This story sparked a nostalgic nerve with me, a young orphan finding out that they are in procession of great magic and is spirited away to a magical Hall of learning. Ivy Lovely finds the things she’d been dreaming of; the friends she’s wanted, the chance to gain knowledge, the halls of the very castle she’s been exploring in her dreams and possibly most important- a place to belong.
The twists and turns of Ivy’s adventures are one I’ll not soon forget.

“They, I am certain, will come to find you soon.”
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This book felt like being back in the world of Harry Potter. A young girl, Ivy, who’s been a maid within a castle has always wished to have magic. She’s befriended a dwarf that has told her, so many stories of the world and all it’s magic. Until one day, everything changes for Ivy. She crosses over the fields and is brought to a school for magic. Things aren’t making sense to Ivy. Something is off, but what could it be. Does Ivy really possess magic or is this all some kind of crazy dream? Dive into this wonderful world and find out.
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This book is very much young adult. There is absolutely no romance. It focuses solely on Ivy’s first year at school and all the oddities happening around her. The POV in this book was one of my least favorite things. It would start in Ivy’s pov and then randomly switch to third person. Sometimes it would randomly switch to another character and then back to Ivy. It got confusing at times. The story itself moves very well within the school as Ivy is searching for answers, but any action scenes were sometimes rushed or lacking details. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. If you enjoy young adult adventure and magic I suggest giving this book a try.

Thank you to D.E. Knight and Daniela at Stories Untold Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review!

I thought that this story had a lot of potential and I really did enjoy my time reading it. It is fairly fast-paced and has Iikeable characters and an intriguing plot that kept my attention throughout my time reading it

That said, I did think that it fell short of what it could have been. I had a really hard time understanding the world-building portion of the book. This may have partially bee because I dont often read fantasy novels -someone who reads more fantasy novels than I do might have been able to grasp some of the key aspects of the world that Knight creates in this book, but it really did take me some time. In particular, I didn't feel like the explanation of a scrivenist (one of the two types of people with magical abilities) was very clear. I know that when authors write stories such as this the goal is to "show"
the reader rather than "tell." But I could've used a bit more tell in order to more clearly understand certain parts of this novel.

I also felt ike the passage of time in this story was too inconsistent. Sometimes, a single day spans several chapters, but in one part, the chapter literally opens with, "seven moons had past" - when the story in question takes place over the duration at a school year, that's basically the entire school year that gets skipped over! It came off as trying to meet a page restriction by cutting out the entire middle of the novel. I would've preferred to have seen the events take place a bit more evenly over the span of time. I think that would've felt more natural.

One thing that thought D.E. Kright did really well was that this felt like an original story. It can be hard to read books about magical schools without immediately thinking of Hogwarts. There were parts that reminded me of Hogwarts, but to the greatest extent possible with the category of magical schools, this felt very original. I think that's a huge achievement for an author writing in this genre!

Ivy Lovely gets kicked out of the castle she works at as a scullery maid but as she steps over the boundaries of the fields surrounding it, she feels a tremor. She then finds herself collected and taken to the Halls of Ivy to learn all there is about magic but during her time at the school she soon starts to discover more about the family she never had.
I’m not normally into this genre and I had heard very mixed reviews due to its similarities to a certain well known wizarding series... However I was pleasantly surprised! The descriptions were magical (literally) and the way this world was built up really complemented the story. The writing makes you vividly imagine exactly what Ivy is seeing and doing and it almost catapults you into the story with her.
You know little about Ivys background but as the story goes on you start to get hints for where she really came from and who her family is just as she is getting the answers herself. You start to guess the unanswered questions with her and it really makes you intrigued for what will happen next. I really grew to like Ivy and her new friends at the school and wonder what the future holds for them. The story is fast paced and full of excitement and I would recommend it to any young reader, a lovely series for a new generation who is past the Harry Potter years.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a magical, fun read. The character development and world building were great. I liked that everything wrapped up at the end and no bows were left untied.
I will be purchasing a physical copy to share with my kids when they are a bit older.

If you are a fan of Harry Potter and want to magic to live on, you should read this. Though the story lacked  a bit of originality because some parts greatly reminded me of Harry Potter, it still felt different and I still enjoyed the book a lot.
 
