Christmas Eve Secret: Time Travel Novel by Elyse Douglas
Publisher: Broadback (September 16, 2019)
Category: Time Travel, Historical Fiction, Romance, Christmas
Tour Dates: October-November, 2019
ISBN: TBD
Available in Print and ebook, 440 pages
Description Christmas Eve Secret: Time Travel Novel by Elyse Douglas
A mysterious man from the past steals the time travel lantern.
When Eve and Patrick find it, they destroy it.
Eve’s life is shattered.
She must return to the past, where secrets await.
In the third novel of THE CHRISTMAS EVE series, Eve and Patrick Gantly are living a normal life in 2019 New York, preparing to celebrate the Christmas season. Patrick is taking courses in forensic psychology and Eve continues to work as a nurse practitioner. To their delight, she is three months pregnant.
Despite their happiness, Eve is having premonitions that something dreadful is about to occur. Concerned about the future and the safety of their child, she insists that they destroy the time travel lantern. Patrick is more cautious.
One afternoon when Patrick is out, a sinister man breaks into the apartment and forces Eve to give him the lantern. In many ways, Eve is relieved the lantern is gone. She hopes they can now live a more normal life.
A day later, Patrick shadows a woman who has been staking out the Gantly’s brownstone apartment, and he confronts her. To his and Eve’s utter shock, they learn that Lucy Rose is from 1924 and that she time-traveled with the man who took the lantern. He returned to 1924, but she chose to stay behind. She offers to sell the lantern back to Eve and Patrick, and they reluctantly agree, hoping to keep it out of unscrupulous hands.
Convinced that the lantern is a threat to their future happiness, Eve and Patrick decide to destroy it.
But the lantern has more power than they could have ever imagined. Once the lantern is destroyed, Eve’s life is completely changed. She must set off on an adventure, in a struggle that will return her to the past, where she will learn the secret of the lantern’s origin and delve into the farthest reaches of her heart.
Guest Review by Betty B.
This is the third installment in the ‘Christmas
Eve’ series from Elyse Douglas. I've
been waiting for this one! I absolutely adored the first two books in the
series and I'm so glad for another one to dig into.
In book three, we once again return to the
lives of Eve and Patrick Gantly, the dynamic married couple who possess a
magical lantern that allows them to travel through time. Now that Eve and
Patrick are happily married and expecting a baby, Eve decides that she wants to
destroy the lantern, feeling that it brings too much chaos into their lives.
But, as the couple are still deciding what to do with it, a man who seems to be
from a different time breaks into their house one day and demands that Eve give
him the lantern.
Soon afterward, Patrick corners a
mysterious and frightened woman who seems to be stalking the couple. When the
woman confesses that she is a time traveler too, it sets up another thrilling
adventure for the couple to embark on. When Eve and Patrick decide once and for
all that they want to destroy the lantern, they must first find it.
I love the writing in this series and the
witty dialog that Douglas uses to create this world. There are so many great scenes
between the main characters and so many little details that are added to the
world building. Eve and Patrick's relationship has evolved so beautifully over
the course of the series; it's a real treat to read their interactions in this
one. They really behave like an actual married couple, with just enough passion
and romance to keep the story spicy!
If you enjoy this book, I highly recommend
reading more of Douglas' writing, it's all fantastic and worth taking the time
to find! ‘The Christmas Eve Secret is
another 5 star read from the writing team of Elyse Douglas!
Read an excerpt
Eve and Joni stood close, near the
fireplace, feeling its heat. The
medium-built man with bony features, tight build and hard, menacing eyes kept
the gun pointed at them.
Joni’s hands trembled. Eve’s heart pounded, and she instinctively
touched her stomach as if to protect her baby.
“What do you want?” was all Eve could say.
“Where is it?”
“Where is what? Money?”
“I don’t give a damn about your money,”
the man said, his voice low and breathy.
“Where’s the lantern?”
Eve was so startled that, for a few
seconds, she thought maybe this was some kind of joke. Maybe Patrick had sent the man. Maybe Joni.
They were the only two people on the Earth who knew the lantern existed.
“What lantern?” Eve forced out, searching
the man’s face and eyes for signs of a grin.
There was no grin. His dark eyes
hardened, and they were pointed at her, just like the barrel of the gun was
pointed at her.
“Okay, hotsy-totsy, stop with the doe-dumb
eyes. I’m no sap. I know you’ve got it, so go get it. There are real bullets in this gun, and I’ll
use them on the both of you if I have to.”
Eve and Joni exchanged frightened
glances. His voice was strange. His inflection odd, his use of slang
cartoonish. But the man before them was
no cartoon. His evil intent was evident
and palpable.
Georgy Boy, sensing something was wrong,
left the comfort of the fireplace and retreated to the bedroom, where he
wriggled under the bed.
When the truth struck, Eve felt the cold
fill her up, a cold that the heated fire couldn’t touch. Her legs went rubbery, and she fought to stay
on her feet and not faint.
This guy was from the past: his look, his gestures, his slang. There was no doubt about it. But what past? What year?
What date, and how did he know about the lantern?
“Who are you?” Eve said, her voice a
little whisper.
