Ivy and her sisters know the rules: never call Aunt Maeve by her real name, never never tell anyone she wrote the cult fantasy novel Ivory Apples, and definitely never tell anyone about the fairy-like muses that live in a grove behind her house. But when a woman in the park befriends her family and starts asking questions, Ivy must decide how far she is willing to go to protect her family and their secrets. Full of atmospheric tension, Ivory Apples is a perfect new read for fans of Jo Walton and Kat Howard.

2.5 Stars

Possible Trigger warning - child abuse - There is a special place in hell for people who take advantage of children.

I feel like I could have really liked this book had it been a series. It felt as if I was reading three books in one that didn't flow well enough for me to like the book.

What this book is about:
A young girl and her family protect the secret of her aunt's identity, who happens to be a highly stalked famous author. While visiting the aunt, Ivy stumbles upon what made her aunt so secretive, Muses.

The story overall wasn't bad, it just felt discombobulated. Decide for yourself if you want to add this to your TBR.

Jo Walton says of this book, "I loved it. You'll love it too."

She really should know better than to say things like that.

I tried hard. I came back to it twice after going off and reading other things that appealed to me more. But in the end I DNFed at 47%.

Why? Not because it isn't well-written; it is. But because, despite a fantasy premise that (as far as I read) was more background than foreground, what this mainly reminded me of was those grim-and-gritty, real-life-sucks YA novels that I avoided as a teenager, because frankly I'd rather read something escapist.

It's very good - for me, too good - at portraying an abusive adult in charge of children, and the desperate lengths one of the children goes to in response. But that isn't what I want to read.

2.5/5 stars

I'll be the first to admit that the summary of this book didn't catch too much of my attention. Contemporary Fantasy is a genre I have a lot of difficulty enjoying properly. I either love it or hate it. Ivory Apples is somewhere in between for me. i didn't like it, but I didn't dislike it either. The writing itself is quite beautiful and gets you invested, but the dialogue between characters and even the world itself is a bit off-putting. Something just doesn't seem right when you read this, and by the end I was still left very unsatisfied. I usually don't say this, but this is a book where you should probably judge it based off of the summary. If you think you'll love it, then go ahead and grab it. If it doesn't grab your attention, it may be best to just skip this

Also, strangely enough I don't remember much of the story after being away from it for a few days... So that's a bit unfortunate.

ARC provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own..

This fantasy novel started off with promise and some beautiful writing: in a grove in the woods, a girl incorporates a sprite into her body, and has to learn to control it and when to let it take control. The grove is owned by her great-aunt, a recluse who write a best-selling fantasy novel herself but became plagued by fans and hides from them. So far, so good. But then the story's development gets unfocused and the writing changes, becoming flat and dull, and the plot becomes ever-more complicated and full of nonsensical actions on the parts of the characters, who also fail to develop beyond the two-dimensional. The sprite-carrying protagonist soon finds her life infiltrated by an obsessed fan of her great-aunt; soon the fan has killed Ivy's dad and taken over control of Ivy and her three younger sisters, Ivy leaves, and there are gaps in the story where she simply says "years went by." The sprite in her body comes and goes in mentions so inconsistently it's as if it's not really part of the story, and Ivy's sisters, the evil guardian, and other characters do seemingly random and bizarre things that are unrelated, or, equally strangely, pick up conversations ended seemingly months or years before as if nothing had intervened. The book reads like it needed a lot more developmental editing and another year or two to be fully cooked.

A pale watery sun sieved through the branches.....This tale of an author who wrote a book about a magical town through the pillars of moonlit trees, is filled with breathtaking descriptions like this. In hiding from her adoring fans, from those who would seek the town they know is real, Adele harbors a secret. But a stalking fan will do anything to find the reclusive author.....anything. Subtle buildup of the family who helps the aunt, to mystery, and finally to thriller, tinged with horror. It's just a book, written decades ago......isn't it?

