A delightful book for middle grade readers who love Harry Potter and fantastical worlds. We follow Ivy Lovely from scullery maid to a magical school where she comes into her own, learning the truth of who she is. I was enticed by the whimsical creatures, the imaginative world building, Ivy’s fine friends, and her fight against the Dark Queen. And best of all? It’s book one of a series, so the charming adventure continues. Adults who love fantasy will dig it too!

4 of 5 Stars
Pub Date 21 Jul 2017
#thecrownsofcroswald #NetGalley

Thanks to the author, Stories Untold, and NetGalley for the ARC, in exchange for my honest review.

This book is aimed at readers between 8-12 so I have tried to keep that in mind in my review. My first thoughts were that I felt it had a very similar plot line to Harry Potter. But that being said, I think anyone writing this type of story for this are group is going to meet that comparison. By the middle of the book I thought it had much more of it's own voice.

I liked the characters and thought the friendship between Ivy and Rebecca worked well. I also felt that the beginnings of the love story between Ivy and Fyn was well done and it will be interesting to see how that develops. I was glad that he turned out to be a good guy! I like the fact that we don't quite know what to think of the Selector.

The imaginary world was fun.The plot was perhaps a little too busy and could have been a little simpler. And at times the dialogue felt a little forced but overall a solid story that I think is pitched just right for younger readers!

Okay, I’ll be honest here. I had very conflicting emotions about this book throughout the first few chapters or so. The synopsis and prologue excited me; I was so ready to read this book. Then the first and second chapter (ish) felt a bit rushed, with a lot of cliches I, personally, would have liked to have been handled in a different way. It was at this point that I thought I would slog through the rest of the book, or worse, add it to my DNF pile.

But!

But I was very pleasantly surprised that neither of my predictions came true. I ended up finishing the book in only two sittings after picking it up earlier this morning (or, yesterday morning, as it were; I’m writing up this review at 5:07 a.m. so time has ceased to have meaning for me). Let me put it this way: if this were published earlier or if I were younger now, I would be begging my mom to make a lavender Halls of Ivy uniform, like all the stylish first year students. *ahem* All the first year students.

So, the characters.

Ivy Lovely, our adventurous heroine herself. I have never related more to a character while simultaneously not relating to them at all. It’s a strange phenomenon, to say the least. On one hand, Ivy dreams of magic (who doesn’t, honestly), she spends every free moment sketching the castle in her dreams (slightly further from the mark, but I’m still on board), and she saved and befriended a little dragon from her castle’s kitchen (we’re back on track). But on the other hand, she is a literal trouble magnet. And? She realizes her actions will most likely have severe consequences–because as we all know, getting expelled is far worse than death–and she goes through with her plans anyway. I mean, as someone with an almost crippling fear of authority and getting into trouble, Ivy’s general “meh, girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do” attitude is refreshing. So as much as I wanted to shake her by the shoulders and drag her back to her classes by her ear, I was cheering her on just as much.

“[…] sqwinches had a propensity to over-read, over-prepare, and over-collect.”

And then I face-palmed when [nope, spoilers].

There were actually very few male characters in this book to which my reaction was something along the lines of, “Yes, ladies! Girl power!” But the few male characters there were, I absolutely adored them. Especially our main man himself, Fyn. I’m looking at the notes I made while I was reading and the sentence I underlined about Fyn was, “Okay, Fyn is ADORABLE.” And that pretty much sums up everything I could possibly say about our cute, sarcastic, green-eyed hero who has roughly the same philosophy about rule-breaking as Ivy herself. Honestly? Yeah, I ship it.

Moving on!

Next, and finally, I will briefly mention our shape-shifting princess, Rebecca. I don’t want to give anything away about Ivy’s “reunion” with Rebecca, but I will say this: LOL. If nothing else, I recommend you read the book for that scene alone. And maybe the scene with the shorehorse… and all the little interactions with Humboldt–he’s literally the cutest and most… expressive (?) creature; you know exactly what he’s thinking, despite him not being able to talk. Anyway! Back to Rebecca. When I was first introduced to her character, I was worried that her relationship with Ivy would be wrought with jealousy and pettiness (like a certain unnamed royal whose name starts with “D”), but, again, pleasantly surprised. Rebecca helped Ivy in situations that could have (*cough*) ended badly. A situation that Rebecca didn’t–and couldn’t–fully understand, through no fault of her own. Just… what I’m saying is that I’m basically a sucker for positive, supportive friendships. They give me the warm and fuzzies, okay?

