REVIEW: Exiled (The Protector #1) by M.R. Merrick

 

Author: M.R. Merrick

Series: The Protector

Pages: 234

Genre: YA - Paranormal / Fantasy

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Synopsis (Goodreads)

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.

REVIEW: 5 out of 5 stars

Exiled is all sorts of amazing! It is the first book in The Protector series and pulled me in from the very first page.

Mr Merrick has written a real page turner, the main hero is Chase Williams – an exiled Demon Hunter forced out of the Circle (a group of Guardians protecting the human world) with his mother for not obtaining his power over an element on his 15^th birthday – he has disgraced his father who saw him only as his legacy and has lost the Circle’s protection. He spends his days fighting off demons from the Underworld and trying to earn a living to keep the bills paid and a roof over his and his mothers head.

Chase spent the first 15 years of his life living and training in the Circle but everything he has been taught and was led to believe changes when he has a run-in with a half-demon named Rayna and a Hunter named Marcus who happens to be Chase’s dads ex-partner and believed dead.

Chase has always thought demons (which include Vamps, trolls, witches, shifters etc) are bad so is shocked to learn about Rayna who is part witch with shifters eyes/part hunter. When they discover the Circle’s plan to unleash pure-blood demons into the world, they take it upon themselves to work out a way to put a stop to it before all hell breaks loose. There was non-stop action, mystery and suspense throughout which I absolutely loved; there was never a dull moment and quite a few unexpected twists and turns.

This is only the second book I have read with a male as the main character and I certainly have an appreciation for it, Chase was amazing in every way possible and I loved the relationship he had with his mother, the bond they shared was beautiful. Exiled is written from Chase’s POV which I thoroughly enjoyed. 

Each of the secondary characters were well-developed and compelling, Rayna I absolutely adored, she was sassy, snarky, kick-butt yet compassionate and she worked alongside Chase perfectly, their interactions were intense and entertaining from the moment they first met; they were a pair you wouldn’t want to mess with. Willy, Vincent, Ishmar, Tiki and Marcus were also fabulous in there own ways and played an important role in this story.

I was literally a blubbering mess at the end, a heart-wrenching moment which I won’t reveal but certainly tugged at the heart-strings.

Exiled was fast paced and engaging, I loved Mr Merrick’s writing style, the banter and the dialogue between Rayna and Chase had me laughing out loud, I loved every word.The plot was solid, the world-building amazing and the characterizations spot on – I enjoyed every single moment of this book and cannot recommend it highly enough.

All in all, Exiled is a fantastic paranormal/fantasy debut novel, I couldn’t put it down at all and I’m really looking forward to reading more books written by this amazing author.