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47 of 51 found the following review helpful:
 Interesing new series.Nov 14, 2003
By M. Colon
"mf_colon"
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.
11 of 12 found the following review helpful:
 Another hit series in the makingJul 01, 2004
By Darkcat_ak
"darkcat_ak"
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.
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
An awesome tale of romance and evil!Jun 05, 2006
By Valerie Matteson
"Bookaholic"
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!
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
Ms. Feehan's enchanting new Magical Sisters series continues in this storyAug 31, 2005
By Kelley Hartsell
"Kelley"
Courtesy of CK2S Kwips and Kritiques
Ms. Feehan's enchanting new Magical Sisters series continues in this story, and is sure to delight one and all.
Kate Drake is one of seven sisters, gifted with incredible magical gifts. Her gift is in her voice - the ability to soothe the souls of people in distress with only her words. She has returned to her home town, just in time to celebrate Christmas, and enjoy the annual Christmas pageant, with her family and friends. Little does she know what fate has in store for her this holiday season.
Matt Granite is a retired Army Ranger who has recently returned home to take part in the family business. He has loved Kate for years, but figured she was too "perfect" to ever be interested in a man like him, especially since he had a tendency to act clumsy in her presence, much to the amusement of his brothers. When Kate asks him to do some work for her in a run-down mill she intends to turn into a bookstore, he jumps at the chance to spend more time with her. What he doesn't know is she has always felt the same way for him.
While they are inspecting the building, they find an old crypt in the basement, which seems to have been opened by a recent earthquake, allowing something better kept imprisoned to escape. Suddenly Kate feels that an old evil has been freed, something dreadful with plans to ruin Christmas. Its first desire seems to be to destroy Kate, and her family. Matt wants nothing more then to protect his love from the entity set on destruction. Now all seven sisters must join their powers to stop this being once and for all, before it destroys Christmas, her town and family, and her new-found love.
Is there nothing the incomparable Ms. Feehan can't write? Once again she has proven herself a master of the paranormal romance genre. She is always pushing the envelope with new stories bound to become keepers for all of her fans, as well as to bring in new ones. Her voice is as fresh as ever, proving her imagination is far from tapped out. This book is very different from most of her other works, while still showing strong her trademark voice.
Matt and Kate are meant to be together, if only they can get past their doubts. Sparks are evident from their first meeting in the story, igniting rapidly into the 5-alarm blaze their passion develops into. Both are amazed by this, never having believed anything could come of their love for each other. Plenty of humor still can be found, even in the midst of such a dark tale. It is provided by the antics of Mike's brothers, and a couple of Kate's sisters, as they harass the couple, and other family friends. There is also evidence of a couple blossoming relationships between some of the other characters, possibly to be developed in future books in the series.
The action is well-developed and perfectly paced to keep the reader waiting with baited breath. The anticipation builds, with Kate and her sisters' victory becomes more imperative as the malevolent entity grows in strength, all the while wearing their own strengths down. Events spiral up and around, leading into the ultimate confrontation, which is not quite what the reader is expecting, but guaranteed to please.
This book has it all, with a fiery romance, abundant humor, plenty of action, and a satisfying ending, leaving the reader begging for more. One will be happy to know, the story does not end here... it is only beginning.
© Kelley A. Hartsell, September 2003. All rights reserved.
6 of 7 found the following review helpful:
powerful supernatural romantic thrillerNov 07, 2003
By Harriet Klausner
After seeing the world, Kate Drake returns to her hometown of Sea Haven, which makes resident Matthew Granite elated as he has loved her forever. However, one thing that has not changed is Matthew's inability to speak a phrase in her presence as whenever he sees her he is tongue twisted. Though a former Army Ranger who faced danger with confidence, he has never been able to tell Kate that he loves her. He prays for a Yuletide miracle On the other hand Kate shares the same feelings as Matt. Though she can actually say an entire sentence in his presence, she believes an adventurer like he is will never stay with a couch potato. She hopes for a Christmas miracle. An earthquake releases a malevolent essence from its underground interment. This evil threatens the town with a debilitating fog and nightmares making day and night frightening beyond reason. Kate and her sisters must use the magic they possess to battle this wickedness if the people of Sea Haven are to survive. Matt shows his love for Kate by joining her in the fray. Christine Feehan shows why she is one of the best at creating suspenseful paranormal romances with this powerful supernatural romantic thriller. The couple lead couple provides quite a contrast between their uncertainties about love vs. their bravery in war. The rest of the Drakes are as charming, weaving a spell on readers that will echo at a best seller rate back to Ms. Feehan with one reiterative word: sequel. Harriet Klausner
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