This is the fourth book in the series about the Drake sisters and their magical powers. Without having read every single one of its predecessors, I found this one enjoyable and easy to follow. The story was a nice mix of suspense, romance, and, thankfully, not too many over-the-top scenes of magical mayhem. In fact, what I liked most was that the supernatural elements were, for the most part, smoothly intertwined with the plot and characters.

Dr. Libby Drake is the “good girl” in the family of seven sisters, but she harbors a secret attraction for the brilliant “bad boy” of scientists, Ty Derrick. He’s not only handsome, but also extremely intelligent, accomplished, with a bit of a wild side.

Ty has crossed paths with Libby before, but it’s not until he’s involved in a rescue mission gone wrong that things between the two finally get going. Libby simply cannot let such a brilliant mind/body die, and she puts her magical powers to use — the power to heal, of course. After being revived, Ty is determined to investigate the mystery of Libby’s abilities as a doctor as well as his own attraction to her.

I really like Feehan’s writing, and how the characters of Libby and Ty were drawn. Libby is calmly and quietly centered and empathetic, while Ty is more outspoken and brash, and their attraction strikes quite a few sparks both sexually and intellectually. I didn’t feel too strongly about the characters when they were apart, but I really did like them when they were together.

Still, I didn’t feel as if this particular relationship was developed quite as smoothly as in Feehan’s other books. Ty notes that he’s had his eye on Libby for a while, but the fact that he’s been biding his time seems at odds with how he is usually a man of action. The romance then moves a little too quickly from them being acquaintances to Libby saving his life to the two of them taking their relationship much further, without enough in between. I enjoyed what romance there was, but it did seem to be a little rushed, and, consequently, it almost runs out of steam by the end.

A measure of suspense is added through mysterious incidents that threaten both of their lives. There are, however, far too many suspects. Ty suspects a fellow scientist of improper conduct in research for an experimental treatment, while Libby’s powers have attracted some unwanted attention from an “admirer” who may or may not have good intentions. Be forewarned that there is absolutely no love triangle in this book, which is what I assumed after reading the back cover’s description of “a dangerously influential admirer” who is “pursuing the elementally gifted beauty for his own wicked purpose.” There is someone pursuing Libby, but there is nothing romantic in the least about his overtures. (This is not a criticism, just an observation that the back cover is slightly misleading.) Libby has also used her powers before to help others, but has suffered because people expect more than what she can give.

My problem with the mystery is that I felt the author tried too hard to keep the real perpetrator of the threats a secret by throwing too many plot complications into the mix. There are multiple red herrings in the story that in the end I felt were unnecessary.

Then there are the other Drake sisters, a group of characters I actually liked, though I can’t name them all by memory. It helped that the ones who have already been paired off were not as prominent as the ones who are still single. The single sisters have future romantic interests who are either present or are referenced, and the set up so far is intriguing. Overall, I didn’t really think the number of side characters was too distracting, and I am very interested in how Feehan will make the other sisters’ stories work.

I also enjoyed the elements of magic in the book, simply because I felt it didn’t go overboard. Quieter scenes where the sisters simply bond and support each other by singing worked quite well.

What I liked far outnumbered what I didn’t like about the book, so I can recommend it if you enjoyed the other books in the series. And if you hadn’t read any others, this book had an enjoyable balance of magic and romance, so this is a good place to start if you’d like to jump into the world of the Drake sisters.