Blog Tour: 'Lost' by Elle Field!

Arielle is back! OK, she’s not on her way to becoming the next Coco Chanel, her childhood dream, but she is one way step closer to running her very own shop with her business partner, Felicity.
She’s also planning her perfect romantic wedding to fiancé, Piers, and Arielle is starting to believe that she’s finally found her place in the world... Of course life is never that straightforward.
With a new-found foe interfering with her shop decisions, not to mention haughty wedding planners and loved ones facing personal struggles, will Arielle figure out what's important before all is lost?
Today I am really excited to be part of the blog tour for Elle Field's latest release 'Lost', which was published on the 7th of April 2015. 'Lost' is the sequel to Elle's debut chick lit novel 'Kept', which I read and reviewed last year (click here to read my review). Elle herself contacted me about the upcoming blog tour for 'Lost' and I straight away agreed to take part. Not just because Elle is a lovely person, but also because I really enjoyed her debut novel 'Kept' and looked forward to reading more about Arielle and the other characters and see what they are up to this time around!
Twenty-five-year old Arielle Lockley has finally managed to get to a point in her life where things seem to be going well on all fronts: together with her business partner Felicity she is busy finding a new location in London for their successful clothes shop, everything's going well with her family and friends, and she is planning her wedding to her lovely fiancé Piers. Everything just seems to have fallen into place and Arielle knows she has to embrace it for as long as it lasts. Which unfortunately isn't long. Arielle doesn't know what to do with the launch of the new store in London, Felicity is acting weird, and Piers seems to be under the weather just while they should be busy planning the details of their upcoming wedding... It doesn't take long before Arielle starts to feel quite lost, but what will it take for her to find her way back?
I'm really glad Elle Field decided to write a sequel to her debut novel 'Lost', because it was great to once again be back with main protagonist Arielle and her friends and family! Arielle went through a lot and really changed as a person in 'Kept', and it was great to see her doing her thing and trying to build up her and Felicity's business while also dealing with other things that are asking her attention, such as her upcoming wedding. Next to Arielle, there is a selection of great secondary characters, such as her fiance Piers, her business partner Felicity, and her friends Tabitha and Ob, who also all have their separate storylines with things they are dealing with.
Because there are many things happening in the novel, not just with Arielle but also with the other characters, I really enjoyed every second of reading this book and it managed to hold my attention from start to finish. I think I even enjoyed this book more than the first part of the series, it was just a really great read! The book ends with a big cliffhanger, and I already can't wait for the third part of the series, which will be released in 2016. I personally would recommend reading 'Kept' before picking up 'Lost', just so you know the background story and what happened to Arielle before this, but if you want to, this can also be read as a stand-alone. 'Lost' is a thoroughly enjoyable, fast-paced and fun chick lit read; the second part of a book series I'm quite excited about and I already can't wait for Elle Field's next release!

Rating:8,5/10

  For more information about this book: Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Goodreads

Thanks to the author for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Author interview with Elle Field!

I'm really excited to have Elle Field visiting the blog today to tell us more about her exciting new release 'Lost', the second book in the Arielle Lockley series!

Can you tell us something about your new novel, ‘Lost’? Lost begins two months after the end of Kept, and Arielle is busy planning her shop launch in London. The trouble is, Arielle is finding out that managing a shop for someone else is far less stressful than owning a shop. Arielle has a lot on her plate, including planning her wedding, but she’s desperate to prove that she is more than the "kept" woman she used to be.
The book is a sequel to one of your other novels, ‘Kept.’ Why did you feel this story needed a sequel? I never planned on making a series of books about Arielle Lockley, but a lot of people asked me to write another book about Arielle when they had read Kept! I wanted to show that there is more to Arielle than the girl we first meet at the beginning of Kept and, like with anyone, we all develop and mature as we get older - Arielle is no exception to this!
Where did you get the inspiration for your novel? Is it in any way based on your own experiences? Real life and people you know can be great for inspiration but I always add a heavy fictional twist if I do borrow from real-life. Arielle has a few of my own traits, though I've definitely never been a "kept" woman!
Can you tell us a bit more about the main character, Arielle? Arielle had big dreams as a child and always wanted to be the next Coco Chanel; she never did anything to make that happen. After graduating she ended up falling into the role of being Piers' trophy girlfriend - amazing fun, until things went wrong. 
As she emerges out of the privileged world she lived in with Piers, she plucks up the courage to realise that she wants to make something of her life, even if failure is her most likely outcome. In Lost, she's not managed to get rid of all of her bad habits, but she's trying hard to prove that she's no longer a "kept" woman and show that she is a successful businesswoman.
There’s a great cast of supporting characters in the novel as well. Which character did you most enjoy writing? I am a big fan of Arielle’s childhood best friend, Obélix, so much so that his voice is the one that the prologue and epilogue is written in. He'll definitely be featuring a lot more in the follow-up to Lost.
Did you do any particular research for parts of the book? As Arielle is planning on opening a shop in London, I did lots of research into the retail rental market in London and I had great fun thinking up her dream shop. I also had to research what it would be like to plan a wedding , picking out dresses and venues for Arielle's big day to Piers. Can you perhaps tell us something about your future plans? Are you perhaps already working on a next novel? I'm working on the next, and (probably) final book in the Arielle Lockley series. Found will be out later on in the year. I also want to finish writing The Dirtification of Tabitha-Rose, especially since Tabitha has a big part in Lost - part of her plotline in Lost came out of The Dirtification of Tabitha-Rose. I really love how my characters cross over and pop up in my other books.
Do you have any tips for aspiring writers? Never give up. It might take you six months to get your novel published, or it might take you six years - perseverance is key!
What is the last book you read that you’d like to recommend to others? I really loved 'The Martian' by Andy Weir. It’s really technical and cinematic – I had such vivid pictures in my head when I was reading it, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Which book could you not live without? I adore 'The Chronicles of Narnia' by C.S. Lewis – I have a gorgeous illustrated edition that I received as a child, and I still read it today. 
And last but not least, if you had to describe ‘Lost’ in just three words, which words would you pick? Change. Loss. Love.
Thanks so much, Elle!

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Giveaway!
The lovely Elle is also organising a fabulous giveaway of two sets of paperback copies of 'Kept' and 'Lost'! Be sure to enter the giveaway by following the instructions on the Rafflecopter below; good luck to everyone!
a Rafflecopter giveaway