I looked forward to reading The Crowns of Croswald and diving into this magical world.

Here are some things I loved:
- Ivy is a fun main character, I enjoyed her journey of discovering her identity
- The magical creatures were so much fun. I especially love the shorehorse!
= I loved the interactions with Fyn, he is by far my favorite character.

Things I didn't like as much:
-The whole first half of the book felt WAY too close to another beloved series. A young person, clueless about what they really are. A magical school. A village with magical shops. Etc.
-Many parts were confusing, and I really had to force myself to keep reading. I would say that I didn't start enjoying the story until 3/4 of the way through.
- The characters were good, but not flushed out enough to get me really attached to their stories.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves magical worlds and groups of friends who have magical adventures.

Thank you to NetGalley, Stories Untold, and D.E. Night for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

More like 3.5 but I don't feel like rounding up to 4, sorry.
Well, I requested this as the cover is just GORGEOUS! I guess I get drawn to covers that are blue/purple with some flashing light, dunno why.
The idea and premise were nice, but I'm not sure about the plot really.
It was quite messy, at times it went too slow, but most of the time it was way too fast-paced, and a lot of things were rushed, which wasn't very nice for a fantasy series, as I couldn't keep up, or I was way too forward in the whole 'finding her family and true self out' journey, whatever it's called.
Anyway, here is the plot. It's about this orphan girl Ivy who works as a scullery maid in this boring castle and she loves to sketch and drams to become a scrivenerist. But then this brat lady tells her to go away, and she does with her small dragon friend (which interestingly isn't even mentioned much later on, like it's not part of the adventure or anything, it's like a pet who is just there) and then they get into this magical school for royals and future scrivenerists called Hall of Ivy which is an old castle where once upon a time some royals lived. And then it kinda feels a lot like Harry Potter except that it's not that detailed in the description and how classes work etc. They're just touched briefly because the author probably thought it would be too long or boring. And hey, it's weird that this is the first time I wished a fantasy book went more detailed. And her friendship with Rebecca was kinda nice, but Ivy and Finn just felt weird. Also, this book is written very much like a Middle Grade one, but the ages of the characters are 16 and up (Finn is 18) but they don't even sound like that, it's weird. I mostly complain about teens sounding like adults and now it's the exact opposite issue, wow, I'm a brat am I?!
Anyways back to the plot, so Ivy has to fit in into this new world, but somehow she seems to be the weirdest one and all kinds of things happen only to her, she also gets in trouble a lot. SO she wants to find out the truth as she feels that people are for sure keeping secrets from her. There's also a villain who's the Dark Queen who nobody has seen as she stays hidden, and no one knows what to think about her.
That's pretty much all I can say without spoilers, but it wasn't a bad book. It just didn't work with me much. The setting was cozy, but I guess the writing style didn't work, I don't know. Some things were pretty obvious but Ivy was kinda slow to get them. She didn't really have much of a personality which is a problem for me. But I believe the series keeps itself together better, but I'm not sure I wanna continue, not yet, at least. I wanna take a break and finish those other ARCs which are expiring first..

Wonderful middle grade book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and seeing the transformation of Ivy was wonderful.

Thanks to NetGalley and DE Night for the gifted copy of The Crowns of Croswold.

My girls adored this book. With a real Harry Potter vibe but with a feminine lead, this book is packed full of magic, spells and a dark queen - we fell in love with Ivy - a girl who has been locked away for 16 years only to discover she has magical powers. Heading off to the Halls of Ivy (a magic school), Ivy has to learn how to use her powers without drawing the attention of the dark queen.

The girls now desperately want to read the next!

I received this book as an ebook from the publisher (stories untold) in exchange for an honest review. I would rate this around 3.75 if goodreads allowed decimal points. I found it hard to get into although that might be due to it being an ebook rather than the story writing in itself. However, once started, the story was so magical, thrilling, humorous, it carried me effortlessly til near the end. The bit just before the ending seems a little convoluted, maybe due to the excitement of me trying to finish it before nursery run, I had to tell myself to slow down and really read it to “untangle” it.

