Disclaimer: I was granted an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I've heard great things about this book and they say it's a wild mix of Harry Potter and other middle grade magic school setting, and I guess they're right! I loved how the first book turned out and I'm excited to continue with the remaining books in the series.

This is the kind of book you wished you read as a kid, and it's our responsibility now to let the younger ones discover the magic this series has to offer!

Book Review:

Thank you to Netgalley and D.E. Nights representative Daniela for reaching out to me for an honest review of “The Crowns of Croswald” by D.E. Night

When I first began reading this book I wasn’t sure this would be a book I would enjoy but to my surprise I found this book to be a fantasy that is beyond magical. The magic that you will encounter will most definitely surprise you at every turn. Think Harry Potter, Cinderella, Snow White and Fantastic Beasts and you have “ The Crowns of Croswald” all in one book.

Our first encounter is with Derwin Edward Night but it is for you my dear readers to find out his true part in this grand adventure and you most definitely will. From this point this novel focuses on Ivy Lovely, a poor scaldrony maid at Castle Plum who struggles and works day and night from childhood till we meet her at the age of 16. She is sweet, kind and sketches wondrous pictures whenever she has free time and has but one friend named Rimbrick. Rimbrick tells her of adventures and of magical places.

Ivy’s kindness leads to her demise at Castle Plum when she takes a sickly little scaldrone and runs off with him to save his life. He would come to be called Humboldt. Then comes a strange letter she finds from Rimbrick and a leather pouch filled with coins and 3 books written by Derwin Edward Night.

Before you know it we are at Hills Of Ivy and Ms. Lovely is taking classes on various forms of magic and learning of mystical creatures and places. Ivy herself is not sure how she ended up here but it’s worth every second for you the reader to find out.

Verdict:

I can say I absolutely enjoyed every moment of this book. I could not put this book down in the past 2 days. Ms. Night has created a beautiful, sometimes scary and overall magical book that will leave you wanting for more!! I give this book a 5/5. Looking forward to reading Book 2z

16-year-old Ivy Lovely has just found out that she has magic! And she gets sent to this amazing school that she's only ever heard about - the Halls of Ivy - to become a scrivenist.⁣
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First, this book has such a Harry Potter-esque feel to it. I mean, a girl who has had this pretty crappy life suddenly finds out she's "special" and gets whisked off to a magic school. Very HP. But that's not to say that it's a copy of HP.⁣
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𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗱 definitely stands on its own two feet. D.E. Night did a fantastic job of world-building and giving everything its own little place in the story. I also loved how one of the first characters you meet (and the one that keeps popping up quite a bit throughout the story) is Derwin Edgar Night ... D.E. Night. That was just such a fun addition for me 😆⁣
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So many twists and turns! I had sticky notes throughout the book, full of questions and guesses about what was really going on. Characters appeared here and there, always leaving me guessing at what was really happening. The biggest question on my mind as I read was: Who is Ivy Lovely? I mean, really. Who is she?

Even though this is a middle-grade/YA book, I would say it's definitely suited for adults, as well. I found myself sucked in from the beginning and it didn't feel like a super-easy read. It felt like a book that has substance. I suppose, seems Ivy is 16, this is more of a YA than a middle-grade ... either way, it's a fantastic book!⁣

I was kindly asked by @storiesuntoldpress if I would review @author.denight debut book so of course I said yes. The Crowns of Croswald is about 16yo Ivy Lovely, who is a scurry girl. She is forced out of Castle Plum and is taken to The Halls of Ivy where she learns the works of scrivenists. While at Halls of Ivy strange things happen to only Ivy Lovely and through her first year at school, she learns of a dark secret, a curse and who she really is.
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When I first dived into this book I was a little unsure, as I saw many reviews, saying it was very much like Harry Potter and not much originality. However I have to disagree. Now yes there is a lot of similarities of Harry Potter, but I felt like Night took that inspo and made it into her own. I loved the prologue of The Scrivenist Derwin Edgar Night, it explained in some ways the plot of the book and what a scrivenist is. I enjoyed the world playing of the story you are dived into the beautiful Croswald land and the amazing castle the Halls of Ivy. There was so much descriptive language, but for me it was not too much or off putting. It made you dive into that world and imagine that you are there. I felt like I was Ivy herself and seeing through her eyes.
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I absolutely adored the character builiding. You have the beautiful protagonist Ivy Lovely, who has had a poor and awful life and her only friends are a Dwarf and a Scaldron Humbdolt. She is dived into a world unknown to her but I loved her integrity to get onto it all. I really liked how stubborn she was and how she wouldn't give up even when disastrous things get following her. I loved that she made friends with Rebecca a Royal who would rather be a Scrivinest and Fyn a Scrivenist who seemed to be drawn to Ivy. I enjoyed how both their relationships blossomed. Then there is Derwin Edgar Night, who is constantly in Ivy's dreams but turns out to be very much real and very important to Ivy.
I loved how Night kept Derwins character throughout the book, even though he had no written part till the end 2 chapters, he was still in throughout the book, still a major play in the book.
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To the end chapters, I absolutely loved how it all played out, with the Dark Queen forcing Ivy out to her, to the massive climax and fight. I loved how everthing was all folded into place and you start finally getting the answers on why Ivy keeps being drawn to these strange occurrings. I appreciated Nights way of answering all the questions that were put through the book. I loved how Ivy finally realised who she is and who Derwin is to her. I absolutely loved the cliffhanger at then end. I knew there was 2 more books to this series and I've added them on my kindle as I need to know how Ivy manages with her new found status and magic.
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Overall I loved this book and for a debut it was exceptional. I hope the next 2 books have a bit more action this time as that was the only thing lacking in this book. A huge thank you on letting me read this book. I loved it and can't wait to see next happens.

