Spellbound Trilogy Blog Tour Stop

Today I have Nikki Jefford, author of the Spellbound trilogy stopping by the blog as part of her Spellbound Trilogy Blog Tour. Nikki has written up a guest post and included a little excerpt for your reading pleasure.  There will also be an opportunity to enter her great Spellbound themed giveaway at the end so make sure you check that out!

Gray vs. Lee

What’s worse than dealing with an evil twin? A duplicate of yourself, especially when your copy wants the same things as you– including your boyfriend.

Last year, as I began jotting down notes for Spellbound 2: Duplicity, it quickly became clear that throwing two Gray’s together was going to be a hoot. Although they’re the same person, they have separate issues and as the story progressed they became their own unique identities. Halfway through I honestly didn’t know who to root for.

Gray the first now resides in the body of McKinley High’s former socialite Stacey Lee Morehouse. She’s had to adjust to a new body and living with an overly protective father – a man who isn’t her father at all!

Gray the second enters the scene on the anniversary of her death (ten months later). She’s once again stuck in Charlene’s body and returns home to find her mom dating Mr. Morehouse and “Lee” dating Raj. Talk about feeling like the fifth wheel!

Here’s a brief interaction between the two Grays:

Lee’s fashion scan of her double was abruptly interrupted by Mom and Mr. Morehouse’s lip smack. Mr. Morehouse leaned back and grinned. When he noticed the girls staring he cleared his throat. “Uh, Stace, why don’t you show Charlene your room?”

As though she were a twelve-year-old, Lee grumbled to herself. “That’s okay. Raj will be here soon. We can wait in the living room.”

“I’d love to see your room… Stace,” Gray said with a glint in her eye.

Lee pasted a smile over her frown. “Of course,” she sang out. “Please, follow me… Charlene.”

Mom frowned, but Mr. Morehouse was already ushering her into the kitchen with an offer of wine.

Enter to win the SPELLBOUND SWAG PACK (International)

• Evil Eye Amulet and Bracelet: In Duplicity, Gray wears an evil eye pendant, also known as a nazar, to protect herself from a spell that’s causing havoc over the witches and warlocks in her coven. The evil eye (a Turkish amulet) is used for both luck and protection against envy.
• Two Headed Quarter: Two Grays are better than none and two heads are better than one, especially when flipping over who gets to choose which movie to watch with a trick coin. Adrian returns in Duplicity and opens a magic shop.
• Entangled bookmark

The Spellbound Trilogy so far...

Click the covers to add them to your Goodreads.

Read my review of Entangled here.

Read my review of Duplicity here.

Don't miss the cover reveal of book 3, Enchantment, at designer Najla Qamber's review site Unputdownable Books on June 7.

Website / Twitter

Nikki Jefford is a third generation Alaskan who found paradise in the not-so-tropical San Juan Islands where she is, once more, neighbors with Canada. She has a B.A. in journalism from the University of Alaska Anchorage and was a reporter before returning to her first love: fiction.

After a whirlwind romance in France, Nikki married Sebastien in March 2000. They reside with Cosmo the wonder Westie.

This has been a part of the Spellbound Trilogy International Blog Tour. To see the other stops on the tour click here.

 A big thank you to Nikki for a great Guest Post and a wonderful giveaway! Make sure you get your entries in and also be sure to pick up Entangled and Duplicity, both are great reads!

Duplicity Review

TITLE Duplicity (Spellbound #2)
AUTHOR Nikki Jefford
PUBLICATION May 20, 2012
READ May 21 - 22, 2012
BUY IT Amazon / Smashwords

If Graylee Perez thought sharing a body with her twin sister was bad, dealing with a duplicate of herself is two times worse. Gray the second doesn’t seem to get that Lee’s boyfriend, Raj McKenna, is off limits. Then there’s the problem of Adiran Montez. He expects one of the Grays to be his.

Nearly a year later, the council is onto them for past misdeeds; Lee, along with the rest of the coven, has lost control of her powers; and Gray is being stalked by what looks like the Grim Reaper.

If they work together, they may stand a chance of setting things right and making it out alive.

A copy was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

When Nikki sent me Duplicity I immediately loaded it onto my reader and dug into it.  I read Entangled (the first book in Nikki's Spellbound series) a few months back and it was a 5 star read for me.  I loved the characters and the world building and have been anxiously awaiting Duplicity.  We dive right back in with Graylee Perez (now Stacey Morehouse) & Raj McKenna and are thrown right into another mystery.

The characters remain strong in Duplicity, Graylee is as witty and strong headed as ever.  Once again I found myself laughing out loud at her dialogue and totally connecting with her. There is a lot of Graylee Perez to go around in this novel, we have the Graylee that is in the body of Stacey (known as Lee) and we have the Graylee who is in Charlene's body (known as Gray.) This whole concept did get me confused a few times and I found myself having to re-read passages to get a clear idea of what was going on and who was in the scene.  This predicament created quite the pickle for our dear Raj as he was faced with dealing with a duplicate girlfriend.  In this one I found Raj to have settled down a lot, he didn't really come across as the bad boy that we met in Entangled, though he played the role of the sweet supportive boyfriend perfectly.