I also found certain bits familiar although not the same as the writing of Harry Potters series. I can see that it is published in 2017, I would say it is probably inspired by the magical world. It has been a long time since I last read anything fantasy, I wouldn’t find the familiarity off putting as it is bound to happen, just like within romance/ chic lit/ crime novels.

However, I suspect the much younger version of me (which is the target reader of this book) would totally enjoy it because the adult me is looking forward to reading the rest of the books in this series.

Thank you @author.denight and @storiesuntoldpress for this digital review copy in exchange for my honest review.

I was very pleasantly surprised by this one. The world building was lovely and I felt like the use of many magical objects really added to the story without getting confusing.

It did give some Harry Potter vibes, which I enjoyed because who doesn’t love HP?! Ivy’s character was whimsical and adventurous and easy to become connected to.

I felt that the writing was perfect for the intended Middle School audience. It was exactly like the fantasy books I enjoyed reading at the age. Overall, lovely read ♥️

This would be such a great read for a Harry Potter fan! I found the world intriguing and full of interesting characters and creatures. It was fast paced, but easy enough to keep straight.

The Crowns of Croswald follows the story of Ivy Lovely, a 16 year old who gets thrust into a world of magic after learning who she really is. This is a charming sort of coming of age story about Ivy finding her power, and her place in her new world,
This is a fast paced book which I like when it comes to fantasy, however the world building left a lot to the imagination. I felt a bit detached from the fantasy world and more into the characters. Ivy and her group of friends are really great to get to know throughout the book, and following Ivys journey as she discovers her powers and place in her new world is really fun.
There were a lot of parallels to Harry Potter, some of which were very close parallels, however I don't feel that any of that took away from the story. What I like the most about this book is that even though it's marketed as middle grade I feel like people of all ages that enjoy fantasy will enjoy this book. It's very charming! I have 2 kids that will really enjoy this book, and I'm very excited to share it with them!

Thank you stories untold press and Netgalley for my copy of this book!

3.5 stars. This was an enjoyable and uniquely magical book, and I plan to read the next in the series! While it wasn’t unputdownable, it held my attention and I was invested in the characters throughout.

The Crowns of Croswald
By: D.E. Night

This book was magical! Full of whimsy, intricate characters and a story line that kept me turning the pages. This is definitely a young adult novel, but just like Harry Potter, it can be enjoyed by all audiences.

I loved meeting Ivy and following her adventures and misadventures and everything in between! I loved meeting all the brilliant characters Ivy meets along the way, too.

The world of Croswald is one I’d love to visit again! I look forward to more by this author!

Many thanks to D.E. Night, Stories Untold Press, and Goodreads for a digital copy of this book. I read and reviewed this voluntarily and opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

📕 REVIEW: The Crowns of Croswald

⭐: ☆☆☆☆ / 5
👩🏻‍💻 Author: @author.denight
📃 # Pages: 249

Okay but I love the cover!!!I actually really enjoyed this! I was a bit unsure to start with but it quickly drew me in. This is the first book in the series (which I absoloutely will read!) And it kinda gave me a bit of Tangled vibes with a lot of similarities to Harry Potter (very similar actually). This was a very easy read and the writing was enjoyable.

I definitely think this is something I would have given 5 stars to if I was younger (as this is middle-grade fiction) but was still an awesome read!

The story follows Ivy Lovely (16) who was banished from all she knew and was taken to Croswald. The Halls of Ivy, the school where she would learn more about her family and herself then she ever new before.

*I would like to thank @storiesuntoldpress for reaching out to me to read this novel via @netgalley And also, a special thank you to @author.denight

Thanks to the author's P.A. for reaching out and sending me a copy of The Crowns of Croswald.

This is my honest unbiased review on Crowns of Croswald, I started reading with little knowledge of the book or the series. So I was pleasantly surprised.
This is a whimsical novel, the world building and the creativity was great. The author did really well with building a whole new world with magical creatures that made the fantasy seem real,
However the book does feature a magic school and it really does read like a Harry Potter novel - not just because of the school but because some of the events read a bit close. I was an avid HP fan so maybe that's why I noticed.
Take away the similarities, you've still got a well written novel. The characters were all thought out and each had a grit to them that made them stand off the page.
The author's writing style, with attention to detail definitely made this a creative and magical read.

