What a magical world full of imaginative creatures, enchanting settings and a Dark Queen. I was pulled in immediately by Ivy, a 16 year old orphan who finds her life’s purpose is much more than she could ever imagine. When faced with uncertainties and evil, Ivy shows bravery and morality. I was rooting for Ivy and the relationships she formed at her new magical boarding school. The descriptive writing transports you to each setting and is perfectly whimsical. If you are looking to get lost somewhere, try The Crowns of Croswald by D.E. Night. It’s pure magic.

I was not sure what to expect going into this one. I do read middle grade books frequently as part of our homeschooling adventures so I jumped at the chance to get this one. This definitely gave me Harry Potter vibes. My son is not quite to that reading level yet but this one he could definitely handle. It’s an interesting story with a cliffhanger ending. Of course there are more in the series, which is helpful for the continuation of the story. I definitely believe that middle grade readers would love this. It explores the magical realm through a young girl that was unaware she had magical powers of her own before she left the place she’d been living in as long as she can remember. There are twists and turns, friendships, enemies, school drama, love interests - it’s a great read!

Leave the world you know and give in to the mystery and magic of Croswold. This series is a must for a middle school media center or a middle-grade fiction collection, perfect for students looking to grow from the Tui T. Sutherlands and elementary fantasy series. This is good coming of age and escapism between the pages of a book that doesn't make you look for the magic, but instead wraps you in it. More books in series.

I really struggled to get into this book and found myself constantly distracted where I usually wouldn’t be. I was really hoping to love this one but I felt like it was a chore to keep picking it up. I have dnf’d for the time being. I may return to it at a later date.

"All Things Scrivenist, hmm? Not a bad place to start."

I was very conflicted when I started this story; primarily because it's a middle grade book and secondarily it's focus on a magic school. I still dove in with wide eyes. I've seen a lot of people compare this book to Harry Potter but I have to say, I don't see it. Yes, when a magical school comes into play it's hard not to draw those similarities but Croswald is anything but Hogwarts.

Ivy is a young maid who feels invisible, she makes food and manages dragons in what appears to be the darkest place on earth. Her entire life though, she's felt she needs more. Having the help of some unlikely mystical companions, Ivy is swept up to go to a mystical school called Croswald. A school that will help her perfect her talents as a scrivenist and learn of the royals all until she is matched to serve a family. I spent a good part of the beginning of the book confused because I felt that Ivy was just constantly left alone and I wanted her to find people to support her quickly. But she finally got there. With her stubbornness to learn even more than her first year knowledge and her insistence in breaking rules; she teams up with several other students who per their trust in her.

I left this book feeling so fulfilled in her journey. Despite the book being targeted for younger readers, I genuinely enjoyed the story and escaping to Croswald when I was reading. Thank you D.E. Knight, Stories Untold, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love books that revolve around magical academics and knew as soon as Untold Stories reached out to me on Instagram that I would be obsessed with this story. The Crowns of Croswals by D.E. Night is a fantastical story of the new age which made me love it even more. My students even loved it and obsessed over the cover in great length. Ivy is so intriguing as a character and everything I think that middle grade readers want to be. She's brave, ambitious, naive, but intricate and I just can't help by love her and continue to root for her throughout the entire story.

Overall, this story was unlike any middle grade novel I've read. I am not the core demographic but I do teach kids who are the age to read this book and they loved it just as much as I did. We are so excited to read the second book in this series.

Thanks you to Netgally and Stories Untold for the chance to read to this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Oh em geeee!!! I was getting Harry Potter feels while reading this! 😍 The book has few interesting twists and turns along the way with superb descriptions! And I felt that the world continued to unfold as the pages turned!!!! While I did enjoy the overall story, the writing just wasn't really my style! 🥺 I kinda felt like I didn't get to know any of the characters in depth! Anyways, I really wanna know what happens in the next installment! ❤️❤️

P.S Thanks to the publisher and author for providing me a free copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!!!! 😃😃

4 stars for me, this was such a magical read. I love childrens fantasy and this hit every mark. The world building was incredible and all the characters were so well thought out and I so wanted to be best friends with the main character. All in all I just loved it so much, honestly I would recommend it to anyone because it is one of the best children's books I have read in a long time. Ivy felt like my best friend by the end of the book! As soon as I can I am going to read book two because I already miss the world this author created!

