Shift (The Protector Book 2)

M.R. Merrick did it again. He sucked me in and took me to a world of exciting intrigue and fantastical action.There is a seamless connection between Exiled and Shift, there is no skipped beat or catching up. Chase is struggling with his loss (I will do my best to leave out details/ spoilers from book 1) and with his new found powers. He has very little control over, well... anything in his life right now.Rayna is in a very similar situation. She is struggling for control in her life as a shifter. It's in these struggles that Chase and Rayna begin to form a sweet and strong bond. It seems neither of them can survive without the others help. I truly enjoy the slow simmering relationship that these two are forming. It's a strong partnership and I wish more authors would follow this line.There were so many new characters brought to the forefront in this segment of the series. Yet, you do not ever get overwhelmed with them. Shifters take the lead here and these are not sugary soft cuddle bugs, they are fierce and ferocious. There is a fine line between friend or foe with these Supes and Chase and Rayna must tread the waters carefully. For overstepping in any direction could determine their success or downfall in the battle against Riley.Shift does not deliver a cookie cutter YA book with a weak heroine who instantly falls for the hero (or hero as the case may be) and spends the next two hundred pages pining. It does deliver an action packed, breath holding tale filled with truly interesting characters that you can not help but root for.

Shift picks up where Exiled leaves off. Chase, who has found out he is "The Protector," now has the tattoo to prove it, and a ring that everyone is more than willing to kill to get their hands on. He finds his powers increasing, and new ones appearing, and is still trying to learn how to get his magic under control. Chase is worried about Rayna, as the demon in her tries to rip her apart. He's dealing with a devastating loss, and can't bear to lose anyone else that he has come to care about. Riley's power is getting stronger and Chase finds not only himself, but also his friends in battles of epic proportion that test his resolve to the very core of his being. Chase must decide if protecting the ring and stopping Riley's evil plan is worth the lives of his friends. M. R. Merrick delivers another amazing read in Shift, the second book in The Protector Series. We get to see the same characters we met in Exiled, and are also introduced to some new ones in Shift, and yes, Vincent is still around, and is still........Vincent. I liked seeing the direction Rayna and Chase's relationship took in Shift, and Rayna shows her claws a little, pun intended, when it comes to her feelings for Chase. They fight even more epic and life-threatening battles, many of which occur in the underworld, encountering all kinds of creatures, as they try to stop Riley. Chase also makes some really good friends. Merrick takes the fantasy in Shift to an even higher level and gives the reader a roller coaster ride that is intense, thrilling, action-packed, and adrenaline filled. Shift is an outstanding sequel in this amazing series, which is one that you won't want to miss.

Review:One word, Chase. Simply put I love this character. Chase is strong, brave and yet due to certain events that take place his lot in life is complicated heartbreaking as well. Nevertheless I was strongly pleased with the direction his character went in and dare I say it but I think I liked him more this go round than I did in Exiled (which considering he was my favorite says a lot). The death of a certain character (won't spoil for you) while tragic brought out the best in him in my opinion.Rayna again proved to be a very close second in the favorite characters department. She is strong, spunky and just all around a bad ass chick. I especially enjoyed the intimate scenes she shared with Chase. You can really see the bond the two have and it's quite magical.The writing again is seriously flawless. M.R. Merrick has this knack for just making things feel so real. I can picture everything so clearly, like I am watching it on the big screen. Speaking of which, When the heck is this series being made into a movie. This needs to happen!!Overall this was a great book, I was entertained from start to finish. The character development is perfect and like I said above the writing is flawless. My only small gripes come from lack of certain characters. While I understand why they aren't present it still makes me miss them. I am highly encouraging you to pick this up and give it a go. I will be rating Shift by M.R. Merrick ★★★★. Worth a read, worth the price and definitely worth your time!