This book took me back to the years when I was obsessed with Harry Potter, The Famous Five, The Chronicles of Narnia and so many more adventure packed books that made me fall in love with reading.

This book is very well written and an amazing book for budding readers to get lost in. the world is full of magic, scaldrons (dragons) and students going about life. If I had to compare it to a book, then I’d say Harry Potter is a good fit. There are similarities but the book itself is different with a different world.

I feel like this is a book that can be enjoyed by a child as well as an adult. I would definitely love to read more of this world and I have three more books to do so!! The only thing that bothered me a bit were the long chapters so, it was a bit difficult to just dive right into this book but, as I read more I didn’t notice the length of the chapters as much.
I would like to acknowledge and thank netgally, the author and the publisher for a DRC.

This is a very traditional fantasy book. An orphan with a bigger destiny, a magic world, a dark evil force, and a few mysteries here and there. That being said, it works perfectly.

The writing is whimsical and flowery, and things like the world-building or the magic system are perfect. The author did a great job in that regard. How the magic works, the creatures, the settings, everything is very well described. That being said, I felt that pacing was a little bit slow at the beginning, but as the story progressed it really cached up.

What really made the difference to me were the characters, pretty much all of them are interesting. Ivy as an MC it's a great POV to learn about the world and I really enjoyed how the romantic interest was handled, it felt very organic -and let's not forget most of the characters are teens so their behavior feels "age-appropriate". I wish some characters -like the Selector- had more development but I guess it's a nice starting point.

All things considered, I wished the enemy, the Dark Queen, wouldn't be present in person in the first book, because once we saw her, a part of her evil charm and dark presence disappeared.

Overall, it's a very solid first book and a great first step in a fantasy saga.

I received this book for free from the publisher (Stories Untold) in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a cute story, full of adventure and magic. Ivy gets whisked away to a magical school for royalty and aspiring scrivenists (royal scribes), learning how to use their magic and perfect their craft. We get pulled into the adventure when Ivy is in one of her classes and something goes wrong, which then opens Pandora's box and she's got to figure out why it happened and who she saw and why is this person significant to her. The end definitely leaves it open to dive into the second book and I definitely will continue this journey with Ivy and her friends!

The verbiage is a little difficult to keep up, just the different names for different objects, creatures, people with titles, ect. But definitely a great story for middle grade!

*I received a free ebook copy from the publisher for an honest review*

If you are missing the magical world of Hogwarts, this is the book for you!! Ivy Lovely is a scaldrony maid at Plum Castle, an orphan with no magical abilities, or so she thinks. Her best friend at Plum Castle is a dwarf and like all orphans is treated horribly by her superiors.

Getting kicked out of the castle having to leave her dwarf best friend behind, she travels beyond the bounds of the Slurry. Once she crosses out of the Slurry her powers awaken and she soon finds herself on her way to the magical school. At the Halls of Ivy she will learn how to be a scrivenist. A scrivenist wields magic through quills, yes, you read that right, quills!

As I read this delightful story I couldn't help but smile at her bravery, and her adventurous spirit. Ivy is trying to solve the mystery that seems to surround her. Her nightly dreams of a man trying to speak with her, why she has the powers she has and why her lessons seems to go wrong for her. Her inquisitiveness of course gets her in all heaps of trouble.

Although Ivy is sixteen, she seemed a little younger to me. This book read more like a Middle Grade read than a YA read but overall it was a great story, wish it could have been a little longer. Looking forward to the next book!

I was contacted by stories untold press on my Instagram asking if I would like to try this book for free in exchange to give my honest opinion and I jumped at the chance.

It's not my sort of go to genre of book so it was nice to try something different,I did enjoy the book it gave a sort of harry potter vibe but in its own individual/querky way which was Great. The only reason I didn't give it a five star as it did take a while for me to get into and so much was going on that I got slightly confused of where I got to and what was happening which is a bit of a shame.
It was great how detailed everything was so helped give a clear image in your imagination of how things and characters looked. Which is good in a book as I like to be able to picture everything whilst I'm reading.