*I consumed this story in less than 24 hours.*

Ivy and her three younger sisters live a normal middle class life with their widowed father, with one big secret -- once a month, they go out to visit their secretive great-aunt Maeve who lives in isolation away from the view of her hoards of adoring fans. Aunt Maeve is the author of Ivory Apples, a fantasy cult favorite with a huge and obsessive following, and Ivy's father manages her finances and fan mail.

After stumbling upon the supernatural during one of the visits to Aunt Maeve, Ivy finds herself with a secret supernatural companion named Piper whose capricious whimsy often threatens to overwhelm her own desires and feelings. And, at around the same time, a vaguely innocuous woman named Kate befriends Ivy's sisters and inserts herself into their lives. On the surface, Kate is a delightful lady, but something about her makes Ivy and Piper uneasy.

The author has a delightful and deliberate way with words. The mystery around Kate's intentions kept me guessing -- clearly she is going to be important in these girls' lives, but is she going to be a mother figure or the villain?

I was particularly impressed with the scene when Ivy stumbles upon the world of the supernatural in the grove behind Aunt Maeve's house. The descriptions of her first encounter with Piper were palpable. And, as only children can do, she immediately goes back to her normal life after experiencing something so incredible.

I have some criticisms of the book, mainly that it didn't end the way I wanted it to end, but it's still a good ending. And any criticisms I may have are far outweighed by the magic of the rest of the story. It was full of the grittiness and darkness and hopefulness of old fairy tales, and it's something I'd certainly read again.

Absolutely loved this until the very end. For some reason the clean cut ending and drab feeling really killed the story for me. But up until then...I was fully hooked. Stayed up most of a night reading this because I couldn’t put it down. It’s a fantasy that really sucks you in at first.

A totally unique tale. Just too bad about the ending.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing this book in exchange for my honest opinion. This book will be released on October 15th.

Um…what did I just read? This book had such potential! I wanted to love it, but it left me feeling a bit underwhelmed. The thing is, I felt like this book was originally an idea for two separate books that kind of melded together into one book. The problem is, they didn’t mesh well.

Ivory’s great-aunt is a famous but reclusive author. No one outside the family knows where she lives now and she has no interest in responding to fan mail, answering questions about her work, or- really- discussing it at all. Ivory and her family- her father, and three sisters- visit on occasion. Usually, the kids wander around while Ivory’s dad goes over business things with their great-aunt.

On one such trip, Ivory comes across a shocking scene. It changes things for her, and affects her entire life afterward. Here’s the first issue I had with this book; aside from a few vague questions that aren’t satisfactorily answered, Ivory seems to accept this huge thing with very little issue. For me, it’d be a “Holy hand-grenade! What was that?”, type of thing, but she just kind of went with it.

Shortly after that, the kids meet a kind woman named Ms. Burden. Something about her bothers Ivory, but no one else shares her suspicions. Things progress, and Ms. Burden suddenly becomes much more involved in their lives. Ivory has to protect her great-aunt’s secret while figuring out what Ms. Burden’s ulterior motive is, assuming she actually has one.

At this point in the book, things start to get very choppy. There’s several chapters where not much happens at all. Ivory ends up kind of on her own, with no other characters to interact with. That would be fine if it led to some character growth. It really didn’t, though. By the time the book got back to the original narrative, I’d lost interest..

There were a lot of things that were just accepted, then never really explored throughout this book. It’s really too bad; there were some themes that could have been fascinating if they’d gotten a little more attention.

Ultimately, I think what this book really needed was to become two separate novels. On their own, each of the disparate ideas would have worked very well; they just didn’t get along.

A totally different kind of fantasy with memorable characters and a story line that sparked all kinds of emotion. Well-written and engrossing, a tale that should appeal to everyone who enjoys top-notch stories.

For me Ivory Apples had a wonderful premise that was executed unevenly throughout the book. The last few chapters felt abrupt, and I didn’t feel any satisfaction with the ending. The fantasy was good, the characters of the aunt, sisters, and their guardian well fleshed out, but the writing up and down. I can’t be specific without spoiling the plot lines, but I came away disappointed.