Genre: New Adult (Paranormal/Fantasy Romance)
Date Published: July 27th 2013
Publisher: Acorn Valley Publishing
Love bites.
Probation sucks.
Thanks to Dante’s recklessness, Aurora is now partners with Valerie: the redheaded, backstabbing vixen.
Dante is in full flirt mode. Fane’s tactics are more ruthless. Something carnal has awakened in Aurora and neither boy is helping tame her cravings.
When a member of the unit’s team is found dead, Aurora and Valerie are sent after a vampire in Sitka, but Aurora suspects the killer’s much closer to home.
(Mature YA/New Adult series. Contains mild language, violence, sexual situations . . . and blood sucking.)
Northern Bites is the second book in the Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter series by Nikki Jefford. I'm really enjoying this series so far. Aurora seems to be coming into her own. She's a character I can really jump into as I read now. I'm still not a fan of Fane; however, I still love Dante! I don't know if it will happen, but I can really see him and Aurora together. He's daring and naughty, with a good boy side too. He's just a lot of fun and a definite favorite for me. I think they are a good fit. We'll see what happens. I'm kind of liking Valerie a little bit more too. I really didn't see that happening. It's not that she's gotten nicer, I think I just understand her better. Whether you prefer good vamps or bad vamps, you get them both plus a some kick butt Buffy-like action with surprise twists and turns along the way. And, what about that ending?! I'm so ready for book three!!
Northern Bites by Nikki Jefford was provided to me by the Xpresso Book Tours for review. The opinions are my own.
Check out my reviews of the other books in this series!
Nikki Jefford is a third generation Alaskan who found paradise in the not-so-tropical San Juan Islands (Wash.) where she is once more neighbors with Canada in a town without a single traffic light. She loves fictional bad boys and heroines who kick butt.
When she's not reading, writing, working, or out on a nature walk, she's out riding her Suzuki DRZ400SM..
To learn more about Nikki Jefford and her books, visit her website.You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter.
Check out my reviews of the other books in this series!
How long have you been writing?
Since I could hold a pen. My stories got much more interesting after I learned the alphabet.
What inspired you to write Aurora Sky?
Buffy the Vampire Slayer! Writing Aurora Sky helped me get through my Buffy and Spike withdrawals.
Was it more challenging to write the sequel than it was to write the first book?
Sequels are easier for me because I already did the work of setting up the world and introducing the characters. I do put more pressure on myself to up the ante with each new title, but it’s a challenge that helps me to grow as a storyteller right alongside of my characters. Team effort all the way!
Which of your characters do you relate to most and why?
There’s a part of each character on Team Hunter that I can relate to.
Valerie: She’s impatient and quick to judge. What can I say? I’m not 100% sweet and I don’t think very highly of human nature. Through Valerie I get to release my inner bitch.
Dante: The way he doesn’t take anything seriously and jokes around all the time. Humor keeps me sane and I’ve turned to it regularly throughout life.
Noel: I feel closest to her at the moment because I’m finishing her novella, Stakeout (Vol. 2.5). She’s reserved and a bit detached. Up for anything. Independent and brave when it comes to the unknown, yet agitated and anxious when it comes to dealing with her own personal life and family.
And finally, Aurora: Her modesty and naivety. I was squirming in my seat during the sexting scene Valerie orchestrated in Northern Bites (Vol. 2) between her and Dante. I love reading romance and writing steamy scenes (my favorite), but I’m bashful in real life. I also share her love/hate relationship with Alaska. As a teenager I couldn’t wait to get out of that frozen hell hole.
If your real life as a teenager was a Young Adult book, what would you, the main character, be like?
I always saw myself as a female James Dean – rebel without a cause. But I’ve lived in an alternate universe most my life. I’m sure my friends would say I was a female Dante. I was always being silenced at home, so at school I created a role for myself as the fun loving, loud, joker who tended to monopolize conversations and dive into things head first.
What book have you read too many times to count?
I rarely reread a book. There are too many titles out there yet to be experienced and I want to get to as many as I can.
What is the best piece of writing advice you ever received?
Don’t be afraid to kill your darlings. Translation: If something in the story isn’t working kill it! No matter how much you love the scene, even if it’s your favorite scene, especially if it’s your favorite scene, cut that sucker out!
If you could hop into the life of any fictional character, who would it be and why?
Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery. I crave the world she lives in where communities come together for picnics, dinners, and dances. Anne is bright and highly imaginative and I love the adventurous scrapes she gets herself into no matter how old she gets.
What do you like to do when you're not writing?
Take long walks with my husband and dog, read, bake, daydream, watch The Voice, and ride my motorcycle. Zoom! Zoom!
Are any of the things in your books based on real life experiences or purely all imagination?
Imagination mixed with real fears and fantasies. Two of my tops fears are getting into a headon collision and being locked inside a bathroom while a psycho tries to break down the door with an ax. I put those scenarios in volume 1 & 2.
One of the biggest challenges I’m having with Stakeout (Vol. 2.5) is that Noel’s father is a psychopath. Having grown up with one, myself, I figured I’d be a good authority on the subject. The obstacle I keep running into is not that it hits too close to home, but that I did such a thorough job of burying the hatchet that the past is fuzzy, which is great. It just makes it hard to recreate.
When she's not reading, writing, working, or out on a nature walk, she's out riding her Suzuki DRZ400SM..
To learn more about Nikki Jefford and her books, visit her website.You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter.
Open internationally
Prizes:
-Don't Moose with my Bag Book bag
-Text Moosage notepad
-Moose Wobbly Wire writing pen
Sounds like a really fun series, will definitely have to check it out =)
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