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47 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Interesing new series., November 14, 2003
I became a fan of Christine Feehan through her Dark series, which I love and of course brought this new book, which continued the story she started in the anthology "Lover Beware", about seven witch sisters. I found her second book in the series "The Twilight Before Christmas" truly enjoyable. Both the heroine and hero were believable and fun to read about it. Most women could relate to Kate, who everyone believes to be untouchable, but underneath as unsure and scared of herself as the rest of us. She believes she is not interesting nor exciting enough for the hero. Matt was your typical Feehan-style male: handsome, humourous and stubborn, and like the heroine he hid more than originally let on. Both characters worked well together and were a good match. The storyline was a good one too; the suspense and supernatural elements were well played out and the history of Christmas was interesting in the context of the story. Feehan does a good job in this respect, playing on themes such as redemption, love, goodwill and sacrifice. All important and appropriate themes for a Christmas story. The added backlines about the secondary characters and the rest of the Drake sisters added to the whole story. All in all, a great story by Ms. Feehan. I think she has a really good series in the making with the magical Drake sisters and I look forward to the next one.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Another hit series in the making, July 1, 2004
It's the holiday season once again, and Kate Drake, a well-known author has returned home permanently. She has bought the old mill, and wants to renovate the building to convert it into a bookstore/coffee stand. It is while out horseback riding that she encounters Matt Granite, who she has had a crush on since a teenager. Matt Granite has had a crush on Kate since she was a teenager and he was in college. He has been waiting for her to visit home, so he is ecstatic when he finds out she has returned to Sea Haven permanently. Then, while encountering her on the roadside, there is a violent earthquake. Because he works in construction, Matt quickly agrees to help Kate remodel her mill and even volunteers to make sure there wasn't any structural damage. What the couple finds is an unknown evil force that has been buried beneath the mill, sealed in a tomb by a Drake ancestor. With little time to spare as the evil is attacking everything to do with holiday cheer the seven Drake sisters and Matt join together. But will their combined strength be enough to stop it from growing? Like other reviewers, I am a big fan of Ms Feehan and her Carpathians. With THE TWLIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, she has another hit series in the making. What I didn't know (and after reading this story now makes sense) is that this is the second story in the series. This story is SO different from her Carpathian series. I would classify this story as a romantic suspense, because I was scared witless! I had creepy horror music playing through my head during half of the story. So I suppose this is a good thing if you like that sort of thing. I really appreciate the fact that when the sisters weren't fighting the mist they had a light and playful humor. But I think there were too many characters all at one time for me. It wasn't until the end of the story when I finally felt like I knew who was who. Because of all the characters vying for time in the story, I felt cheated of getting to know Kate and Matt. I feel that more time could have been involved with them discussing renovation plans or what they had been doing with their own lives (and made the book longer) rather than some of the snippets of time spent with the family. I like both of the characters from what I know of them, but I didn't feel like I've gotten to KNOW Kate and Matt. I really felt this was a let down, because in other novels Ms Feehan has written, I felt like I knew the characters as people rather than just being a reader; so I felt a little cheated in this aspect. However, I am proud of myself for finishing the story because the mist really freaked me out. I have to say that this was a really well written story and I really like the idea and concept of a family of witches. I would be very interested in reading Jacksons' story, but I think I'm gonna stick with the Carpathian series because I don't ever remember ever being so scared over a book! So I have to say I'm neither for, nor against THE TWILIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An awesome tale of romance and evil!, June 5, 2006
I read the Drake sisters novels out of order (Oceans of Fire was my first) and they were also my first Christine Feehan books. She is an incredible writer with a true gift!! Kate Drake, a best-selling mytery author, is the second eldest of the 7 sisters and has decided to setup a bookstore/cafe in an old mill near the Drake cliff house. She runs into Matt Granite literally and sparks fly! I love how he thinks he is a klutz around her and she thinks the same thing!! Matt is already half in love with Kate as being about 4 or 5 years older he admired her when she was a budding young teenager and is even more awed now that she is a famous author and full grown beautiful woman. Kate has also yearned for Matt for years. In fact, most (all?) of the heroes in her novels contain parts of how she sees Matt. But even as they meet and make a business appointment for the next day for Matt to look at the old mill and the renovation work required, a minor earthquake appears that makes both of them feel very uneasy. As Matt and Kate and her sisters and Jonas, the sheriff, and Jackson, his deputy, investigate what evil has been unleashed, romance and danger lurk everywhere for Matt and Kate. This is enjoyable story with a really well thought out plot and conclusion. I enjoyed it and look forward to her new Drake sisters' novel!
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