The introduction showed great world building. We were introduced to Ivy, the main character and the magical world in a way that piques our imagination. Dragons, dwarves, cabby drivers, castles, porcupines, potions, quills – all so creative and imaginative in setting up this Town and magical school. Although I felt like we were missing a few pages because the story started out slow with the world building and then suddenly she is breaking the rules and doing adventures. While I was reading it, I felt like  missed something because all of a sudden Ivy is this daring girl.
 
The magic system is really interesting. I especially enjoyed the part with the Hollow Shaft. I would’ve loved to see more of what the royals and what the scrivenists could do. But, maybe in the next books there’d be more details.

This book is the first in a series, even though I enjoyed it, I don’t think I will carry on with the rest. This isn’t just the kind of books for me now, maybe if I was younger I would’ve enjoyed it more. This is perfect for kids at heart!

*I was given a copy of this book for free, to review. All thoughts are mine and not influenced by the publisher.

I loved the story description of this book, sadly it took me a long time to actually get into it, i found it confusing in parts, but once I did I did enjoy it.

I think overall it was a brilliant story, bringing such fun magical mystery to it. A Harry Potter vibe!

*Copy provided by netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

A fun middle grade novel, the start of a new magical series. The worldbuilding is divine and I enjoy the magic greatly. However, there appear to be some plot holes here and there and some of the character development and plot points were not as interesting as the rest of the world and magic. Still, enjoyable.

I absolutely enjoyed this book! It’s marketed as a middle grades fantasy, which isn’t a genre I am usually drawn to, but this book can appeal to all ages. The world building is flawless and the setting was somewhat reminiscent of Hogwarts, to me. That is NEVER a bad thing, in my opinion!
Ivy’s story reminds the reader that our self worth is not always reflected in worldly possessions. Even when we live a humble existence, we can still be destined for greatness.
The Crowns of Croswald is an ongoing series, with the fourth book’s pub date just around the corner.
This first book in the series gets a definite recommendation from me for anyone who is into the magical fantasy genre. An absolute must if, like me, you have a child who falls into that middle grades category. My son and I will definitely be finishing this series together!
Thank you to author D.E Night, Untold Stories Press, and NetGalley for the free digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Crowns of Croswald is a pretty magical read with interesting new creatures and a never-seen-before magic system set in a whole new world. However, my enjoyment of the book was greatly hindered by the fact that many of the magical elements, as well as the plot, were just too similar to Harry Potter & The Philosopher's Stone, and I found myself unable to fully immerse into the world because of this.

This was a great book! I received a digital copy of the Crowns of Croswald in exchange for an honest review.
This book introduces a young girl named Ivy who works in a kitchen with Scaldron dragons. When one of the dragons gets sick Ivy gets kicked out on the street and must venture on her own away from her work and her home. She is picked up by a cabby who has been looking for her and Ivy is told that she has magic and will be attending a magical school. He drops her off to buy supplies. But once she gets to the school, the adventure and magic really begins! This book immediately pulled me in and I loved the characters and the story. I love books that have characters with powers and magical schools! This is a book that middle graders, teens, and adults should enjoy 😊

As a not English native speaker, it was really hard to read this book. It has a good history and concept but it didn't caught me at all. This book even made me fall in a reading block!!

I love the premise of the world and magic system in this book. Infused with a lovely little love story this shaped up to be a beautiful well rounded read. Even starting off a little slow for my normal taste it ended up being well worth the build up.

Thank you D.E. Night for allowing me a copy through NetGalley for my honest review.

I was looking forward to reading this, I don't normally read middle grade novels but the story sounded perfect for me. I did not finish it. I was somewhat disappointed. It almost felt like it needed to be edited more. The language and writing read a lot younger than I was expecting. I just found it hard to really get into the story because of that, it kept pulling me out of it. But you know it would be perfect for like someone in primary school who is starting their dive into 'bigger' books.

For fans of HP, magic boarding schools, and lost princesses who don't know they are queens... I'm not a huge fantasy reader but there is something about magic that is so fascinating.

What a fantastically fun middle-years read! As an adult I really enjoyed The Crowns of Croswald and will absolutely pick up the rest of the series in the future, and I know that 14 year old me would have obsessed over the characters, world and magical story.

The series was compared to Harry Potter to me which I think is a decent comparison. What captured me early on was the fun language. The author uses such colourful prose and really is artful with the picture of fun words painted on the page.

