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Gloom Trilogy #1
The Gloom
Alternate cover edition for ASIN: B008E9HWVY
As a lazy summer evening comes to a close, Poppy finds herself out by the hollowed out tree in her backyard, avoiding the ire of her stepmother for an incident that occurred while Poppy was babysitting her little sister. All her life Poppy has had questions about her real mother, who disappeared when she was an infant. She gets an unexpected answer when an ill-tempered pixie captures her and takes her through the tree and into Winsome, a magical kingdom that is suffering from a powerful and evil force known as the Gloom.
As a lazy summer evening comes to a close, Poppy finds herself out by the hollowed out tree in her backyard, avoiding the ire of her stepmother for an incident that occurred while Poppy was babysitting her little sister. All her life Poppy has had questions about her real mother, who disappeared when she was an infant. She gets an unexpected answer when an ill-tempered pixie captures her and takes her through the tree and into Winsome, a magical kingdom that is suffering from a powerful and evil force known as the Gloom.
165 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 23, 2012
9 people are currently reading
60 people want to read
About the author
Piper Kelley
9 books1 followerPiper Lee Kelley was born in a small suburb of one of America's largest cities. Although the beach was a mere block from her home, she still harbors a general distaste for sand and ocean water. Since her father hated to drive, her explorations in the city were relegated to walking, usually barefoot. Growing up without television or even a phone, Piper relied on her creative mind to conjure elaborate fantasies, which propel her work to this day.
She moved away from the beach around the age of 25. She misses it terribly, but the loss came with the gain of a wonderful family of her own. Piper has been with her husband for 10 years and, along with two wonderful children and two obnoxious cats, she now spends her time in the suburbs of a much smaller city. Her cats spend their time cuddling up with her laptop.
In Piper’s debut novels, she explores the nature of family, love, forgiveness, and bravery.
She moved away from the beach around the age of 25. She misses it terribly, but the loss came with the gain of a wonderful family of her own. Piper has been with her husband for 10 years and, along with two wonderful children and two obnoxious cats, she now spends her time in the suburbs of a much smaller city. Her cats spend their time cuddling up with her laptop.
In Piper’s debut novels, she explores the nature of family, love, forgiveness, and bravery.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 4, 2013
*3.5 Stars*
I was sent the entire trilogy in ebook format in exchange for an honest review. This is part of the batch of reviews I have been trying to catch up with. Can't believe I let them sit there so long. But good news is I'm getting back on top and have almost cleared the pile. So apologies to Piper for the very long delay.
I loaded this onto my ipad and it said 400 pages, with it being the first part of a trilogy my heart sank a bit, I thought it would take me a while to read, but then I realised it was the formatting, the pages and text came up huge, there was probably about 170 pages worth of writing in the end, so I ended up reading it very quickly. (In fact I read the entire trilogy in one day, reviews of book 2 & 3 to follow).
Poppy thinks she is relatively normal, she lives with her dad, stepmum and little sister, she never knew her mother, she left when Poppy was still a baby, her dad won't talk about it and Poppy finds it's best not to think about it. But then one evening after an argument with her stepmum Poppy goes to sit in the garden by the old tree, she knows it was a favourite place of her mums and she likes to sit there too. But whils sitting there she gets a visit from a very strange looking creature who takes her through a portal in the tree to the magical world of Winsome. She is told that she is the only one who can get rid of the 'Gloom' an area of darkness and madness taking over the land.
I liked the set up of the two worlds and how they connected together and the different areas of Winsome. I really enjoyed the sense of magic and the fact you were never quite sure what could happen next or who would appear. In fact the whole world was very well constructed and written, I could visualize everything and felt a part of the world.
My only down to this book was the fact that I couldn't really cage how old Poppy was supposed to be. She was old enough to babysit her little sister, but she couldn't drive yet, so I would guess somewhere between 13-16 although I think kids younger than 13 can technically babysit, at times she was quite young sounding, a little whiney and scared in places and her language seemed a little bit young. I couldn't really get a proper image in my head of what she looked like as I couldn't decide on age, I mean I had a rough image from hair and eye colour etc, but was a bit confused otherwise.
Which was strange, because with characters like Augusta, Benny, Peregrine, her dad and step mum and little sister I could visualise them all quite easily, they were very well set up. It's not a big grumble, but I did wonder throughout. I could also never picture what Gus and Sug were meant to look like, described as being imps but looking like pieces of firewood, they are small enough to sit on her backpack, yet she cradles him in her arms like a baby. Wasn't sure how to picture them, had an image of something that looked like a cross between a cockroach, a stick insect and a sort of Gollum looking creature. Very peculiar.
Being quite short the pace is good and flows very well, I read through quickly and enjoyed the storyline. It was a good read and I did want to go onto book 2, but there were just a few details missing I think.
If you want a good fantasy adventure I would recommend it though, easy to read and good fun.
I was sent the entire trilogy in ebook format in exchange for an honest review. This is part of the batch of reviews I have been trying to catch up with. Can't believe I let them sit there so long. But good news is I'm getting back on top and have almost cleared the pile. So apologies to Piper for the very long delay.
I loaded this onto my ipad and it said 400 pages, with it being the first part of a trilogy my heart sank a bit, I thought it would take me a while to read, but then I realised it was the formatting, the pages and text came up huge, there was probably about 170 pages worth of writing in the end, so I ended up reading it very quickly. (In fact I read the entire trilogy in one day, reviews of book 2 & 3 to follow).
Poppy thinks she is relatively normal, she lives with her dad, stepmum and little sister, she never knew her mother, she left when Poppy was still a baby, her dad won't talk about it and Poppy finds it's best not to think about it. But then one evening after an argument with her stepmum Poppy goes to sit in the garden by the old tree, she knows it was a favourite place of her mums and she likes to sit there too. But whils sitting there she gets a visit from a very strange looking creature who takes her through a portal in the tree to the magical world of Winsome. She is told that she is the only one who can get rid of the 'Gloom' an area of darkness and madness taking over the land.
I liked the set up of the two worlds and how they connected together and the different areas of Winsome. I really enjoyed the sense of magic and the fact you were never quite sure what could happen next or who would appear. In fact the whole world was very well constructed and written, I could visualize everything and felt a part of the world.
My only down to this book was the fact that I couldn't really cage how old Poppy was supposed to be. She was old enough to babysit her little sister, but she couldn't drive yet, so I would guess somewhere between 13-16 although I think kids younger than 13 can technically babysit, at times she was quite young sounding, a little whiney and scared in places and her language seemed a little bit young. I couldn't really get a proper image in my head of what she looked like as I couldn't decide on age, I mean I had a rough image from hair and eye colour etc, but was a bit confused otherwise.
Which was strange, because with characters like Augusta, Benny, Peregrine, her dad and step mum and little sister I could visualise them all quite easily, they were very well set up. It's not a big grumble, but I did wonder throughout. I could also never picture what Gus and Sug were meant to look like, described as being imps but looking like pieces of firewood, they are small enough to sit on her backpack, yet she cradles him in her arms like a baby. Wasn't sure how to picture them, had an image of something that looked like a cross between a cockroach, a stick insect and a sort of Gollum looking creature. Very peculiar.
Being quite short the pace is good and flows very well, I read through quickly and enjoyed the storyline. It was a good read and I did want to go onto book 2, but there were just a few details missing I think.
If you want a good fantasy adventure I would recommend it though, easy to read and good fun.
October 8, 2012
(I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to Piper Kelley.)
Poppy is sulking in the garden after an argument with her step-mother Maggie, when she is abducted by a pixie called Nixie, and dragged through a hollowed-out tree stump to another world.
Poppy finds herself taken to a large castle, where she meets a woman who looks strangely like her.
Eventually Poppy finds out why she has been bought to this strange place. The woman who looks like her is Queen Augusta, her mother’s sister. Her mother – Peregrine, had an affair with a human and had Poppy, but was then forced to return to the fairy kingdom.
Now, Peregrine is missing, and a large grey cloud hangs over the forest in the kingdom. Everyone who enters under the cloud either loses their wings, their sanity, or their life, and now August wants Poppy to go in there. She believes that Peregrine is behind the cloud, and that if Poppy goes in there and finds her, she will lift the cloud.
It seems that Poppy doesn’t have much choice in the matter though, and now it’s Poppy versus ‘The Gloom’. Can she enter the Gloom without harm befalling her though? Can she find her mother? And what else might find Poppy first?
This is a lovely little Middle Grade story about a girl in a fairy tale world. Like in a fairy tale, something is wrong, and it’s up to Poppy to fix it! Poppy is a bright girl, and she keeps going even when things look bad. She makes some magical friends in the forest, and is startled by some of its stranger inhabitants.
As with many fairy tales there’s a (possibly) evil queen, pixies, trolls, an absent mother, and lots of little magical touches and surprises to keep the story moving along. There’s also plenty of other special touches, with silver lakes, and living walls in caves.
Overall; Kids will love this, so if you’re running out of fairy tales – give this a try (and it’s not bad for adults either ha ha!)
6.5 out of 10.
Poppy is sulking in the garden after an argument with her step-mother Maggie, when she is abducted by a pixie called Nixie, and dragged through a hollowed-out tree stump to another world.
Poppy finds herself taken to a large castle, where she meets a woman who looks strangely like her.
Eventually Poppy finds out why she has been bought to this strange place. The woman who looks like her is Queen Augusta, her mother’s sister. Her mother – Peregrine, had an affair with a human and had Poppy, but was then forced to return to the fairy kingdom.
Now, Peregrine is missing, and a large grey cloud hangs over the forest in the kingdom. Everyone who enters under the cloud either loses their wings, their sanity, or their life, and now August wants Poppy to go in there. She believes that Peregrine is behind the cloud, and that if Poppy goes in there and finds her, she will lift the cloud.