I am usual a fan of fantasy and, being a big fan of Harry Potter, I hoped to love this book given other reviews I had read. I did enjoy it, however it didn’t quite have the ‘gripping, can’t wait to read it’ factor for me. I think it may appeal to a younger audience more. It was full of magic and secrets, and I loved the heavy focus on books/ words linked to magic and enjoyed the magical beasts. There is also quite a high level of danger and threat which kept it interesting. However, I do feel like there were some details missing that made it feel slightly disjointed. I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book y’all! This book was magical! I was taken to a far away place filled with spells of every kind. There was laughter, twists, heartache and whimsy. Think Harry Potter but with a female lead. Ivy Lovely is the new girl with all the magic yet she doesn’t know it. Can she learn this new way of life before it becomes to late.

Fantasy is a new to me genre and I’m slowly beginning to realize I might love it. This book let me escape this crazy world we are in right now and took me to a magical land. The writing was excellent! I was able to visualize each component in the story. From the little lantern hairies to the Dark Queen. So much visualization! It was a quick read that kept my attention the whole time. I’m super excited this is a series and I can’t wait to read the next book! If you like fantasy trust me, read this book!

4.5/5 stars for me!

I received this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

Ivy Lovely, a 16 year old girl, goes from being a scaldrony maid to being invited to the school of magic for Royals and Scrivenists all in a matter of hours after a dreadful morning. Ivy spends her first year around magic with multiple strange occurrences happening to her through out and one interesting mystery she feels compelled to solve. With the help of her friends Rebecca and Fyn, Ivy learns the meaning behind the strange happenings, bad luck, and vision dreams. This story is a fairy tale, magical world about finding yourself and staying true, adventure, coming of age, friendship, mystique, curses, and so much more. Middle grade readers will be enthralled.

From the very beginning of this book, I was hooked. It reminded me of Harry Potter and Narnia mixed together. It was a vivid world to imagine and never dull a moment. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series.

Review: Crowns of Croswald
( ⭐️✨)
A fantasy novel marketed to young adults, middle schoolers to be specific, about a secretforst and tons of mythical creatures. The main character is taken by suprise when she learns that she is also a scryve and will be headed to the secret forest.
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i didnt finish this one...which I rarely do. I loved the premise of the novel and fully expected to dive right in. However, it was dense I couldnt follow the story line and I couldn't keep the different universes and places straight. I wish more than anything I could've gotten into this one as i had such high hopes but this was a flop for me.

Cute middle grade fantasy with a lot of the same tropes as Harry Potter - enjoyable enough, but I don’t think I’ll be reading the rest of the series.

Thankyou to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Honestly i didnt know what to expect of this book going into it but i was pleasantly surprised. I got more invested as the story went on and it was just a really fun middle grade fantasy. I really enjoyed the writing style and one of my favourite setting within stories is a magic school so this book was perfect.

I was really excited when I was granted an epub ARC of this book on NetGalley. I was genuinely in a desperate need for a light-hearted fantasy book that would save me from the atrocities of my life during that period of time.
In this book, we follow Ivy Lovely, an orphan young girl leading a miserable life as a maid in a huge castle.
During the times where she was not working or being punished for messing up her work, our main character would be sketching with the finest of skills the confusing yet whimsical things she keeps seeing in her dreams. She only shared her work with the only friend she had that happens to be a dwarf. This friendship was the only solace to her misery so despite the fact that her friend was so mysterious she held on to him and listened with the most honest interest to his incomprehensible stories. One day all those stories came to life, triggered a memory and declared the start of a new adventure that Ivy never dreamt of having. In a blink of an eye, her life changed drastically. For better or worse ? I will let you judge for yourself so that we can have a conversation about it later. There is a lot that I enjoyed about this book. First, as a middle grade fantasy it absolutely does its job of enchanting young readers with its simple and accessible vocabulary. It definitely takes time to get used to the magical terms but once you get the hang of it the reading experience gets smoother really fast. Second, I like that this book has actively been keeping me waiting for what's going to happen next. I was always on the edge of my seat expecting worse things to happen. The reveal was so slow and that was so exciting for me. I keep seeing people comparing this story to Harry Potter and I really do not like that. As flattering as it is to have their books compared to the masterpiece that is Harry Potter I think that it is more important for authors to see us embrace the unique form of magic that they created out of scratch. Also, the only similarity between the two stories is the magic school but really what magical world wouldn't have a school ? Even we muggles do have schools. It's necessary. This being said, I think my favorite class in this school is the one about magical creatures. I am obsessed with their diversity and I still can't accept the fact that I can't own a hairie. My only complaint about this book is that some relationships were really rushed to my taste. I prefer watching characters bond after going through multiple experiences together. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it !

