The Twilight Before Christmas

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 show more 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. show less

2.5 stars

This one felt a bit sillier than the first in the series. I have a high tolerance for silliness, but I had to roll my eyes a little with a few things—the big deal fancy careers all the sisters have, the weird reservations Kate has about getting involved with Matthew, the repetitiveness of the fog attacks. And I’m used to a certain amount of orgasmic hyperbole in these things—people exploding and floating into the stars and whatnot—but one description in particular just was so explicit and weird, I clutched my pearls and said, “Don’t say it that way, Christine Feehan!”
I think too I didn’t warm to Kate and Matthew like I did to Sarah and Damon in the first of the series. Kate came off like a damsel in distress show more more than I like in my lady characters, but I recognize that was probably intentional, given why she thinks she and Matthew aren’t compatible.
I’m still curious about this series, and I do like the small town setting, the closeness of the sisters, their friendship with the sheriff, the friendships among the male characters, and of course the supernatural aspects of the plots. I also liked the interview with the author at the end. She seems like such a good egg, I don’t want to judge the series too harshly by one book or rate this one lower than a three. That’s my inscrutable code and rating system, and the secret to my success.
So, let’s see how the next one goes! Who will fall in love next‽ show less

This was a re-read. I do believe I enjoyed it much more a decade ago than now. I needed them to stop with the sex and focus on the malevolent spirit tormenting the sisters. The premise was wonderful gothic-y goodness, but the story needed — more? Also, Sheriff Jonas needs to be turned into a toad ASAP.

I am doing a re-read of the Drake Sisters series, one of those nostalgic returns to a series I once loved. It has been over twenty years since I last read The Twilight Before Christmas, and I have to admit, I don't quite understand why I loved it as much as I once did.

I remember always preferring Kate over the other sisters, and I still think her powers are my favorite. The story itself centers around a mysterious fog that seems to hate Christmas, a fun premise of a book as we head into the holiday season. The romance is highly unrealistic and unrelatable but that is part of this series' charm. All the sisters pretty much go from zero to one hundred with their men.

Overall, it's a fine story. I still enjoyed the re-read, though I suspect show more that has as much to do with nostalgia as with the book itself. show less

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 show more 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. show less

Lots of Beautiful People. Lots of HEA. Then again, why else would someone read a romance? :)

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.