Taking Raj's place as the resident bad boy is Adrian Hedrick Montez.  Yes, Adrian is back and in this one I found him to be a much more sympathetic character, I actually felt bad for him sometimes.  Adrian plays a bigger part in this novel but his past still remains a mystery that I am dying to uncover. Mystery remains a bit part of this series and you never know exactly what is going on, it's great to watch the characters on their missions to uncover the truth.

Nikki has created another great story that is easy to lose yourself in.  Though I do feel that the premise of this one was a bit weaker and harder to follow I still loved it.  I definitely recommend Duplicity to anyone looking for an Alluring Read.

Make sure you come back on May 31st when the Spellbound Trilogy Blog Tour stops at Alluring Reads! You can check out all the stops on the tour by clicking the banner.

Entangled Review

TITLE Entangled (Spellbound#1)
AUTHOR Nikki Jefford
PAGES 212 (ePub format)
PUBLISHED February 20th 2012 by Nikki Jefford
READ April 9 - 10, 2012
BUY IT Amazon

Twin witches Graylee and Charlene Perez agree on one rule: No dating warlocks.

Not so easy when a certain rogue warlock is convinced he and Graylee belong together and will use anything, including magic, to try and impress Gray. When Charlene’s boyfriend dumps her, she threatens to kill either herself or the girl who stole Blake. Somehow, Gray ends up dead.

A Resurrection Spell Gone Wrong:

Two months after dying, Gray wakes up in Charlene’s body. As a witch, can anyone blame her mother for attempting to bring her daughter back to life? Only now Gray’s stuck sharing her sister’s body 50/50 in twenty-four hour shifts.

The race is on for Gray to find a way back inside her own body before Charlene purges her from existence. Raj McKenna is rumored to meddle in the black arts, not to mention he’s after Gray’s invisibility spell and worse – her heart. But Raj might be the only one powerful enough to save Gray from fading away forever.

A copy was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

 

The cover of Entangled had me dying to read it from the first moment I saw it. Seriously, look at it, it's absolutely breathtaking! So naturally I immediately read the blurb and after that I was certain that this was a 'must-read' for me. It did not disappoint, from page one I was sucked in and captivated by the story. Nikki Jefford gave the book the perfect pace, I didn't feel any lulls and I was constantly excited for what was to come. I could not put this story down, I ate it up and loved every moment of it.

The characters in Entangled are full and very well developed. Graylee was a smart, strong, witty girl whom I absolutely adored. The contrast between her and her twin sister was vast, and written so well. Gray was a character that I connected with, she felt down to earth and genuine, Charlene felt flighty and and very high on herself, she drove me nuts. She had playing the victim down to an art form and turned her terrible actions around on everyone else. Raj was someone I was very hesitant about in the beginning. The occurrence with him and Gray in the hallway was very unsettling but as the story went on I started to warm up to him and by the end I was a big fan.

Entangled is a great read that keeps you on the edge of your seat as you excitedly turn the pages. It has the perfect balance of mystery and romance, it's funny and entertaining. Right at the tail end we get some resolve and the blanks in Raj's story are filled in leaving me wanting more. I will be eagerly awaiting the arrival of its follow-up Duplicity.

Good news everyone, Entangled by Nikki Jefford is currently FREE on Amazon! This is an amazing opportunity to get an AWESOME book for FREE. Click HERE to get Entangled for FREE in under a minute!!

Waiting on Wednesday (9)

Duplicity (Spellbound #2)
by Nikki Jefford
Expected publication: May 2012 by Nikki Jefford  

If Graylee Perez thought sharing a body with her twin sister was bad, dealing with a duplicate of herself is two times worse. Gray the second doesn’t seem to get that her boyfriend, Raj McKenna, is off limits. Then there’s the problem of Adrian Montez (aka: The Avenger). He expects one of the Grays to be his.

Nearly a year later the council is onto Gray for past misdeeds. Everyone in their coven has lost control of their powers and duplicate Gray is being stalked by what looks like the Grim Reaper.

If both girls work together, they may stand a chance of setting things right and making it out alive. 

A duplicate Gray? WOW! I wondered how the sequel to this series would go and it sounds as if it will be another interesting tale to watch unfold.  I can't stress enough how much I love the covers in this series, they are soooo very pretty.  I just finished Entangled and loved every minute of it (review will be up Thursday morning.) I can't wait to meet back up with Graylee Perez and hopefully watch her and Raj's relationship heat up!

So, what are YOU waiting on this fine Wednesday? Leave me a link, I always stop by!