🌟 Book review 🌟⁠
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♥️ I liked:⁠
⚗️ The Magic system. Croswald is a world made of Scrivenerist and Royals. The first are magic-wielders who sketch everything they see thanks to their photographic memory. When they graduate, they are assigned to a Royal who owns a crown with a magic gem. At the Halls of Ivy, they learn how to handle their magic powers. Head of this world is the Dark Queen.⁠
🏮 The creatures. Scaldrons are cute dragons that provide the fire for cooking. Hairies sit in lanterns to light up the magicians' way. Porcupels are porcupines for practice quills. How amazing is this?⁠
👧 The characters. Ivy is amazing: full of life and expectations, she doesn't want to be a maid forever and often dreams about the Halls of Ivy. She is also brave and curious, you know she'll soon get in trouble at school! Rebecca is a Royal, Ivy's roommate and best friend. You would think she is a bit snob, but, getting to know her, you'll find out that she is loyal and full of love.⁠
✍️ The style. The book is easy to read. The beginning is a bit slow, but when Ivy arrives at school, the pacing becomes very fast and full of action.⁠
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🤔 I wasn't so sure about:⁠
👦 Fyn. He's Ivy's companion, he's always looking after her and following her everywhere to avoid her being in trouble. The only thing I didn't understand is how he is always very conveniently in the right place at the right moment.⁠
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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5
You may think this is another Harry Potter, well, I promise you, it's not true! This is a very original and brilliantly put together book, the story is amazing and it's so easy to read that I finished it in only 3 days. If you love fantasy, you have to give it a try! ⁠

I will start by saying that I loved the cover of this book as it is very magical and it stands out from similar books.

This book has a lot of fantasy elements that are handled in a very light-hearted way such as a fire breathing creature in the kitchen been woken up by a tickle feather to serve as an oven. In this story we can find so many fantastical things and we couldn’t miss the quills, magical creatures and dwarfs in a world that is ruled by magic.
The book was easy to read and has lots of funny comic parts while still being very engaging and entertaining. Although Ivy is a sixteen-year-old girl sometimes I feel like her character felt more like a younger child but this didn’t stop me of enjoying the book as the story is very intriguing and descriptive. It transports you to its magical world and the pace of the story is well balanced and makes you wanted to continue reading. The characters all have depth and are well portrayed each bringing something unique to the story.
Each chapter is introduced with a drawing which represents the chapter and this is a really cute way to create the layout. I liked this design especially for younger readers as it allows children to have some expectations of what they will be reading. This book can be read by older children on their own although they might find some archaic language such as ‘quill’ and ‘scrivener’ new to them. This is also a book that could be read to a younger audience and would be enjoyed by all but the most sensitive souls who might find the finale a little scary.
Overall a book full of magic which was fun to read and that made me feel nostalgic remembering similar book series from when I was younger.

This Middle Grade fantasy book follows the adventures of Ivy Lovely, an independent, intelligent, and curious sixteen year old. After spending her whole life behind a magical boundary where her magic was hidden even from herself, she discovers her powers and begins her first year at the magical school, the Halls of Ivy. The students are either royals, whose source of magic are from stones in their crowns, or scrivenists, who have magic in their blood and use their photographic memories and sketching skills to serve the royal family to which they are eventually assigned. Ivy searches for answers to her past while trying to keep up with her studies, and her path eventually crosses with the Dark Queen and her evil Brood.

Although the idea of a magical boarding school is not new, D.E. Night has crafted a unique universe with creative magical subjects, items, and power sources. I absolutely loved that a scrivenist's magic basically stems from and manifests in the form of a love of learning, education, and insatiable curiosity.

Ivy is an endearing character and I rooted for her right from the start. She's empathetic, kind, brave, and quick-witted. Although I think her relationships with her two friends at school, Rebecca and Fyn, and the characters themselves could have been a bit more developed, they proved to be good foils and guides for Ivy in her new world.

This book had me engrossed from the start, as I was invested in Ivy's journey to discover her past and true self. It also kept me guessing as to whether some of the characters had Ivy's interests at heart or whether they were in league with the Dark Queen.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves magic, fantasy, strong female leads, and the idea of learning you're destined for so much more than originally thought.

The Croswald world was an absolutely captivating one. I can see fans of Harry Potter, The Medoran Chronicles, and other magical worlds being fans of this one.

