Reviews

A Crown of Ivy and Glass by Claire Legrand

bamamelereads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

2.75

These stars are very generous. I cannot understand how the person that wrote a trilogy I LOVE also wrote this mess. And whyyyyyyyy was it so long?! I swear I could have shortened it by at least 100 pages by taking out all the unnecessary descriptions of what people wore in very damn scene. 

So this is an adult book because of the spice and naughty language, but it reads YA with how annoying and dim the characters are. I almost DNF’d in the first 15% because of how insufferable Gemma was. But I’m stubborn and pushed through. I think there are seeds or promise hidden under frilly layers of description. But the plot also has way too many things going on. And I never bought into the love story because I literally never trusted Talyn until the very end.

I’m just so so disappointed in this.  I’m still going to try the sequel, because I think that relationship looks promising, but it needs major improvement over this. 

jeannaoreo's review against another edition

Main character was spoiled and annoying

magecosplay's review against another edition

adventurous emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

The main twist felt really obvious, but it was still quite a fun, quick romantasy read. Nothing groundbreaking, but certainly good enough to keep going with the next in the trilogy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm and Violence

Minor: Suicide

erinremen's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A thoroughly enjoyable new fantasy series that had me on the edge of my seat, devouring every word, desperate hoping for a conclusion, yet accepting that was not to be, since obviously, it's a series 😁 I really enjoyed this first installment with it's world building,  tragically messed up characters, each in their own way, so full of pain and loneliness and the magical world that we seem to have only scratches the surface of, hopefully! Gemma is a girl in constant pain, no magic, and emotionally a mess with a lot of really dark thoughts and prone to self-harm. Which might be hard to read for some. When she meets a man who eases that pain, she is desperate to keep him. Even when her best friend tells her there is something wrong. Talan makes her feel things she never could have imagined, a peace that has always eluded her. A lot of secrets are being kept, the world is more dangerous than she knows, and each of them will have to fight for a future with love and happiness they can only dream of. Gemma and her sisters, Farrin and Mara, are all different, but the bonds they share, even distance, can't break. She will need that before this demon nightmare is over. It's exciting, interesting, and full of magic, action , suffering, and intrigue. I could not put it down!

kait_can_read's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I really enjoyed picking this book up with no idea of the plot, just the description of 'Bridgerton meets ACOTAR.' It was an adventure to see where the story went and I thought that the world building and character development pretty good. I felt so incredibly seen by the main character's struggles with chronic illness/pain and panic - it was actually difficult to read at times because the intense moments of meltdown were so aptly portrayed. I look forward to seeing where this goes - especially because I think the next one will center a different sister and I love getting to know the main characters in such a deep way. 

aritrigupta's review against another edition

1.0

DNF.
A reviewer has called it rightly as TikTok fodder.

lorissamonique's review against another edition

emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

I think my rating is so low is because I went into this book with the recommendation that it was similar to another beloved fantasy series and it was not. I set my hopes up way too high and that only led to disappointment. While I thought this book was going in one direction, it was really going in the exact opposite.

I did not like Talan. I found him to be extremely shady and as many times as Imogen tried to make the reader like him, the more I disliked him. It did not help that Imogen seemed like such an unreliable narrator so I was constantly suspicious of him, instead of learning to like him. I hated the instalove and putting him above people that she has known her whole life. It truly was aggravating. I did dnf though so maybe it changes later on and I just did not get to it. I just could not do it to myself anymore. 

I do have to mention that the book did have an interesting world and the lore was really neat. But, alas, I did not like it enough to make up for my disinterest in the main characters. I do look forward to reading Claire’s other work in the future, but I fear this series has died for me. 

wendeedeedee36's review against another edition

slow-paced

4.0

This was a very different book from what I had expected going in. I’m not sure how to describe it. I enjoyed it for sure, but it almost felt like 2 books in one? The beginning portion and plot felt very separate from the latter half. It wasn’t bad at all, just threw me off. The world building was very good though and the magic felt unique. I’d love to dive deeper into the history in book 2. Especially since that would likely mean more time with Gareth, and I rather liked him. Gemma was definitely a tough character for me at the start. However, as predicted, she had a lot of room for character growth, and she lived up to the potential. The relationship with Talan was a little funky because it felt a bit too instalove for my tastes. That’s probably my biggest critique though, and it really didn’t bother me too much. Definitely hoping for more glimpses into her family - especially parents - as the series continues. I’m also interested in the Basks and the situation north of the mist.

vixairy's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

meahwilson's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective

3.5