hellotherefromlaura's review
5.0
Ivy has spent her entire life slaving away to make the royals’ meals at the House of Plum. Destiny intervenes when she is fired from her duties and a whole new world is revealed to Ivy. She makes true friends, learns about the past and most importantly, interacts with magic. The evil Queen looms in the distance and Ivy must find her courage as all that is good in Croswald is threatened.
Great read for middle grade readers! This book is adventurous, endearing and enchanting. Ivy is a strong main character, and D.E. Night does a beautiful job outlining her development. Ivy is inquisitive, smart and has a sense of humor while also going through the turbulence of her life completely changing. The world building was easy to follow and it’s easy for the reader to immerse themselves in Croswald. The other characters are also very relatable and their interactions with Ivy flow really well throughout the story.
Thank you to NetGalley and Stories Untold for the e-book copy. This copy was received in exchange for an honest review.
Great read for middle grade readers! This book is adventurous, endearing and enchanting. Ivy is a strong main character, and D.E. Night does a beautiful job outlining her development. Ivy is inquisitive, smart and has a sense of humor while also going through the turbulence of her life completely changing. The world building was easy to follow and it’s easy for the reader to immerse themselves in Croswald. The other characters are also very relatable and their interactions with Ivy flow really well throughout the story.
Thank you to NetGalley and Stories Untold for the e-book copy. This copy was received in exchange for an honest review.
danyalvy's review
4.0
Thank you to NetGalley and Stories Untold for a gifted eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
For kids too young for the avada kedavra curse, this is a great introduction to the world of magic. There are nods to Harry Potter everywhere, and I enjoyed those little Easter eggs. The writing is simple and the story is easy to follow.
Ivy has her ups and downs, where she can be a bit annoying, but she means well and just wants to know what’s going on, which is fair. Her curiosity is burning and it really drives this story. I liked Ivy’s friends, Fyn and Rebecca, but do wish that we had learned more about them and got to know them better. Ivy seems annoyed by them more often than anything, so I don’t think we really get to see their personalities as much as I would have liked. I loved Winsome and do wish we got to spend a bit more time getting to know him as well. I found Derwin Edgar Night (same initials as the author, which I thought was fun!) the most interesting character in the story and can’t wait to finally learn more about him in the next books!
Towards the end, I couldn’t put the book down, I just needed to know what was happening! I had an idea of what it may be, but wasn’t sure how all of it fit together. The ending was full of excitement and action, and gave us a brief overview of Ivy’s history. There were definitely things I questioned, but they seem to be things that could be answered in the next book
For kids too young for the avada kedavra curse, this is a great introduction to the world of magic. There are nods to Harry Potter everywhere, and I enjoyed those little Easter eggs. The writing is simple and the story is easy to follow.
Ivy has her ups and downs, where she can be a bit annoying, but she means well and just wants to know what’s going on, which is fair. Her curiosity is burning and it really drives this story. I liked Ivy’s friends, Fyn and Rebecca, but do wish that we had learned more about them and got to know them better. Ivy seems annoyed by them more often than anything, so I don’t think we really get to see their personalities as much as I would have liked. I loved Winsome and do wish we got to spend a bit more time getting to know him as well. I found Derwin Edgar Night (same initials as the author, which I thought was fun!) the most interesting character in the story and can’t wait to finally learn more about him in the next books!
Towards the end, I couldn’t put the book down, I just needed to know what was happening! I had an idea of what it may be, but wasn’t sure how all of it fit together. The ending was full of excitement and action, and gave us a brief overview of Ivy’s history. There were definitely things I questioned, but they seem to be things that could be answered in the next book
riverlasol's review
3.0
3.5/5 stars
Thank you so much to the author and the publisher for this review copy! The Crown of Croswald is a fun, magical YA book and I enjoyed it a lot, though there were a few aspects that made certain parts a struggle to get into for me.
From the first page, I was super intrigued by this unique story. There was a very cool magic system and the details given about the world were entrancing. I think the author did a great job of worldbuilding and making this magical world a lovable place for the reader.
There were several times where I was pulled out of the scene a little and felt like it was hard to follow the reasoning for the main characters actions. This is mainly because I felt like the main character, Ivy, was a little underdeveloped and underexplored. I would’ve loved to see more of her thought processes instead of just her actions. The book was written in third person, so I can understand a little disconnect, but I felt a disconnect with Ivy that hasn’t happened to me in other third person novels (I actually love this pov normally).
If you don’t mind this sort of feeling with the protagonist you might love this book, but unfortunately it just didn’t work well for me as a reader. I’m very sad that I didn’t enjoy this as much as I thought I would, but I’m still glad I read it!
Thank you so much to the author and the publisher for this review copy! The Crown of Croswald is a fun, magical YA book and I enjoyed it a lot, though there were a few aspects that made certain parts a struggle to get into for me.
