December 21, 2012

Release Blog Tour: Review of Release by M.R. Merrick

Release (The Protector #3)
Author: M.R. Merrick
Publisher: Self Published
Publication Date: December 8, 2012
Pages: N/A
Source: E-ARC for review for Blog Tour from Author

After uniting the shifters and calling in reinforcements, Chase has to face his toughest challenge yet: learning to control his emotions. But as tensions rise and his powers grow, controlling his emotions becomes the least of his problems.

Terrorized by a multi-shifter who is hell-bent on turning him, Chase questions just how far he’s willing to go to stop his father. Meanwhile, Tiki’s virtuous nature has placed him in the middle of Vincent’s past, leaving Chase to oppose a senate of vampires and defend a demon he hates.

Trying to balance his friends, his enemies, and his inner demons, Chase is left searching for answers about the Mark, his destiny, and where he can find the next soul piece. Stopping Riley is his top priority, but as more obstacles arise, he finds himself doubting all the decisions he’s made - especially regarding Rayna.

One thing is for certain: Chase has finally realized that he doesn’t know anything. The light doesn’t always quell the darkness, the monsters don’t always stay in the shadows, and the past doesn’t always stay in the past - sometimes, the demons inside are the hardest to fight.

Review: I definitely thought this was the best book yet! Still filled with tons of action! There was definitely things I didn't see coming in this book!  So I guess I'll start with how many people Marcus and the group got to work together. They actually managed to get a huge amount of people to agree to work together! That's definitely not easy since a majority of those people were at odds with each other. I was disappointed however that Riley decided to take to mass attacks, attacking pretty much every group who decided to work with Marcus and everyone. A majority of those groups lost half or more of their people. Its amazing how the good guys in this battle keep getting setback no matter how hard they try to get ahead! It also sucked that some of those people working with them had to go into hiding for like half the book just to protect themselves and make sure Riley couldn't find them before resurfacing to help. And then on top of Riley's never ending attacks, they also had to deal with Arian, the old leader of the Hollowlights that Riley so felt the need to give power to. That guy was dead-set determined to turn try and turn Chase into a Shifter! It was like his obsession! 

And then Chase. He was having a seriously difficult time controlling his elements! It was like one small emotional moment turned into a huge release of his powers and he couldn't control it. And to make matters worse, as the book went on his powers were becoming to much for him. They were actually hurting him. I thought Chase couldn't get a break in Shift, he seriously couldn't get one in Release! I cant imagine how much he was dealing with in this book! Especially after he lost the ring and one of the demon gods soul pieces to Riley in the previous one! And then we have Rayna. We finally find out why she was having trouble with her Witch powers. Comes to find out, she's a specific type of Witch (not spoiling which kind). So once she figured out exactly what type of magic she was supposed to be studying, her powers came to her a lot easier! I must say, even amongst the chaos in this book, I really enjoyed that Chase and Rayna still got a few moments to themselves and I loved that their relationship took a turn! :) 

Seriously, how many times is Chase supposed to go into the other dimensions for soul pieces and have them taken by Riley?!?!?! I mean he got two and lost one at the end. I feel so bad for him... He is seriously doing all he can to try and stop Riley but it doesn't seem to matter! That ending crushed me! Between losing one of the soul pieces (not telling which one) and the death of one of the group I was so sad! So not cool Riley! Chase will get you eventually!!! 

5 Stars!

Giveaway!

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


Winners will be chosen as follows: First 3 names drawn from Rafflecopter will get the grand prize. The following 5 names get the runner-up prize. The following 10 names winebook copies of Release, and the final 10 names win the swag pack.

a Rafflecopter giveaway