Ivy was such a fun character to read about, and I especially loved reading about the magical world she is in. I was eager to find out what Ivy’s ties to the school were, and knew there had to be something else going on.

I certainly recommend this to anyone looking for a new fun, magical read.

2/5 Stars

Synopsis: Ivy Lovely discovers a magical world where she enters a school for magicians and scrivenists, who are people who write about magic. She soon realizes that something has been forgotten. The whole magical world depends on her going on a quest to solve the mystery of what is being forgotten.

I loved the author’s imagination. I am always in awe of writers who can create entire magical worlds that feel whimsical and adventurous. I appreciate the world building detailing everything down to the most simple of items. I enjoyed the concept of going on a quest to uncover what is being forgotten, and that there is an actual place where items and people alike can go that makes them forgotten to the outside. I thought it was so unique. I haven't read anything quite like that previously.

Truthfully this book wasn’t my cup of tea. I found the sheer volume of detailing to be excessive. I understand that the author wanted to create the world and set up the scene which I appreciate, but it left me feeling overwhelmed and lost. I found myself skipping ahead hoping that it was just the beginning portion of the book. I love magic, however the magic system is all over the place. I wasn’t sure how the magic affected the world overall, and if there were any consequences for using magic. It left me wanting more.
Ivy despite being 16 felt more like 8-9. Which there is nothing wrong with. As for many of the other characters they all blended together for me with no distinct personalities. Overall, this book felt too young for me, and although the premise is very interesting i found the overwhelming amount of details for unimportant things excessive, and not enough detail to make distinct characters, or a detailed magic system.


***Special thank you to the publisher giving me access to the e-book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a delight! The world building is intricate and detailed, and vivid tapestries wete created in my mind over the words. Love that in a story.

There are a lot of characters but the key ones to keep track of are well highlighted so I didn't get too confused (key when I am doing most of my reading after a 12 hour shift and my brain is mush...)

Ivy is a likeable heroine who very rarely bemoans her hardships and almost never whines - and when she does dip into some self pity it is very brief. I like that in a heroine - characters who feel sorry for themselves are tiresome!

I do wish the sculdron didn't essentially disappear for half the book... but I always want more dragons ;)

A lot of the questions built up throughout the book are handily answered in the final chapter, so you get a satisfying ending but are left ready to see what happens next as Ivy gets ready for the next adventure! I would definitely pick up the next book in the series.

3.5 stars. ✨

This was a fun, middle grade fantasy book! Ivy’s character was an enjoyable MC and the world building was fantastical and reminded me of some of the feelings I got when being introduced to Hogwarts for the first time! The magical characters such as Hairies and the Notical were fun and I loved the idea of the scrivenists and the magic system.

However, there were some pieces that I felt were a bit underdeveloped, and seemed off because of the pacing. That left me a little confused in places but that is to be expected when the world building is so focused on! I’m assuming as the series goes on, some of these things will make more sense to me! Overall this was definitely a fun read and I will be recommending it to students who want to dive into a fun middle grade fantasy and are looking for just some good old magic! I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

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

Crowns of Croswald is one of those books that remind you how amazing books are. I loved how the world was described and it really helped create a picture in my head. I was so into reading the book, I didn’t even notice the time passing. AMAZING WRITING. It’s a fun book to read even if I’m not so young, and it would be MORE fun to read if you are younger. GOSH I feel old.

Just like any other “magical” book I’ve read, I thought this book was pretty predictable at first. The plot was very familiar, especially if you’ve read a lot of magical books, and I was again convinced that I figured out the ending, but I was wrong, of course. Even until the very end, the book made me curious! The only thing I think I wanted from this book is to get to know the side characters more. I hope I could get that in the next books!

I'd like to thank the author and publisher for providing me with a copy of the book. Middle-grade literature is not the usual genre I read in, but I really liked the book, and that didn't affect my judgment.

The Crowns of Croswald is book #1 in D.E. Night's series by the same name. It's feels heavily influenced by Harry Potter, it's impossible not to make parallels. But the book is imaginative, it has its own world and worldbuilding, its own lore, magical creatures, and magic system in general.

Ivy Lovely comes from nothing when destiny finally catches up to her and sets her on a path toward mastering her own magic. While getting the unwanted attention of the Dark Queen, she has to unravel the mystery of a man no one remembers, but her. The books is a page-turner, a very quick read, despite the info dump in the final third of it. I'm dissatisfied only with the supporting characters that felt mainly sketched and not properly fleshed-out.

