This book was so magical and definitely something I would have loved reading as a kid! (For any of you fellow Harry Potter fans out there, you would also love this!)

I loved how whimsical and imaginative it was, it was full of action and of course magic! The characters are all unique, and the writing style and descriptions of the world were incredible.

I would definitely categorize it as a YA read, and think younger reads would connect more with Ivy! So, as mentioned above if you are a YA reader or love Harry Potter, I would definitely recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

A captivating and fun fantasy that takes us on an adventure to Croswald and the Halls of Ivy, a magical boarding school. Our main character Ivy Lovely ends up at the prestigious school after 16 years of being a Scaldron maid at the Castle of Plum, just outside of the magical boundary. Ivy is a likeable, strong-willed heroine who likes getting herself in to trouble (all for the common good!) Throughout the book she discovers friendship, romance and the power of her own magic. This is a book full of adventure and surprises.

I enjoyed the pace, the action started pretty quickly and kept me engaged throughout. I got Harry Potter vibes and similarities but the story was still unique and magic in it’s own way. The magical system is very creative and full of interesting details.

I adored the characters, especially Ivy and her friend and roommate Rebecca. But more so, the scenery and the magical creatures were captivating. I felt like I was in Croswald with the characters and totally enjoyed getting lost in Ivy’s world.

The books is for YA/Middle School age but as an adult I enjoyed it nonetheless. This is the first in a four book series that I’m so glad to have discovered, and I loved that the ending left me wanting more. Now I can’t wait to continue the series.

Thank you to Stories Untold Press and NetGalley for providing an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much to the author, publisher, and Net Galley!!

This book was such a fun, whimsical middle grade page turner read. I honestly couldn’t put this book down. If you love books with adventure, magic, magical creatures, and mystery this is definitely a book for you. The world building was great and with a unique magic system.

This book did give me Harry Potter vibes, but still at the same time was so different, unique and wonderful! I can’t wait to devour the rest of the series and find out what happens next for Ivy Lovely.

This charming and magical read follows Ivy Lovely from her post as a kitchen maid (taking care of the dragons who cook the food) to the magical school, Halls of Ivy, where she will learn to assist royal magical families. It took me about a third of the book before I was truly invested, but once I was in, I was really in! Ivy makes a couple of good friends that she adventures with, in order to satisfy her unending curiosity. Much to the chagrin of her professors and head of school, this requires a fair amount of rule-breaking. She attracts the attention of an enemy, who by the end of the book, almost wrecks the whole school! The ending was a nice little twist (bringing back the first character from the first chapter, finally!), but the cliffhanger was even more “cliffhangery” than usual, to the point of feeling quite abrupt.

Similar to Harry Potter, it seems to follow a school year’s worth of adventures, includes magical creatures and potions and names for things we non-magical folk have never heard of, and also has a focus on the themes of friendship and making things right. I was a little confused how Ivy seemed to me more like a 12 year old than the 16 year old she’s written to be, but maybe that’s just to make her more relatable to the middle grade readers for whom the author is writing.

All in all, I’m glad I pushed through the first few chapters to learn to love Ivy and her friends, and see her save the school. Now when will we get to see what becomes of Ivy next?!

☆☆/5 This book was definitely not for me. It was a combination of Alice in Wonderland and Harry Potter. It felt a little bit rushed and the writing style is similar to Sherlock Holmes books. I loved the plot and the characters which reminded me of Alice in wonderland (not my favorite ). The magical air surrounding everything with mystery need some work but it could be just me. I usually give a book a second chance but this was definitely not for me so I will not be coming back to this series sorry it didn't pull enough to keep me going

The Crowns of Croswald was the first Middle-Grade Fantasy book I have read in a while, and I loved it. It was such a beautifully written coming-of-age story.

After leaving the place she grew up in, with a scauldron (dragon) in hand, Ivy attends a boarding school to learn how to control her powers. This boarding school is called the Halls of Ivy, which led me to believe something else was astray. The Halls of Ivy is a school for royals and scrivenists learning about their magic and how to work together. I loved the world that the author has created as it felt refreshing in terms of magical boarding schools! In the beginning, I was thinking it felt very similar to Harry Potter, but it quickly becomes its own tale.

‘To not let fear stop you from doing what you want most.’

Ivy attends this school but unexplainable things keep happening to her, with the help of her new friends, she starts investigating the situation. In one of her first lessons, something goes wrong and soon Ivy is the only one to remember what happened. I don’t want to spoil anything else in this book as it is such a fun read. Ivy meets various characters who all play a part in her experience at the school. My favourites were Rebecca and Fyn. Rebecca is a very likeable character and she has been sent to the school as a royal to learn about her power that is gifted to her through her crown. However, she decides to rebel against her mother’s wishes and train to become a scrivenist instead. Fyn is already a student at the school and seems drawn to Ivy. I loved their little friendship/relationship thing that was going on, and knew that it would have been something I would have adored if I was reading this at 12!

‘For years I have waited! But you’re finally home!’

Despite being a Middle-Grade book, The Crowns of Croswald transcends ages and I believe that those that love Harry Potter would devour this. It was a timeless read filled with adventure, friendship and learning about yourself.

Book Review - The Crowns of Croswald

Ivy Lovely is 16 and she has no idea who she is - or what her powers could be. When she crosses a magical boundary, she discovers a whole new world of enchantment and mystery. Making friends that will last a lifetime - and save her life - she steps into her own lifetime and discovers more about her hidden past, magical blood , and the power of Croswald’s mystical stones. But all is not well: a dark history and an evil Queen threatens all that is good. Will Ivy’s bravery and wit be enough?

This is a middle grade book that had me hooked from the beginning. With beautiful illustrations at the beginning of each chapter and wonderful world building I was transported to another land. I haven’t read a middle grade book for a long time and I forgot how delightful it is to really imagine all the fantastic descriptions of shops and streets and the amazing magic school. The book is well written, flows well, and builds the story in great detail. I loved the characters who I felt were my friends by the end of the book. It did remind me a lot of the Harry Potter books as similarly to those books the author has developed a whimsical world and an adventure that I believe is set to be spread over 4 books. Well worth a read and a lovely one to read with children.

Thank you to @netgalley and @storiesuntold for my ebook copy
4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A magical wonderland full of mystery and royalty and friendship! Ivy Lovely's story is wonderful in every way and she has the most magical friends and history! When she first gets to go to Ivy School, that moment reminded me a lot of Harry Potter, when he first got to Hogwarts.
I loved every bit of this book and can't wait to read the rest! Hopefully, will learn more about Fyn's story, he's such an amazing character and so intriguing! Highly recommend!

Cute, whimsical, and fun. This is a magical story (series) that really puts you in the mind of the Harry Potter series, just on a lighter note. Lots of enjoyable, unforgettable characters that many middle schoolers will love. This is book 1 of a 4 book series, book 4 hasn’t been released yet.

Thanks to @netgalley @danielastoriesuntoldpress and @author.denight for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Fast read and kept me intrigued throughout the book. The characters were very interesting. I finished the book quickly.

ivy Lovely is a 16 year old put upon kitchen maid in a castle hidden behind a magic suppressing barrier. When she loses her place she ventures past the barrier with a kitchen Dragon in tow and suddenly finds herself in the midst of an adventure. Before she knows it she is at the Halls of Ivy, a school where the students learn to use their magical powers and Ivy finds she has an enemy in the Dark Queen.

Ivy is a strong character that I think will appeal to readers. As she seeks the answers to the mysteries that surround her, all sorts of adventures befall her. A delightful story of friendship and magic, with a budding romance thrown in, this is an excellent start to a fantasy series for readers aged 9 to 13. I enjoyed reading it and will be introducing my 10 year old granddaughter to the world of Croswald.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Stories Untold and the author for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

FIRST IMPRESSION:

I was approached by the publisher to review this book and I jumped at the chance since I have been in dire need of some fun middle-grade fantasy to lighten up my reading mood. The blurb certainly promised magic and adventure, and reviews likened it to the Harry Potter series, so I was excited to get started!

THE STORY:

'The Crowns of Croswald' follows sixteen-year-old Ivy Lovely who gets kicked out of her scaldron maid duties (read the book to find out!) straight into a magical boarding school. The odd thing is that Ivy was never supposed to attend any school of magic and now strange happenings are cropping up all around her. The first book in the series follows Ivy's first year at the prestigious Halls of Ivy, navigating magic, friendships, young love and the terrifying clutches of the Dark Queen.

