Draycott Everlasting: Christmas Knight\Moonrise Book

3.5 stars for the uneven parts of both stories - but both are good and worth reading as part of the series

Another two-fer in the Draycott Abbey series.

Christmas Night introduces us to Hope O'Hara, trying to make a go of her new B&B in the Scottish Glenbrae House. The three sisters in the neighboring cottage with more than a little magic give Hope just what she wants and needs - a romance that hopefully leads to a family. All of Hope's family is gone now, and she's losing her spirits in the fight to keep the B&B, stave off the horrid Winston Wyndgate, and make the necessary repairs without a handy man. It's coming up on Christmas - Hope's favorite season. But even her French chef Gabby and her boyfriend Jeff and their schemes to create a "ghost" to attract customers to the B&B can't keep Hope from feeling lonely. She finds herself talking to the life-sized portrait of the unknown MacLeod warrior in the stairway.

So the 3 weird sisters decide to take action, and they bring Ronan MacLeod from the 13th century into the present, just in time to rescue Hope as she falls from the roof trying to make repairs during a storm. It's a bit irritating how Hope can't see Ronan's a man out of time; I realize it's tough to believe he's just come from the 13th century, but it takes far too long for her to believe him. And the story drags a bit in the middle, as Ronan constantly backs away from Hope because of his "honor". I understand he's concerned about when he might be swept back to his own time and all, but still...

Despite the occasional lags and drags, it's a fun story that includes Nicholas, Kacey, and their 5-year old Genevieve. And a mystery!

Moonrise is one of the more unusual in this series... Sara Nightingale is an FBI agent working alone in Draycott Abbey, poring through maps trying to discover where the long-lost treasure of Marco Polo might be buried. Marston barely makes an appearance, which is very disappointing. But Adrian is in full-force, in fact, he becomes flesh in this story!

Adrian is doing his usual yearly old to new sweep and protection spells over Draycott Abbey. Except just as he sweeps away the old, a black cloud and force takes over, preventing him from putting the new protection in place. An old friend/rival, Navarre, a knight of medieval times, comes out of the black, seeking revenge on Adrian. Here's where it gets weird to me... Adrian seems to have full knowledge of events that took place during the lifetime of another Viscount of Draycott Abbey - one from the medieval times. And Navarre recognizes Adrian - even speaks of him as if Adrian were the Viscount from that time?!

Regardless, Gabriel Navarre thinks that Adrian betrayed him and slept with his ward - the woman that Gabriel was fighting to get permission from the king to wed. Except that someone else was involved with kidnapping the woman and deliberately misleading Gabriel about Adrian, leading to Gabriel's defeat. Before he dies, Gabriel makes a vow of revenge... one that evil cannot resist. So rather than dying, Gabriel is swept up into the dark clouds of evil, living in the in-between until he can exact his revenge.

Sara Nightingale is, of course, the reincarnation of Gabriel's ward. It's through her that Gabriel allows Adrian from moonrise to moonrise to get his affairs in order before Gabriel destroys Draycott Abbey and all in it. Except that as Gabriel realizes who Sara is, he falls in love with her and she with him - or they remember their past love.

But the forces of evil aren't so easily put down. And it will take the combined magic of Gabriel, Sara, and Adrian to stop the evil from spilling out from the in-between and destroying all in its path. Can they do it in time?
----
Moonrise was good, but... the inconsistencies of who Adrian is and what he remembers bothered me. (Yes, I know about his part in Nicholas' life. But it was never before mentioned that Adrian has lived or knows about the lives of other Viscounts of the Draycott family until conveniently now.)