magic

‘The Man and The Crow’ by Rebecca Crunden – Review

Lee Hall 2 Comments

A short sharp enjoyable tale of magic and the unexpected…

Having just read this book in one sitting I found myself enthralled by page 4 where the story unexpectedly flips and takes the reader on a journey of folklore, witchcraft and murder.

With darker tones and a magical theme that merge together well, Rebecca Crunden delivers a well-written tale that might only be twenty four pages long, but it represents hundreds of years of history and lore for the title character. Throughout, the addictive writing style carries a humour that is both fun and perfect for the genre while the imagination is also given plenty of room to work alongside that history and lore suggested here – as the ending promises, that’s the start of the next story!

For anyone looking to be whisked away only for a short time but through some imaginative literature, this is the one for you.

‘Screaming would have been the sensible thing to do; it also proved impossible. Screaming would mean she’d be able to unlock her jaw and at the moment it felt like her jaw had rusted shut…’

5 Stars

Exclusive Excerpt: ‘Soul of Light and Thunder’ by Arianne Nicks

Lee Hall

Fellow author Arianne Nicks shares an exclusive promotional excerpt of her novel ‘Soul of Light and Thunder’

I should have done as I was told, but I was curious and kept my eyes open.

In the next moment, I wished I had listened. Kane was looking straight through me, frowning. His gorgeous smile disappeared, and his grip was stronger and steadier. His countenance was almost scary. Around us, huge white light circles were growing and spinning faster and faster. I got dizzy and felt like I was the one reeling. I knew what was happening—relocation spell. How did I not think of that? The dizziness got my mind all foggy, and I lost track of my surroundings. I was seeing multiple faces of Kane, all of them unclear and glimmering. Mercifully, in a few seconds, the circles disappeared. When I got my senses and balance back, I saw the landscape changed. The darkness of the night was gone, and so was the dense forest in Chicago and the shadow of my house.

A slow, warm wind ruffled my long hair from behind my shoulders. It brought a fresh, flowery smell, like a dewy garden in the early morning. Maybe because it was an early morning here, with a hidden, shy sun. We were surrounded by the most splendid and majestic trees I have ever seen in my life. Absolutely huge and thick trunks, with bright yellow leaves forming immense, round crowns, almost competing with the sun. I felt my mouth opening in awe of them. If I had to put an image to the word magic, this would be it. Ironic, wasn’t it?

“Ginkgo trees,” Kane said, smiling. His frown was gone, and he was himself again.

I unwrapped my arms from around him. He let me go but grabbed my hand.

“We’re here,” he added.

“We’re…where?”

“We’re in Japan. Come, my father is waiting for us.”

Oh, there. Yes, that’s where we were going. My thoughts were functioning again, so I could think about what happened. I didn’t know they could relocate with another person, especially with a commoner. It appeared to have taken more focus and more time to cast this on two people; I remembered the other ones disappearing almost instantly. That, or Kane tried to take it easy on me so I didn’t pass out. Still, the reeling sensation was more intense than I was prepared for.

This is an exclusive excerpt of ‘Soul of Light and Thunder’ by Arianne Nicks. You can find more information here.

The Relic Spell By Jimena I. Novaro – Review

Lee Hall 1 Comment

Hello friends. Today’s re blog is a book review for a wonderful urban fantasy that will see the next instalment arrive quite soon.

Lee's Hall of information

A gripping tale of magic and sorcery with an important message…

the relic spell.PNG

From the very start of this story I found myself immersed into an original and intricately crafted world of sorcery that is both full of action and intrigue. Jimena Novaro has written a book that also captures and reflects on modern times with a distinct rich and poor divide in the setting of ‘Port Monica’.

We are introduced to main character and hero ‘Orion Tamura’ who is perhaps the only powerful sorcerer left in town. By day he’s a regular school kid from a not so privileged family that includes two younger siblings and a mother to look out for. By night he is joined by best friend ‘Max’ and together they fight demons – there are a host of creative, fun and chilling creatures they face off throughout the story. On the surface their relationship appears to be…

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The Relic Spell By Jimena I. Novaro – Review

Lee Hall 3 Comments

A gripping tale of magic and sorcery with an important message…

the relic spell.PNG

From the very start of this story I found myself immersed into an original and intricately crafted world of sorcery that is both full of action and intrigue. Jimena Novaro has written a book that also captures and reflects on modern times with a distinct rich and poor divide in the setting of ‘Port Monica’.

We are introduced to main character and hero ‘Orion Tamura’ who is perhaps the only powerful sorcerer left in town. By day he’s a regular school kid from a not so privileged family that includes two younger siblings and a mother to look out for. By night he is joined by best friend ‘Max’ and together they fight demons – there are a host of creative, fun and chilling creatures they face off throughout the story. On the surface their relationship appears to be of old friends, or even sorcerer and warrior but for Orion he wants more and Max already has someone else, this makes for a conflicting scenario our hero must face as well as the apparent dangers that already lurk in their home town.

There’s a mysterious back story to Orion’s father who like many other sorcerers vanished during the ‘Phyrian War’, we only get snippets of what happened and I imagine more of the ‘war’ will be explored in future stories. Much of the history in this book is what makes everything so well detailed and thought out. I must give credit to the author for bringing to life a world full of depth and even realism for the genre.

A powerful spell is unleashed that threatens to ravage ‘Port Monica’ and Orion begins his journey to face the evil that is behind it. Along the way he is helped by part demon fighters (Elsa comes to mind), fellow sorcerers (Julian) and even his ex girlfriend in what is an enjoyable voyage of revelations into this bold world of magic where ‘natural energy’ and ‘demon energy’ are pitted against one another.

It’s very clear to see Jimena Novaro has spent much time writing a story that feels personal and inviting at the same time. The book contains so much for a reader to enjoy, from a wealth of great characters to a story where something is always happening; if there isn’t action, there’s tension, intrigue or mystery.

Novaro even pays tribute to her own Argentinian routes which is a nice personal touch, while also reflecting on modern society and creating a main character that is bisexual and another character who prefers to be referred as ‘they’ – a first I have known in any book and a huge step in the right direction for not only story telling but the world.

The Relic Spell is a story about so much more than sorcery and magic, from family, friends to politics and even society its highly enjoyable!

5 Stars – This was a great read! I would like to thank the author for providing me with an ARC. Reviews left on both Goodreads and Amazon UK 

The Relic Spell is out now!