Month: October 2022

“Cemetery House” by Lee Hall

Lee Hall

Happy Halloween

To celebrate today’s spooky date I am sharing a recent and wonderful review of Cemetery House by Ellen Khodakivska which is a read perfect for the season…

Ellen Khodakivska

If you want to find yourself in the middle of shadows, monsters and foreseers, fire and dictionaries of dreams, creepy creatures, and a rain of ash, this one is what you are looking for.

“In this life you can either love or die; or you can just live…” Lee Hall, “Cemetery House”

The Plot: After an epic survival in “Open Evening,” Luke Hartford opens a new chapter of his life. It appears that “survival is just a beginning,” and pure evil keeps spreading its tentacles to get it done. Together with a new crew led by a man named Twister, they go to their hometown to face creepy creatures hiding in the shadows. “Cemetery House” meets them with mortal danger, demons of the past, and lots of riddles needed to be resolved to survive and see a sunrise again. The only way to get out of the hell is to…

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Weekly Ramble #158

Lee Hall

This journey can change from magic to tragic in the space of a week. The truth is, right now I’m a work in progress and I might always be.

Figuring out my own limits and how it runs parallel to my mental well-being is something many of us struggle with, that includes me. From the anxiety caused by a bad day to just the worrying and overthinking of life things, the mind of a creative can go to some wonderful places but it can also go to dark places too. But that’s okay, we’re only human and the tendency to spiral towards the shadows relies heavily on the day to day happenings in this world. Above everything, talking about his stuff is important.

Times are seemingly tough for many right now and they have been for a while – some stuff we just cannot control but we can limit our exposure to some things. I’m doing my best to take regular breaks from certain aspects of social media and I’m fortunate to have a support system out in the ‘real’ world of people I can call family and friends. In times of mental struggle, I’ll draw from their energy to pull me through and I’ll do anything to get through dark thoughts and times.

As a writer, creative and someone who is present on social media, I’m no stranger to them, but like many on here, together we are stronger than that darkness. Simply talking about it might be enough to cast some light into the depths.

Guest Book Review: ‘Neglected Merge’ by Eve Koguce

Lee Hall

Guest Book Review by Arianne Nicks

“Neglected Merge” is the first book in “The Neglected Merge” trilogy by Eve Koguce. This book is a fantasy utopian romance featuring Tauria, a 32-year-old woman living in what’s supposed to be a “perfect” society. After undergoing a near-apocalyptic experience, “the merge”, people have rebuilt society with no room for conflict, unpleasantness, or unhappiness. Everyone is living their best life, having the most fulfilling jobs and the best relationships.

Tauria’s world is disturbed when a “Winged One” lands in her home, one of his wings injured. The man, Doron, is part of the royal family of the Winged Ones. While he recovers in Tauria’s home, they fall in love.

The challenge they face is that of bringing their worlds together – the Wingless and the Winged Ones. Politics and love are woven into the story. To bring their societies together, Tauria gets a job that allows her to start preparations for contacting the Winged Ones. On the other side of the mountain, Doron actively pleads with his father to initiate a relationship with the Wingless. Will they succeed in creating a world where a relationship between a Winged One and a Wingless is possible?

I have enjoyed the first book in this series. The environment and the worlds created are unique, and the characters are interesting in their overpolite ways. I had issues believing in Tauria and Doron’s relationship at the beginning, as everything happens quickly and with few details. However, as the story evolves, they grew on me, and I was rooting for them in their endeavors. Doron’s love and passion for Tauria are sweet, and the contrast between this and Tauria’s more serious side is sometimes funny. I also liked how the friendship between Tauria and Byrne developed throughout the story. For the next books, I hope to find out more about Abelia (Doron’s sister) and her story.

“Neglected Merge” is definitely a distinctive read!

This is a guest review by Arianne Nicks the author of Soul of Light and Thunder. You can find more information about Arianne via her website here.

Weekly Ramble #157

Lee Hall

Supporting fellow creatives in the online world is important to me. Social media and the wider internet in general is known as a volatile unregulated place sometimes and it isn’t always easy to navigate. That is without mentioning the feeling of invisibility no matter how hard one does try to be seen.

Giving someone a boost on social media doesn’t cost a thing and to me, a lot of the support I give doesn’t need to involve a monetary transaction. Kindness does not cost a thing along with manners and so taking that from the real world to the online one has been a no brainer for me. My motive stems from my own experiences as well as passion for consuming good stories and creativity. It takes a huge level of bravery to put anything creative out into the world and I know what that’s like to seemingly risk everything to do it.

The majority of my success has come from being known for supporting others while also never giving in and always thinking of new ways to connect with others. I once tried to be all sales all the time and found that making personal connections with others to be way more rewarding and meaningful – they also drive my sales, follows, reviews and further connections without really intending to.

