Arianna and the Spirit of the Storm

An Elemental Magic Fantasy Adventure (Temple of the Storm, Book 1)

By: Robbie Ballew, Stephen Landry

Narrated by: Shannon Hobby

Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

A storm is brewing in the kingdom. If she unleashes the power inside her, can she make justice rain?

Arianna struggles to control the tempest deep in her heart. Longing to rid herself of the quick-tempered Lightning Spirit trapped within her, she’s desperate to cool her emotions and save her people from the devastating drought that began the day she was born. But when her father is murdered during a quest to break the curse, Arianna vows to channel her powers to end the suffering and take revenge.

Teaming up with her skilled swordsman and best friend, she embarks on a treacherous journey to retrieve the lost relics that could halt the terrible dry spell. But with callous knights hot on her tail, Arianna must stay ahead of her pursuers and defeat an unknown enemy’s sinister plans.

Can the young woman free the might of the heavens before her realm falls to a shadowy foe?

Arianna and the Spirit of the Storm is the captivating first book in the Temple of the Storm YA fantasy series. If you like dynamic heroines, vivid world-building, and legendary battles, then you’ll love Robbie Ballew and Stephen Landry’s stirring adventure.

Buy Arianna and the Spirit of the Storm to release primal forces today!

©2019 Stephen Landry and Robbie Ballew (P)2021 Robbie Ballew

Good teen fantasy to listen to!

This is a good story for teens on up, about PG13, although it might be a little young for the older folk who aren't used to fantasy (lol). The author uses elemental magic for the magic base, as well as non-human characters - what's not to like when there's dragons in there somewhere? There are quite a few spots that might be triggers for some people: Triggers: Parental deaths (through childbirth and murder); bloody corpse in a funeral home with ritualistic bloody cut markings; bloody battles; homes destroyed by fires; sadistic killer who cuts off a woman’s tongue first; slavery; animal cruelty; hallucinogenic herbs and ceremony. These are why it rates about a PG13.
There were some production errors, some editing errors, but overall not too bad.
I received a free copy of this from Story Origin in exchange for my honest opinion in this review.

Loved It

I enjoyed this story. Ariannas mother died after her birth. It was also the beginning of a terrible unending drought. Her father believed that it was a curse caused by ancient relics that were stolen. He was searching for them so the drought would end & stop the hunger his people endured. No food could grow so it was necessary and it caused his death. Arianna was devastated when she saw his body. She knew she had the lightning spirit inside her. She has struggled to control it all her life. She decided she would take over his quest. The spirit inside her flared up through the journey and not always in a good way. Her quirky sword bearing sidekick new that. As she proceeded to go on the journey she made some new friends, met friends of her father's and also dangerous enemies. Great characters & I loved the narrator. A story full of courage, betrayel, guilt and sadness. Can't wait to read the next one.

Great journey

This is a very great story of a young girl going on a journey to reverse a curse and save herself

Excellent worldbuilding & characters you'll love.

Arianna and the Spirit of the Storm is a great introduction to the Temple of the Storm series. The worldbuilding is excellent, multiple POVs that actually work, and characters that are liked/loved and well developed. This story has a roller coaster of emotions and is a great fantasy for most ages! Audio Version: Shannon Hobby did a great job narrating. There were some production issues but nothing that took away from the story.

Clean and gripping

The story flowed very well and kept me gripped the entire time. A lot to take in at first, but it was clean and a good read. Will continue the series at a later date. Arianna was a good character that was easy to get along with. Other characters were a little hard to grasp. But overall, I would recommend this book to someone and it will be on my bookshelf eventually!

Teen Fantasy

This was a fun teen fantasy, based around elemental god magic, with non human fantasy characters like elves, satyrs, and dragon like lizards, etc. Basic storyline revolves around young elven girl named Arianna who has elemental magic. She is trying to break the curse on her land, a mission her father died trying to do and now falls on her to finish. The story was enjoyable but a little drawn out in places. It hops between different character's perspectives which I enjoyed but have to admit there were places in the narration that took me a bit to figure out who's we switched to.

Overall it's a clean read, I'd place it PG13 mostly due to violence. I don't remember there being any bad language, and there's only a little romance but just a couple tame kissing scenes. The violence wasn't over the top but just graphic enough that if you're squeamish with blood, wounds and such then it may bother you. Possible triggers just like Disney, parents are killed of- one by childbirth and another murdered with bloody runes carved in the body; there's an evil killer who cuts woman’s tongues out first, animal cruelty, slavery, and hallucinogenic plant usage.

The narrator did a pretty good job 3⭐, not great but she matched the age and fit the main character well. A few of them characters sounded very much the same which I think added to the perspective jumping confusion. The audio does need a bit of a re-edit there are several places where the lines repeat and just need to be deleted and cleaned up.

—I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Stellar performance, w/ slightly long-winded story

The story was great, albeit a bit long-winded...but totally worth it.

Great job by the performer, with minor hints of overacting here and there. There seemed to be little to go on WRT character description that would help her with dialects, so I'm impressed with the range she came up with.

Complex magic, epic adventure and dark secrets

Received as an audio review copy from Story Origin, this is and honest review. Narrated beautifully by Shannon Hobby, this is an harrowing journey Arianna, from birth possessed the ability of the Lightening relic and altering her life going forward. When she loses her father in haunting fashion, Arianna seeks justice for her pain but discovers secrets he father has kept of breaking them deadly drought that has cursed the kingdom. Along with her friend Chass and accompanied by her father's trusted friend, Egris they stand against the dark and fierce forces of a mad king that desires to possess the relics and their powers... no matter the cost it takes. Highly recommended.

Good

I liked the way the books incorporated the different races. It showed the differences and similarities and how with cooperation they could do what needed to be done.

Loved it!

Arianna has struggled her entire life with the lightning magic she has inside of her, always seeking to suppress the anger and destruction that the voice seems to want to inflict. She has not had an easy life thus far. Her mother died giving birth to her, and the day she was born marked the beginning of a drought that has cursed the land ever since. As a result, many blame Arianna for the curse. When her father, who has been investigating the curse ever since in the hopes of finding a way to end it, is found killed - supposedly be a satyr - suddenly the situation for Arianna changes very rapidly. Not wanting to leave her village, Arianna plans to work in the mines. However, on her first day of work, two knights try to kill her when she shows up. She is able to escape, and she and her best friend leave the village on a quest to end the curse.

This was a really good book and I really enjoyed listening to it. The author did a wonderful job with the characters and the world-building that it was easy to visualize what was happening. I also really liked the way the author handled Arianna's struggles with how she views the satyrs, which has been greatly influenced by propaganda put out to increase the tensions between the fauns (satyrs) and the elves. The cunning of the bad guys was very well-done, and by the end I was moving him up my list of most hated villains. He did not surpass Professor Umbridge as my most-hated character in a book, but he did get pretty close. (Also, I'm avoiding naming the bad guy so I don't give away any spoilers).

Finally, I was able to listen to the audiobook version of this book and loved it. The narrator, Shannon Hobby, did a wonderful job. Indeed, she's one of the few narrators that I have found I do not have to speed up in order to have them approach a normal speaking speed. LOL. The only issue I had with the audiobook was that there were a few places where parts of sentences were repeated in sequence, most likely as a result of a mistimed pick-up. A quick run-through with an audio-proofer would fix that. That being said, it didn't happen often and didn't interfere iwth my listening. So don't let that be the reason you avoid the audiobook.