It's the end of 2012!

2012 is coming to a close but never fear 2013 is going to be a fabulous year.  I know what you are thinking- seriously how fabulous can it be?  Well that can be summed up in a calendar of book release dates.  If the book is located inside a month then it does not have a date attached to it yet.  Some months may be missing books but I am sure that they will pop up on the Calendar as soon as possible!

January 2013

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8 Broken	9	10	11	12
	Reaper	Blood Prophecy  Through the Never Sky
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
		Touch of Death
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
		Everbound
27	28	29	30	31

February 2013

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
					1	2
					Revelations
3	4	5	6	7	8	9
				The Better to See You  The Obvious Game
10	11	12	13	14	15	16
		Indigo Spell
17	18	19	20	21	22	23
24	25	26	27	28
		The Goddess Inheritance Wicked Kiss Fragments

March 2013

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
					1	2
Obsession
3	4	5	6	7	8	9
		Death, Doom and Detention The Nightmare Affair
10	11	12	13	14	15	16
		Poison
17	18	19	20	21	22	23
		With All My Soul
24	25	26	27	28	29	30
31

April 2013

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
	1	2	3	4	5	6
		The Collector
7	8	9	10	11	12	13
	Moonset	Apolloyn
14	15	16	17	18	19	20
		Taken
21	22	23	24	25	26	27
		Unbreakable The Rules
28	29	30
		Sweet Peril Chosen at Nightfall

May 2013

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
			1	2	3	4
			The Last Academy
5	6	7	8	9	10	11
		The Orginials
12	13	14	15	16	17	18
		School Spirit
19	20	21	22	23	24	25
26	27	28	29	30	31
		Spirit

June 2013

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Intuition						1
2	3	4	5	6	7	8
		Gameboard of the Gods
9	10	11	12	13	14	15
				Intertwined #4
16	17	18	19	20	21	22
					Solstice
23	24	25	26	27	28	29
30

July 2013

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
	1	2	3	4	5	6
Origin
7	8	9	10	11	12	13
		Breaking Glass
14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27
		A Darkness Strange and Lovely Stalked by Death
28	29	30	31
		Indelible

August 2013

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
				1	2	3
Midnight Frost
4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17
				Demonosity
18	19	20	21	22	23	24
25	26	27	28	29	30	31
				Untold

September 2013

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Consume Gods and Monsters #3
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24 Unchained	25	26	27	28
29	30

October 2013

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	30	31

November 2013

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
					1	2
					Bonded
3	4	5	6	7	8	9
10	11	12	13	14	15	16
17	18	19	20	21	22	23
24	25	26	27	28	29	30

December 2013

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30	31	Sentinel

Review: Shift (The Protector #2)

Author: M.R. Merrick

Format: eARC

Print Length: 350 pages 

Publisher: self-published

Published: Feb. 1, 2012 

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. 

My Thoughts

Shift starts off almost immediately after Exiled ends. Chase is dealing with the revelations that occurred at the end of Exiled. He feels responsible for the death of the individual who died (sorry did not want to give any spoilers). He also is feels unworthy of the mark on his back. The mark is that of the Protector- a person the goddess names as her champion on earth. Not only that but Rayna is being attacked from within. Her inner demon is fighting to be let out. 

Chase’s elemental powers have manifested- only unlike most demon hunters his has come fast and furious. He has to gain control of them. Just as Rayna has to gain control of her inner demon, otherwise it will literally tear her into two. They have to trust each other and people previously thought of as enemies in order to come out of this alive. Especially since daddy dearest is chasing after Chase at lightening speed due to the fact that he has a relic that daddy wants. 

Chase is diferent in this novel than the first. He is less condescending and more, well to be honest, real. His suffering is natural and felt natural when reading about it. His anger over the death of a loved one and his guilt about the death makes him a more tortured soul. His confusion over his feelings for Rayna are understandable- although I felt that with his prejudice against demons his trust of her came too fast. 

Rayna for her part is going through, well-hell. Her body is ripping itself apart. Her inner demon is stronger than she knows and wants her to shift. What does that mean, and how is it possible? For crying out loud- her daddy was a demon hunter and her mother a witch. 

Chase’s devotion to Rayna and her’s to him surprised me a little. I did not feel as if they were that attached to each other in the previous book. I do like that their relationship develops more in this addition to the series. They are warmer towards each other which does cause your tummy to flutter a few times in this book. Their devotion to each other becomes a motivating factor in this book. It is what will drive Chase to make the decisions that he did. 

My Rating 4 stars out of 5 stars (annoyed when reading and there was an interruption). 

Favorite Quote “Does this look like an army? This is my house, not your backyard, so don’t try marking your territory here.”

Other Characters

Willy- Chase’s best friend, stuttering demon/ werewolf, Omega in his pack 

Vincent- vampire royalty 

Marcus- ex-demon hunter who raised Rayna 

Tiki- demon from another dimension, who helps Chase. 

Chief- he will help Rayna when the time comes for her to shift 

Riley- daddy dearest- run children everywhere run 

Jax- second-in-command of Willy’s pack

Review: Exiled (The Protector #1)

Author: M.R. Merrick

Format: eARC

Print Length: 264 pages 

Publisher: self-published

Published: June 28, 2011 

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, 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. 

My Thoughts

Fascinating tale of a demon hunter coming of age in a time of great torment. Ever wonder what the guy is really thinking? Exiled, the first book in the Protector series, is written entirely in the guy’s point of view. 

When Chase was 15, his elemental power was supposed to manifest. After all he was a demon hunter, even more so a son of a famous demon hunter, but nothing happened the day of the ceremony. He was cast of the community he grew up in. His mother leaves with him instead of standing with her husband. (Go mommy!) The last two years have been spent surviving- literally. His father had gained a reputation in the demon world as a ruthless demon hunter. So the demons figured why not go after his son- that will show him. Obviously, they missed the memo- daddy dearest was the one who exiled him. 

The book opens with Chase fighting a demon, once vanquished he goes home and goes to sleep. This is where we find out about his shunned status among his people. A little while later a vampire attacks him- here is where things get interesting. A supposedly dead demon hunter, Marcus and a demon girl Rayna save his life. She turns out to be a hybrid. This leaves Chase with a lot of questions- questions only these two can answer. Later he will find out everything he ever learned was well a half-truth/half-non-truth. Not an outright lie but close enough that we would have gotten in trouble for telling those tall tales. 

I liked the book and felt that it was a strong beginning to a series that has great potential. I liked Chase and Rayna. Although to be honest, I expected a bit more sassiness out of her. The ending left me a little shell-shocked. I understand the need to kill of the character that died but I still felt horrible about it. The ending was intriguing enough to leave me wondering what will happen next. 

My Rating 3 stars out of 5 stars (liked it but was okay with interruptions while reading it)

Favorite Quote “More astonishing than her saving me, Rayna hadn’t tried to kill me. Now that was a twist I never saw coming.”

Other Characters

Willy- stuttering demon, who befriends Chase 

Vincent- vampire royalty who seems to have a thing for Rayna 

Marcus- ex-demon hunter who raised Rayna 

Tiki- demon from another dimension, who helps Chase.

Character Interview: Rayna from the Protector series

Recently, I got to sit down and chat with Rayna from the Protector Series.  Which was really cool since, well to be honest, she has not had a lot of free time lately.  She has been a little busy saving the world.

Rayna~ thank you so much for stopping by. I hope the trip down wasn't too bad, at least the weather here is warmer than what you are used to this time of the year. 

The last couple of months have been a little rough you, so hopefully these questions will be a relaxing break from all the fighting.

You are of demon and hunter descent. Usually hunters well, hunt demons. Did being raised by a hunter make your childhood weird?

I guess to anybody else it would be weird, but it was just the way things were. Other than when she died, I don't have many memories of my mother, so growing up with Marcus was normal to me.

It wasn't easy though. Being somewhat involved in the Underworld, I couldn't tell anyone I was a hunter, but they knew there was something…different about me. Because of that, I was always on the outside looking in. On the other side of the scale, I could never be a part of the hunter world either, so I had Marcus and that was my life.

