This is not horror.
Let me get that out of the way before anyone comes at me in my DMs. I know what you're thinking — Jordan, you host a horror podcast, why are you reviewing a YA supernatural romance? Fair question. But here's the thing: Shadow Falls has ghosts. Amnesia-stricken, cryptic-warning-delivering ghosts. And I'm a librarian who will chase a good ghost story into literally any genre, including one aimed at teenagers who think vampires are hot. (They are. I'm not above this.)
I picked up Taken at Dusk — book three in C.C. Hunter's Shadow Falls series — during a long Saturday shift at the branch. The rain was doing that Oregon thing where it sounds like the sky is personally offended by your roof, and I had a stack of returns to process. Popped in my earbuds, hit play, and spent the next thirteen hours in a supernatural summer camp that's basically what you'd get if you crossed the X-Men school with a CW drama and set it in Texas.
The Ghost Who Forgot Why She's Haunting You
Okay, so the ghost subplot. This is what hooked me. Kylie Galen — our protagonist, who still doesn't know what kind of supernatural she is three books in — keeps getting visited by a spirit who can't remember her own identity and drops the line "someone lives and someone dies." That's a solid horror setup. It really is. And for a YA book, Hunter doesn't shy away from the unease of it. The ghost isn't friendly Casper energy. She's confused, desperate, and increasingly frightening in a way that reminded me of early Lois Duncan — that sense that the dead need something from you and you can't figure out what. That specific flavor of dread — the ghost with unfinished business and no roadmap — is something Dead to Her leans into hard from its very first chapter, though in a much darker register.
The reveal of the ghost's identity near the end actually surprised me. I won't spoil it, but it recontextualizes some earlier scenes in a way that's genuinely clever. Shirley Jackson walked so... okay, no. I can't say that here. This is not that. But Hunter understands that a ghost story works best when the mystery of who the ghost is matters as much as why they're haunting.
The problem? You have to wade through a LOT of love triangle drama to get to the good supernatural stuff. Lucas and his werewolf pack politics versus Derek and his half-fae sensitivity versus Kylie's complete inability to just pick one and commit. I get it — this is YA paranormal romance, the love triangle is load-bearing architecture. But the middle section drags. Hard. There are stretches where the most suspenseful thing happening is whether Kylie will sit with Lucas or Derek at lunch, and I found myself mentally reorganizing the new arrivals shelf at work instead of paying attention.
Katie Schorr Knows These Characters Like Old Friends
Here's where the audiobook earns its keep. Katie Schorr has been narrating this series from the start, and you can tell. She's got Kylie's voice dialed in — that mix of frustration and vulnerability that makes a confused teenager sound like an actual confused teenager instead of an adult's idea of one. Her tone shifts between characters are subtle rather than theatrical. She's not doing full voice-actor transformations, but she doesn't need to. The boyish, mischievous energy she brings to one male character who literally turns into a white cat? That's charming in a way I wasn't expecting.
Schorr's real strength is emotional delivery. When the story hits its dramatic peaks — and there are a few genuine ones buried in the romance fog — she commits. The narrator commits. That's rare, especially in YA audiobooks where I've heard performers just... coast. She doesn't coast. Her pacing keeps things moving even when the plot itself stalls, which is honestly a rescue operation in those middle chapters.
She's not going to haunt your dreams. This isn't that kind of performance. But she's consistent, warm, and she clearly cares about these characters. For a thirteen-hour listen, that matters.
Who Needs This (And Who Should Run)
If you're deep in the Shadow Falls series and you've been listening to Schorr's narration all along — yes, keep going. The identity reveal at the end pays off setup from earlier books, and Schorr's familiarity with the material makes it feel like catching up with someone who knows all the gossip.
If you scare easily, you're fine. This isn't that kind of supernatural. The ghost stuff has atmosphere but nothing that'll keep you up. (I was processing library holds the whole time. Didn't flinch once. Shirley — my cat, not Jackson — would be embarrassed for me.)
If you're coming to this cold, looking for serious horror or dark fantasy? Skip to something else. This is comfort-food supernatural with a side of teen romance. It knows what it is. I just wish it had leaned harder into the ghost mystery and less into the "which hot supernatural boy" debate.
The Catalog Card
A solid middle-of-series entry that rewards loyal fans and frustrates newcomers. The ghost subplot deserves a better book around it, the love triangle deserves fewer pages, and Katie Schorr deserves credit for making thirteen hours feel less than thirteen hours. My podcast listeners are NOT going to hear about this one — but my teen patrons at the library? Already recommended it twice.
