Monday, December 2, 2013

One Sweet Christmas by Darlene Fredette ~ Bridging the Gap Blog Tour ~ Review ~ Giveaway ~ Excerpt


One Sweet Christmas 
by Darlene Fredette


GIVEAWAY:

Darlene will be giving away a piece of Homemade Jewelry and a free PDF copy of one of her two titles (One Sweet Christmas or Keeping Secrets) winner’s choice. Please be sure to enter with the Rafflecopter below. 

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Blurb:

It’s going to take more than a few pieces of chocolate to fill this Scrooge’s heart with Christmas cheer. Luckily Candice Cane has a whole shop full...

Candice Cane is not proud of the way she acted after her last encounter with Jackson Frost. Sure revenge was fun, but it’s left Jackson standing, angry and looking for answers, on the welcome mat in her chocolate shop. Now he’s after some revenge of his own. 

Jackson returned to his small hometown for one reason and one reason only...so he’s not sure how he’s ended up in a Santa suit in the middle of a chocolate shop, at the behest of its beautiful owner, instead of high-tailing it back to the city as fast as he can. 


Sweet Contemporary Romance
Holiday Novella
78 pages

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EXCERPT:

‘You’re late.’ She shoved the bag at him. ‘Here’s your suit.’
He stepped back. ‘Wait, you don’t actually think I’m going through with this.’
‘If you ever want to be single again, you’ll take this bag and get changed in the washroom — now.’ The children were waiting, and lack of sleep made Candi in no mood to argue.
He stood still for several seconds and then, without warning, he closed the door behind him. Jackson grabbed the bag from her hands and tossed it on the counter.
Candi held a breath.
His eyes filled with longing. His chest expanded, as if he attempted to control his breathing. Every nerve in her body tingled in anticipation. The voice in her head demanded she flee, yet her feet remained cemented to the floor. She waited — hoping Jackson would pull her into his arms.
Children’s laughter echoed from the shop and broke his advance.
‘You and I need to clear a few things that are screwy in my head but, apparently, I have a job to do first.’ Jackson shrugged out of his coat and unzipped the bag.
‘You can change...’ Candi stopped. Did he have no modesty? Jackson whisked his blue, long-sleeved shirt over his head and stepped from his dark trousers. He stood in front of her in only a black T-shirt and matching boxers.
Candi’s cheeks burned, but she couldn’t look away. He was beautiful, even more than she remembered. The thin T-shirt stretched across the planes of his chest. His legs were long and muscled. If Jackson meant to embarrass her, his plan worked. Unable to tear her gaze away, she watched as he stepped into the red pants and slipped his arms into the coat. He strapped on the pillow-stuffed belly bag and fumbled with the buttons through the fake fur trim.
The pants were a bit short, but nothing the boots wouldn’t hide. The coat fit snug across his broad shoulders and the pants clung nicely to his butt. Candi sucked in a breath and passed him a wig and fluffy, white beard. Jackson rolled his eyes, donning the fake hair, and topped off the disguise with a floppy red hat.
‘How do I look?’
He would definitely win over the children, but a sinking feeling washed through her stomach when she envisioned the youngsters fighting their mothers to see who first sat on Santa’s lap. ‘Just like jolly old Saint Nick,’ she said. But much hotter!

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About the Author:

An avid reader since childhood, Darlene loved to put a pencil to paper and plot out stories of her own. Her writing is a combination of contemporary romance with chick lit flare, and a main focus as a plot-driven page-turner. When Darlene isn’t writing, editing, or reading she enjoys spending time with her husband, daughter, and Yellow Lab.

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Contact links:

Web Blog: http://findingthewritewords.blogspot.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DarleneLF
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DarleneLF

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REVIEW:

One Sweet Christmas by Darlene Fredette truly is One SWEET Christmas story. As some of you know I have a huge fondness for Christmas stories. So when I am given the chance to read a Christmas story during this time of year, it truly is a Christmas present for me! 

Candice Cane is one busy lady. She owns and runs a chocolate shop. She also helps out at the INN. She needs a Santa for Christmas in her store. Jackson Frost comes to town wanting something form Candice. In exchange for what he wants, Candice has him play Santa in her shop. Candice sees a more caring side of Jackson while he is with the kids. I loved how this guy that didn't think he was going to be able to handle dealing with these little children, is so completely in his element with them. I liked Candice and admired her strong independence that has helped her succeed at what she wants to do. I really liked Candice and her relationship with her employees. 

Jackson arrives in town wanting one thing and one thing only out of this trip. I thought that he had a bit of a chip on his shoulder but I soon seen that he really was a nice guy under that tough guy exterior.  

I really do enjoy second chances at love stories. Candice and Jackson find they have stronger feeling for each other then they ever suspected. I loved watching these two get to know each other again and watching their relationship blossom.  

Like I said at the beginning this really is One SWEET Christmas story. I truly enjoyed watching these two fall in love. I love everything that comes with the Christmas season and this book just added to my feel good mood this time of year. 

If you are looking for a cute, sweet , short Christmas story, I hope you will think about this one. The nice thing about this short story is that it's a fantastic story that can be read in a short amount of time.  I think you will enjoy it. I know I sure did. I had not had the pleasure of reading any work by Darlene Fredette  however, now that I have I would most certainly be interested in reading more.

I was given the opportunity to read this story for today's blog tour. As always is has been my pleasure to share my thoughts with you.

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

7 comments:

  1. Thank you, Crystal, for the review. You've made my day! So happy you enjoyed my story.

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    1. I loved this story it is such a nice, sweet Christmas story :) Thanks for stopping by today Darlene :)

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  2. Yum, a chocolate shop! Now you have me longing for a piece of chocolate, lol. Sounds like a 'sweet' story. Thanks for the review and the giveaway!

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  3. E.L.F Thank you for stopping by. Chocolate lovers and all tasty treat lovers are welcome to devour my story, lol!

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  4. Thanks for hosting today Crystal and great review !! Congrats Darlene :)

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  5. This book looks great, it has my favorites Christmas and sweets---Rachel (WS Chat)

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  6. Thank you for stopping by Krista and Rachel!

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