A review by keepcalmblogon
A Crown of Ivy and Glass by Claire Legrand

adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I don’t like to give books poor reviews because they are the work of someone’s soul–and it’s hard work! That being said, personally, I didn’t love A Crown of Ivy and Glass. I felt like the opening plotline–to throw a party so that Gemma could convince people to care about what was happening with The Roses so that she could help her sister was a little convoluted and ended up only serving the purpose of introducing Talan because it is immediately dropped for a completely different plan that is totally selfish. I have zero problem with a self-confessed selfish character either, but Gemma failed to make herself sympathetic or relatable, so I didn’t care much for her plight. I was also unimpressed by the insta-love. It attempted to be enemies to lovers, but that was a flimsy charade that lasted about a chapter. 

This book ended up having way too much plot without that epic fantasy feel, so it was just one thing after another after another with characters whose passionate scenes I ended up skipping over because I really did not buy their insta-love, so I wasn’t invested. I cared more about the enemies, the Basks, and the sister who didn’t get a POV–Farrin. I found myself hoping Talan would betray Gemma to add some spice. And ultimately was confused by the world building and magic system.

The positives this book had were: the intrigue of the enemies, the Basks, a team up with said enemies, sex positivity, and casual queerness. 

In the end I will give this book 3 stars and ask a friend to tell me if the sequel ends up being better, and maybe I’ll read it, but I might just get the SparkNotes and get over it.
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