From the first page, I was super intrigued by this unique story. There was a very cool magic system and the details given about the world were entrancing. I think the author did a great job of worldbuilding and making this magical world a lovable place for the reader.
There were several times where I was pulled out of the scene a little and felt like it was hard to follow the reasoning for the main characters actions. This is mainly because I felt like the main character, Ivy, was a little underdeveloped and underexplored. I would’ve loved to see more of her thought processes instead of just her actions. The book was written in third person, so I can understand a little disconnect, but I felt a disconnect with Ivy that hasn’t happened to me in other third person novels (I actually love this pov normally).
If you don’t mind this sort of feeling with the protagonist you might love this book, but unfortunately it just didn’t work well for me as a reader. I’m very sad that I didn’t enjoy this as much as I thought I would, but I’m still glad I read it!
thosebookbesties_nips's review
4.0
Pairs Well With: Bedtime Story snack
Thank you to @netgalley and @storiesuntold for the ARC digital copy. My thoughts are my own.
The Crowns of Croswald is an enthralling, fantasy novel best suited for middle-school age readers. While the heroine (Ivy) is a young woman, the story is full of mystical creatures, magical spells and enchantments, evil queens, Dwarves, dragons and more.
Ivy is a kitchenmaid at Castle Plum, alone except for her friend Rimbrick- a dwarf with knowledge of her past that he keeps hidden. While out of the castle one day, Ivy is picked up by a strange carriage and whisked away to The Halls Of Ivy- a school for magical youth (scrivenists) and the royalty they serve. With no idea why she is there, and a sneaking suspicion there is more to her past and identity than she is aware of, Ivy begins making friends and learning everything she can about the new world around her.
I found the beginning of the story a bit hard to understand- there were a lot of new terms being introduced, new characters, and I believe a fairly large time-jump. As the story progressed, there were moments I went “Oh! THAT’s why this happened” and I was able to piece it together, but I did feel a bit lost in the initial few chapters. Additionally, the timeline of the story seems to be represented by moon phases, and not knowing what that meant, I didn’t know if a day or week or months had passed from one chapter to the next.
I felt the story was strong in the sense of character development- Ivy was a character I was pulled towards, rooted for, and felt I understood. She was brave, inspiring, a good friend and had a good sense of self, despite not truly knowing who or what she was. Her friend Rebecca was unique and a great compliment to Ivy; I also found myself wondering if Fyn would play a larger role in the next few books (I look forward to reading them!).
As a Mom, I enjoyed reading this story and would definitely read it to my kids as they get a bit older. I think it has a beautiful message about being brave and loving yourself, and doing the right thing even when it’s hard.
If you enjoyed Harry Potter, the Chronicles of Narnia or Lemony Snickett’s work over the years, I think you’ll enjoy this series as well!
Thank you to @netgalley and @storiesuntold for the ARC digital copy. My thoughts are my own.
The Crowns of Croswald is an enthralling, fantasy novel best suited for middle-school age readers. While the heroine (Ivy) is a young woman, the story is full of mystical creatures, magical spells and enchantments, evil queens, Dwarves, dragons and more.
Ivy is a kitchenmaid at Castle Plum, alone except for her friend Rimbrick- a dwarf with knowledge of her past that he keeps hidden. While out of the castle one day, Ivy is picked up by a strange carriage and whisked away to The Halls Of Ivy- a school for magical youth (scrivenists) and the royalty they serve. With no idea why she is there, and a sneaking suspicion there is more to her past and identity than she is aware of, Ivy begins making friends and learning everything she can about the new world around her.
I found the beginning of the story a bit hard to understand- there were a lot of new terms being introduced, new characters, and I believe a fairly large time-jump. As the story progressed, there were moments I went “Oh! THAT’s why this happened” and I was able to piece it together, but I did feel a bit lost in the initial few chapters. Additionally, the timeline of the story seems to be represented by moon phases, and not knowing what that meant, I didn’t know if a day or week or months had passed from one chapter to the next.
I felt the story was strong in the sense of character development- Ivy was a character I was pulled towards, rooted for, and felt I understood. She was brave, inspiring, a good friend and had a good sense of self, despite not truly knowing who or what she was. Her friend Rebecca was unique and a great compliment to Ivy; I also found myself wondering if Fyn would play a larger role in the next few books (I look forward to reading them!).
As a Mom, I enjoyed reading this story and would definitely read it to my kids as they get a bit older. I think it has a beautiful message about being brave and loving yourself, and doing the right thing even when it’s hard.
If you enjoyed Harry Potter, the Chronicles of Narnia or Lemony Snickett’s work over the years, I think you’ll enjoy this series as well!
readnerdytome's review
3.0
The story follows Ivy who is living in a castle and takes care of the Scaldrons (tiny dragons that heat up the fires) until things go awry and she is kick out and then whisked away to a magical school. Here she meets new friends and goes on plenty of adventures all while trying to figure out who she really is.
