Something Wicked Returns: Nikki Jefford Guest Post & Giveaway + Review of Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter!

 Today I'm excited to welcome author Nikki Jefford to the blog for Something Wicked Returns.  She's put together an awesome guest post and a fantastic giveaway!

Nikki is the author of the Spellbound trilogy which I loved, and the Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter series, which I am reviewing at the bottom of this post.

Be sure to stop by the other Something Wicked Returns posts as well!
Tressa@Tressa's Wishful Endings: C.J. Hill: Slayers
Maja@The Nocturnal Library: Veronica Rossi

The Chewing Dead

You know what they say – stereotypes exist for a reason and it’s no different for vampires. Biting, bloodsucking, anti-aging, and murderous tendencies. Vamps have a rep for a reason.

LEGEND HAS IT

While coming up with the Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter series, I wanted to stay true to certain stereotypes while putting an entirely new spin on what it means to be undead. One of the biggest differences is that only people with AB negative or positive, the rarest blood types in the world, could become a member of the undead.

The second trigger is disease.

One of my biggest sources of inspiration while outlining the series (after Buffy, of course) was Mark Jenkins book Vampire Forensics: Uncovering the Origins of an Enduring Legend.

Poll: What Blood Type Are You?
O
A
B
AB

SYMPTOMS OF VAMPIRISM

Curiously, most vampire folklore originates during times of plagues and other outbreaks throughout history.

In 16th and 17th century Italy the legend of the “chewing dead” was taken so seriously that bricks were rammed inside the mouths of suspected plague-causing vampires before their burial as a means of stopping the creatures from rising from their graves claiming more victims.

One of the most frequently cited medical causes of vampirism is rabies. Spanish neurologist Dr. Juan Gomez-Alonso made a connection between reports of rabies outbreaks running rampant in Hungary from 1721 – 1728 and reports of “vampire epidemics” that followed shortly after. He found that nearly 25 percent of rabid men had a tendency to bite other people.

Other genetic disorders further fueled the legend. Porphyria, for example, usually lies dormant in the bloodstream, but once awakened causes hyposensitivity to sunlight – so much so that it can destroy a person’s nose, fingers, and gum tissues – making teeth appear more prominent (ie: fanglike).

Tuberculosis, yet another disease associated with vampirism in the past, caused languid periods of lethargy in those it afflicted followed by a surge in energy, appetite, and sexual ardor.

Folklorist Michael Bell once said, “What better food for the imagination than a creature that incorporates sex, blood, violence, shapeshifting, superhuman power, and eternal life?”

About the Author:

Bookaholic, nature girl, and animal lover.

Nikki Jefford is a third generation Alaskan who found paradise in the not-so-tropical San Juan Islands (WA) where she is, once more, neighbors with Canada in a town without a single traffic light.

She married the love of her life, Sebastien, while working as a teaching assistant in France. They reside with their Westie, Cosmo in Friday Harbor.

Loves fictional bad boys and heroines who kick butt.

(Check out the BRAND NEW COVER!)

Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter Vol. 1 by Nikki Jefford

ebook, 543 pages

Published March 5th, 2013 by Nikki Jefford

Source: Purchased (ages ago!)

If there is one thing eighteen-year-old Aurora Sky wants, it’s to get off the iceberg she calls home. Being kissed before she graduates wouldn't hurt either.

Then a near-fatal car wreck changes everything. Government agents step in and save Aurora’s life in exchange for her services as a vampire hunter. In Alaska. Basically she’s a glorified chew toy. All thanks to her rare blood type, which sends a vampire into temporary paralysis right before she has to finish the job… by hand.

Now Aurora’s only friends are groupies of the undead and the only boy she can think about may very well be a vampire. And if he’s a vampire, will she be forced to kill him?

***Upper Teen/New Adult series with mild language, violence, sexual situations, and blood sucking.***

I have grown to really like Nikki Jeffords writing style.  I'll admit that it took me awhile to warm up to it (not with this book but the first book of hers I had read).  Now that I'm familiar with it I have found I really like it a lot.  I'm not sure how to describe it, but it's easier reading than many and more matter of fact, not all crazy drama and angst.  Not that the characters don't act appropriately, but they don't spend all this time dwelling in this major life change.  In Aurora Sky's case it's becoming a vampire hunter after nearly dying in a car accident.  She has to come to terms with vampires existing, but she also is suppose to hunt them.  Yeah, a bit of a shock!  And she goes a bit nuts, but it doesn't go on for  so long we grow exasperated with her. 

I really love the twist to the whole vampire thing.  It's easy to understand but it's the vampire hunter aspect that's really unique and cool and I'm really looking forward to seeing where this goes.  I like that there's gray areas when it comes to vampires, some are horrible but some aren't so bad.

Aurora actually took me awhile to warm up to and I think it's because we barely meet her when she has this major life changing event and totally changes.  She becomes a different person, rebelling and sort of working toward finding herself.  She doesn't act the best during this transition, but I see that's it's bringing her to the person she needs to be.  It's a journey, all of us go through it in one way or another in our life, and major life changing events can certainly trigger it.  By the middle of the book or so I definitely was liking her and really warmed up to her personality.

The romance was actually pretty sweet.  I have a tendency to really like the bad boys that are really soft hearted underneath all that leather and whatnot.  Fane was a character that I really loved, especially once I got to know him better.  I am really hoping that we get to see a lot more of him in the future as I think he's my favorite part of the book.

This was a very fast read, I think my kindle said it took me two hours to read the entire thing.  It would have been easy to sit and devour in one sitting, unfortunately I have too many interruptions to pull that off, but it still didn't take long.  I like having a nice easy read that still delivers a great story and this certainly did that.

I label this YA, but it's definitely mature YA only.  She's 18 but still in high school so we have the high school setting still.  However, there's mature content in the book.  Not too bad, but it's there.

This is the first that people are seeing the just redone cover of the book! Here's the full version.  Isn't it great?!

Nikki Jefford is being very generous and giving away a paperback copy of Vampire Forensics (since she talked about it) blood bath cherry shower gel, and an Aurora Sky paperback (old cover).

Open to US addresses only.

Must be 13 or older to enter.

Ends October 31st.

Fill out the rafflecopter to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway