Blog Tour: Shift by M.R. Merrick (The Protector Series #2) (REVIEW+GIVEAWAY)

Genre:	YA Fantasy, Action, Adventure, Supernatural
Publication.Date	February 1st 2012
Pages:	333 (Kindle Edition)
Published By:	M.R. Merrick   |
Website	M.R. Merrick |
	Shift- Goodreads
My review copy:	received from the author in exchange for an honest review
Where to get:	Amazon

     Devastated by the loss of his mother, Chase is trying to balance the life he’s been left with, a family he’s still getting to know, and power he never thought he’d have. He doesn’t understand why the Goddess has named him the Protector and granted him two gifts: the Mark, a tattoo that now covers his back, and the ring. But between getting interrogated by the Circle and psychic attacks from Riley, the Mark is the least of his concern. There’s a demon inside Rayna that’s fighting to be released, and it’s not her inner witch. It’s something else–a monster threatening to tear her apart.

As Chase struggles to control his magic, his enemies are closing in. Everyone has staked a claim on his ring, and destroying it may be his only chance to stop Riley. But Chase must decide if stopping him is worth risking the lives of everyone he cares about, or if protecting the ring will be enough to save his world.
(Goodreads)

"Why must you make everything difficult?" Marcus asked.
Vincent shrugged. "You call it difficult, I call it self-preservation."

"I don't want to talk. I want to be left alone and I want to kill the son of a bitch who murdered my mother!"

 "Have you seen your clothes? You wouldn't know style if it bit you in the -"

"What did you expect, Marcus? I'm living in a strange house with people I've only known for a few months. My mother- the only person who mattered to me - is dead, murdered at the hands of my father, the same father who had me exiled from the Circle, and tried to kill me. What do you want me to say? I'm dealing with it."

"Trust me; when I push, you'll know it. It'll feel a lot like when I punch."

 "It'll only be a day or two now before he'll be a full werewolf"
"How is this possible?"
"He got bit, didn't he? What'd you expect to happen, puppies?"

   

     Readers BEWARE: This review contains SPOILERS and an uncontrollable amount of RAVE.

     When Matt Merrick asked me if I'd be interested in being part of the blog tour for Shift (the sequel to Exiled), I honestly couldn't have been more excited.

      In case you missed my glowing review of Exiled (the first book in The Protector Series), let me quickly fill you in: it blew me away. There is no other self published YA series out there that would be better. Most of them don't even come close to being so insanely F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S. If you haven't read it yet, GET ON IT. Seriously, don't make me tell you again!

Now, onto my review of Shift. 

      It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of Matt Merrick and his books. After reading Exiled I was dying to get my hands on an early review copy of Shift. I knew it was going to be EPIC, I knew I would love it just as much as I loved the first book. I was prepared to be blown away. Again. What I didn't anticipate, though, was Shift being even better than Exiled - and it was! I didn't think it was possible, and yet Merrick somehow pulled it off. It's insane! I don't even want to think about all the poor virgins that had to be sacrificed at the altar of inspiration or some other voo-doo kind of thing that went down in Red Deer, because it's just not possible to be THAT good. Na-ah.

      Shift picks up where Exiled left off. After the murder of his mother and the crushing fall out with his father, Chase is devastated. He's struggling to find his place in life. Rejected by the Circle, angry, confused and in desperate need of a purpose, he has sworn to avenge his mother's death. The Goddess has named him the Protector and it's now up to him to stop his  father from bringing back the evil God, Ithrael ,and preventing him from destroying the world. His newly acquired magical powers are still out of control. The ring he received from the Goddess proves to be a hot item - everyone wants it and they will stop at nothing to get it. Destroying it might be the only way, but in order to do that he must first retrieve a god's weapon. To find it, he is going to have to travel all the way to a dimension called Theral, a dark, dangerous place full of the purest, most evil Underworlders. Thankfully he won't be alone on this mission. There are people who share the same goals with him, and they will support Chase every single step of the way. They will fight arm in arm, together as a team, motivating and protecting each other. Will that be enough to save the world?

      I loved every single page of this book. For a self published novel, for any novel, Shift is truly extraordinary and unforgettable. All the characters are wonderful: They make me want to cheer for them, they make me laugh and bring tears to my eyes. I genuinely care about them! In terms of character development, Shift is a real treat. We get to learn so much about all the characters - starting with Chase and Rayna, and ending with Willy, Tiki, Marcus and Vincent (although, I won't lie, Vincent is my favorite - I would so love a book that would tell his story! He is BRILLIANT!).

     I especially enjoyed Rayna's story - seeing her turn into a full-blown, kick-ass kitteh was so cool! And then there was Willy and everything that happened to him.. And it all ties down so nicely in the end. I was seriously impressed with Merrick's ability to weave so many different plot lines and then make them come together in the utmost phenomenal way - no loose ends, no where-did-that-come-from moments! Satisfaction guaranteed.

      I could say that this is an action-packed book, but that would be a lie. It's a book made of action. There isn't a single chapter, or a passage, or even a page that wouldn't contain something totally bad-ass, something mind-blowing, something to make your heart pound and keep you at the edge of your seat. This book is loaded with electrifying energy, eye-popping developments, gut-wrenching tension and entertainment. And it's also smart - not just any silly action/adventure quest, but a truly masterful, well-thought out creation.

      The romance part of this book is perfectly balanced. I do not care much for instant kind of love and romantic feelings developing in a fruit-fly time. That being said, I really appreciated what Merrick did here, by which I mean not rushing the Chase-Rayna love story, not jumping into oohs and aahs and sparkles at the very first chance. He kept it believable and natural, and I loved it that way. At the risk of sounding cheesy. It might have taken a long time for these two to realize their feelings towards each other, but once they did it was more like a collision of galaxies than one of those silly little romances we're so used to reading about. Thank you for that, Merrick. I wouldn't have it any other way.

      All in all, Shift is a fantastic book. It's a wicked awesome story, full of gorgeous characters, heart-stopping action scenes and unexpected plot twists. The writing is excellent and addictive, the plot line - out-of-this-world amazing. Atmospheric, taut, entertaining, funny, smart, breathtaking - Shift is one of those books that you'd buy a copy for yourself and then one for each of your friends.

Thanks to the fabulous:

MR Merrick

I have one eCopy of Shift to give away to one (incredibly) lucky winner!!!

To be eligible to win: all you need to do is be a follower of my blog and enter through Rafflecopter below.

Ends: February 20th

Open: Internationally 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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About the Author

Evie is the Blogger behind Bookish. She enjoys reading many different genres, especially YA, Paranormal, Contemporary Fiction and Fantasy.

She loves talking to authors and is always happy to welcome them for interviews, and guest posts. She also likes spreading the love for awesome books and  chatting with fellow book-worms.

You can find Evie here: Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Shelfari | The Library Thing