Speaking of childhood, you recently discovered that your biological father was alive. You even got to meet him. How did that go for you? Were you excited, nervous or something else entirely?

I always dreamed of how exciting it would be. I had it built up inside my head that it would be a magical experience. But when, and the way it happened, just left my head spinning. I was in total shock. With the changes I was going through, I couldn't deal. Even now, after it's all been put on the table, I keep my distance. There is just too much happening right now and there isn't time to focus on that. But maybe, if we win and all this goes away…he'll be able to be a part of my life.

In Released Grams says something about fathers and dads- the difference between the two. Do you look at Marcus as well a daddy figure?

Marcus has been my guardian since I was eight. He's been someone I've respected and loved my entire life, but we've never had a father-daughter bond. He's always looked out for me, I know he always will, and I'll forever be able to count on him, but he's just…Marcus. I know he cares about me, but he controls his emotions so much that I don’t think we ever could've had that type of relationship.

That Grams is a hoot- what is like to be learning witchcraft from her? Have you learned anything more about your summoner abilities?

As a person, Grams is…not afraid to say what's on her mind. She's easily frustrated and because of that, I don’t think she was really designed to be a teacher. She does get the job done, but it's not under the best circumstances. It's very stressful. At least it was for me.

As far as my summoner abilities, from what I understand, it's like a muscle. Once you know how to use it, nobody can help you strengthen it. You have to keep using and pushing it, and as you do, it grows stronger.

Not only are you a witch but you can shift into a werecat. Incredibly cool! What does it feel like? Which do you like better: your human form or cat form?

It's the most painful experience I've ever had. Even now, having learned control of it, it still hurts. You're bones literally break and reshape themselves in minutes. Your muscles tear, grow, and expand throughout your whole body, and your skin rips apart as you're forced into the most excruciating positions. It's horrible. I'm told the older shifters don't even feel the pain anymore, but right now I avoid shifting for as long as possible. If given the choice, I'll choose human every time.

You and Chase have gotten close recently. But then you tried to slow things down- do you regret that?

I…I don’t think either of us knew what we were doing. We still don't. I mean, when it comes to this kind of thing, does anybody? If you take a step back from it all, slowing down was a smart move. There is so much we're still learning about one another and the last thing either of us needed was a distraction from Riley and the Dark Brothers. But…I'd be lying if I said I wasn't happy with the way things were going. As much as he can be a complete ass (nothing a punch in the nose doesn't fix), he also sweet, and loyal. Things don't always go his way, but he always has good intentions.

If you could tell Chase something right now what would it be?

Stop doubting yourself. Your will is so much stronger than any magic could ever be. The only thing holding you back is the thought that you're not good enough, not strong enough, not smart enough. That's something that has always haunted you, and it's time to put it in the past.

The future is so uncertain by if you could guess where do you see yourself in ten years?

With the way the last few months of my life have gone, I don't dare guess where I'll be in two weeks, let alone two years. But I 'hope' I'll be back in Stonewall, fighting the good fight. There's enough evil in this world as it is, we don't need anybody else's. I'm hoping the wall that kept earth blocked from the other dimensions all these years is back in place, and all I have to worry about is my world…my home.

Let’s talk favorites:

Drink- Iced Tea
Color- Red 

Food- Burgers and Fries 
Book- Defense Against Demons 
TV show- Supernatural 

WOW!  A gal who loves iced tea (hopefully its sweet ice tea) and Supernatural is a gal that I can hang out with anytime!  Thanks so much for stopping bye. Good luck with everything!

Now here is you chance to win some great Release swag!

Grande Prize Pack (3 Winners)

3x Signed paperbacks (Exiled, Shift, Release)

3x Signed 8x10 posters (Exiled, Shift, Release)

5x Bookmarks

1x Notebook (Winner’s choice of cover)

1x Magnet

Runner-up Prize Pack (5 Winners)

1x Signed paperback (Winner’s choice of Exiled, Shift, or Release) with signed poster

1x bookmark (Winner’s choice)

1x Magnet

Secondary Prizes A (10 Winners)

Release eBooks

Secondary Prize B (10 Winners)

1x bookmark (winner’s choice)

1x The Protector magnet

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