I‌ ‌surprisingly‌ ‌thoroughly‌ ‌enjoyed‌ ‌this‌ ‌book,‌ ‌even‌ ‌though‌ ‌it's‌ ‌a‌ ‌middle‌ ‌
grade‌ ‌fantasy,‌ ‌and‌ ‌I‌ ‌am‌ ‌27.‌ ‌I‌ ‌found‌ ‌it‌ ‌mesmerising‌ ‌and‌ ‌read‌ ‌it‌ ‌in‌ ‌2‌ ‌
days,‌ ‌it‌ ‌reminded‌ ‌me‌ ‌of‌ ‌a‌ ‌lot‌ ‌of‌ ‌other‌ ‌fantasy‌ ‌books‌ ‌such‌ ‌as‌ ‌Harry‌ ‌
Potter,‌ ‌but‌ ‌the‌ ‌world‌ ‌and‌ ‌ideas‌ ‌of‌ ‌this‌ ‌book‌ ‌are‌ ‌still‌ ‌very‌ ‌new‌ ‌and‌ ‌
fresh.‌ ‌Such‌ ‌a‌ ‌delight‌ ‌to‌ ‌read‌ ‌about‌ ‌all‌ ‌the‌ ‌different‌ ‌characters‌ ‌with‌ ‌all‌ ‌
their‌ ‌varying‌ ‌magic,‌ ‌from‌ ‌shapeshifting‌ ‌to‌ ‌controlling‌ ‌elements.‌ ‌There‌ ‌
was‌ ‌a‌ ‌lot‌ ‌of‌ ‌guessing‌ ‌in‌ ‌this‌ ‌book‌ ‌and‌ ‌I‌ ‌did‌ ‌not‌ ‌expect‌ ‌the‌ ‌reveal‌ ‌at‌ ‌the‌ ‌
end‌ ‌which‌ ‌was‌ ‌wonderful,‌ ‌as‌ ‌it‌ ‌didn't‌ ‌make‌ ‌the‌ ‌story‌ ‌predictable.‌ ‌ ‌
The‌ ‌world‌ ‌building‌ ‌and‌ ‌the‌ ‌details‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌magic,‌ ‌also‌ ‌the‌ ‌idea‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌
scrivenists‌ ‌made‌ ‌it‌ ‌an‌ ‌engaging‌ ‌and‌ ‌entertaining‌ ‌read‌ ‌as‌ ‌the‌ ‌story‌ ‌
evolved.‌ ‌And‌ ‌great‌ ‌friends‌ ‌to‌ ‌lovers‌ ‌in‌ ‌there‌ ‌as‌ ‌well,‌ ‌that‌ ‌was‌ ‌not‌ ‌
expected.‌ ‌
‌
I‌ ‌literally‌ ‌recommend‌ ‌this‌ ‌book‌ ‌to‌ ‌anyone‌ ‌that‌ ‌loves‌ ‌fantasy,‌ ‌it‌ ‌may‌ ‌be‌ ‌
middle‌ ‌grade,‌ ‌but‌ ‌so‌ ‌enchanting‌ ‌and‌ ‌whimsical‌ ‌you‌ ‌can‌ ‌release‌ ‌your‌ ‌
inner‌ ‌child.

I was given a copy of this book for review. It's cute, it's quick, it's a fun read. It's predictable, but it's middle grade, so that bothers me less. It's nice and nostalgic to be at a magic school not created by a raging bigot.

I loved reading this book! It definitely gave me some Harry Potter vibes but it still told a completely different story. I wish the main characters had more development especially with their friendship development but it in no way took away from the story. Sometimes the story seemed to jump from one thought to another but it was still a fun read.

I can’t wait to see where Ivy goes next!

A female protagonist in a magical fantasy world of castles, witches and dragons! Ivy discovers powers she didn't even know she had. Now she has to learn how to use them to defeat the evil queen! A combination of childhood fairy tales this book has something to captivate even the fussiest of readers!

Thanks to NetGalley and Stories Untold Press for a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

When 16-year old Ivy Lovely leaves behind her life as a scauldrony maid and crosses a magical boundary, she learns that she is to attend The Halls of Ivy: the school of her actual dreams, where she will study to be a Scrivenist. Once there, she discovers that all is not what it seems and that it's up to her to unravel a few mysteries...including the one about who she really is.

The Crowns of Croswald is a fun middle-grade fantasy. As the story went on, I found myself more and more invested in Ivy's determination to find the truth that many seem to be hiding from her. I appreciated all of the descriptions of the more fantastical elements..but the glenageries in particular! They sound so cool that I want to take a trip into one! I will admit, it took some time for me to get into this story. The pacing felt rushed in many places. However, creativity shines throughout this book and by the end, I couldn't put it down. I can definitely see this as a book many of my students will enjoy!! This is the first in a series and I am looking forward to reading more of Ivy's magical journey as well as seeing how her friendships grow and deepen. I recommend this for younger readers and fans of middle-grade fantasies...also getting some Eva Ibbotson vibes!