THE CHARACTERS:

Ivy Lovely is a great main character because her inquisitiveness and bravery served well to keep me entertained as well as intrigued by everything that was happening to her. There are moments when I thought she was a tad bit too reckless but then I reminded myself that she is sixteen and fighting to learn more about her own heritage.

The supporting characters were great fun as well! I cannot stop talking about how much I need a Rebecca right now! She is such a well-written best friend and kept the humour going! Ivy befriends Fyn and there is this budding love between them, but, honestly, I was more invested in all the friendships!

THE PLOT:

Anyone who compared this to Harry Potter was absolutely right because the plots are pretty much similar. I was hoping there would be more twists and turns along the way, but the plot twists were predictable and the plotline was cliché.

Night still managed to keep up an impressive air of magic and mystery throughout the book, so I was not bored at all. There were bits of the story that did feel a bit rushed, especially past the halfway point, which was a shame because I was really interested in reading about her everyday magical school life!

THE WORLD-BUILDING:

The imaginative world-building was the real star of this story and I was left wanting to learn more about this crazy cool universe that D.E. Night has created. I was pleasantly surprised that the world-building was completely different to the Harry Potter universe, keeping to its own rules and magical people!

The Halls of Ivy itself were so interesting to me! The classes were such fun to read about and the shenanigans that kept happening were just laugh-out-funny at times. Night really captured the magical boarding school mood for this series, so I was really disappointed when the plot sort of rushed at the halfway point.

The magic system was an interesting twist on the traditional witchy concepts. There were two systems of Royals and Scrivenists. The Royals depended on the gems on their crowns for their powers while the Scrivenists depended on their quills. This is the nitty-gritty of it, so it's a lot more complicated and Night does a wonderful job of expanding on her magic system.

Since the reader didn't get to see much of this new world beyond the Halls of Ivy, I feel like there's so much potential for the next three books.

THE THEMES:

'The Crowns of Croswald' explored the themes of friendship, school life, courage, and self-discovery commonly seen in many middle-grade books. I loved the good ol' "gang of friends embarking on an adventure to fight evil" theme of the book because it was done in a fun and whimsical manner.

Though the characters in the book are a bit old for a middle-grade audience (usually this is aimed at readers aged eight to twelve), the tone of the book was lighthearted and fun. So, yes I think this book does qualify as middle grade.

Though there are bad guys and Ivy is fighting against a Dark Queen, the darkest theme explored here was bullying. There is a caste system within this magical universe and Ivy, being an ex-maid, faces negative attentions from some of her snobby classmates.

FINAL VERDICT:

'The Crowns of Croswald' is an action-packed middle-grade fantasy that kept me entertained and amused throughout. However, I was not a fan of the predictable plot. I also would have preferred a bit more world-building in the latter half of the book. However, this was still a fun read and I would recommend it to anyone who loves magical boarding schools, Harry Potter and magical creatures!

The first part of the book is very confusing. The preface is a completely different setting from the first chapter and is very discombobulating. The characters are hard to get into as well. You are dropped into this world and nothing is explained very well, so I was very confused.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with an ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Initially the book was really confusing. I felt like I was really just thrown into this world without much context.

A lot of the confusion was cleared up and explained over time, but it would have been nice to know a little more in the beginning.

I also would have liked to read more about some of the scenes instead of some stuff being implied.

Overall I think the book has an interesting concept and take on magic, that has a lot of potential as the series goes on.

This is such a fun middle grade story about a magical school. It was so whimsical and there were so many magical beings within this world. Very cute!

I received a copy of the ebook from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review. This was a fun read. It was magical and full of whimsy and mystery. I enjoyed the world building and the magical system was great. It was complicated enough to be interesting, but not too complicated that I got lost along the way. The main character was sweet, though a little misguided at times, and too trusting. Though, aren't all main characters at one point or another. I felt like The Crowns of Croswald was a mixture between a very popular magical school and the Lunar Chronicles book, Cinder. I don't want to say too much more, because I don't want to give anything away. I enjoyed this book, but looking back on it, it felt like it carried a lot of similar elements to the other popular magical school. I would like to continue the series and see where things lead, and if it forges a new path. It definitely peaked my interest enough for me to want to pick up book 2.

