Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Nick and Eve (+ Giveaway)


As cooler temperatures head our way, I’m looking more and more toward Christmas-themed stories and I have a perfect one to share with you today – NICK AND EVE by Elle Rush, the third installment in her North Pole Unlimited series.

Check out the excerpt below, the tasty recipe, and be sure to enter the awesome giveaway at the end.

*Nick and Eve
*By Elle Rush
*(North Pole Unlimited, #3)
*Publication date: November 19th 2018
*Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

          Nick’s plan: dodge his grandmother’s matchmaking attempts by claiming Eve is his date for Christmas. He probably should have asked Eve first.
          Although Nick Klassen is grateful when Eve rides to his rescue after he breaks down outside of December, Manitoba, he can’t run fast enough when his meddling grandmother tries to set him up with the pretty tow-truck driver. Then he gets an idea.
          Between juggling extra hours at work and a never-ending Christmas to-do list, Eve LeBlanc doesn’t have time for a new man in her life. But ever since she picked Nick up on the side of the road, she’s been running into him everywhere.
          His flirtations started innocently enough but when his grandmother invites “his girlfriend” to the family’s Christmas dinner, Nick realizes if he wants to stop pretending about Eve, he must come clean. Once Eve learns of his deception, he’ll need Santa’s help to turn their fake relationship in the real thing.


EXCERPT:
Eve rolled to a stop in the driveway. “This is impressive.” Strings of unlit Christmas lights framed his grandmother’s two-storey house and circled the spruce tree in the front yard. Plastic candy canes stuck in the snowbanks lined the sidewalk, and a pinecone-studded wreath twice the size of the one on the tow-truck’s grill hung from the screen door.
“You should see the inside. Can you wait till I’m certain her car will start? She hasn’t run it in a couple weeks,” Nick said.
His grandmother must have been watching from the window, because the front door opened before they hit the first step. “Come in, it’s freezing out here,” she said.
The entranceway and the adjacent living room were fully Christmas-bombed, from the reindeer-shaped sofa cushions to the double-decker white candy bowl stand, which had a Frosty face and top hat stuck to the top of the wire frame. Nick held back a snicker as Eve spun in a three-sixty and breathed a quiet, “Whoa.”
“You’re not kidding,” he whispered back.
“I’m Adelaide Klassen. Who might you be?” his gran asked. She was dressed for her appointment. After a lifetime of seeing her in business suits at the office, it was always a shock to Nick’s system to see his grey-haired grandmother in jeans and a plaid, flannel shirt.
Eve gave Adelaide’s hand a hearty shake. “Eve LeBlanc, tow-truck driver.”
“It’s lovely to meet you. Are you a special friend of Nick’s?”
Nick sighed. She was starting, and they’d been in the house for thirty seconds. “No, Gran, she’s not my girlfriend.”
“I just picked him up on the side of the road. I must say he is the cutest stray I’ve come across in a while,” Eve added with a smile.
“Don’t encourage her!”


Elle’s Christmas Chocolate Drops (makes 4 dozen)

1/2 cup butter or margarine (125mL)
1/2 cup milk (125mL)
2 cups granulated sugar (500mL)
1/2 cup cocoa (125mL)
2 1/2 cups rolled/quick oats* (625mL)

Put first 4 ingredients in a saucepan.
Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
Boil for 5 full minutes.
Remove from heat.
Stir in rolled oats.
Drop by teaspoon full onto trays covered with waxed paper. (Do this immediately – the chocolate hardens quickly, and you’ll be stuck with a pot full of chocolate if you take too long.)
Let harden.

*Coconut fans can replace 1/2 cup of oats with 2/3 cup of coconut.

Now for those who aren’t familiar with Elle, here’s a brief bit of background on her.

Author Elle Rush
Elle Rush is a contemporary romance author from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. When she’s not travelling, she’s hard at work writing books which are set all over the world. From Hollywood to the house next door, her heroes will make you sigh and her heroines will make you laugh out loud.

Elle has a degree in Spanish and French, barely passed German, and has flunked poetry in every language she’s studied, including English. She also has mild addictions to tea, yarn, Christmas decorations, and HGTV renovations shows.

For more on Elle and her writing, click on the following links:

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Doesn’t the recipe make you want to start baking? Those would be delicious treats to munch on while you read NICK AND EVE, wouldn’t they?

GIVEAWAY!
 
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5 comments:

  1. My chocoholic self doesn't think a pot full of chocolate sounds bad...
    Congratulations to Elle.

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  2. Faking a relationship - always chancy!

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  3. This sounds like a sweet story - on several levels ;-) . There's just something about romance and Christmas, isn't there? Thanks for sharing, Mason.

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  4. What a delightful book. Thanks for this lovely feature and giveaway.

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  5. Love Holiday Romance--Best Wishes!

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