As for the magical world itself, I don’t have too much to say. There were elements I liked (the Den, Humboldt, the use of quills as magical implements, the “cabby” that reminded me all too much of the Cat Bus in Totoro) and there were elements that I didn’t particularly care for/ parts that were a bit too cliche for my taste. But overall, I had fun. Obviously, I wasn’t raised in a time where I dreamt about receiving a letter from the Halls of Ivy and picking up my crown from the Crownerie (though, I definitely identify more as a sqwinch). Nevertheless, I felt nostalgic for this world that Night created and I look forward to seeing what our ballsy heroine gets up to in the next three years of her studies. (I have my theories, but I’ll keep them to myself… for now.)

This time, and probably for my future reviews as well, I will wrap up with book stats… of a sort.

Feels: Ehhh, not really. It’s a fantasy/ adventure book, so no tears were shed during the reading of this book.

The Funnies: Some of the characters had a sarcastic sense of humor (which I appreciated) and there were moments of comic relief. So… moderate funniness, depending on your sense of humor.

Re-readability: Not for me (right now), personally, but I can see myself re-reading this if I were younger.

Continue-the-series-ness: Yes, I, for one, want to see what happens next!

Cute creatures: 10/10 (Also, I never thought I’d see the day when “ominous” and “unicorn” would be used in the same sentence.)

The Crowns of Croswald by D.E. Night is an enchanting middle grade fantasy full of whimsical characters, intriguing mysteries and imaginative creatures. Ivy Lovely has only ever known life a scaldrony maid in a castle where magic is rare, until she sets off on a journey to uncover her true identity and the magic that lurks beneath her skin. She finds herself accepted at a school for children with magical gifts, however, Ivy soon learns that she may never live the ordinary life she has always dreamed of. As more and more strange events occur around her, Ivy must unravel the mysteries within the Hall of Ivy to save her friends.

Upon opening this book, readers will be immediately immersed in the world of Croswold and introduced to the unique systems of magic. Night's world is extremely inventive - it does not remind me of anything else I've read which I love. My absolute favorite aspect of Night's story is the plethora of inventive magical creatures. From fairies with glowing hair to cooking dragons and beyond, Night gives readers such a treat each time she introduces a new mythic beast to this tale.

Night's writing style is well-paced and entertaining. She crafts a great adventure with a compelling mystery for readers to unravel. The layers of the tale are artfully woven together, creating a wonderful tapestry by the time everything has been revealed. Most every scene feels extremely purposeful and adds to the overall narrative that Night is building.

Ivy's journey throughout this book is interspersed with many fantastic characters. I do wish that we had gotten to know some of them a little better. It isn't until about halfway through the story that Ivy starts to develop friendships. I also felt that Ivy's friendships would have been a great opportunity so show more character growth. Ivy starts off with an extremely transactional view of friendship which I had hoped would change throughout the book, however we do not see as much development in this area as I would have liked. The secondary characters that we do get to know are charming and endearing and add a lovely element to the story.

This fun mystery will delight young readers and keep them guessing at every turn!

This book was received as an ARC from Stories Untold in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book right from the start reminded me a lot of the House of Night Series by P.C. and Kristin Cast. From the very beginning I was hooked. Everything from the characteristics of Ivy to the set up of the School of Croswald's I knew I was in for the ride of my life. Ivy's encounter with her powers and the rise of anxiety entering the school and then encountering with the Queen of Darkness, I'd say that there was a lot on Ivy's plate that came unexpectedly and that she is beyond ready for. I have been waiting for a series like this for a long time and I can't wait to see another adventure of the Crowns of Croswald.

We will consider adding this title to our JFiction collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

I really wanted to love this book. The magical creatures are incredible and the scenery is absolutely beautiful. D.E. Night's writing style is wonderful. But the story itself feels almost exactly like Harry Potter. I don't think that would bother a 10-12 year old nearly as much as it does me, who grew up living for the next Harry Potter book. This is a great one for kids who love Percy Jackson, Fablehaven, etc.

Thank you to Stories Untold for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I had never heard of this book or the author at the time the publisher messaged me to see if I could read and review, so I looked it up and discovered that the story bears a strong resemblance to another story about a magical wizarding world (which shall remain nameless). I decided to give the book a try since I loved the story-that-shall-not-be-named, and even though it ended up being a fun read, the similarities spoiled it for me.

The story’s protagonist, a teenaged-orphan named Ivy Lovely, discovers she has magical powers and is plucked from a life of servitude to attend the Halls of Ivy, a prestigious school of magic. While at school Ivy embarks on a journey of self-discovery and her true destiny is revealed.

🧚‍♀️🧚‍♀️🧚‍♀️/5

While I thought the author did a fantastic job with the world building, the character development fell flat for me. You don’t really learn too much about the characters and the little you do learn doesn’t happen until the end. I also really enjoyed the ending as it tied up all of the loose ends in the story. This fast-paced book is geared towards middle-schoolers and I think it’s a good book for that age range. They might enjoy recognizing all of the similarities with the other wizarding book but as an adult reader it was a little too distracting for me.

Have you ever finished a book and wanted to re-read it again right away to catch all the things you missed the first time you read it? That's exactly what this book did to me. In this first installment in the Croswald series, we meet Ivy Lovely, who has spent her whole life serving others in a castle as a scaldrony maid where she is neither cared for or noticed, unless dinner is late. She escapes this life with a kitchen dragon named Humboldt and with the help from Rimbrick, an ancient woods dwarf, and a flying coach in a magic made storm. She learns that she has been accepted at a magic school to become a scrivenist, a person who has their own magic, whose job it will be to serve a royal family, to make spells, and document all of their discoveries. She's been labeled the "Most Disruptive Student" at the Ivy Halls, the teachers may or may not be out to get her, and then there's the mystery of who she really is and all the strange clues and happenings that only seem to happen to her. There's magic around every corner: Cloaked Broods, a locked Forgotten Room (where things go to be forgotten), Bearded Clouds, Dark Queens, Wandering Families, and so much more! If you're a fan of the Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling and the Nevermoor series by Jessica Townsend, then you will absolutely love The Crowns of Croswald.

Synopsis:
For sixteen years Ivy Lovely has been hidden away in the safety of castle Plum. Surrounded by magic-repellent ‘slurry’ her life so far has been anything but interesting. Suddenly, she is thrust into the world of magic, fantasy and most importantly the Halls of Ivy. Her life now consists of Scrivenists, hairies, scaldrons and textbooks with pages that document her every move. When the dark queen senses Ivy’s appearance she is hellbent on removing her from existence. Will Ivy learn her true family history? But more importantly will she survive the dark queens evils powers?

Plot:
I enjoyed the plot and felt like this magical world had been delicately created in its entirety. The description added was superb and really helped to build the image in my mind. I always find that fantasy genres can be quite hard to read if you can’t imagine it yourself and so I was worried I might not have ‘bought into’ the book, but I needn’t have worried. I enjoyed following Ivy’s journey and felt like there were a lot of adventures packed into this first book! It certainly did not rely on one dramatic ending- as Ivy’s life was definitely in danger on more than one occasion! The pacing of the book was enjoyable as it didn’t have any slow moments and although Ivy’s heritage was easily predictable it never took away from the overall story as I simply enjoyed being immersed in this newly created world.

Characters:
I enjoyed Ivy’s character and the single perspective narrative helped to add mystery to the story. I have read reviews saying that Ivy seemed quite stubborn and nonchalant towards school. However, I found her characterisation quite endearing and realistic as she had not been brought up with the magical customs and so was simply finding her feet in the overwhelming circumstances, she found herself.
The secondary characters, such as Rebecca, Fyn and Derwin also added to the story and were good additions. The idea of the royals having different powers based on the type of stone nestled in their crowns was interesting as this meant that other less familiar characters could become important depending on what situation they found themselves in- I thought this was a nice touch and could be built upon in other books. I also do have my suspicions about some characters intentions and so I am looking forward to reading the other books in the series to see if my suspicions come to fruition.

