This book was so magical and sent me on a nostalgic journey of my childhood as it had certain similarities or influences from Harry Potter. With a strong female lead, Ivy has unknown powers and as she crosses a magical boundary, she discovers a fantastical land.

It was probably a little young for me, but it is a magical story that I think many of oils enjoy!

I will say this books has great world building, it was easy to picture the setting and scenes and forget you’re reading. Cute premise, likeable characters, I really liked the FMC Ivy, she’s adventurous and brave. I just kind of feel like maybe it was too similar to HP. I know it’s marketed for fans of the HP series, it was just too close for me - even a lot of the characters were very comparable. I feel like for HP fans it can go either way, it could feel nostalgic or it could feel a bit like a knock off - I’m somewhere in the middle. I did enjoy the plot and pace.

Honestly was a bit dull. The fantasy was mid tier, and while it reminded me of Harry Potter, it was bland. There were too many plot holes, and not enough character development.

This was not my cup of tea, but I understand the appeal. Definitely suitable for young readers with its Harry Potter vibes. The romance seemed to both come out of nowhere and be completely obvious and seemed quite forced (I use the term romance loosely). It jumped around a lot and action seemed quite rushed. Again, I am coming to this from a high fantasy reader so while this was not for me, I do think young people will enjoy it more than I did.

An enjoyable tale that pulls on familiar themes of a magical school and a forgotten history. This was such a fun read that really made me nostalgic for my childhood. It's a great and easy read that really pulled me in right from the get-go! Definitely a solid middle-grade fantasy with plenty of intrigue to expand on for more books.

I adored this world, it’s magic, and it’s creatures. The world building was exquisite. It had literal out-of-this-world imagery and the creatures and beasts were so whimsical and creative.

I can picture myself reading this book to my son when he’s a bit older before bed and him begging to hear more about dwarves and magical crowns.

As soon as this book began I thought to myself, “oh how fun, I haven’t read something like this since Harry Potter!” Personally, I felt it was a bit too much like HP, hence my 4/5.

You would enjoy this if you like magical schools and/or evil queens. This story is a magical blend of Sleeping Beauty & HP!

Just a note: Thanks to the publisher for giving me an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review, this did not impact my review and all thoughts and opinions are my own :)

Okay so, unfortunately, I have quite mixed feelings about this book, I will preface this with saying that I liked this book, but there were just a few gripes that I couldn't really get over. I will start with the things I liked: I loved the characters and the world building. The main character Ivy is very fun to follow through her adventures, and the mystery around here was just really fun. The world building was really well done and the descriptions of the places and buildings and the sensations Ivy was going through was really vivid and I felt really immersed in the book. The magic is very unique and I can't really think of anything I read that is similar. I also really liked the relationships between the characters, and the dynamics between the royals and the scriveners, I dearly loved all the characters and the school setting felt very real to me.

This is also were some of my gripes start unfortunately, I will preface things I'm saying with it happens occasionally, and because parts of the book are so strong the fact that they jolt you out of the story feels even more severe. So just to emphasize, both of these points are minor - they didn't make me dislike the book, I just felt more meh about it by the end?
So one thing that personally kinda took me out of the story where there were these random comments about fat characters sprinkled throughout the book where there were just a few characters who were described as fat and then were all just...either bad or evil or just stupid and incompetent - and like yea it does happen in literature and it doesn't happen that often but it happened often enough to notice and feel weird about the descriptions. This book was just so kind and delightful throughout that I didn't really expect it and it jolted me out of the story the few times that it did happen. That leads me to my second gripe which did end up leading me to lower my rating, which is that there were 0 consequences for Ivy. Everything always turns out great for her, and when she does get in trouble and there is supposed to be some inconvenience there it is sort of glossed over and ignored. The writing can be a little jumpy which in general I don't mind, but the jumps were basically used in a way to not talk about the inconveniences Ivy could experience and on the other end of that, they also mean that we don't really get shown how Ivy earns any of the things she is said to have earned by various adults. There were just a few moments where I was like "what happened to this?" or "When did this happen?" and it just happened enough times that I was a little confused.

I was gifted this book through NetGalley by Stories Untold Press for an honest review. It is the first from a series of award-winning middle grade fantasy books, The Crowns of Croswald. The four-part series is written by D.E. Night.

In this first book, we meet Ivy Lovely, our 16 year old protagonist, as she is forced to leave behind the only home she has known. Her journey takes her to a world full of magic and mystery, and Ivy begins to discover that there is more to her than she could have ever imagined. But not everything magical is a blessing, as a dark and evil Queen is in hot pursuit, determined to destroy her before Ivy has even started to solve the riddles of her own past.

As a story about an orphan finding a magical world, the comparisons with Harry Potter is inevitable. However, I was happy when I read how this book creates its own world and system, combining both fairy tale and magical academia. The pacing of the story is well done, giving the readers time to get absorbed in this new world. We also meet the various characters as the story unfolds, letting the readers get to know them without being overwhelmed. The new places and new magical abilities and classes are certainly interesting to read about. I don’t think I have read any similar ideas before. For me, the vivid descriptions of the places and Ivy’s curious personality are the highlights of the book. I enjoyed taking this ride alongside Ivy, as she discovers new magical abilities, makes interesting friends - both in and outside the classroom, and fights the devious enemy, while uncovering a secret and saving more than just her new home.

