Exiled

Exiled (Volume 1) by M.R. Merrick
Released: August 27, 2011
ISBN13: 978-0987726216

4.5/5 Stars

Goodreads Synopsis:
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.

Even though I'm always willing to take review requests from anyone, I confess that sometimes I'm a little bit hesitant when it's self-published just because you never know what you're going to get. It's kind of like a grab bag, in that sense. What's inside could be really awesome, or just disappointing.

I actually requested a copy of Exiled (Volume 1) by M.R. Merrick once I discovered it, and did a little bit of research on this book. By the way, if you look up Exiled to find out more about it, you will find raving reviews.

And they are all spot on; those reviews are well-deserved.

Exiled is an exciting and riveting paranormal fantasy, and is often compared to The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare. I think that's a fair comparison.

The quality of writing is wonderful, and the story is extremely well presented. One of my favourite things is that Merrick writes such exciting action scenes! It seems to be a trickier part of novel writing for authors, but Merrick excels at it which is fortunate because Exiled is LOADED with fighting and adventure.

It's perfectly paced, laced with likeable and fascinating characters, and a thrilling wide into this new world created by Merrick. Background information was subtlely slipped in and given at the precise moment of time when it's applicable, which makes it easy to understand the world better. Chase was (somewhat surprisingly) an ideal main character; sympathetic, but less angsty than some of his typical YA MC counterparts. He doesn't just sit around and mope about the unfortunate events in his life; they affect him, and he tries to find a way to deal with them and move on with his life. And the chemistry between Chase and Rayna has such a flirtatious and witty build up that it comes across naturally, but without distracting from the bigger plot lines taking place.

The only thing I found a bit odd were the various dimensions, because I wasn't sure I saw how it fit in with the rest of the story to me. It's a creative add on for sure, but I'm not sure how it will play out in the series as a whole yet and I did find that it took a bit away from the rest of this first book.

It really is an enjoyable book, and I highly recommend it since I'm now eagerly awaiting the next book! This is the kind of book that's going to appeal to a broad audience, and in particular, I think teen boys would really love Exiled for it's perspective from a male character (and author) and thrilling action scenes.

A Kindle copy of Exiled was provided to me from the author in exchange for my honest review; no other compensation was received.