If you are a fan of Harry Potter or magical boarding schools this book is right up your alley especially for middle school aged kids. This book series would be wonderful to start with your child and discover a new world together. While the book did take me a little bit to get into, it really picked up about halfway through. I am excited to continue on in this series and follow more of Ivy’s adventures.
If you are a fan of Harry Potter or magical boarding schools this book is right up your alley especially for middle school aged kids. This book series would be wonderful to start with your child and discover a new world together. While the book did take me a little bit to get into, it really picked up about halfway through. I am excited to continue on in this series and follow more of Ivy’s adventures.
bleyz16's review
4.0
3 1/2 stars
Many thanks to the author for sending me a copy to review. This was a great middle grade/YA story. I loved the magical school setting however I wish there was a bit more character development and a bit more background story of the Dark Queen in the beginning of the book. I found the second half of the book a solid 4 star read however I found it a bit more difficult to get into the plot for the first half (pacing was a bit all over the place), hence the 3 1/2 star rating. The ending was excellent and I'm looking forward to continuing the story with the next book.
Many thanks to the author for sending me a copy to review. This was a great middle grade/YA story. I loved the magical school setting however I wish there was a bit more character development and a bit more background story of the Dark Queen in the beginning of the book. I found the second half of the book a solid 4 star read however I found it a bit more difficult to get into the plot for the first half (pacing was a bit all over the place), hence the 3 1/2 star rating. The ending was excellent and I'm looking forward to continuing the story with the next book.
kaylaarnold's review
I can see why people love this book so much because it reminds them much of Harry Potter, but I had to DNF it. I got 100 pages in and there were too many blatantly obvious similarities to Harry Potter: the acceptance letter, the school uniforms, the professors etc. The Harry Potter series is so iconic, original and creative, especially the Sorcerer's Stone, I don't know why people are enjoying this rip-off. I would have just read Harry Potter had I known how similar these were. Maybe the plot will get better but I would not give this a 5-star rating simply for the comparable world building.
williamsalley's review
5.0
The Crowns of Croswald is enchanting book. There is a problem in Croswald a wandering family is still lost. Of course Derwin Edgar Night can’t be bothered with such news he is about to meet the royal family he will be serving as their scientist. Derwin arrives at the castle but then is never seen or remembered again.
Ivy Lovely as lived a mundane drudge filled life for the past 16 years she has only known a life of loneliness and isolation. She works at Castle Plum as a scaldrony maid her main job is to tend the scaldrons, a type of domesticated dragon, used for cooking meals. The only solace Ivy finds is spending time sketching on the hill of Plum with her friend Rimbrick, a dwarf, who she finds fascinating. Rimbrick spends the nights telling Ivy tales about magic and scrivenists, people who study and write magic and serve royal families. Ivy longs to be a scrivenist to study and learn about magic. Little does Ivy know that her dream is about to become a reality. Her life is about to change and in that change mystery and adventure await. She will make new friends, learn about who she really is and fight against an evil that will try to take over Croswald. Looking forward to reading the second part of this trilogy. Thank you NetGalley for this opportunity to read this thrilling book.
Ivy Lovely as lived a mundane drudge filled life for the past 16 years she has only known a life of loneliness and isolation. She works at Castle Plum as a scaldrony maid her main job is to tend the scaldrons, a type of domesticated dragon, used for cooking meals. The only solace Ivy finds is spending time sketching on the hill of Plum with her friend Rimbrick, a dwarf, who she finds fascinating. Rimbrick spends the nights telling Ivy tales about magic and scrivenists, people who study and write magic and serve royal families. Ivy longs to be a scrivenist to study and learn about magic. Little does Ivy know that her dream is about to become a reality. Her life is about to change and in that change mystery and adventure await. She will make new friends, learn about who she really is and fight against an evil that will try to take over Croswald. Looking forward to reading the second part of this trilogy. Thank you NetGalley for this opportunity to read this thrilling book.
chrissydisibio's review
4.0
Ivy Lovely is a girl who hadn't been living in the magic world, but eventually is able to. She gets to go to school for magical powers. This reminded me a lot of Harry Potter, because it is a similar premise, but it was different as well. My daughter is 11 and she and I read this book together. We took turns reading the chapters. She is very much into wizards and magic and loved this story. She liked that the main character was a strong female character. I liked that there was magic all throughout the book, the author really took you into the magic. I wish we lived in the same world. We both loved the cute creatures, the Hairies. I like this this is a series because we want to continue reading it together.
aamna_theinkslinger's review
4.0
Crowns of Crowswald was an incredibly fun and sweet read that I really, really loved. It gave me all the nostalgic vibes of Harry Potter and magic school. I loved it's humor and nuanced characters. This felt like a read I'd love to recommend to my younger siblings or nieces or nephews. I don't even read a lot of middle-grade and I still though it did a great job with its plot and magic. The atmosphere is light and fun, but there are still stakes. Highly recommend this book.