If you love fairy tales combined with magic and academia, then this book is for you!

I really enjoyed The Crowns of Croswald mind you it’s a middle grade fantasy novel so some portions seemed slightly underdeveloped but a great story! It is part of a larger series and good for its intended audience!

[ Review copy provided by NetGalley and publicist in exchange for an honest review! ]

Ah, I wanted to like this much more than I did. The scriveners were interesting, and I loved the idea of the scaldrons - that was one of my favourite elements. I really liked most of the concepts, the abandonned castle and the overturned carriage caught my attention from the prologue, but I found Ivy's story a little less interesting.

My problem was just that the writing was a bit jarring (For example, the very first sentence I read about 7 or 8 times, and even at this point, I don't know what it meant). It just stopped the flow of my reading and took me out of the story. You can also really see where the author has been inspired by Harry Potter or the like, but sometimes it really shows and seems obviously inserted to add interest.

That said, I'm not the intended market for this book, it IS middle grade, and maybe if I was 8 or 9, this would be my favourite new fantasy series! I think that what this book needs is a really good editor, otherwise I'm sure this would be an easy 5 stars for the concepts!

*review has been posted to Goodreads*

The Crowns of Croswald is a middle-grade fantasy book and the first in a four-part series. The story follows Ivy who has no idea who she is or what her abilities are. When she crosses a magical boundary, she discovers a world of enchantment and mystery, revealing her hidden past, magical blood, the power of Croswald's mystical stones, and an evil Queen threatening everything good. I wish I could say nicer things about this book. It had a promising premise and quirky magic, but I really struggled to stay focused and connected, so I ended up DNF-ing it.

Firstly, the worldbuilding was lacking. It was difficult to make sense of things because they were rarely clarified or explained, and as a result, I found it difficult to immerse myself in the world. There was little exploration of the magic, which made it difficult to understand what was going on at times. It was a shame because the book had some interesting ideas (such as the magical stones for the royals) that could have been developed further.

The writing was the most difficult aspect for me. Unusual phrases and sentences frequently left me perplexed, and re-reading a sentence to make sense left me disconnected. Moreover, in some places, the dialogue was awkward and almost childish, even when the speaker was an adult. Which brings me to my next point: characters. The characters felt flat and distant. I struggled to connect with the protagonist, Ivy, and found she sounded a bit too childish for a 16-year-old. She had a child-like innocence that seemed misplaced.

Overall, while it had some interesting concepts and imaginative magic, it wasn't for me.

[Thank you NetGalley and Stories Untold for the e-book in exchange for an honest review!]

The Crowns of Croswald was a fun little adventure. Following Ivy on her unexpected journey into a new world to become a scrivinist. This fantasy book is definitely for the middle grade age category and not quite for me. Although I did enjoy the wonderful story telling by this author. If your a fan of Harry Potter then this is a series for you.

This book is pretty interesting. I wouldn’t say it was my cup of tea but it was beautifully written. I liked how it was detailed and not confusing like many fantasy books are. Overall I’d rate it a 3.7 stars.

It gave Tinkerbell vibes to me😍 those classic magical realm with persistence main character. The creatures!!!! From beast to elfish and dwarves. The adventure and world building was super nice!!! Give it a go to read this book!!!

Please note: I am only 10% or so of the way through this, but am finding it a bit of a struggle to get into, so this review is based on what I have read so far.

The Crowns of Croswald is described as "a page-turning fantasy in the tradition of fairy tales, whimsical worlds, and coming-of-age stories." but unfortunately, I haven't found mysefl wanting to keep turning the pages, which may be down to personal factors, but I think some aspects of the book play into this as well.

Don't get me wrong, I like the premise, I love the ideas of the Scriveners, and the Scaldrons, and all sorts of aspects of the magical world D.E.Night has created, but I keep getting pulled out by the writing: odd phrasing that didn't make sense and sentences I had to re-read to make sense of, as well as some over-description that sometimes defeated the purpose in that it made the subject seem more vague or difficult to visualise through the wording.

Also, Ivy: from other reviews, it seems she becomes a relatable heroine, but she reads as very young. As a Middle Grade book, I do expect Ivy to be young, but the text describes her as sixteen which I can't see her being at all, from the way she speaks, her experience, and the start of her story. Ivy does not read as being sixteen, and sixteen would be fairly old for a Middle Grade MC anyway, particularly for one starting to navigate their world rather than exploring relationships with others. For a book which is likened to Harry Potter, with the heroine finding out that she's magic, she seems a few years behind her age. (Harry was 11 at the start of his adventures).