Crown of Croswald
By D.E. Night

1.5/5 stars ⭐️

I received a free copy of this book from the author/publisher in return for an honest review

First off, let me talk about the positives. The world building is great. It’s magical, it’s whimsical and absolutely full of cute creatures. I liked the idea of scrivenists and scaldrons, and enjoyed how Ivy ended up taking one with her. The Forgotten Room was also a brilliant idea. It was a believable world and a great setting for an adventure.

Unfortunately I DNF at 72%. I hate to do this when I’ve been given a free copy but I found myself skimming massive sections to get it done. I have limited time and don’t want to spend it on a book I’m not enjoying.

I think the problem was the character development and the pacing. Sometimes it felt like massive info dumps that were just too much too soon. And a big issue was the distinct lack of tension. When Ivy was rushing off to find certain items or investigate places she would set off and then just be there. There was no anticipation or threat. No opportunity to get excited.

I felt like I got to know Ivy a little but no one else. I’ve seen reviews that compare the characters to Harry Potter characters and I can see that but don’t think it’s necessarily problematic. My 10 year old daughter wouldn’t mind a book heavily inspired by Harry Potter as she loves that world, but I think she would need to become invested in the characters. There was no opportunity to fall in love with anyone.

I hope that the following books are more immersive as the world really is wonderful.

I was kindly sent a copy of this book by Stories Untold via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book and the wonderful world it created. It did take me a while to get used to all of the Croswald vocab. The book has been frequently compared to Harry Potter however I think D.E.Night has done a wonderful job of creating a completely different magical world and I didn’t once find myself comparing it to HP. I loved how imaginative all of the creatures were and the character development particularly of Ivy and Rebecca. The only reason I’ve deducted a star is I found the passage of time really unclear throughout the book. At times I wasn’t sure if it was all happening in a week or longer until a timeframe was mentioned around 60% through. Whilst this book is aimed at middle grade children I thoroughly enjoyed it and think anyone can enjoy it irrespective of age. I want to read the rest now!

Thank you to Net Galley, the publicist and author for the chance to review this book.

First off, I should start by stating that this book is obviously aimed at a different age range to me - middle school, which I think is around the age of 11/12? I am 24, so it's worth noting that someone of the targeted age range may have different thoughts on this book.

When I was asked to review this, I was excited by the thought of it. It is not something I would have ever picked up myself, but I was looking forward to immerse myself in a new fictional world and reliving my childhood. I was particularly interested, although equal parts sceptical, by its comparison to Harry Potter - my favourite book series to ever be written. Unfortunately, it just fell a little flat for me.

This book follows Ivy Lovely, a 16 year old orphan who discovers she is magical, attends a boarding school for and gets into all kinds of trouble. Sound familiar?

It felt very much like this book was trying to be Harry Potter - and didn't quite make it. The author's writing style is very descriptive and there was definitely some imagination in there, but it just didn't grip me. It took 4 days to read which is a long time for me for this length book, because I didn't find myself picking it up in spare time. It did pick up towards the end but even then the ending felt a little rushed. Perhaps it was its comparisons and similarity to the Harry Potter series that spoilt it to me - as a book in its own right, I may have had a different view but I could not ignore its similarities and sadly, it just could not compare.

I would like to see more from this author as she absolutely has some real skill for writing and imagination - perhaps down a slightly different, more unique route. Unfortunately, the wonderful J.K Rowling has made it very difficult for anyone trying to write a series about a magical boarding school so I applaud D.E Night in her bravery to even attempt it! I would definitely read an alternative series by this author, but probably won't reach for more of the Croswald series

This book was full of fantasy, mythical creatures, a magical school and an awesome protagonist, Ivy. I loved reading about Ivy and her adventures throughout this story. The description of the magical world as well as all the magic aspects were very well done.

In the beginning, I was a little unsure what was going on, but as the story continues, you get immersed into the magical world and story.

As a 6th grade reading teacher, I think this would be great for my higher-level readers or the upper middle school grades. I think any students who love Harry Potter would love this story as well. This book is also a series which I love for my students because when they enjoy a story, I want them to be able to keep reading as much as possible.

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.