reviews

Underground Movement (Quantum Series Book 7) by Christina Engela – Review

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The Quantum series returns and with it the resistance grows

It has been a while since I last read a book in the Quantum series and I’m glad to see Christina Engela is on form yet again to deliver an immersive brand of sci-fi. With the usual humour and occasional stab at the forces who chose not to embrace inclusivity there’s a relevant and meaningful social commentary here. Much like most of Engela’s stories they contain heroes of all backgrounds – a positive and modern choice while also being quite enjoyable.

‘On Deanna, a seed had been planted, a sinister, malevolent seed…’

These heroes are spread around the planet of Deanna which has been taken over by a totalitarian regime who have supressed the diverse inhabitants. This story lays out their movements in creating a force for resistance and they’ll do everything they can to fight back from this suppressive regime. From dealing with local mobsters to gain equipment to even meddling with the concept of the time space continuum – time travel in this series is a focal point and a vessel that will hopefully guide Deanna to freedom. There are even vampires so all of the cool story bases are covered here.

Underground Movement is an appropriate title for a book which recaps the series so far with some returning faces like ‘Fred the Arborian’ and ‘Gary Beck the Badfeller’ plus many more while also paving a way for what is to come. Enjoyable and immersive.

4 Stars

‘The Insatiable Hunger of Trees’ by Samantha Eaton – Review

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‘I’ve done something unforgivable, and it followed me here…’

Samantha Eaton delivers a horror tale through the vessel of atmosphere and originality with a different take on the creature feature that carries a certain sophistication.

With a main character in high school, the expectation to take the ultra dramatic teenage angst route would appear obvious but not here, our hero ‘Cara Hughes’ is presented in a more grounded way along with her life much like many of the horror elements in this story that is packed with mystery and unpredictability. Of course we do see the usual school politics and antics of kids who are that age which is delivered through snippets of flashbacks that plant seeds for what is unfolding now and what is to come. Hysteria spreads quickly among the students along with rumours that whisper murder or worse.

‘My body may be in the classroom, but my mind wanders…’

From the start readers are fed an atmosphere which is this book’s ultimate strength and captures the forest setting, theme and personality of every major character. Something is out there and it has taken lives and even loved ones so when a missing presumed dead sibling returns, for ‘Cara’ it sets her on a path of realisation that a sinister presence is watching.

‘Someone was watching me tonight. Just like they have been watching me every night for weeks. I wonder if, one of these nights, they’ll want to do more than watch…’

The journey of realisation and then revelation kept me turning pages while I also found myself savouring certain face off moments between ‘Cara’ and the unknown forcers that were both immersive and gripping. For anyone who enjoys atmospheric horror with a slow burn and the presence of kittens every now and then, this one is for you because there is something out there.

5 Stars

Awesome Recommended Reads

Lee Hall 1 Comment

Okay, I haven’t posted one of these in a while but I’ve been busy… You can expect more book reviews soon but here’s what I have read and reviewed this year so far….

‘The Memory Wood’ by Sam Lloyd

Immersive, descriptive, addictive and full of mysterious intrigue…

Full Review

‘Clear and Convincing Evidence’ by H.C. Helfand

A beautifully written continuation of a fantastic story about life and opportunity…

Full Review

‘Fire at Her Fingertips’ by Rebecca Crunden

‘You know it’s better to lie. To keep the fire for yourself.’

Full Review

‘One of Us: Two families, two traditions… one the hunted’ By Thomas Simpson

A chilling fusion of brutality and horror with descriptive ominous vibes…

Full Review

And so that wraps up a long awaited review of my recent reads. You can expect more soon!

Recent Reviews

Lee Hall Leave a comment

Book Reviews mean everything to authors, they help us grow and provide some all-important feedback that may even possibly shape our future works.

While being published may be a hobby for me, I still take it seriously and have aspirations of one day making it more. I appreciate every review I receive from my wonderful readers who have paved this author path for me.

Here is some recent praise for 3 of my works!

You can find out more about all of my books here.

Top Guides of 2022

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2022 has been a year of learning for me. From selling books way more regularly to hitting big-time milestones on Twitter. I’m a big believer in passing on the stuff I have learned and so here are my Top guides of 2022…

From the book basics, the everyday stuff to even selling related solutions, this guide lays out how to sell books on social media.

Twitter is the engine room of my online presence and book selling. The concept of treating it like a bar has helped me find thousands of followers. This bar analogy guide lays it all out…

Continuing with the Twitter theme and introducing my best guide based content about the platform is my Twitter Coaching Sessions. These Patreon exclusive audio sessions which are now nearly 20 episodes strong lay out in detail my Twitter experiences.

BookBub has been a hot button topic for me in recent years. Especially after my second featured deal resulted in 10,000+ book downloads in a single day. Somehow this year I managed to secure a deal for my debut novel Open Evening which paved the way for my wider Order of the Following Series to find more success than it has ever had!

As an indie author, I am always conscious of trying my best to get more reviews for my works. Most of us who are published will know the struggle we face with finding them so here are 5 ways to get more…

Thanks for reading! You can find a lot more guides via the resources section.

Check out my Patreon for the exclusive stuff!

