I know I'm dreadfully previous here, but I just finished Christine Feehan's The Twilight Before Christmas - book 2 in her enchanting Drake Sisters series. As you've probably already realized, I am a huge Feehan fan. I have read her entire Dark Carpathian series, and now am captivated by the Drake series.

The Twilight Before Christmas is the story of Kate Drake, the second eldest of the seven magical Drake sisters. Kate, an award winning novelist, has returned home to the ancestral Drake family home in Sea Haven just in time for the town's annual Christmas pageant. She's ready to settle down, and has bought an run-down mill, in hopes of renovating it into a combination bookstore and cafe.

Former Army Ranger Matt Granite (love the name btw!) has also returned home to Sea Haven, to work in his family's construction business. When he learns of the possibility of working close to Kate in renovating her mill, Matt jumps at the chance to spend time with the woman he's been in love with for years.

When an earthquake cracks the foundation of the mill revealing a burial crypt, a centuries-old evil is released - a force so malevolent and powerful that it will take the combined talents of all seven Drake sisters to defeat it.

The Twilight Before Christmas was truly delightful! I loved the characters of Kate and Matt and how they related to each other - they fit together so perfectly. The storyline was suspenseful, and the history of Christmas in Sea Haven and the elements of the supernatural weaved intricately together to build a beautiful story of love and forgiveness. The action throughout the book is well-developed and leaves the reader hanging on every page in anticipation of what's coming next. The fog that rolled in to Sea Haven masking a sinister and vindictive force was just plain eerie. Feehan's writing makes it possible for the reader to "feel" the tendrils of the fog wrapping around them.

I recommend The Twilight Before Christmas for anyone who enjoys well-written paranormal romance/suspense. I had a creepy-good time reading it, and I can't wait to pick up the next book in the series, Oceans of Fire. ( )

This Series is bout a family of magical sisters and the family ledged that all seven have powers, the first 6 each have a different power and the seventh has all six.

Kate returns home in time for the Christmas play in the Northern California town they are from. Problems begin when Kate buys an old mill. She has a local handyman Matt (and ex army ranger) check things out, and as they search the mill moving stuff around they find a crypt in the basement. They end up releasing a mist that puts the town in peril. ( )

I personally thought it was a charming, yet haunting story. The fog the story centered around made me nervous to see fog afraid I was going to have to save the day like heroine Kate Drake. But with seven sisters, all witches, at least there is never a dull moment! Coming from a Pagan background, I understood the subtlety of modern day Paganism but with a twist! What Pagan wouldn’t want to use her powers for good but also to make a sandwich without having to lift anything but a finger? As far as the Christmas symbols and the story setting in Christmastime, I loved it. Christmas is one of my favorite Holidays so naturally I enjoyed all the talk about Christmas and pageants. Oh, and those steamy love-making scenes! Who wouldn’t enjoy a nice rumble under the Christmas tree? Now that’s one heck of a gift! The only problem I had was that certain parts seemed to drag on. Though I must say I have been forming a habit of not reading the first of a series and going directly to the next- this is the 2nd book of the Drake Sisters series. I’ll have to read the first book in the series. ( )

The seven Drake sisters all have special powers, and Kate Drake’s is the ability to calm emotions. When a spirit is freed by an earthquake and begins trying to destroy Christmas in her small town, Kate and her sisters join to drive the spirit away. The spirit and Christmas parts were incredibly cheesy, but the love story was hot. I’m interested in reading about sister Hannah and the sheriff, Jonas. ( )

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… ( )