Well, what’s to say! Book 2 in The Protector series certainly maintains the high intense, action packed adventure that book 1 began with. M.R. Merrick did an amazing job continuing the story and the characters in this book and the third is certainly going to be epic to continue Chase’s journey.Chase is still struggling with the idea that his father is trying to invoke the powers of an evil God. His father’s ideas are crazy and go against every belief that Chase was told during his childhood. After surviving their last encounter, Chase is left devastated and trying to control his new abilities.The Circle has requested a meeting, but Chase has his doubts as to their motives. After receiving gifts from the Goddess to help defeat his father, everybody seems to want control of the powerful ring. As the meeting continues, their ideals don’t change and Chase becomes outraged; a showdown is imminent. All of the Underworld factions are up against each other and Chase seems to be stuck in the middle. Rayna is fighting a monster within and Willy was bitten by a werewolf during a scuffle. Everything seems to be going extremely wrong and Chase only has one thing in his sights. HIS FATHER! Chase is trying to control his powers, support Rayna with her monster that’s trying to rip her apart, deal with Marcus and his betrayal all besides being tracked down by vampires, hunters and the Dark Brothers. Chase’s dreams are being invaded by the Dark Brother’s and what happens in his dreams seems to hurt his physical body. Nothing is going as to plan….Will Chase be able to get control of his powers? Will he understand the ring and keep it safe? Can Rayna and Chase overcome their problems to realise their feelings for each other? Can Chase and Marcus gather enough followers to fight against the army of pureblood demons?This is like Indiana Jones meets Underworld. Chase goes on an adventure of self-discovery in order to learn more about himself and how to stop his father. Along the way, realisation takes place that everybody is not as they seem and family is not only made by blood. Shift is full to the brim of action, destruction, betrayal, magic, life changing epiphanies and even a little romance. This is an amazing read, fast paced and with twists along the way that keeps you guessing. Just what is going to happen in book 3, Release? The descriptions of the beasts are so unusual and the other dimensions are so vivid you can almost reach out and touch them. One of my favourite parts was at the Witches store and how the owner appears old and blind only to change into a young lovely witch. Awesome!! Everybody needs to read this series.

Just like in Exiled, there is never a dull moment in Shift! It is totally action packed and full of adventure or intense moments. In the first third of the book we have Rayna nearly shapeshifting into a cat, Chase & Co. joining the Circle for an intense meeting, Willy turning into a werewolf, and Chase having multiple run-ins with his psycho possessed dad! Phew!I adored Rayna more than ever in this book. She’s so feisty and spunky and doesn’t let anyone push her around or tell her what to do. Case in point:“The men are talking here, love. Why don’t you leave the business to us, be a dear, and fetch me a pint of blood?” “Excuse me?” “Now, now, my sweet. Don’t make this bigger than it is. I need a few moments to discuss this with your friend.” “For someone who’s five hundred years old, you’re an immature dick,” Rayna said.In fact, this is something I love about all the characters! As I said, at the beginning of the book Chase, Rayna, Marcus, Vincent, and Willy, all have a meeting with the Circle. In most books I’ve read, when a group of people meets with another group who are “the authority,” they usually just accept what they say. The group with the official position of power will probably talk down to the other group and casually dish out insults, and the second group will just accept it because they don’t want to anger the “authoritative” group. This is so not the case in Shift!Chase is pissed at the Circle for exiling him. Rayna hates them for murdering her mother. Marcus hates them for being corrupt power hungry pansies. None of them take any crap from the Circle and I LOVE IT! Rayna would bitch at them for insulting her mother and I’d just be screaming “YOU GO GIRL!” Yeah I got excited.I feel like in this book, reality comes crashing down on all the characters. A lot of things began in Exiled but were brushed aside or thought of as things they’d deal with later, since there were more pressing matters. Well in Shift, it’s time to deal with them. They finally have to face Rayna’s shapeshifting problem. They have to figure out what the heck Chase’s ring from the goddess is for. Chase has to learn to control his powers. They have to track down and deal with Chase’s dad. And all the while, Chase is still burdened by his mother’s death. This causes tensions to run really high at times.“We’ve got the elders, an angry hunter with godlike powers, and one very pissed off vampire after it. Did I mention we don’t have a clue where to start?”I really liked how we learn more about Rayna and her past. In Exiled she was kind of mysterious. She was an awesome, kick-ass character, but we didn’t know who her father was, and we had very limited knowledge of her magical abilities. In Shift we learn a lot more about her dad, her shapeshifting “problem,” and her powers as a witch.Throughout the book I was starting to get frustrated that Rayna and Chase’s relationship wasn’t moving forward into the romance zone. There was so much tension between them and I just kept wanting to shout, “Shut up and kiss already!” But just as I was going to give up, something did finally happen! Although given the circumstances, I am a little concerned that Chase will brush it off and not take it seriously. We’ll see!I also thought the part just before the end was a bit of a letdown. I won’t reveal any spoilers, but I will say that they went on this crazy intense adventure, which was insanely awesome in the moment, but at the end, it was kind of all for nothing. So that was disappointing. I wanted to see more come of it. But the proper end was insanely awesome and intense and there was a crazy battle, so that kind of made up for it!Shift has action pouring out of it from every angle and is also filled with awesome lore and adventure. We see hunters vs. shapeshifters, pawns of the Circle ganging up on Chase and Rayna, Chase vs. pureblood vampires, and so much more! We learn about about the seven gods in Chase’s world, the Underworld, and shifters. It’s definitely a worthy sequel to Exiled!