As I said, I'm only 10% of the way through, but I'm reviewing what I've read so far in case I don't finish it. I hope I do; from the glowing reviews from other readers, I'm clearly missing something, so I hope to get time to give it more of a chance and let the plot kick in.

2* for now, mainly for the ideas...

Thank you to the publishers for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the author, Stories Untold Press, and NetGalley for the e-book in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately I have decide to DNF this title. While I believe it shows promise, for me personally I cannot seem to reconcile the writing style. Some of it is unnecessarily complicated and some of the wording a bit verbose, particularly for a title aimed at middle graders ( I’m Australian, but I believe that’s 8-12 year olds?).

From the first chapter, I felt that while the premise is interesting, if a little bit reminiscent of Harry Potter, factors such as the magical creatures and some if the settings needed more explanation from the outset, rather than being explained a chapter or two later. I also couldn’t reconcile that the protagonist Ivy, while having lived a bit of a sheltered life, was meant to be 15-16. The plot seems to jump around a bit too. These factors along with the writing style made it difficult for me to immerse myself in the story.

In saying that I am a 36 year old woman who is obviously not the target audience, nor do I have children, so if you think this could be something you or your kids would enjoy you should give it a chance! It does show promise, however not for me.

𝕋𝕚𝕥𝕝𝕖: The Crowns of Croswald
𝔸𝕦𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕣: D. E. Night
ℙ𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕥: 320 pages
ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/ 5

Likes
🫧 The way of cooking the food is very very interesting. Imagine putting your food in a dragon mouth while you wait for it to cook!! Amazing and very creative!

🫧The book started off with great world building But not much character development.

🫧The book is a great read for the age group it is directed to…. Middle school.

🫧Good foreshadowing in the beginning of the book

🫧 the end was unexpectedly better than I thought it would be.

Dislikes:

🫧 Prologue was too long for my liking at some point I was scrolling through to see how long before the book actually start

🫧A Harry Potter story rewritten or very inspired by Harry Potter that me and @ could find literal sentences that could be directly taken or very minimally paraphrased from Harry Potter throughout the book.

🫧 Character development was lacking and character growth was not there.

🫧 At some point the foreshadowing got too excessive that it started ruining the surprise of the boom at some point

🫧 The “but Ivy did not know that would happen” or “Ivy would later discover that” really put me off. I hate it when such phrases are used.

🫧 One of my very important questions was unanswered by the end of the book and there was no hint as to whether it will be answered later or not

This book was a good read. I enjoyed that it was fantastical and had a fun energy to it. The magical school aspect kind of reminded me of Harry Potter. It was a fairly quick and cozy read. I really enjoyed the main character Ivy Lovely who was outgoing and lively, I really enjoyed reading about her. This book felt a little young for my tastes but that is probably because I am not the target audience for it. There were also a few times that I felt not quite clear about what was going on or the significance of a scene but that could be a problem with they way I read it. Overall, I enjoyed this book!

This book was such a magical journey! I really enjoyed it and I actually managed to read it in a day because I just wanted to keep reading. It did start off a little slow, but once I read a few chapters I had to keep going.

I really enjoyed the characters in this book. Ivy’s character development is one that is very prominent by the end of the book as she learns more about magic and friendship. Her friends Rebecca and Fyn help her along the way of this magical journey and even though they might get into trouble they still stick together. Ivy learns a lot throughout this book about herself, and I was very surprised at the ending of this book.

Ivy’s friendship with Winsome was something I really enjoyed in this. She had a kind, helpful and loyal mentor while she was trying to discover more about this world and he truly cared about her and their friendship throughout this book.


The writing in this book was very atmospheric and DE Night made everything easy to imagine and it made the book more magical. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes Middle Grade Fantasy/Young Adult Fantasy.

Full Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher, Stories Untold Press, in exchange for my honest review.

First off, I wish this book was around when I was growing up, since I was and am strongly interested in the fantasy genre. D.E. Night created a beautifully-written world, in which any reader—no matter the age—can easily fall. After reading this first book in the series, one can expect a wonderful adventure ahead.

The story’s protagonist, Ivy Lovely, finds refuge in the Halls of Ivy, after fleeing an unfortunate, parentless upbringing. At the the Halls of Ivy, a prestigious school in Ravenshollow of Croswald, Ivy seeks out curiosities and meets new friends along the way. Looming over the entire magical realm, the Dark Queen’s constant unforeseen presence creates another curiosity to which Ivy feels deeply connected. Throughout her first year at the Halls, Ivy gradually learns of her mysterious past and ties to Croswald’s critical history.

I gave this book 4/5 stars, because of D.E. Night’s very skillful world-building. I struggled a bit with some of the dialogue—that’s not to say it was not good; it merely paled in comparison to the situational imagery crafted by the author. I was a bit confused at times by the characters; I mixed up certain characters at times and wished they had been fledged out a bit, particularly Colleen Holley Woodley Butterlove. That being said, Rebecca Connell was probably my favorite and seems an eager sidekick to Ivy’s future adventures.

All in all, I would highly recommend this book! To be honest, I was in a bit of reading lull and this booked helped me out of it.