✶✶ BLOG TOUR - THE LOST KINGDOM by STEPHANIE BEERDEN + ROCK CHICK FAIRY REVIEW + GIVEAWAYS!!!✶✶

Series: The Elements #1

Release date: April 28th 2014

SYNOPSIS

A Prophecy made long ago, announced the arrival of the new Ladies of Elements.

And now almost a millennia later, it finally came true …

All her life Arima thought she knew who and what she was. That is until the day of her sixteenth birthday came and her world is turned upside down, when she’s told she’s not a White Witch but Lady Spirit. And that she is the one that has been foretold, will unite the Five Ladies of Elements once again and save Ilendia and the Other Lands from Ahriman, the Demon King.

At first Arima refuses to accept her new fate, but when Shanums come and destroy her village and kill her loved ones, she has no choice but to flee and fall right into the destiny she never wanted.

As she grudgingly starts her journey into the unknown, she is accompanied by her unicorn familiar Sirrim, Blythe, a Vampire with a dark past and Myrddin, a mysterious Ljosalfar.

And the longer her journey lasts, the more Arima begins to realise that she can’t escape her own destiny and she must learn to control her powers and learn to be a Lady for the sake of the Sisters she doesn’t know and the people of Ilendia and the Other Lands.

However, things get more complicated when Arima comes into the possession of a key. Her instincts compel her to go towards danger when she discovers that the key she holds, can unlock the legendary kingdom of Eléssima, the home of the Ladies of Elements.

She will have to make the choice to follow her instincts …

…or stay on the path that has been laid out for her.

ADD THIS ON GOODREADS

AMAZON | BARNES AND NOBLE | KOBO

A ROCK CHICK FAIRY REVIEW

I was given a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great start to a series.

Magic, unicorns, fairies, nymphs, witches and even black widows.. they're all here. 

This is a story about Arima, a girl with a past hidden from her. She grew up in an inconspicuous village surrounded by normal people, she even had a best friend. However, all of these changed when she hit the age of 16. She was told about her real identity. As it turns out, she's a very special person in their land... well one of five. She discovers the truth about herself and many things about her legacy... but her village perishes in the process. This brought about many tragedies in her young life.

Arima goes on her adventure of a lifetime. She's bound to have many enemies, but she also gets to meet a lot of friends along the way. I enjoyed going to many places with them. The descriptions of places in this book is very vivid. It's awesome. :)

THE CHARACTERS

Arima is a very stubborn, hard headed, ill tempered immature girl. I say that with full conviction. She has the worst trait that a teenager could have. She doesn't listen well to elders and she does things first before thinking about them. I know, I know, a lot of people would say that she's just following her heart... I get that. I totally get that, but it doesn't erase the fact that she's annoying as hell when she does just what SHE WANTS. She's a bad example for teens nowadays. My wish for her character is that she outgrows those bad qualities. There's still hope for her because I think deep down, she's could still be a better person. She could be a smarter person who doesn't make snap decisions and one who thinks a lot first about others' opinion rather than just herself so as not to get them all in trouble. 

Blythe is a vampire who vowed to help Arima because of a certain reason. He's loyal to Arima. I like him, so I was also frustrated A LOT when he was frustrated with Arima. He believes in what Arima can be in the future and that they should take care of that. I like Blyth too because he cares and he's not selfish. 

Her unicorn is quite magical, powerful and in my imagination.. she's really beautiful. This story won't be complete without her. She's loyal to Arima to a fault. It's awesome. 

The other characters are very, very CRUCIAL TO THIS BOOK. They bad guys are really bad.. I mean, they really do nasty things to people. There are some characters who started out seeming like bad characters, but they are innately good. The other good guys are so nice and accommodating, I can't imagine this book without them. One character in particular, Arima's best friend... I WANT HIM TO BE ALIVE. I really want him to live so that they could pursue a relationship on the next book. heh! ;)


WHAT I FIND CONFUSING

I find the timeline of this book a bit confusing. They seem to be in the medieval ages, but somehow words like "yuck" and "freaking" are in here. Those words, as far as I know came out in the 1960's - 1970's while the medieval times lasted from the 5th to the 15th century. Hmm..


WHAT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO 

✔ The appearance of the other ladies. I want to know what they're like and who they are.
✔ Arima's future love interest.
✔ The next adventures.
✔ New creatures.
✔ More action parts.
✔ Maybe a love life too for Blythe.
✔ Finding out who the woman in black really is. It's so frustrating not to know this tidbit!


ALL IN ALL 

I give this book 4 fairy wings. I might not have loved the main character, but I sure loved her adventures as well as the people who helped her! ^_^

EXCERPT

Shortly before midnight Bryeia and Gideon called out to her and told her they would be going back home because they had something very important to tell her. The walk to Arima and Bryeia’s house was quiet and tense. It made Arima feel uneasy. Even Rowan was silent and wouldn’t even look at her. After a while, they arrived at the house. The house itself was made out of light brown wood and had a wooden roof with a layer of straw beneath it to insulate it during the winter months. The windows were a bit dirty and the door was worn, but it was home. Bryeia let everybody into the house before shutting the door securely behind her.

They entered the living room; it was cosy with a rectangular table and two chairs. A coloured carpet decorated the floor for a small coffee table, and a rocking chair stood near the window close to the broad window-sill, which had a few small pillows on it because it was Arima’s favourite spot to sit. There were several cabinets and closets against the wall; one of them was a book-case, which held several books and parchment paper, and the other was a long cabinet with closed doors. Arima immediately went to her favourite spot on the window-sill and looked at the other three people in the room, confused as to what was going on.

“Why did we leave so early, Nana?” Arima asked, feeling a bit disappointed. Bryeia and Gideon looked at each other while Rowan pushed himself against a wall and kept his gaze away from hers.

Bryeia hesitantly stepped forward and said, “Arima, there is something I must tell you. Something I am not sure will be easy to accept, but you must know that it is the truth.”

“What is, Nana?” Arima asked, confused.

Bryeia sighed and looked at Gideon , who nodded encouragingly. “Arima, you weren’t abandoned on my doorstep as a baby,” Bryeia started. “I found you in the forest sixteen years ago on the first night of spring, like today … when you fell from the heavens like a falling star.”

“What?” Arima said, looking at Bryeia with wide, unbelieving eyes.

“Arima, you are not a White Witch. I made you that way with a spell I cast on you when you were a baby, to protect you from Ahriman. But I cannot protect you any longer. At midnight tonight, the spell will break, and Ahriman will be able to find you,” Bryeia said. She took a deep breath, while taking Arima’s hands in her own and looked at the hurt and disbelief in the girl’s light-green eyes . “Arima … you … you are Lady Spirit.”

GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Stephanie Beerden was born on Friday the 13th (no joke, she really was) in a small city called Genk in Belgium. She has always been fascinated with the occult, magic and books. Her childhood and teen years were filled with reading lots and lots of books and imagining what life would be like as a vampire. Until one day she decided that she wanted to try her hand at writing her own books and that was thebeginning of her writing adventure.

www.stephaniebeerden.com | @SBeerden | facebook.com/stephaniebeerdenauthor