I enjoyed the characters, world and especially the domesticated dragons - can’t imagine cooking my food on a frying pan in a dragons mouth haha!!

This type of science fiction isn’t exactly my first choice when it comes to reading fiction however I was reached out by the publisher so I decided to give it a shot & I actually found myself enjoying it. It’s a middle school grade reading level & since I have a 12 year old sister her and I read it together. We really enjoyed Ivy’s character the best. The poor girl went through SO MUCH & found a way to persevere through it. I thought that she was a good role model for young readers (even though she technically got kicked out of school! LOL) I also enjoyed the magical concept behind the story line, it gave the whole book a “Harry Potter” kind of vibe but still kept it original with certain qualities such as the magical stones. Overall, I think kids would really enjoy it!

Happy Reading everybody!

*I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Thank you so much to Net Galley and Stories Untold, the publisher, for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

I gave this book 3.7 stars.

y grows up as a maid and is constantly mistreated by her supervisor her whole life. However, at 16, she escapes the castle where she worked and finds out she has magical abilities when she's given an invitation to enter a famous magical school, where she's meant to unveil many secrets and mysteries.

I saw this as a late middle grade/early YA fantasy story.

The writing style was appropriate for the target audience and sometimes gravitated towards the lower end. It made this book a quick and easy read without being too simplistic.

The story is full of well-known tropes, such as "the chosen one", "the evil queen", "the servant that ends up being the heir", etc., which makes the plot quite predictable although you never really know what's going to end up happening until the last chapters. This may be biased given that I was expecting something completely different or the previous information to be misleading.

However, I did enjoy reading this and it took me back to my adolescent years. I would have given the world to have a female chosen one badass heroine's story for emotional support and validation. Ivy is not perfect; she makes mistakes and is too sassy at times, which gets her into trouble, but she's real and doesn't really need a partner's love to succeed, but friendship.

I feel I still need an explanation to how certain things were too easy they didn't make sense even in a fantasy story, such as her friendships and her winning over the bully.

The world building was quite well done and I could vividly imagine every character and place described throughout the story, including the colours.

If you want a fast-paced, tropey, and beautiful fantasy story with a happy ending, this book is for you. It warms the heart and puts a smile upon your face.

Let me know in the comments if you're interested in reading this, what was the last ARC that put a smile upon your face and what you think about books like this one.

The Crowns of Croswald

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, as I sunk into Ivy’s world, discovering the magic as she herself did. It was such a comforting book which I cannot wait to share with my daughters.

The main character Ivy really does have a talent for mishaps and misunderstandings which makes for such an interesting story. Especially as she has such a kind heart with genuinely good intentions which makes me hold my breath hoping she will find a way out of each experience.

As I move through the story I crave more information about the other characters in Ivy’s world. For most of the book, I don’t feel like I know them and following Ivy without sharing the experiences she would be having with these characters feels like I’m missing out. She is such a likeable girl that she would surely have some amazing friends around her. As I move through the final chapters I’m excited to start to get to know Rebecca and Fyn more.

I really enjoyed the unfolding of the storyline in little puzzle pieces as each time I learnt a little more I felt a buzz of excitement. When Rimbrick left at the beginning of the story I wanted to know more about where he fit in, and as I neared the end of the story he finally returned leading me towards Ivy’s true identity.

It is not often that you find a series of books that you just know will be regular comfort re-reads. Thank goodness for The Crowns of Croswald, our family loves a good magical story and with a strong, caring and kind female main character we have found new book friends.

The Crowns of Croswald is a fun adventure and magic-filled story for middle-grade readers. While I have seen a few listings calling this YA Fantasy, I would put it firmly in the middle-grade category. I enjoyed this fun trip to a world filled with newly discovered magical abilities for Ivy Lovely, whose story begins while she is working as a scullery maid for a large house. The blending of a Cinderella story retelling with a magical world not unlike Hogwarts was a nice twist on combining "something old and something new". I liked the distinct character development of Ivy and her new friends at school, as well as the cast of supporting characters. The plot was filled with fun adventure with perils for the heroine, but nothing too scary for younger readers.

The pacing was a bit slow for me but I think would be fine for younger readers, especially if this was a book being read to them. Following Ivy's journey from kitchen maid to student of magic, and navigating all of the twists and turns to unveil the mysteries and unknown details made for an engaging read. This is a series I would recommend to friends with kids, with a great first book to kick off the set.