Title: The Crowns of Croswald
Author: D. E. Night
Genre: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Mystery, Adventure
Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis:
The Crowns of Croswald encourages young readers to investigate themes such as embracing their own magic, exploring their true selves, and confronting evil head-on. The Crowns of Croswald series is a magical thrill ride through a fully formed world with dragons, magical quills, potions, and mythical creatures, hailed by Kirkus Reviews as "an action-packed treat [...] with a relatable heroine facing obstacles in a captivating world of magic and mystery," and called a new classic by readers.
Ivy Lovely is 16 years old and has no clue who she is or what powers she possesses. She eventually finds a whole new realm of enchantment and intrigue when she traverses a magical boundary. She learns more about her hidden past, magical blood, and the power of Croswald's mystical stones as she makes friends that will last a lifetime—and save her life. But not everything is as it seems: a tragic history and an evil Queen jeopardize all that is good.

Plot and pacing:
I thought the book was a little bit slow at the beginning, but as I read more the pacing also catches up with the turns and twists in regards to the plot. The mysterious, whimsical, and addictive themes are well-developed and entertaining. The hidden pasts and unanswered questions lingered long enough to build up my curiosity over this book. Personally, this is my second time reading a middle-grade book, and I actually love the plot so much I keep on reading it every day. Because this is a middle-grade novel, it touches on many real-world issues without being harsh for the younger crowd, which include grief, bullying, racism, prejudice, and abandonment. As an adult reader, I could see the profound meaning behind the cleverly crafted world in this book.

Writing and setting:
The writing is mellifluous and flowery, which is quite a hit or a miss for young readers. I, as an adult reader, find this book to be quite verbose which is taxing my experience. However, I understand that new vocabulary is a great practice for me to improve my reading. However, the setting makes up for it. It was full of illustrative and picturesque world-building that left me in awe. The author did a great job in describing the things that need to be imagined by the readers. Some might find it a bit difficult in the beginning, but after a while, the writing and setting are quite easy to navigate through.

Characters:
Ivy is a protagonist who appeals to me because she is inquisitive and whimsical, as well as shy and valiant. She went through a roller-coaster of adventurous rides ever since she was a scaldrony maid. She was barred against doing what she loves the most; to read and draw. However, Ivy aspires to attend the Halls of Ivy, a school where royals learn to control the magical stones in their crowns and sqwinches train to become scrivenists. I also love a dragon that she brought with her after being fired from her scaldrony maid job, Humboldt. He’s just super adorable and always there for her. Ivy also has some friends which are Fyn, the guy who helps her and went through a wind whirl of adventures, and Rebecca, a loyal friend who is from a royal family.

Overall:
The Crowns of Croswald is a middle-grade novel, a gripping adventure emboldened enchantment and charming imaginary world, suitable with readers of Harry Potter, Narnia, and Alice in Wonderland who relish in a magical world full of the wondrous fixture.

The Crowns of Croswald ~ D.E. Night
Published 7/21/2017
Read to 2/21-2/25/22

🅾🆅🅴🆁🅰🅻🅻 🆁🅰🆃🅸🅽🅶
⭐⭐⭐.5 stars

👩🏻👨🏼‍🦰Characters = 7/10
🗺🎪Setting/Atmosphere = 7/10
✍🏼🧬Style/Structure = 5/10
🎞🔮Plot = 7/10
💡💌Themes = 7/10
🎯🔎Purpose/Focus = 7/10
🧠🫀Internal Response = 6/10
👍🏻👎🏻Enjoyment/Satisfaction = 7/10
🗣💬Recommend to Others = 7/10
👄🎧Narration = N/A

Thank you to Stories Untold and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts & opinions shared are my own.

This book brought me back to my days of reading Harry Potter and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe with the chosen one and unknown power tropes. I adored following Ivy on her journey of discovering and perfecting her magical abilities. The author developed a good magical system, an atmospheric setting at/around Halls of Ivy, and interesting magical creatures.

The book started off slow for me, was predictable in some places, and was confusing in other places, but it all came together later in the book.

I’d recommend this book to middle grade readers who love magic, adventure, and a strong female main character.

The book was great, but I did not feel it was time for this type of fiction. I'll be continuing reading it in another period of time and for sure I'll love it!