M.R. Merrick did it again. He sucked me in and took me to a world of exciting intrigue and fantastical action.There is a seamless connection between Exiled and Shift, there is no skipped beat or catching up. Chase is struggling with his loss (I will do my best to leave out details/ spoilers from book 1) and with his new found powers. He has very little control over, well... anything in his life right now. Rayna is in a very similar situation. She is struggling for control in her life as a shifter. It's in these struggles that Chase and Rayna begin to form a sweet and strong bond. It seems neither of them can survive without the others help. I truly enjoy the slow simmering relationship that these two are forming. It's a strong partnership and I wish more authors would follow this line.There were so many new characters brought to the forefront in this segment of the series. Yet, you do not ever get overwhelmed with them. Shifters take the lead here and these are not sugary soft cuddle bugs, they are fierce and ferocious. There is a fine line between friend or foe with these Supes and Chase and Rayna must tread the waters carefully. For overstepping in any direction could determine their success or downfall in the battle against Riley.Shift does not deliver a cookie cutter YA book with a weak heroine who instantly falls for the hero (or hero as the case may be) and spends the next two hundred pages pining. It does deliver an action packed, breath holding tale filled with truly interesting characters that you can not help but root for.