Wednesday, January 27, 2010

The Twilight Before Christmas by Christine Feehan


Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Drake Sisters Book 2
Copyright: 2003
Pages: 284
Book Source: Own purchase

Seven sisters...and a legacy of magical secrets.

Bestselling novelist Kate Drake is one of seven sisters gifted with amazing powers of witchcraft. Returning home in time for her northern California town's annual Christmas pageant, Kate catches the spirit of the season and decides to open a bookstore in a charming but run-down historic mill. Decorated former U.S. Army Ranger Matt Granite, now a local contractor, doesn't mind working in the undeniably eerie house -- not if it means getting closer to Kate. There's something about the quiet, sensual woman that powerfully attracts him.

When an earthquake cracks the mill's foundation and reveals a burial crypt, Kate senses that a centuries-old evil has been unleashed and that it's coming after her. Though Matt vows to guard her from dusk till dawn, Kate knows she will have to summon all of her and her sisters' powers to battle the darkness threatening to destroy both Christmas and the gift of soul-searing passion her hometown hero wants her to keep forever.... 

The Twilight Before Christmas will be fondly remembered as the 1st book read on my kindle so that in itself gives this one bonus points. It was a delightful read but not nearly as enchanting as the first book in the series Magic In The Wind. Maybe that's because I like the heroine to have a few faults and Kate, the second eldest of the magical Drake sisters is almost saccharine sweet.

Kate's gift is a lovely one, she weaves magic with her voice, calming and soothing emotions. Matt is a very likeable heroine, strong, protective, sexy and I had no problems connecting with him :-) His long standing adoration of Kate is endearing and whilst the two of them have insecurities that they hold close, once they realise they're right for each other, things really heat up in the 'romance' department!

The story focuses not only on Kate and Matt's relationship but the history of Christmas in Sea Haven and the evil entity trying to destroy this peaceful town. And of course it's up to the seven Drake sisters to protect the town from the malevolent spirit. Christine Feehan has ten sisters & three brothers, inspiring her to write this series about the magic of sisters and I can assure you this magic is evident in her writing. I adored reading about the relationships between the Drake sisters, not only their special pyschic bond but the love and support they show each other.

Magic, romance, and suspense, woven together with an eerie undercurrent make this an easy, entertaining read. I can't wait to find out more about the other Drake sisters and their love interests. Next up is Abigail's story in Oceans of Fire.

See my review for book 1, Magic in the Wind.

To learn more about Christine Feehan and the Drake Sister series visit Christine's website.



To celebrate blogging friendships & my birthday two lucky readers can take their pick from a choice of 6 books in my Dec/Jan giveaway. Check this blog post for details. International entrants welcome.

17 comments:

  1. hi teddyree, i just checked your review on 1st book..it's an exciting read..i put them in my TBR list..thanks to you =)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi teddyree,
    Nice review, I really should check out those Drake sisters

    ReplyDelete
  3. Must read this one soon! I loved the first one but it's been so long I can't really remember it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I keep meaning to start reading this series and always forget to order the first one from the library. I really like the sound of them all.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hey great review! I've been thinking about starting this series but I'm just not sure - I've only read 1 Christine Feehan before and it wasn't really my thing. Although I think the sisters theme I'll enjoy - Charmed was one of my favourite shows growing up.

    ReplyDelete
  6. To be completely honest, this would be the first time I ever heard of this author. But the premise of her novel sounds so great that I think I wouldn't hesitate to read them. Witchcraft and any paranormal stuffs have start to grow into me lately and it is even better when they are couple together with romance!

    Very good review =)
    Thanks for sharing this one with us.

    ReplyDelete
  7. dArLyN ~ glad I could help add to your growning tbr pile LOL

    Blodeuedd ~ they are great for when you want a lighter paranormal romance!

    Alaine ~ that's the great thing about doing reviews, you can just pop back and get a little refresher :-) especially for us with brains like sieves LMAO

    ReplyDelete
  8. Vivienne ~ I couldn't read them one after the other but I'm loving the series

    Annie ~ these are nothing like the "dark" series, much lighter, and magical.

    Shy ~ thanks, you could always get the 1st one from the library and see if you like it. Probably more a magical feel than witchcraft as such :-)

    ReplyDelete
  9. I so want to read this 1st book that u mention! Magic is a fav thing to read about!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I think my library has a few books by this author but I haven't read them . I think I need to mend that and read a title and see how I like it. SO there are 7 books in this series ?

    ReplyDelete
  11. Veens ~ Magic in the Wind was a gorgeous read for such a little book, a novella.

    Shweta ~ Library is great for trying a new author before you commit to buying, especially for a series. And yes 7 books, one for each sister :-)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oh wow - this sort of reminds me of a set of boosk that are a set of my all time faavs, The three Sisters Trilogy.... reading your description I was excited to think their are other books out there like that!

    saccharine sweet? LOL...

    ReplyDelete
  13. Sheila ~ is that the Nora Roberts trilogy? I loved it!

    ReplyDelete
  14. hey teddyree.......i've Christine Feehan's Fever on My shelf... havent have time to read it yet....hihi...

    http://coffeecrackers.blogspot.com/2010/01/2nd-on-my-wishlist.html

    ReplyDelete
  15. Your Kindle makes me jealous!!! Was it free?

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hmmm...I haven't heard of this series yet. I need to take a look at book one.

    Thanks for the heads-up on a new series.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hi Teddyree!

    Christine Feehan is another favorite for me, and this story sounds great, paranormal romance is a fav for me, and I haven't read the Drake series yet, so something new for me to try. I loved the review of Magic in the Wind, I need to look up this series!!

    Dottie :)

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for taking the time to leave some comment love, I'm a 'comment back' kinda girl. Don't forget to check the 'Notify me' box