfound love interest in Taken at Dusk. He is very rude and controlling, and Kylie highly dislikes him, especially after he started a fist fight with Tom in Whispers at Moonrise. At the end of Chosen at Nightfall, Kylie discovers that he is actually Mario Esparza's son. In the midst of a struggle between Mario and Kylie, John kills his own father, then tries to kill Kylie. With a combined struggle from Lucas and Kylie, he is given the fatal blow and his soul taken to hell.
Ghosts