TEST
The Shadows of Christmas Past offers two stories, one a wonderful read and the other only just good enough to pass the time. Both stories, though, have enough plot to keep the reader interested and spread a little holiday cheer.
A Rocky Mountain Miracle by Christine Feehan
Although the title A Rocky Mountain Miracle kept making me think of John Denver songs, the story itself is a perfect blend of romance and suspense, with just the right amount of holiday warmth.
To say that Cole Steele had a terrible life would be an understatement. His entire childhood was wrought with abuse by his millionaire father and abandonment by his drug addicted mother. The minute he was able to, Cole escaped into law enforcement, the one place his father could not control. But when his father is murdered, Cole finds himself the owner of a mansion filled with painful memories and the ward to a fifteen year old half-brother with his own nightmares. Now it is up to Cole to make sure his brother never lives in fear again.
When mysterious and alarming events begin to happen at the ranch, there is only one person who Cole can call on to help. Veterinarian Maia hasn’t had an easy childhood, but she did know the love of a family denied to the Steele brothers. When Cole shows up in Maia’s life, she knows what he wants from her – a one night stand and, even though she is attracted to Cole, she won’t give in to her desires.
But when Cole asks for Maia’s help with a horse, she can’t deny him. And, as Cole soon finds out, he isn’t the only one who feels like an outsider since Maia has some secrets of her own. With a murderer on the lose, however, both Cole and Maia must both open up in order to save themselves and Cole’s brother.
Christine Feehan’s A Rocky Mountain Miracle is a wonderfully written story with the perfect blend of emotions, romance, and suspense. Even though the tale is not as long as most romances, it is longer than the majority of romance novellas, and there is plenty of time to develop a believable history and relationship between the characters.
The Christmas theme is not crammed down our throats, but portrayed subtly through a rather emotional subplot. This story is a bit more real to life than many romances, with a hero who is not flawless and is burdened with a horrible past that never magically goes away. Maia is a kind, strong, and independent heroine with her own problems and her own personality and Cole is just as appealing as a hero.
The suspense does wrap up a bit too quickly, however, and some may not be keen on the dark subplot. There are also times when Maia offers a bit too much information about the species profile of some animal she saved. But, with that said, if you want a good read with well developed characters, suspense, and a story in which you truly do wish for a happy ending, this one will nicely fit the bill.
Grade: B+ Sensuality: WarmÂ
A Touch of Harry by Susan Sizemore
A Touch of Harry by Susan Sizemore features a rather interesting story idea, but with only a little over 100 pages, there is just not enough space for this to be a well developed tale.
Dr. Marjorie Piper has a special ability to communicate with animals and the soft hearted vet is constantly taking in strays. When one night Marjorie comes across a wolf, she is somewhat surprised. But what is even more shocking is when hours later she finds not the wolf she caged, but a naked man. Before she knows it, the man, too, has disappeared.
More bizarre events are yet to come, she realizes, when she runs into a stranger at the local store and then again at a holiday dance. Marjorie is instantly attracted to the man and doesn’t know why. Harry agrees to track Marjorie’s missing wolf if she will agree to help Harry find some missing children. But there is something more to Harry that he obviously isn’t telling Marjorie. He seems to show up at strange moments and know things that he shouldn’t. What Marjorie soon finds out is that Harry is a werewolf.
From the beginning they seem to have an unnatural connection and strong attraction toward each other, but both have secrets about who they really are, and these secrets just may keep them apart. A Touch Of Harry itself is rather interesting, and I did like the characters. Much of the plot mythology, though, is explained in this quick read, mostly by Harry illuminating Marjorie about his kind. However, talking and not showing rarely works well and it doesn’t in this storyline either.
The rushing of the plot, however, is not the only problem. The overall theme of werepeople and humans getting along is a bit tacky at times. This cheesy combination comes to a head at the end in a “can’t we all just get along?” moment that reads like a bad After School Special. This one relies a bit too much on the perfect ending and pre-fab holiday cheer for my taste.
Grad: C+ Sensuality: Warm
Grade: B
Book Type: Anthology|Paranormal Romance
Sensuality: Warm
Review Date: 26/02/05
Publication Date: 11/2004
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Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.