Every Book I have read in 2022 Pt2

Lee Hall 3 Comments

Welcome to Part 2 of every book I have read in 2022. Let us dive in…

‘A Stranger From the Storm’ by William Burton McCormick

Brilliant fun – a historical mystery with plenty of atmosphere

5 Stars – Full Review

‘Witch in the Lighthouse’ by Azalea Forrest

A quaint and fun magical tale…

5 Stars – Full Review

‘The View From Here’ by Leon Stevens

An exploration themed sci-fi novella not of this world…

4 Stars – Full Review

‘The Caverns’ by Olen Crowe

In The Caverns an ancient evil lurks…

4 Stars – Full Review

‘Red on White’ by J.P Biddlecome

‘The Wolves came, rising from the waves…’

4 Stars – Full Review

The Perfect Athlete’ by Olivier Doleuze

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

4 Stars – Full Review

‘The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music’ by Dave Grohl

A masterful collection of wonderful and powerful tales…

5 Stars – Full Review

‘SurReality’ by Matt Doyle

‘Everything that happens in SurReality is entirely real’

5 Stars – Full Review

‘The Mermaid From My Nightmare’ by Kristina Gallo

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

5 Stars – Full Review

‘Pearl Fields and the Oregon Meltdown’ by Drew Faraday

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

4 Stars – Full Review

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

A family affair with darker edges…

4 Stars – Full Review

‘House of Tigers’ by William Burton McCormick

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

5 Stars – Full Review

‘The Watchmaker: A clock can talk’ by Ellen Khodakivska

An enchanting tale of life, destiny and time…

5 Stars – Full Review

‘Of Swans and Stars; Finding my own North Star, one poem at a time’ by E.M. McConnell

A uniquely emotive and descriptive collection of poetry…

5 Stars – Full Review

‘Love’s Ragged Claws’ by Gary Gautier

A short read with plenty of literary depth…

4 Stars – Full Review

‘They Lie Here’ by N.S. Ford

Thrilling and unputdownable with unique themes…

5 Stars – Full Review

‘The Man and The Crow’ by Rebecca Crunden

A short sharp enjoyable tale of magic and the unexpected…

5 Stars – Full Review

‘Sex, Violence, Mars: The Ballad of Left and Right’ by Walrus

Sex, Violence, Mars is back and just as entertaining as the first encounter

4 Stars – Full Review

‘Eileen’s Promise’ by Matthew Villeneuve

A space sci-fi tale of one salvager and his thoughts which are uniquely alive…

4 Stars – Full Review

And so that wraps up part 2 of every book I have read in 2022. To all of the authors who have shaped my reading this year, thank you!

Peace out, rock and roll and reading!

‘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

‘They Lie Here’ by N.S. Ford – Review

Lee Hall 1 Comment

Thrilling and unputdownable with unique themes…

N.S. Ford has masterfully merged the genres of thriller and mystery with the themes of obsession, secrets and music to deliver a layered story I could not put down. There were twists, revelations and even after, there were more unexpected moments in this original and addictive read.

In my first two sittings of reading this I’d already reached the 50% mark and by then I was just as obsessed as main character ‘Kat Green’ who is on a mission to find missing 80’s musician ‘Roskoe Darke’. His band, the aptly named ‘Scorpio Hearts’ have a kind of cult following and through some unique flashbacks/snippets we learn of their history along with the backstory that all has a sinister feel. ‘Kat’ is clever, obsessed and willing to go to extreme lengths for her investigation, even if she does refer to herself in third person often, there’s reasoning behind it and that also reflects the whole story which is cleverly plotted.

During the earlier stages, there is a lot of build as everything is laid out and then the revelations begin. Just like N.S. Ford’s last release, the well-executed twists are becoming a theme or even sub-genre of the author’s work and its definitely something that will keep me coming back. Music is also a key theme that runs throughout the story which serves as a study of how fans and those in the industry are effected by success while also merging with the mystery/thriller elements which makes for a unique unpredictable reading experience.

5 Stars

‘Red on White’ by J.P Biddlecome – Review

Lee Hall

‘The Wolves came, rising from the waves…’

Red on White is an intriguing tale of one young man’s battle to survive after an earthquake and subsequent tsunami hits Oregon. Soon enough chaos ensues as ‘James’ is about to head home from his farming job but the elements beg to differ. The huge wave rolls in along with the destruction taking everything in its path.

“Maybe his best friend was floating in that soup. Each face looked like a friend, a relative, a loved one…”

With this being my 2nd J.P. Biddlecome experience I can see his growth as a story teller is apparent through a story of adversity drawing some similarities to ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ alongside elements of ‘Castaway’. There’s a running metaphor throughout that compares the many days James spends trying to survive as a pack of wolves begin to circle and grow. Survival is the key word here as this candid descriptive reading experience drew me in from very start.

4 Stars – Thank you to the author for reaching out and providing a copy of the book. Reviews left via Amazon and Goodreads

‘A Stranger From the Storm’ by William Burton McCormick – Review

Lee Hall

Brilliant fun – a historical mystery with plenty of atmosphere

This is a very enjoyable historical tale that whisks the reader away to early 1900’s Odessa. Immediately the atmosphere drew me in as William Burton McCormick sets the scene during a storm and we meet two mischievous but very likeable twin sisters ‘Eleni’ and ‘Tasia’. A much-needed new guest arrives at their family boarding house where they suspect he may have something to do with a string of recent murders committed by someone only known as ‘The Specter’.

The behaviour of this new arrival arouses the sister’s suspicions and in a city with a known killer they begin to pry. Their results and antics which follow are both fun and chilling – their dialogue interaction with each other in particular is very well done and touches on so many elements of humour, perhaps a coping mechanism for the chilling events going on.

Of course like most mysteries the big reveal tends to make or break the story and after a few twists the ending was indeed unexpected and satisfying. With historic elements and fun witty dialogue that carries an intriguing story, this one is definitely for you if you enjoy those things – I certainly did!

5 Stars