Project Jamie

So, a couple of months ago, I noticed this super sekrit TMI project floating around, and signed up. I received a thank you email, with more information promised to follow - and it did.

Review: Shift by M.R. Merrick

Shift by M.R. Merrick

Series: The Protector #2

Published: February 1, 2012

Publisher: Self-Published

Pages: 530

Devastated by a terrible loss, 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.

Warning: Contains spoilers for Exiled, book #1.

I enjoyed this book much more than the first. What was lacking with the first, I found answers to in the this book. Rayna and Chase's relationship was fantastically developed. Definitely no insta-love here.

Review: Defiance

Defiance by C.J. Redwine

Series: Defiance, #1 (Soooo creative)

Published: August 28, 2012

Publisher: Balzar+Bray

Pages:403

Within the walls of Baalboden, beneath the shadow of the city's brutal leader, Rachel Adams has a secret. While other girls sew dresses, host dinner parties, and obey their male Protectors, Rachel knows how to survive in the wilderness and deftly wield a sword. When her father, Jared, fails to return from a courier mission and is declared dead, the Commander assigns Rachel a new Protector, her father's apprentice, Logan--the same boy Rachel declared her love for two years ago, and the same boy who handed her heart right back to her. Left with nothing but fierce belief in her father's survival, Rachel decides to escape and find him herself. But treason against the Commander carries a heavy price, and what awaits her in the Wasteland could destroy her. At nineteen, Logan McEntire is many things. Orphan. Outcast. Inventor. As apprentice to the city's top courier, Logan is focused on learning his trade so he can escape the tyranny of Baalboden. But his plan never included being responsible for his mentor's impulsive daughter. Logan is determined to protect her, but when his escape plan goes wrong and Rachel pays the price, he realizes he has more at stake than disappointing Jared. As Rachel and Logan battle their way through the Wasteland, stalked by a monster that can't be killed and an army of assassins out for blood, they discover romance, heartbreak, and a truth that will incite a war decades in the making.

Firstly, I am totally guilty of judging this book by it’s cover. So. Guilty. You have no idea how much it upsets me (I’m talking about how a book like this wound up with that beautiful baby to cover it).

Review: Exiled by M.R. Merrick

Exiled by M.R. Merrick
Series: The Protector, #1
Published: April 12, 2012
Publisher: Self-Published
Pages: 264

Chase Williams is a demon hunter in the Circle, or at least he was supposed to be. On his fifteenth birthday, Chase stepped up to the altar to claim his elemental power, but it never came. Elemental magic is passed down to a hunter through the bloodline, but on Chase's birthday, the bloodline stopped. Exiled without the Circle's protection, Chase has spent two years trying to survive a world riddled with half-demons and magic. When he has a run in with a frightened and seemingly innocent demon, he learns the Circle's agenda has changed: the Circle plans to unlock a portal and unleash pure-blood demons into the world. Vowing to stop them, and knowing he can't do it alone, Chase forms a reluctant alliance with Rayna - a sexy witch with an attitude and a secret. In their attempt to stop them however, Chase and Rayna find themselves in the middle of the Circle's plan, leaving one of them to decide what their friendship is worth, and the other's life depending on it.

Thanks to the author for sending a copy of this book!

I have been eyeing Merrick’s books for a long time. So long that’s it’s pathetic I didn’t pick them up sooner. But as soon as I heard from Val about the tour for the release of his new book, I jumped on board. And I’ve finally sat down to read Exiled. And, boy, am I glad that I ever.