Layout:
The stark contrast of the prologue and the rest of the story interested me throughout. I was anticipating when the separate storylines would interlink so I felt I was eager to read more to find that out. The chapter length was adequate, and I have mentioned before I thought using a single person narrative was a clever writing tool as it added mystery throughout and allowed information to be given in a timely manner without the use of red herrings.
Working in education, whenever I read a middle-grade book I always think about whether I would read it within a classroom and with the Crowns of Croswald I think it could definitely be used as an educational tool. The language used within the book is diverse and imaginative and the sentence structures are varied enough to use as examples to teach the target audience many literary techniques.

Final comments:
Although this genre is not usually my typical ‘go-to’ I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it to fantasy enthusiasts and young readers. With this being the first book in the series I am eager to read the rest to see how the storylines of Ivy and her friends work out.

Woah, what? You can’t end a book like that. That’s outrageous!
How am I supposed to sleep tonight not knowing what happens to our dear Ivy Lovely?
When I was first approached on Instagram about reading this book, I’ll be honest... It didn’t sound like my sort of thing but I wanted to help the author out.
Oh my goodness, WHAT A BOOK.
I loved every single word of it. I was completely and utterly immersed.
On the websites I’ve looked at, it does say that this is a kids book but I would probably say young adult is more suited. I mean, as a 24 year old reader, I had no complaints!

I received this e-book for free from the publisher (Stories Untold) on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Ivy Lovely is a 16 year old maid and orphan who gets invited to attend the Halls of Ivy, a school of magic as a scrivenist. From there she enters a world of whimsy and adventure making friends & enemies, and learning magic along with who is really is and the power of imagination.
This book would be great for young fans of Harry Potter [the comparison is inevitable] and princess fantasies. It felt like a quirky, action-packed hybrid of Cinderella and Harry Potter. The book felt more like a children's book then young adult.
Also- snaps to the author for including their own name. DERWIN EDGAR NIGHT? D.E. Night? I love it.
Overall- 3.5/5 stars

This middle-grade book did not immediately grab me. I was intrigued for the first few pages, but I found the descriptions too wordy and complicated for a middle-grade novel. I found myself struggling to continue reading for about the first half, especially as the story progressed. While it does give you some Harry Potter vibes, it does not meet the magic and prose of that series that so easily shaped my childhood. I had looked forward to reading this novel based on the description but found myself disappointed through the first half.

That said, the second half of the story does a better job of drawing you into the tale. The events are well-paced and the writing, while the descriptions were sometimes overly complicated, does paint a vivid scene for the reader. I think this story would be great for advanced middle-grade readers or younger youths as it tackles those age-old questions of discovering your own self and how to own everything that you are, themes that these age groups tackle in their own lives.

I would have rated this book higher if not for the drag at the beginning of the story.

I think one of the first things I noticed about The Crowns of Croswald is its magic system. I could see that it was inspired by Harry Potter, but as I read through the book, it took its own form, and I was very fascinated by it. The world-building around the magic system and in general is done well and holds up as you further progress into the book.

Ivy, the protagonist of the book, is a 16-year-old orphan who finds herself embroiled in some perilous situations involving magic when she arrives at the school. From this part, the story really picks up and becomes quite fast-paced. As much as I started loving Ivy, I was a little put off by how much she put her friends in danger through her actions. But besides this aspect, I really liked Ivy's character and I find her to be an interesting and unique character.

Coming to the climax of the book, I think it gets a little confusing and convoluted but as I read through the chapters, I fully managed to grasp what was going on.

Overall, D. E. Night has done a fantastic job with the world building in The Crowns of Croswald, which makes it a really fun middle-grade read.

Since English isn't my native language, I had a problem with understanding some terms and expressions, that's why it took me some time to finish it.
I don't read much fantasy any more, but this one was young adult with just enough magic and real life. Storyline is somehow similar with Harry Potter. I'm glad that we have heroine Ivy here, who is brave, although some "average girl", who goes on a life adventure and learns more about herself. She has a pet dragon, who is really cute and great attraction for the book. She has two great friends, who helps her get through school and life.

The story was interesting, full of surprises and twists I didn't predict. Writting style had an interesting flow, but after a while I got used to it's writting.

It's a nice read.

I had to be mindful that this book was written for younger audiences, so with that in mind. It's a pretty standard children's fantasy book.

One of my absolute favorite tropes is the lost heir or missing prince(ss), and this book covered that beautifully!

