Zaria Fierce and the Secret of Gloomwood Forest

By: Keira Gillett

Narrated by: Michele Carpenter

Length: 4 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

On her birthday, Zaria Fierce finds her usual path to school blocked by an ugly river-troll. At first she’s surprised and curious, but then Olaf threatens to eat her, which is an act Zaria could not in good conscience consent to, so Zaria counteroffers. A deal is struck and she goes to school, but Zaria is about to learn the hard way that one does not trick a river-troll and expect to win.

©2015 Keira Gillett (P)2015 Keira Gillett

Great listening experience

I really enjoyed the immersive experience of being taken to a new world where anything could happen. While this was a complete story, it left me wanting more, so I will definitely be listening to the next book. I highly recommend this for anyone who enjoyed the Harry Potter series because this had a similar listening quality. Thank you Keira for giving this fun story to the world!

The book was truly amazing!

I really like how easily the author can can express the excitement she shows in all of her books! Her books really are incredible.

I’d definitely recommend it to preteens

I’m 51 years old but this story reminded me of some of my favourite books as a preteen—just enough reality (needing to be responsible enough to leave notes for parents) mixed with fantasy to be fun and encouraging. I will definitely be recommending these to young nieces and nephews and might even look for a sequel for myself.

The narrator was pretty good. Not 100% consistent with accents but close enough because the book keeps you engaged enough to not always notice. I particularly like how she voiced the main female character when she was being soft and compassionate.

I received a free copy of this book, but it didn’t influence my review.

Lively fantasy adventure!

Deal maker for me was Norwegian setting. Zaria is a bookworm who learns that things known and unknown to her are real. Having read many Norwegian tales to my own children, I was delighted to pass this one along to the grandkids! The audio performer did a magnificent job of interpreting differences between beings. Hoping to read more of Zaria, and hope that Michele Carpenter will perform them!

Very, very good.

When a bridge troll kidnaps her friend, Zaria and her friends go on an adventure to get him back. This book was written for middle school age kids but can be enjoyed by all. Entertaining and engaging, short enough to finished in one sitting. Narrator did a good job with the different voices. Production quality very good.

Fun First Entry By New Author

A fun adventure by a new author. Designed for teenagers but can be enjoyed by all, The genre is similar to novels like The Hobbit, The Chronicles of Narnia Keira and early Harry Potter entries. Gillet, nails it on the first try and brings the characters to life. I look forward to the later books and appreciate the chance to experience this first entry into Zaria's world with her ragged band of friends keeping the world a little bit safer and brighter for all of us.

NOTE for the audio version - narrator is clear and the different voices for different characters is appreciated.

Fun listening!

What other book might you compare Zaria Fierce and the Secret of Gloomwood Forest to and why?

I liked the setting, it was reminiscent of Tolkien's Hobbit, and a hint of Grimm's with modern day touches.

What does Michele Carpenter bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I really enjoyed her reading, it's easy on the ears, and she does a good job of keeping all the character voices unique and separate.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I did listen to it all in one sitting, so, yes!

Any additional comments?

I have to say I had no idea what to expect, but I enjoyed this much more than anticipated. Zaria is lovable and kind, and her friends are brave and supportive. And their adventures, while significantly less violent and hair-raising than much of modern fantasy, is, in my opinion, perfect for its intended audience.

I enjoy the writing style, it flows well, and is far more mature in phrasing and dialogue than most YA fiction I've read. Gillett does like her big words, and this book will definitely push a child's vocabulary skills. I think I came across a word or two I wasn't familiar with.

Bonus points for not using any repetitive slang words or phrases like so many YA books.

I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.

Norwegian trolls & the Wild Hunt!

Zaria and her family recently moved to Norway and Zaria has made a few friends already and is enjoying learning the myths and legends of Norway. One day on the way to school, she comes across Olaf the river troll who threatens to eat her. She counteroffers with a feast to be delivered in three days time. He lets her pass. However, she doesn’t hold up her end of the bargain and she finds there are consequences. Pretty soon, she and her friends are embarking on a quest to save a friend, Christoffer, who was taken captive by Olaf.

This was quite a fun children’s book that I think will appeal to many adults as well. First, I really like the set up. We’re in Norway so we have the great frozen forests and water ways. Then there’s Zaria, a female non-Caucasian lead in a fantasy story. Lastly, Zaria made a mistake in choosing to break her deal with the river troll Olaf, which sets this whole adventure in motion.

Zaria gathers up her allies (friends of Christoffer’s) and one of them has a mysterious magical device (a star gazer) that can pause time, allowing them to head off on their quest without alerting their parents. With Aleks, Filip, and Geirr, Zaria heads off into the Norwegian wilderness. And I’ll just tuck my one little quibble in here – Zaria is the only female character for much of the book, tho eventually we do get an elf lord’s wife and some nameless female warriors and the mention of a Queen Helena. I would have liked a few more female characters.

Pretty soon, they come across a winter wyvern (Ooooooo!) named Norwick and his human-like friend Hector, who is one of the elfvolken. Zaria and the boys aren’t too sure how much to trust Hector but Zaria has formed a bond with Norwick and they elect to travel with them for now. Without getting spoilery, the author pulls in trolls and an the Wild Hunt! Yes! I love stories of the Wild Hunt and the thought of trolls riding the Wild Hunt is enough to send shivers up my spine!

There’s plenty of dashing about and trying to save one another and trickery and defiance and a bit of regret and swearing to make it all right again. Yeah. It was good. It’s a great adventure with the boys and Zaria helping each other along the way. I really like that Zaria owns up to her mistakes throughout the book and that her mistakes also make her human and real. There’s also real camaraderie between her and the boys and she also does her best to treat her allies with respect. The ending had Zaria in a tough position and she had to make a choice. Such a tough one! But now things are set up perfectly for Book 2.

I received a copy of this book at no cost from the author in exchange for an honest review.

The Narration: Michelle Carpenter was great. She has this perfect voice for young Zaria and light Norwegian accents for all the boys. I loved her gravelly voices for the trolls. She also had rich voices for the elves as described in the book. She also did a great job of getting the characters’s emotions across to the listener. Great performance!

Cute story, brilliantly narrated!!

I was provided a free copy of this book in audio format by the author in exchange for an honest review. I have not been paid for this review.

Zaria Fierce is a story enriched with Norse folklore. It is full of trolls, elves, giants, and the like can all be found in this story. This story was a very short listen, and the narrator was amazing. Carpenter's voices were spot on, helping bring every character to life, my favorite being Christoffer.

One of the biggest indicators for a potential 5-star rating for me is when a story is captivating from the very beginning. The downfall to listening to the story being narrated, is that there are illustrations in the book. BUT! No fear, Gillett provided the book trailer links, and there you can see the lovely illustrations!!

Every character in this book has something particularly charming about them, including some pretty interesting secrets, which become helpful throughout the story. This ragtag team find themselves in some pretty hot water every world they enter into, but yet are resourceful enough to get themselves out of these situations. For a bunch of 13 year olds, that is not bad. I did peg who Zaria was from the beginning, but it was fun to watch it all unfold.

This story is great for children, or adults! As an audiobook, I can hear it filling up the time spent together in a long car ride. In book form, I can envision parents reading chapters to their kids before bed at night. I am looking forward to enjoying more adventures of these friends in future books!

I know this is a short and sweet review, but it was a heartwarming story, with a great narrator. It is fun for all ages and mixes Norse folklore into the story in such a fun way. The narrator is fantastic and helps aide in bringing the story to life for the listener. It is worth the time to read or listen to. I also LOVE strong, heroic, female lead characters, and Zaria is a great leading lady!

A fun and entertaining read.

Zaria Fierce was such a quick and engaging read that I listened to it in a day. It's the type of book that is so easy to listen to that you've most of it done before you realise.

One thing I loved about the book is Zaria herself. She is a bookworm and loves fantasy books so is quite surprised to meet an honest to goodness troll named Olaf. He wont let her cross but she tries to trick him like in Billy Goats Gruff. She tells him she will do something for him, but once passed she thinks that maybe her mind played tricks on her and it wasn't real. She returns to "real" life but a few days later, one of her best friends never returns home. She soon realises that the troll has taken him and won't return him till she agrees to get the Heart of Gloomwood Forest for him. She reluctantly agrees, and along with some of her friends, finds herself on an amazing journey through a land she thought only existed in books. Zaria was smart, brave, loyal and an all round amazing role model.

Plot wise, it was really fast paced and interesting. I loved the lore behind the world and the author really brought the land to life through her vivid descriptions. I had no problem visualising the place and creatures. I also loved the sheer variety of fantastical creatures that are featured. We have a bit of everything!

In all, this was such a pleasant read. The characters are easily relatable, the plot was fast paced and kept my interest and the book as a whole was thoroughly entertaining. I'm looking forward to the next one to see what adventures await Zaria and her friends.

Michele Carpenter did a really good job with most of her voices. She had a ton of different ranges for the trolls and all the creatures, I just found some of her human voices were a little off. Her accents for a few of Zaria friends sounded like a blend of different ones, and maybe that's what she went for, but personally, I thought they sounded a little weird! Other than that, she nailed the creatures.