Other than that, The Crowns of Croswald was beautifully written, very imaginative, and could easily transfer you to the world of Ivy. Returning to the Halls of Ivy is something I'll be doing rather sooner than later. 3.5/5*

Ivy Lovely’s magical powers begin to awaken after she leaves the castle where she’s worked her entire young life. Suddenly, she’s attending magic school and slowly revealing the truth of her hidden past but she’s in danger the closer she gets to discovering who she really is.

This is such an imaginative, fun and refreshing Middle grade fantasy! Ivy reminds me of Belle from Beauty & the Beast so I couldn’t help but love her right from the beginning.

This also had the feel of Harry Potter. Essentially, there’s a magic school and it’s incredible! If you loved Hogwarts, you will be thrilled to walk the Halls of Ivy! Ivy’s best friend Rebecca can transform into a bird! There’s the evil Dark Queen...who is after Ivy but she has no idea why. There’s Ivy’s cute crush, Fyn, and lastly, there’s one of my favorite characters, Derwin Edgar Night (who has disappeared but appears in Ivy's dreams).

And there are so many amazing magical creatures. My favorites were the hairies! I wish they were real so I could use them as a nightlight. I also loved Ivy’s dragon that she names Humboldt.

I definitely recommend this middle grade novel and cannot wait to continue on with the series! If you like magic, beautiful settings, adventure, and mystery, this has it!

Thank you Netgalley and Stories Untold for allowing me to read a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion!

What a fun story! It made me want to go back to school, or at least attend a magic school.
I’ve seen a lot of people compare it to Harry Potter, but I think the author has done well to create something unique that can’t really be compared.
A little action, lots of fun & a sweet coming of age book. Definitely would have loved it in my teenage years.

The Crowns of Croswald follows Ivy Lovely a young girl who grew up working as a kitchen maid. Her world is changed when at age fifteen she is invited to attend a magical boarding school. The story is full of all the whimsical elements you would want in a middle grade fantasy: an evil queen, a mysterious headmaster, and all the magical creatures and objects.

I really enjoyed this book. The design and illustrations were beautiful (I’m glad I found a hard copy at my local library!). The story immediately drops the reader into a new and fascinating world and the action starts straight away. I loved getting to see the world through our main character’s eyes. She is experiencing everything for the first time as she leaves the secluded kitchens of the castle where she has lived her whole life. And there are so many new, magical things for her to discover. This read like a middle grade novel, but the main character was older so this would be a really great book to recommend for someone on the border between middle grade and young adult. My only complaint is that the world was so magical and different that there was nothing left resembling our world for the reader to relate to. But for most readers, I doubt this will be a problem at all.

Thanks to @storiesuntoldpress and @author.denight for sending me an ebook in exchange for an honest review.

The Crowns of Croswald is a midgrade, fantasy novel with a strong-willed, convincing female protagonist. Ivy Lovely discovers that she is destined to attend a magical school to become a Scrivinist. A scrivinist’s quill is like their wand and their power to sketch and capture events is integral to their magic. The first half of the book focuses on meticulous world building as Ivy immerses herself in the magical realm, meets friends and adversaries and attends her lessons. Nothing is ever simple for Ivy, however, as mishaps and mysteries seem to follow her. As the story develops, she continues her adventures, has obstacles to overcome and learns that she is very special, indeed. I found the conclusion of the story both exciting and original. This is the first book in what has the potential to be a very exciting series. I look forward to reading the sequel.

D.E Night is such a talented storyteller. The way she writes it makes you feel like you are there in the Halls of Ivy. I am also proud to say she is one of the first local authors of Florida I have ever read and makes me proud to see a local Floridian becoming a successful author.

She takes you on the adventure of a lifetime in just book one. I cannot wait to read and review the other books in this series.

If you like a headstrong. Adventurous, smart woman lead this is the book for you.

If you are tired of sitting in your house during quarantine pick this book up and get sucked into the Halls of Ivy with amazing characters like Fyn, Rebecca, and the adventurous Ivy herself.

If you like Harry Potter but, are tired of rereading that serious pick up this incredible Middle Grade series by author like D.E Night.

#middlegrade #fiction #NetGalley
#TheCrowsofCroswald #localauthor

This book was so incredibly imaginative and whimsical, and reminiscent of books I used to read (and love) as a child! I though the world-building was the best part about it, with all of its interesting creatures, settings and characters. Humboldt, the scaldron dragon, was my favourite!

