Book Tour-Review/ Excerpt/ Giveaway!: Bewitched (The Thaumaturgy #1) by Mark Jay Harris

BOOK-TOUR!

Bewitched
by Mark Jay Harris
Release Date: March 1st 2013 by Inkspell Publishing
Series: The Thaumaturgy #1
Pages: 332
View/Purchase: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, Inkspell Publishing, All Romance Ebooks, Kobo 

Is it love or is it witchcraft? He’ll never find out if he kills her first.

The first time Darren saw Samantha, she was floating above his high school gymnasium during a basketball game, invisible to everyone but him. Next time he sees her, she's sitting in front of him in class, wowing his friends and causing unexplainable things to happen that only he seems to notice. But things really get strange (and complicated) when his dying grandfather tells him that he is part of an ancient order, the “Pessum Ire,” whose duty is to destroy witches. What does he do now, since he’s almost positive Samantha is a witch…and he’s crushing on her pretty hard?
(Summary taken from Goodreads)

EXCERPT

They all glanced from him to the door of the lunchroom where a strikingly beautiful black girl made an entrance.
“That’s her! The girl I told you about.” Mike was breathless, which was totally unlike him.
Darren’s eyebrows shot up. She was everything Mike had claimed she’d be. And Darren and his group were not the only ones to focus on her. The entire lunchroom stopped what they were doing or saying to gaze at her.
The mysterious girl wore a short cherry-red ruffled halter-dress topped by a yellow leather cropped jacket with ruche half-sleeves. She wore several long necklaces and a silver engraved cuff on her left arm. Heeled yellow strap sandals completed her look. 
“She looks like a super model,” T.J. whispered.
She glided to the beverage machine, seemingly unaware that the entire lunchroom was locked on her every move. Sandy and Lindsey shared a wide-eyed glance at each other, mouths agape, then stared back at the dazzling beauty. They knew an attractive girl when they saw one, and this girl had just recalibrated the scale.
From the machine, a bottle of diet Coke landed in her long slender fingers; she stood back up and smoothed one of her long, loosely curled tresses behind her ear. Her pouty lips curved into just a hint of a smile, and her beautiful dark eyes quickly scanned the room. Once again, acting as if none of the attention mattered to her, she moved with feline grace toward the lunchroom exit, as if she had completed her tour on the catwalk and was now going back stage to change into another stunning design.
The moment the girl was gone, the lunchroom broke into talking. Darren hadn’t even noticed how silent it had become while she was in the room, but now the sound of buzzing comments was deafening.

My Review:

The story starts of with Ethan's funeral, Darren's brother, who at the time was a normal high school student until he started seeing weird things happening around him that he could only see. Unaware of what was happening to him, he decides to ignore them, but it was hard to do so when his grandfather start telling him what he is and what he is destined to do. The story takes off from there, and it becomes one with twists and turns that left me wanting for more. It was well written, full of action, secrets and surprises. When a new girl, Samantha, enrolls as a student in the same high school, Darren is left to wonder whether or not there is a reason why she was there. The interactions that he has with those closest to him are vital in order to fulfill his destiny, they all play an important role in his life. The complexity of the characters make the story just that much more interesting and exciting to read. Mark's use of detail and history (with a twist) made the story believable. The ending left me wanting for more. Overall, Mark Harris has created a world that is exciting, where witches, demons, and those that are after the witches coexist. From the first page to the last, I was able to go into this world that he has created with so much detail. I was intrigued and bewitched by this story, and I can't wait to read the next book of the series, “The Return of the Familiar.”

About the Author:

Mark Harris lives in Smithfield Utah, a small town located in a beautiful valley in Northern Utah. His wife, Shaundale, and he have four terrific children, two girls and two boys and a fifth one due to arrive in November of 2012. Mark has taught English and Special Education and currently works from home teaching English to people from all over the world. Writing has always been his true passion since he was a grade schooler writing about mushrooms. "Bewitched" will be his debut novel. He has two others underway and will soon start on the sequel to "Bewitched," called "The Return of the Familiar." He hopes you enjoy his work because he is working on several series geared toward younger audiences. You can find Mark at: www.markjayharrisauthor.com. 

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