A little bit fey?

Well, after a long week of ups and downs, I've thrown myself back into reading.  Last night, sitting on the top shelf of my bedroom bookcase, was the complete Drake Sisters series by Christine Feehan.  Since the release of the final book in the series, I haven't really read them from start to finish.  I just pull out my favourite ones (Joley and Ilya, Jonas and Hannah, or perhaps Abby and Alexsandr) and leave the rest gathering dust so to speak.  Then I happened to see that the second Sea Haven book, Spirit Bound, was out and decided that before I order it and Water Bound, I'd re-read the Drake Sisters books through again.

I yanked them all down and have them resting on a side table, so that when I want to grab one I don't have to hunt for it.  It only took a short while to read, and before I went to bed last night I started on Book 2.  So when I woke up this morning at some ungodly hour - okay, it was only 5:30am - I switched on my lamp and finished the second book, The Twilight Before Christmas, which was originally one of my favourites.  However, in a weird coincidence kinda way, outside my windows there happened to be the remains of a fogbank which tied in eerily to the book.  Strange but true....

Anyhow, so I finished Book 2 this morning and have already started on Book 3, Oceans of Fire, which is the story of Abigail and her hunky Russian ex-cop, Alexsandr Volstov... yummy.  But that's getting ahead of myself :P  So instead, here's what I thought of Book 1...

Magic in the Wind

(Drake Sisters short story in Lover Beware)

ISBN: 0-425-20863-X

Okay, so while there is not a lot to work with it is a surprisingly good read.  It has been so long since I've picked up this little book, and it is little at only 103 pages, it only took an hour or so to get through. {side note, why didn't Ms Feehan flesh it out when it was going to be reprinted as a stand alone? Eileen Wilks did it for her short story about Rule and Lily?}  But I digress.

This book sets the series up quite nicely in my opinion.  Some of the sisters are present, their 'curse' is mentioned in full, not just hinted at like in the other titles, plus you get a feel for the dynamics of the family - well the sisters anyway.  Jonas is present, and as annoying as ever, and one would never think that he had any interest in Hannah from his actions in this story.

Sarah, as the eldest, is the first to face the matrimonial firing squad.  You get a to see her in both business and bossy older sister modes, and it does read true.  I suspect that's more to Feehan's inate ability to convey family ties and drawing on her own background as being part of a large family.  That been said, Sarah as a character, as well as Damon, isn't as well fleshed out as the other sisters in their stories but I believe that's only because there was the length restriction for MITW.  However, even with those contraints, you still feel for the characters.  Damon is the hunky egghead who has lead a staid and emotionally stilted life.  He lives in his head, but after surviving an attempted kidnapping that went wrong where his friend and assistant was killed and he suffered permanent injuries, decided on a seachange.  Damon feels guilty and alone... until he meets Sarah.  Their courtship is both quick and intense, and with the threat of further violence, they bond together very quickly.  But unlike the other men in the Drake Sisters lives, Damon doesn't have as much of a back story as such. His only real angst comes from the attack and it's aftermath so you don't get the feeling that he's had a terrible childhood, or was deprived like most of the other men. 

Personally, I'd love to have read this as a full length book, not as a skinny-mini, but it was enough to wet my appetite for more.  Unlike other series, you really don't have to have read this title in order to enjoy the following books, but it does help as it sets up the parameters for the legend/curse of the Drake Sisters and how they will meet their mates.

I'd recommend this for a anyone who enjoys a supernatural romance.  Its great for the bus or train, or even as a lunch-break read.