THE TWILIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS

Author: Christine Feehan ISBN:074347628X 11/2003 CONTEMPORARY Publisher: POCKET BOOKS - Simon and Schuster

They were masters of the darkness, searching through eternity for a mistress of the light… Lead guitarist of the Dark Troubadors, Dayan was renowned for his mesmerizing performances. His melodies stilled crowds, beckoned, seduced, tempted. And always, he called to her. His lover. His lifemate. He called to her to complete him. To give him the emotions that had faded from his existence, leaving him an empty shell of growing darkness. Save me. Come to me. Corrinne Wentworth stood at the vortex of a gathering storm. Pursued by the same fanatics who’d murdered her husband, she was risking her life by keeping more that one secret. Fragile, delicate, vulnerable, she had an indomitable faith that made her fiery surrender to Dayan all the more powerful. This was the one woman whose loss would destroy him, even as her love promised to heal his soul. Read more about Ms. Feehan at http://www.christinefeehan.com/

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

I admit I am a devoted Feehan fan, so it is hard for me to find fault with her work, except for that lion story. Still trying to figure that one out. Anyway, this review should come as no surprise to anyone who has read my reviews on Feehan books before.

The TWILIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS gives me another group of characters to look forward to hearing more about. Witch sisters to be exact. This book, however, is about Kate Drake and her diehard devoted Matt Granite.

Matt has loved Kate his whole life but never acted on it. Everyone in the small town knows he loves Kate and they tease him constantly. Everyone except Kate, that is. He always seems to say or do the wrong thing around her. Kate feels the same way about Matt, and has the same foot in mouth syndrome. When the two are reunited in their hometown for the holidays, all that wanting but not touching comes to an end.

A sinister force is out to stop the annual Christmas pageant and its up to Kate and her magical sisters to stop it. As the strength of the ghoul grows he takes on a more dangerous role, from throwing wreaths to possessing people. The menacing apparition actually gave me the heebie-jeebies, and I actually closed the book at one point because I could feel the guy staring at me!

In between fighting off the nightmare in the fog, Matt and Kate do some serious connecting. Soon it's all over town that Matt finally has his girl, but Kate may not survive the coming battle with the mysterious fog dweller. The chemistry between the two is pretty intense and I must say that they are a good couple. Unfortunately I have been tainted by Carpathian sex and its hard to read a book by Christine Feehan that doesn't have that intensity!

Shannon Johnson