A Very Gothic Christmas (Holiday Classics)

by Christine Feehan and Melanie George

[Kim Deister]

In After the Music, Jessica arrives on a remote island in the midst of a horrible storm with the twins who have been practically her own since their birth 13 years ago. Tara and Trevor haven't seen their father for many years, since a terrible fire that changed all of their lives irrevocably. But now, for reasons that soon come clear, Jessica has brought them to the island unannounced, knowing that their father will protect them when she can't.

I don't know that I would have necessarily called this "gothic" in the traditional sense, but I very much enjoyed the novella. Sometimes novellas can be too short to allow you to become full invested in the characters, but I did not find this to be true with this story. I was able to feel for Jessica from the opening scene and for the twins throughout the story. There were many twists and turns and I was kept guessing until the very end; the suspense kept me on the edge throughout the novella. A quick read that I would recommend, especially for the holidays.

In Lady of the Locket, Rachel arrives at Glengarren broken in spirit. Having had a traumatic year, she has come to Scotland to fulfill the last wishes of her parents. Glengarren was the place where her parents met and fell in love and it is where she must finally let go of them and say goodbye. The castle is rumored to be haunted and Rachel's life is changed forever when she meets the Highlander who was the first Lord of Glengarren, centuries earlier.

Of the two novellas, this second one was unexpectedly heartwrenching to me. Rachel's pain was almost palpable and I found myself feeling her sadness. There was scene towards the end of such despair that I was in tears reading it. It was romantic and lovely and had a fairy tale ending, everything you want in a romance novel!