Long Live

The Elementals of Iona, Book 1

By: V.B. Lacey

Narrated by: TJ Clark, Kate Clarke

Length: 15 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

Isla Belthare lives an ordinary life in her small village of Lockhurt.

Since losing both her mother and the man she loved two years ago, all she wants is stability and peace. But her world is forever changed when her family is attacked on a journey away from home, and she must travel to the Aataran mountain range to find them.

Across the realm, four ancient beings who control the elements of nature are awakening.

After a civil war that tore the humans apart, the elementals entered a thousand-year slumber. Now, they are being summoned to prevent a dark force that is greedy for power and threatening to overturn the balance of nature.

When Isla's path crosses with one of these elementals, she finds her fate is more entangled with theirs than she had ever imagined. As she risks it all to follow the elementals on their journey to defeat the unknown foe, she discovers that not everything may be as it seems. Isla is torn between protecting her loved ones and following her heart down a dangerous path of power and magic, truth and lies.

What will they sacrifice to stop the coming storm?

©2023 V.B. Lacey (P)2024 Podium Audio

5 POVs and still lots to uncover

I enjoyed this story of an ordinary girl who finds herself entangled with 4 gods and a corrupt king. We get the POV from all 4 gods as well as Isla, and while there is certainly a lot of character development, there's so much history of the 4 elementals that you don't know about. This book ends on a cliffhanger and I'm excited to listen to Forever Reign. The narrators did a great job with the changes in subtlety between characters.

Sweet fantasy with strong characters

I enjoyed this story. I'm glad Isla wasn't a whiny female character, but rather strong and compassionate. She was easy to like.
The elementals seemed shallow and not easy to like at first, but as you get to know them and as they learn what they need to, you can see their characters developing.
I would have liked to see more about Arden, Isla's twin brother, he plays a very minor background character.
Brielle was funny and lovable. I loved her loyalty to her best friend.
I did enjoy this book. It was easy to get into. I wasn't a fan of the narrator's different voices, but it wasn't something to stop me from finishing the book.

Marvelous experience

Fantastic story, great world and character building
Very enjoyable and breathtaking journey till the end.

An amazing story, now on audio

I read Long Live in 2023 and loved reading Isla and the Elemental’s story. Isla is such a strong character and I enjoyed watching her meet, become friends with, and sometimes go up against the Elementals in order to keep herself and her family safe. The story is told from several POVs but the plot never gets lost and the story really comes together through the various character’s eyes. The plot twists are unexpected and tie the story together and really set us up for the conclusion in book 2. I can’t wait to see how this story ends!

An Amazing World

4.5/5 ⭐
0.5/5 🌶️
5.0/5 🎧

What a magical ride, this was such a fascinating world that VB built and I absolutely loved it. From the elementals to the mortals and everyone in between, I adored these characters. I love that we get so many points of view from them as each one is fascinating in their own way.

The romances are really interesting too. I'm loving Aiden and Kai, but this little triangle forming around Isla has me drooling and screaming for more (coming from someone who hates love triangles *nervous laugh*).

The cliffhanger sent me over the edge. I'm absolutely reeling from the secrets that were spilled and I can't wait to dive in to Eternal Reign.

The audio was amazing. I love Kate Clark and TJ Clarke so much, they did incredible jobs narrating this cast of characters.

Excellent narration and a bonus song!

I love the story, your basic "fallen angel seeks revenge" tale, but the narration really brings it to life. Elijah's song, as narrated by a woman singing as a teenage boy, is true talent...and it's such a pretty little song. I love the bonus performance at the end as well. I look forward to seeing what happens next for Adele and her new found found family of humans, angels and Crows.

A fun read!!

This was a fun YA fantasy read with strong world building and female friendships! I can’t wait for the next one!!

WHAT.A.DEBUT!

WHAT.A.DEBUT!!!!!! I was enamored by this completely epic elemental fantasy! V.B Lacey did an outstanding job with her intricately woven plot, unique elemental magic system, the complex and diverse characters, and fantasy worldbuilding. This book has multiple POVs, secrets, witty banter, found family, and swoony no spice but completely tension & angst filled romance. I adore all the characters but my favorites are definitely Kai & Aiden and Isla & Seb. The twists in this story definitely kept me on the edge of my seat. VANESSA, HOW RUDE with the last chapter!!!??!!! I cannot wait to read Forever Reign.

I got to experience the audible and the narrators did a great job. Let me tell you, I am completely blown away by Kate Clarke! She brought these characters into life in the best way! TJ Clark did a great job portraying the guys and emotions, his girl voice made me laugh every time.