It seems that Poppy doesn’t have much choice in the matter though, and now it’s Poppy versus ‘The Gloom’. Can she enter the Gloom without harm befalling her though? Can she find her mother? And what else might find Poppy first?
This is a lovely little Middle Grade story about a girl in a fairy tale world. Like in a fairy tale, something is wrong, and it’s up to Poppy to fix it! Poppy is a bright girl, and she keeps going even when things look bad. She makes some magical friends in the forest, and is startled by some of its stranger inhabitants.
As with many fairy tales there’s a (possibly) evil queen, pixies, trolls, an absent mother, and lots of little magical touches and surprises to keep the story moving along. There’s also plenty of other special touches, with silver lakes, and living walls in caves.
Overall; Kids will love this, so if you’re running out of fairy tales – give this a try (and it’s not bad for adults either ha ha!)
6.5 out of 10.
September 1, 2012
Take pixies, faeries, and goblins, add trolls, a relic, and a cloud called the Gloom that hovers over the valley, and you have a tale of adventure, suspense, and delightful characters for an afternoon of reading.
In author Piper Kelley’s MG/Tween novel, THE GLOOM: BOOK ONE OF THE GLOOM TRILOGY, Poppy lives with her dad, step mom, and half sister, Daisy. Poppy’s mother left home when she was a baby. She often wonders about her mother, why she deserted her family and what happened to her. One day, Poppy is in her backyard, sitting under the old, hollowed out tree that her mother loved when a strange little creature appears. Nixie, the pixie, tells Poppy she was sent to bring Poppy back. Back to where? And why? It seems our heroine has no choice but to go, and she soon finds herself with even more questions when she follows Nixie into the tree and a new world beyond. Her mother, Peregrine, is alive. She’s also in the Gloom, the place where no one who enters comes back. Poppy’s job is to rescue her mother. Will Poppy succeed in her mission and be reunited with the mother she hasn’t seen since she was a baby? Or will her mother stay lost forever?
On her quest to save Peregrine from a sure death, she meets a cast of memorable characters. Some become her friends; others are her enemies. The author has written a fantasy story of mystery and suspense that should appeal to middle grade readers and to older folks as well. I enjoyed following along with Poppy and her friends on her journey to discover the truth about her mother. THE GLOOM would make a nice addition to school libraries and your own private library.
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August 24, 2012
So clearly from the description you can tell this is a young adult novel and it's perfectly appropriate for young adult. Some YA novels (in my opinion) are kind of borderline with their appropriateness but this one is totally fine.
I got sucked into this book almost immediately because I really liked Poppy. The poor girl is essentially motherless, has a dad who tries but is pretty much at a loss, and feels set to the side by her step mom when her new sister comes along. I mean, that would be a lot for a teenager. And just when she feels the most on the outside, she gets essentially kidnapped by a Pixie and forced into a world she never knew existed. From there the story moves fast as she makes a friend after entering the Gloom and is on the search for her real mother so she can supposedly rid Winsome of the Gloom.
I love that it sucks you in, I love that you meet interesting characters along the way, and it's a fast read. I will say that so far, it really reminds me of Amanda Hockings Trylle Trilogy and that isn't such a bad thing. It does have significant differences but I was immediately reminded of that other trilogy. Which I haven't yet finished, so this should be interesting.
I got sucked into this book almost immediately because I really liked Poppy. The poor girl is essentially motherless, has a dad who tries but is pretty much at a loss, and feels set to the side by her step mom when her new sister comes along. I mean, that would be a lot for a teenager. And just when she feels the most on the outside, she gets essentially kidnapped by a Pixie and forced into a world she never knew existed. From there the story moves fast as she makes a friend after entering the Gloom and is on the search for her real mother so she can supposedly rid Winsome of the Gloom.
I love that it sucks you in, I love that you meet interesting characters along the way, and it's a fast read. I will say that so far, it really reminds me of Amanda Hockings Trylle Trilogy and that isn't such a bad thing. It does have significant differences but I was immediately reminded of that other trilogy. Which I haven't yet finished, so this should be interesting.
August 21, 2012
I read this book for the author in exchange for a fair and honest review. I really enjoyed this book. The story flowed beautifully and found myself lost in the story. The author described the story in a way that I pictured myself there right along side Poppy.
Poppy soon finds herself in a world she never knew exsisted. She was forced to complete a seemingly impossible task. Along the way she meets creatures she never knew exsisted. Some of these creatures are helpful, and some are not.
I can't wait to finish this trilogy. The next one is called The Doldrums.
Poppy soon finds herself in a world she never knew exsisted. She was forced to complete a seemingly impossible task. Along the way she meets creatures she never knew exsisted. Some of these creatures are helpful, and some are not.
I can't wait to finish this trilogy. The next one is called The Doldrums.
July 17, 2012
Was a very good read will probably look out for the next one
July 20, 2012
Excellent. The story is great! The characters are all so well imagined and very, very easy to fall in love with. I can't wait to start The Doldrums.
July 23, 2012
very cute book! I can't wait to read the next one!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews