Author: Keira Gillett
Format: eBook
Publisher: Keira Gillett
Number of Pages: 224
Date Published: March 6 2015
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.
Note: I received a free digital copy of the book from the author in exchange for an honest review
The Spiderwick Chronicles meets The Hobbit in Keira Gillett’s Zaria Fierce and the Secret of the Gloomwood Forest.
The books is so amazing and magical that will sure to get the readers hooked til the last page and adventure ends. It reminded me of Spiderwick Chronicles because of the strange creatures, like Norwick and The Hobbit because of that underground Trolgar (excet in the Hobbit its a goblin city… not trolls). I like the world building, its not hard to get a grasp on that after reading the first chapter, you know already what kind of world the author is going to bring you in. I like the diversion of the characters of Zaria and her friends, they also have a good character development, I like how Zaria found new friends because of the situation at hand and develop bonds with them. I relate a lot to Zaria, she reminded me of myself when I was the same age as she is. I love the amazing illustrations on the book, Olaf is still bad looking though.
Also, for me, Zaria Fierce is like the latest Disney’s little princes… but the kick ass version with cool sidekicks. I had fun reading the book and felt bad for myself for not picking it up sooner, it was a short read that will be totally worth your time and once you get to the end, you might end up asking for the book two. It’s filled with self discovery and self empowerment. The story will not only be loved by the kids but the adults also.
Another thing that piked up my interest in this book was the mention of dragons, I love dragons, there’s also elves and oh, trolls! Tricky and scary creatures (I’m looking at you Olaf). I also love the part that even if Zaria was adopted, she doesn’t make a big drama out of it and I love her parents because they loved her dearly, makes me wanna wish I have parents like Zaria’s adoptive ones. I would really love to have Aleks stargazer, so cool. Well played kids, well played. I love how smart and well read Zaria, Aleks, Filip and Geirr but I felt bad for Christoffer for being left out on that Gloomwood adventure the four had. Imagine how the kid would feel.
The adventure in the book felt so real and its so amazing. I’m looking forward on reading the second book of the series which is titled Zaria Fierce and the Enchanted Drakeland Sword.
I rate it:
The Booklandia 
This sounds like a beautiful throw back to older MG books, filled with traditional folklore creatures! Fantastic review 🙂
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You should try and read it too! As a book lover you’ll probably relate a lot to Zaria! 🙂
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