Over some years I have discovered some incredible books and writers. Their work has kept me going and fostered my own creativity to keep writing and keep aiming to get better. Supporting others takes many forms and as long as you respect boundaries, it can be very rewarding to see others succeed because that drives hope for everyone.

Thank You for the Awards

Lee Hall

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who recently voted for me in the Feed My Reads Awards 2022.

Its an honour to be named both Star of the Book Community 2022 and Biggest Indie Supporter of the Year.

To be supported, mentioned and thought of in such a wonderful way for my efforts in the Writing Community and of course the Indie Book Community is both humbling and special. As a fan of stories and reading that passion eventually urged me at quite a young age to consider pursuing the dream of becoming a writer myself.

On this journey, which has given me a lot of experiences I’ve come to realise I am in the fantastic company of many talented and kind people who make all of this worth it. I’m a firm believer in supporting others to make our industry better and simply because I enjoy reading. Those who do release their words into this world deserve every single ounce of support they can get because it takes a monumental level of bravery to share any type of creativity.

Writers supporting writers is a world that I very much appreciate living in.

Thank you to the awesome Feed My Reads blog for putting together the awards and for the amazing effort. To everyone else who was nominated and those who also won awards – thank you also.

You can watch the full awards ceremony here.

‘House of Tigers’ by William Burton McCormick – Review

Lee Hall

‘We’re innocent lambs in a house of hungry tigers…’

William Burton McCormick has constructed a cleverly plotted murder mystery where two unlikely characters band together quite literally to decipher the unexpected unfolding before them.

In the backdrop are swarms of mosquitos that threaten anyone outdoors and so immediately the locked in atmosphere presents itself from the very start as ‘Inspector Ilya Dudnyk’ arrives at Aristov Manor. His job is to oversee an Oligarch family inheritance dilemma but soon realises like most high stakes financial situations, blood has a tendency to be spilled. Even though he is seemingly on the side of the law, that thin blue line is blurred just a little giving readers a front row seat to the happenings that follow.

With plenty of tension and page-turning mystery vibes; the setting, characters and pace are all on point here and pull everything together well to make for a fun original reading experience. Of course there are unexpected twists and revelations in a who done it/who’s still doing it scenario as events unfold with the story.

5 Stars

“Darke Blood” by Lee Hall

Lee Hall

A huge thank you to fellow author Ellen Khodakivska for this wonderful review of Darke Blood

Ellen Khodakivska

If you want to dive into a fantastic vampire/witch action-packed novel, this one is totally what you need.

“Sometimes you don’t need to say anything to say everything.” Lee Hall, “Darke Blood”

The Plot:  Blake Malone arrives in the forest town of Darke Heath. He hopes to make a fresh start and find answers to some riddles. The encounter with a pretty, mysterious woman named Caitlyn reveals more secrets than he could expect. Moreover, his memory starts playing a tricky game with Blake Malone, giving him more and more riddles hidden in the true darkness of the Darke forest. You can find out whether Blake Malone can fight the darkness and discover all the secrets by reading this brilliant, blood-freezing thriller full of vampires, witches, and true darkness.

The Writing Style: This is the next book in the “Open Evening” series, and, truth to be told, the plot thickens and…

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Awesome Recommended Indie Reads #10

Lee Hall

The road to reviewing indie books continues and so here are some of my recent reads, all of which I recommend!

‘The Perfect Athlete’ by Olivier Doleuze

The Perfect overview and resource for the fit and healthy conscious…

Full Review

‘SurReality’ by Matt Doyle

‘Everything that happens in SurReality is entirely real’

Full Review

‘The Mermaid From My Nightmare’ by Kristina Gallo

A thrilling and twisting tale with so much beneath the surface…

Full Review

‘Pearl Fields and the Oregon Meltdown’ by Drew Faraday

A unique and immersive vision of survival and life during apocalyptic times…

Full Review

‘The Liar, The Bitch and The Warmonger’ by Morton R Leader

A family affair with darker edges…

Full Review

And so that wraps up another edition of Awesome Recommended Indie Reads. Keep reading and keep reviewing!

Feed My Reads Awards Nominations 2022

Lee Hall
Image via OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

I’m proud to announce that I’ve been nominated by writing and reading community blogging outfit Feed My Reads for two awards!

This is both unexpected a humbling to be given any recognition for my efforts and so firstly I must thank Feed My Reads and anyone else who put me forward for these nominations. I tend to always be busy with something writing, reading or blogging based and that is without mentioning the social media rat race to contend with so knowing that my efforts have been noticed is fantastic and means a lot.

Above everything this kind gesture is proof that I am reaching the right people in the reading and writing community online and that is a dream come true.

To be thought of in such a way alongside some fantastic nominees is something I shall cherish for a long time.

The two awards I have been nominated for are:

Star of the Book Community 2022

Biggest Indie Supporter of the Year

Of course your vote and support would be appreciated.

You can vote for either by clicking here and you’ll find more information about all of the awards and nominations.

Thank you to Feed My Reads for the nominations!