Shift (The Protector #2)
by M.R. Merrick
Published: 2/1//2012
From Goodreads:
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.
I thought:
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!
Book loving, zombie freak, stiletto wearing, twitter whore, coffee addicted Brunette with a purse fetish.
Collector of flamingo paraphernalia & zombie keepsakes… Frequenter of thrift stores... cRaFtY bitch... and I match my eye-shadow to my outfit - everyday.