OH MY GOD! Why are you reading this review when you could be reading SHIFT? Haven’t read Exiled yet? WHERE have you been?!?! It’s fine… You must remedy this situation IMMEDIATELY, because these books are AMAAAAAZING!!!!Chase, my favorite demon hunter EVER, is back in the second installment of the Protector series. He’s back and totally freaking blowing my mind with EPICNESS!Chase suffers a tragic loss at the hand of Riley… his FATHER, at the end of Exiled (you must read it to find out what it is!). He’s learning to cope with his sadness and anger- trying to control his newly discovered elements. Being emotional isn’t so ideal when you have fire and water literally at your command and they are fueled by your emotions…Chase and Rayna are searching for clues as to what Serephina’s Ring (first book… So I won’t go into details…) does and WHY The Circle, every Underworlder and Riley would do almost ANYTHING to get their hands on it. “This is just a dream, Chase, but I can still kill you.”Rayna’s half-demon/shifter side is running rampant this time around, and she refuses to seek help outside Marcus and Chase, believing if they can’t help her then she’s doomed. But the Hollowlights (werecat shifters) have other plans and come to persuade Rayna to let them help her. If you’ve read Exiled, you can imagine what she told them to do with THAT idea.SO many things happen in Shift, families are brought together… battles are fought, alliances are formed, living rooms are set aflame, and the Visceratti don’t take kindly to their slimy, snake-like Princess being slain…“You do the trials and die. Or you refuse and I kill you.”Chase is a hero’s hero… I LOVE him. He is brave, selfless, sweet, sarcastic, funny, unsure of himself… and willing to FIGHT for what he believes in. FIGHT for those he loves. FIGHT for the freedom of people who would sooner spit on him than look at him. Shift is a story about honor, and KNOWING you can BE who you need to be, even if you feel like you can’t.Shift is hilarious, witty and amazingly addictive. And the characters… I LOVE them!!! EVERY character, from secondary ones like Tiki and Vincent to Rai (the freaking bird!) all have especially unique characteristics that make them so much fun to read and impossible to forget!And I do believe that Vincent and I were separated at birth. Just sayin. Yeah, he’s SORT OF, definitely not the a GOOD guy… but he’s not horrible either. He’s just so stuck up and snobby, but incredibly hilarious and a little bit terrifying. See? I do believe I just described myself perfectly! “My god you should have that… condition looked at. Just hearing your voice makes me want to rip off my own ears… or your throat.” ~Vincent(you can clearly see why he’s my fav! I can just imagine the look of pure snooty disdain on his perfect vampiric face!)Shift is an adventure like you’ve never experienced and has battle scenes so well choreographed you’ll read them twice. Shift takes a hold of you and does not let you go until the LAST WORD! M.R. Merrick left me breathless… and DYING for MORE!This means he’s two for two… AND tomorrow… M.R. Merrick and I have an EPIC surprise and an AMAZING giveaway for you guys!! So don’t miss it!

Again, the author M.R. Merrick was able to give more than asked. Action, suspense, unpredictable discovery and many others. After reading the first novel in this series: (The Protector: Exiled), I immediately fell in love with Chase and Rayna! As in the first book and since it's a sequel, the main character is Chase and I love the fact that it’s a boy. I really enjoyed reading Chase point of view in both books! Less rare these days, but still very interesting and brings a little change!I loved the first book and the second didn't disappoint me! There are several new elements in this book that helps us understand more and more from the first book. I think we learn much more about Rayna in this sequel. You learn a lot about his past and her powers and even more! Oh I wish I could tell you what I discovered in the second book!As I mentioned earlier, this book contains plenty of action, secrets statements, and continuation of the first tasks unfinished or misses and put asides temporarily to allow the story to progress. The course is somewhat in the same kind of the first book, but since it's more developed than and also as much interesting as the first novel.The author's style is particularly well developed. Easy to read and enjoyable. M.R. Merrick will allow you to get away a few minutes in an unreal world, but this is what every avid reader wants! M.R. Merrick also surprised me on a certain subject. I didn't expect to read about some development between Chase and Rayna, but I think it's something that could be well exploited if of course the author does not fall into eroticism! It should be remembered that although the main characters are young and this book is for young adults, this kind of feelings / emotions / experiences are normal at this age. M.R. Merrick was able to implement his ideas well and knows how to communicate it!A super interesting end that allows us to consider a third book just as shattering as the first two books. I look forward to how this small team of '' protectors'' will get the things out in the next story!Loved Exiled, I love Shift and I will love book 3 of The Protector series!I recommend this book and sincerely the entire series!