I loved how when I finished the book, I had that 'full circle' moment where I had to go back to the prologue and make some connections on my own to fully understand the ending! I enjoyed how clever the writing style turned out to be, and I know my younger self would have enjoyed it too. It really did feel like it was a puzzle you were trying to put together alongside Ivy, our main character.

This book reads for a younger audience, and is definitely more middle grade than young adult despite the main character being 16 years old. Keep this in mind!

I hope to see more character development in the next installments of the series, and I'm interested in seeing what other creative and fun ideas the author has in store for Ivy and her friends!

If you love a school of magic as a setting, and lots of unique world-building, I highly recommend checking out this series! It had such a light and fun feel to it!

I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I actually ended up loving this novel, and am excited to see where the series goes! I could very much see Ivy becoming a hero to young readers, and many kids dressing up as her in her school uniform or "always fitting dress" for dress like your favorite book character day at school. She is strong and confident, not afraid to get a little dirty and to break a few rules in order to do what is right. Fyn has no problem following her lead, despite him being a boy and older than her, with arguably more experience in the situations they find themselves dropped into. There is the perfect amount of light romance for middle grade audience this is written for (don't worry, no kissing here!), but the idea of a crush is present and not teased, which I think is important for kids to see.

Fantasy is not typically my first choice in genre, and the beginning had me a little confused trying to follow the new world rules and language, but you catch on pretty quickly and acclimate well. I loved the little easter egg of the author sharing the same initials/last name as a mysterious central character, and could see kids wondering if they are holding in their hands a volume written by the famous scrivinist! I would think this is the perfect book for a reading group in school, and you will have kids clamoring to the library to get the next ones in the series!

Rating: 2/5 glowing hairies

Format: ebook. I’d like to thank the author for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What it's like: This book shares some whimsy and its school setting with Harry Potter, but the main character’s quest to find out her identity reminded me of Where Dreams Descend.

To sum up: This story is about a young scrivenist (a person who writes about magic) named Ivy Lovely who, for the first time, is entering the magical world to go to a school for magicians and scrivenists. The longer she is in the magical world and at the school of Ivy, the more she realizes that there is something that has been forgotten that she must figure out, and the whole magical world may depend on it.

What I enjoyed: This story is very quirky and whimsical. The author is very imaginative with every little detail, you can totally get lost in some of the descriptions (which ended up getting me actually lost, unfortunately) which can make this a very fun and engaging read for some readers. I think the elements used are super fun too. I love a story where there is a mystery to be uncovered, and an actual room of forgetting where items (or people!) that go into the room are forgotten by all outside? FANTASTIC.


What was meh: Overall, I think this book took the level of detail and quirkiness too far. There were soooo many details and most of them weren’t at all relevant to the story but were there to enrich the world so I found myself skimming through them. It was just too exhausting for me to catalog all of them and analyze them to see if they made sense with the rest of the world as we knew it so far. I love complex world-building, but this world didn’t feel like it was built along a common logical thread. The details thrown in felt just so, like they were thrown in to entertain the writer rather than add anything significant to the story. The magic in this story just literally runs amok and every strange, quirky thing you can think of ended up on these pages. I find fantasy stories more interesting in the lines of restraint. Where do the laws of the world push back against magic? What is the ultimate cost of magic and what are its limits? This story didn’t really give us those answers, so I had a hard time taking any of the details seriously.

Second, I had an issue with the characters. I felt that basically 90% of the adults in this story had the exact same personality, and interacted with Ivy in the same way. First, Ivy would ask a question about how things work, then the adult would say something like, “well of course! This is the answer, don’t you know that?” They always responded with “Of course,” and the use of exclamation points hinted at an overall exasperation amongst most of the adults, which I also found exasperating. But don’t take my word for it, I actually searched the document and found that “Of course” was used 46 times, at least once in every single chapter except chapter 22. Okay, so I get that sometimes you have a phrase you love and tend to use it a lot. And with a complex world, you need a character to ask questions and another to tell them the answers so that the world-building can be told. But please, PLEASE, mix it up from time to time. Try different strategies of giving us info, and give your characters personalities. While the kids that interact with Ivy weren’t as exasperated, they still lacked some depth in personality for me, and Ivy herself felt basically like a mirror for the reader’s questions. I didn’t get a strong sense of her personality either.