“It don’t matter who I am, doll. You just go get the lantern,” he snapped,
waving the gun around. “I don’t plan to
stay here all day until your big boy husband shows up. Get the lantern. Now!”
Eve’s breath sped up. Her only thoughts were of her baby. Protect her baby. Give this man anything he wants but protect
her baby. Eve took a couple of steps
forward, gathering strength. Joni
stared, her eyes two terrified circles.
Eve moved past the man, down the short,
carpeted hallway toward the bedroom.
Patrick had texted that he’d be home about 5 p.m. What time was it? She’d taken off her watch. Her phone was on the coffee table in the
living room.
The man followed her close, the barrel of
the gun pointed only four feet from her back.
Inside the bedroom, Eve glanced at the digital clock near the
queen-sized bed. It was 4:23 p.m. Maybe Patrick would be early. On the other hand, Eve didn’t want him coming
through the front door. The man looked
determined to get what he wanted, and he might shoot Patrick.
Eve paused at the bedroom closet, her mind
suddenly running through speculation. If
this man knew about the lantern, then it was reasonable to assume that he knew
how it worked and what it was capable of.
She breathed out a jet of air.
Her worst nightmare had come true.
For days she’d had the premonition that something concerning the lantern
was about to happen. Why hadn’t she just
tossed the thing into the river when she had the chance?
“Hurry up,” the man demanded. “I don’t have all day.”
Eve glanced back at him. His expression was ugly. His tight mouth twitched. His eyes held resolve.
“It may not work for you,” Eve said, in a
small voice.
“Don’t you worry your head about that,
doll face. Get it! And don’t try anything. I’m sure you have a gun hidden back there
someplace, just in case something like this happened. But don’t even think about it. You’ll be dead before you can reach for it.”
Actually, there was no gun hidden
away. She and Patrick never thought
they’d need to protect the lantern, other than to put it in a safe. Except for Joni, no one knew about it.
Inside the closet, Eve crouched down. To her left stood the three and a half foot safe. Patrick had found it online. It was constructed of steel, was
pry-resistant and seamlessly welded with a military, scratch-resistant finish. The inside was carpeted and integrated with
an LED light. It was accessed by a
six-digit PIN that was easy to remember because it was her mother’s birthday.
“Hurry up in there,” the man growled.
Eve nervously punched in the PIN, tugged
on the handle and opened the safe door.
In the glow of the LED light, the old lantern looked eerie and
ominous. Her temples pounded as she
reached for it, feeling sad, confused and angry. Of all the people to get the lantern, this
man was surely not worthy. Who knew what
he’d do with it, or what he’d already done?
Praise Christmas Eve Letter: Time Travel Novel by Elyse Douglas
“If you are a fan of authors such as Nicholas Sparks and Marybeth Whalen, or H.G. Wells or Jack Finney, you need to add this book to your shelves.
This is a romantic suspense novel with many dangerous and tense moments. As always, when one travels in time, the concern of consequences and potential changes to history and the future weigh heavily on both the traveler’s and readers’ minds. Those worries added to the atmosphere but were also handled skillfully. I smiled at a certain twist of color. It is a perfect bookclub read.”- Laura’s Interests
“The Christmas Eve Letter is a beautiful, poignant story. It is well written and will have you turning the pages eagerly.
All of the characters are well thought out, and believably written, together with the well-constructed scenery, that has you feeling as if you yourself have just stepped into the past.
The story is unique and moving. It will hold you long after you turn the last page. A perfect Christmas tale of love and hope.”- Whispering Stories
“The Christmas Eve Letter is a wonderful time travel book and one of my favorite books of the year.”- The Book Return Blog
Praise Christmas Eve Daughter: Time Travel Novel by Elyse Douglas
“This book is the perfect vehicle for a movie, and I can only hope that there will be more in the series. This novel is truly as close to perfection as the reader could imagine! 5 Stars!”- My Devotional Thoughts Blog and Reviews
“I enjoyed the new characters, an update on characters from the first book, and the possibility for more books. If you enjoy time travel-themed novels you will love these books!”- StoreyBook Reviews
“I am most impressed that this book did so well as a stand-alone novel. Kudos to the author! If you are looking for a good Christmas book with time travel, give this a go!”- Carole's Bookshelves
About Elyse Douglas
Elyse Douglas is the pen name for the married writing team Elyse Parmentier and Douglas Pennington. Elyse grew up near the sea, roaming the beaches, reading and writing stories and poetry, receiving a master’s degree in English Literature. She has enjoyed careers as an English teacher, an actress and a speech-language pathologist.
Douglas has worked as a graphic designer, a corporate manager and an equities trader. He attended the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music and played the piano professionally for many years.
Website: www.elysedouglas.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/douglaselyse
Facebook: www.facebook.com/elyse.authorsdouglas
Pre-Order Christmas Eve Secret: Time Travel Novel by Elyse Douglas
Giveaway Christmas Eve Secret: Time Travel Novel by Elyse Douglas
This giveaway is for the winner’s choice of one print or ebook copy of the book. Print is open to the U.S. only and ebook is available worldwide. There will be 3 winners. This giveaway ends November 29, 2019, midnight pacific time.
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