Exiled and Shift by Matt Merrick Review and Interview

Title: Exiled
Author: M.R.Merrick
Series: The Protector (#1)
Genre: Paranormal/YA
Publisher: Self Published

Goodreads Blurb

Chase Williams is a demon hunter in the Circle, or at least he was supposed to be. Failing to develop any elemental magic on his fifteenth birthday left him exiled in a world full of half-demons, and no hunters to protect him.

When Chase discovers the Circle's plan to unlock a portal and unleash pure-blood demons into the world, he vows to stop them. Knowing he can't do it alone however, he accepts help from Rayna, a sexy witch with an attitude and a secret.

As the pair attempt to stop the Circle, Chase realizes working with a demon is only half the battle. When they find themselves in the middle of the Circle's plan, it leaves one of them to decide what their friendship is worth, and the other's life depending on it.

My Thoughts

I now see why all the other bloggers I follow raved about Exiled it was Fantastic. I was so excited (fangirling for sure) when Matt gave me a review copy in return for an honest review to post on my blog. Matt has created beautiful and very vivid worlds for us to explore in this journey of finding ones self and the characters well are just awesome and a few out of this world LOL.  At least that is what Chase Williams is doing trying to figure out who he is. Since he and his mother are exiled from their home by his own father none the less and the rest of the elders of the Circle (a society that is supposed to kill and destroy demons) for not showing an affinity to an element when they thought that he should. I am not one for spoilers but Riley, Chase's father and the rest of the elders were wrong about Chase. Along Chase's path of self discovery he makes friends in unusual places due to some unusual circumstances. Rayna is one of those friends she is also still learning things about her life and self. Rayna and Chase over the course of this fantastic book develop a love/hate relationship. That will keep you intrigued as to what will happen between the two of them. When you read this book Matt will leave you on the edge of your seat with this fast paced action packed novel and when it ends you are going to want more. I am glad I had book 2 Shift in my possession.

Title: Shift

Author: M.R.Merrick
Series: The Protector (#2)
Genre: Paranormal/YA
Publisher: Self Published

Goodreads Blurb

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.

My Thoughts

Matt has done it again. I did not think the series could get any better then book one Exiled but I was wrong. I loved Exiled but Shift was ah~may~zing. We get to explore more worlds in Shift and Matt’s description is still awesome, vivid and beautiful even the underworlds are beautiful.

Chase is still discovering himself in Shift and his character grows so much. I love it when the characters show growth but still maintain who they are. Chase and Rayna are thrown into the middle of a supernatural war where they need to find away to stops forces that are trying to bring back the evil God Ithereal. But are they strong enough to stop the evil forces that threaten the world they live in. Chase learns that not everything he thought to be the truth is the truth and what he thought was enemies do become allies. Even former enemies become allies in this fight to save their world from being destroyed by evil forces.

Interview

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Me? I’m not really that exciting. I have a strange love for cereal. I could eat it for every meal. That is…if I didn’t have kids to promote healthy eating to…and stuff. I was born and raised in a small town in Alberta, Canada. I can’t dance, but I can sing. Sometimes. I am slightly obsessed with karaoke, movies, music, and candies that taste good, but hurts my jaw while eating it (See: Milk Duds, stale Starburst, all sour gummy candies in the plastic bin at the grocery store).

1.  Can you give us a glimpse into your daily life?

That’s even less exciting than me! I wake up at 6:30am, work until 4pm, come home and help make dinner or clean house, whatever has to be done. Hang out with the family for a few hours, put the little ones to bed, then I spend my night answering e-mails, Twitter, Facebook, and sometimes even some writing! That lasts until around midnight, then it’s bedtime! When I get really going in a story though, I write all night. Sometimes till 2am. When I disappear from social media, you know there is something great happening. Or at the very least, it’s something terrible that I’m excited about.

2. Do you work with an outline or just write?

I wrote Exiled without an outline, but I wrote SHIFT with an outline and loved the process. I think for the beginning of a story or series, I prefer no outline. No rules, just my imagination and a computer. After that though, I think the outline makes things move faster. An outline would probably make the start of a new story/series work faster too, but something happens when you just let go and let the story have full control…magic.

3. Is there any particular author or book that influenced you in any way either growing up or as an adult?

I didn’t really get into reading until a few years before I started writing Exiled. Before that I could count on one hand how many books I’d read just for fun. I fell in love with the first few books in the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter novels by Laurell K. Hamilton, and her Merry Gentry series. They really got me into reading. But I remember being obsessed with The Giver when we read it in school. As far as writing, J.K. Rowling’s world building is incredible. If I can ever do it half as a well as she can, I’ll be satisfied.

4. Do you have a favorite chapter or scene from either Exiled or Shift?  We know I did I loved Rayna's shift scene . PLZ if you never write it from her POV I would love to read it. ;)

A favorite? Ooooh. I have a few. In Exiled, it’s the scene where they first go to the tree. That scene still makes me smile. In Shift, it’s the entire first Chapter. That scene is intense, and it was the most exciting for me to write. Next to that, the scene in Shift when Chase finds out something about Marcus…

5. Have you ever written a character who resembles your personalty or the personalty of someone close to you?

Never anyone close to me, or that I knew at all, but all the characters have a huge part of me inside their personality. Not because I wrote them, but it’s just who they are. Each one of them holds a strong trait, that is totally me. It wasn’t intentional, but when I realize who they’ve become now, I can see it. No, I won’t tell you what trait comes from which character J

6. Did you or do you have a playlist while writing the Protector Series?

I’m an eclectic when it comes to music, so the playlist is huge, but some major influencers were Eminem, Paramore, Rise Against (while writing Shift), Bush, Bob Segar, and Otis Redding. The song and artist really depends on the scene I’m working on. I try to listen to the music that helps inspire me for that specific scene. I only listen to music during the first draft though. Editing requires more focus, but the first draft is my favorite. I can just let go and write.

Just for FUN

Salty or Sweet? 

Sweet

Give or Receive?

Totally a giver.

Bed or Kitchen Table? 

Start in the kitchen…wait a minute…what are we talking about?

Night Owl or Early Bird?

I’m both. I’ll sleep when I’m dead…or old.

Chocolate or Vanilla?  
Chocolate. Unless we’re talking ice cream, then Cotton Candy.


Places to Stalk Matt
His Blog
Goodreads
Twitter
Facebook

Places to find Exiled
Goodreads
Createspace
Amazon
Barnes and Noble (BN)
Amazon US
Amazon UK

Places to find Shift
Goodreads
Coming Soon
Amazon US
Amazon UK

Happy Reading !!!!