So overall, I felt exhausted by this book by around the 40% mark, and actually skimmed the next 60%. By focusing on the dialog, I was able to still basically understand what was going on and wasn’t as overwhelmed by the constant barrage of quirky details. I did want to finish it and figure out if my guesses about the mystery were correct (they were!) so for that, I give the book at least two stars. On one other note, although this is pitched as middle grade, I felt like the word choices and writing felt like it was more for older readers. I think maybe because of the level of detail and complexity of the world, it made me think that if I could barely understand the overall plot, a fifth-grader definitely wouldn’t be able to, but maybe I am underestimating them!

I wanted to like this book at a lot. I had read a lot of good reviews, comparing this story to Harry Potter and Disney’s Tangled.

I felt like the story was a bit cluttered. It felt so much like Harry Potter that it started coming across as annoying. I think someone who is more in the Middle Grade audience would love this, but as an adult who loves Middle Grade it fell flat.

It took me a few chapters to get into the world-building of Croswald but once the story got moving and Ivy reached school, I couldn’t get enough! I loved the magical creatures that are included throughout the book and the budding romance between Ivy and Fyn.

Even though there is the danger of the Dark Queen looming over the story, it still was a joyful read and I’m looking forward to reading the sequel soon. I would definitely recommend this one to lovers of middle-grade and YA fantasy!

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3470172458?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

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The Crowns of Croswald, by D.E. Night, is a riveting fantasy novel following the life of Ivy Lovely, a lowly scullery maid, being bullied by her superiors, whose magic cannot be contained, even in enchanted boundary she is in. Her mundane life is quickly transformed into wonder when she receives her invitation for the Halls of Ivy. From mystical creatures to unusual professors, Ivy learns to fight for her place in the school and deal with her past, which she knows so little about. Will Ivy be able to figure out her past and save The Town?
The book made me feel oddly at home, especially for an imagery town, but that’s undoubtedly down to the writing of the author. Her ability to present a place to the reader that’s so familiar and tangible was extremely pleasant, and I crave her future books. The relatability of Ivy is the main driving force of the novel, and the scattered hints of her past and her important to the whole town creates an air of mystery, leading the reader to want to know more.
The only weakness I found with this book was the similarity at the beginning to the Harry Potter books. This idea of a lowly teenager with no family and no strong bonds discovers their true fate and powers was very Harry Potter like, however, Night managed to direct her story away from this trope and present a much more original idea. It is only that first 40% really that might off-put the reader into thinking they’re just reading another Harry Pottery inspired book.
Despite that, the book is filled with amazing descriptions and detailed imagery that ignites this fire in the reader like no other. As someone who doesn’t read fantasy too often, I was impressed by the author’s talent to make me feel this way about a fantasy book. Not only do her words paint images in your mind but they evoke feelings too – you are there in the classroom with Ivy, casting potions and facing their consequences; you are there dealing with all the trauma she is dealing with. When a book hits a reader like that, you know you have managed to find a good book, or series, in this case (I’m waiting on book two, Ms. Night!)
To add to this, the characters are usually likeable and friendly and thoroughly developed, which is a huge plus in my books. The more developed the character is the more likely I’m going to relate or like them, even if objectively they aren’t ‘good’ characters. This is due to her writing, where her words convey to the reader a lot about the author, and its easy to read between the lines and feel what the characters are feeling. The main protagonists, Ivy, Rebecca, and Fyn have such a genuine friendship and aura that it makes the book all the more enjoyable.
Additionally, I love the storyline that even though was centred around Ivy, also focused on other outside people like the Dark Queen and Derwin. This allowed for a past and present dynamic to take place and was executed perfectly. The historical aspect and past actions of a story often play an important part of book, but sometimes timelines can get muddled up or the reader may not be interested. However, Night managed to create a whole world and timeline that involved history, depth, and complexity, with a rivalry between the Dark Queen and Derwin whilst still having Ivy at the focus. Her talents must be applauded to achieve all this whilst also writing a fantastic fantasy novel for all ages.
Overall, if you’re interested in escaping your own world and entering a magical one, filled with happiness and problems of its own, then this book is for you! For the reader who remembers the feeling of reading Harry Potter for the first time, I recommend this book to you as it clear the author grew up loving that fantasy series. I would also suggest reading it with a child perhaps aged 10 or over as an introduction into their reading journey. If you want to buy this book you can buy it here.