There were times when Ivy (the MC) did or said things that kind of rubbed me the wrong way. She doesn't necessarily treat her friends in the nicest way and there are no repercussions for this. Her behavior, speech, and actions don't translate to a 16-year-old very well. She seems younger than that.

It was interesting to see each student how their magic was different from the others, whether through stones or in other ways.

While I haven't read Harry Potter (shocker, I know) it did give off heavy similarities to the fandom. However, I would definitely recommend this book to my younger cousins and children in my life who are looking for fantasy and fun in their reading!

Thank you to the publisher - Daniela B and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions

🔮many thanks to stories untold for sending me this book to review! it’s been a while since i read any middle grade, and i enjoyed the opportunity to do so within such a whimsical world as croswald. (also i’m always down for recommending magical school alternatives to the younger generations that aren’t You Know What.) ivy lovely, our teenage protagonist, has spent her life as a scauldron maid (scauldrons are tiny dragons and i love them, especially humboldt), until the age of sixteen when shes kicked out of her place of employment and decides to forge her own path. this decision has more ramifications than she realizes, which come in the form of a flying rhino, turbulence, and lots of quills as shes whisked away to the magical school, the Halls of Ivy (coincidence???).

🔮i really like the conceit of magic as being created through writings and drawings; i think it’s quite fun and clever. i also would kill for a little tea brewing station built into my bed!! (@ikea, when??) i have to say, that while ivy is established canonically as 16, i’m not entirely sure if i’m sold on that. it might just be that i haven’t been sixteen in a few years, but she feels younger than a freshman in magical high school. overall i enjoyed this book and will probably read the follow ups, of which there are three (again, magical high school, you love to see it). i hope as i read the next books, the relationships between the main characters are explored more and allowed to strengthen.

🔮if you like magic schools, food-motivated water-horses, and those little bottles with ships inside them 😉, be sure to check out ‘The Crowns of Croswald’.

I was so enchanted with this world.

I want books I get lost in, and this one absolutely absorbed me. I loved the fantacy kingdom of Croswald and all the descriptions of the beasts, characters, settings, and of course, the food!

This series starts off with an outsider who has no background story. Ivy Lovely has lived an existence nobody would envy. After a particularly bad day Ivy is catapulted into a new life and an exciting, dangerous adventure. As she continues over obstacles she makes new friends and uncovers secrets many would kill to keep forgotten.

I didn't want this book to end, and luckily it's just the first book in the series! I can't wait to share these stories with my nieces.

D.E. Night's The Crowns of Croswald is a wonderml world of whimsy! Set in an
immersive and richly detailed world, the story follows Iv Lovely, a former scaldrony maid, as she explore the secrets possibility of magical school, new friendships and a hidden past.

World building is D.E. Night's greatest strength. All of Croswald evokes strong imagery and we, as readers, ge to witness plenty of magical quirks. Night is committed to detailed descriptions, she works hard to ensure that
her readers can see her world as clearly as she can and to populate it with enough information for it to be believable. The result is a number of interestingly titled magic books and fascinating shops.

There are definite similarities between The Crowns of Croswald and some of the most popular children's fantasy books of our time. Fans of the early Harry Potter books, the Percy Jackson series, or even older-age-demographic Disney might enjoy The Crowns of Croswald.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
After all of the hype over how much this was like Harry Potter, I expected and hoped that I would enjoy this book, but it just didn't work for me. The world-building was stunning, but I just felt as if the characters didn't really stick with me, and it just ended up feeling kind of hard to read to me. I'm in the minority though, so it's probably just that it just didn't work with me.

I have to admit that I enjoyed this more than I expected to, since I'm not normally a reader of fantasy-type books but I was in the mood for something out of my comfort zone. In no time at all I was completely engrossed in the world of Croswald and the adventures of Ivy Lovely and her friends. I am definitely a new fan of Ivy, Croswald, and D.E. Night. My only "complaint", if you can call it that, is that I do wish we were able to learn more about the characters, especially Ivy and Fyn. Fortunately "Crowns of Croswald" is first in a series, so I am looking forward to spending a lot more time getting to know them. "The Crowns of Croswald" reminded me a bit of the Harry Potter and Miss Peregrine's series in all the best ways, but is still completely unique. If you enjoyed them, you will love The Croswald Series. Thank you so much to NetGalley, D.E. Night, and Stories Untold for offering me a copy of the book in return for my honest opinions.