Ivy Lovey is a scullery maid living behind an enchanted boundary away from magic. When she crosses the border one day, she discovers that she is a scrivenist and has magic. This leads her to the Halls of Ivy where she enrolls as a student to learn how to master her magic.

This started off okay, although the premise is a bit cliche — a young girl who doesn’t know she has powerful magic suddenly discovers the secret that’s been kept from her for years. But I liked Ivy. She has a zest for life and wonderment that was endearing. However, she didn’t feel like a sixteen year old to me. I would have put her age at around eleven or twelve.

There were some really great ideas in here however a lot of the time it did feel like regurgitated Harry Potter with slightly different names.

My biggest issue though was the writing. It was hard to follow along sometimes. So much of it was overwritten which led to the story being muddy. There was no flow, it felt like the storyline jumped around from one random scene to the next with a lot of unnecessary dialogue. I found it quite a slog to get though which was a shame because it did have some fun ideas. Might suit an older MG or young YA reader but just wasn’t for me.

Many thanks to the publisher for the gifted ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Actual rating more like 2.5

I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect much from this book, so I was pleasantly surprised to find it so readable and enjoyable!

Ivy Lovely is a Cinderella-like character, who has lived her life so far as a scaldrony maid (a kind of scullery maid who tends to kitchen dragons) in the home of a Royal (magical) family, dreaming of becoming a Scrivenist (a kind of biographer to the Royal families? I’m still not 100% clear on what they do). Little did she know she actually has magical blood and soon finds herself at the magical Halls of Ivy school, where she will study her craft, get into trouble and try to solve the mystery of who she really is.

This book will inevitably be compared to Harry Potter; the influences cannot be denied (in fact I kept picturing Hogwarts as I read) but I defy any author of children’s fantasy not to be influenced by HP. It’s part of this book’s appeal! But it must be said that Night made a solid effort to make the world of Croswald her own.

Night used language well and very descriptively to bring Croswald to life, and I think this series is going to appeal to young, imaginative readers. However, I did find I was getting confused about things a little (as I said above, I’m still not sure what exactly a Scrivenist is, and are they friends with Royals or is there some class issue there? Why do they all study together?) so were I the target reading age for this book I may have got even more lost on a few things. As with any fantasy world, there are many things to learn and take in as you read, which I remember being overwhelming as a child!

Minor criticism:

Ivy is 16; this seems old for the behaviour of the character and the target age of the readers. I know the readers want to look up to someone older but 16 seems to be creating an age gap.

The story has a strong plot, but I thought we might get to experience more of Ivy’s lessons and time at school – those Hours of Discovery sounded really interesting! I would have liked to have got to know Ivy’s friends better too, most were just names.

In short, this was an unexpected hit for me. If you or your children love Harry Potter or magical fantasy in general, you’ll get some enjoyment out of this series!

Thank you Daniela @StoriesUntoldPress for getting in touch and #NetGalley for this ARC of #TheCrownsofCroswald

This was a fun book full of magic and was a fairly easy read. It felt quite similar to Harry Potter in places, making it feel like a story we have heard before, but if you are a young girl I can imagine you might prefer this, as Ivy is a wonderful main character who doesn't let anyone stop her from getting what she wants.
However, the pacing of this book felt off, with it seeming as if about a third is dedicated to the first week, a third to the last week, and the third in the middle is the rest of the school year. I didn't realise we were almost at the end of the school year until we learnt about the Ball, and I think the author was a bit too ambitious trying to fit a whole year into this book.
I did really like the idea of magic being incorporated through crowns and gems and crystals, and that was the most unique part of the story for me, However, while this did not feel like an original story, it did feel like a fun fantasy adventure story, and easy to understand, especially for someone who doesn't read a lot of fantasy.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me a copy for review!

This series was the perfect magical fantasy world I needed to fall into! Ivy Lovely is our teenage heroin discovering her powers. It was nice to read a magical book with a female heroin. She goes to a school where students learn to master their magical abilities and along the way she discovers her destiny. Each book gets better and better. Ivy grows stronger with each book and the friendship relationships just get better and better.

I was sent a digital copy of this book for an honest review, but I will do my best to not include spoilers.

I really liked this book. It is obviously heavily influenced by Harry Potter, but I like how the author entangled the story line to make it her own. It has just enough to get you intrigued.

I enjoyed Ivy's character, though I will say that some of the story line was kind of predictable, but not TOO predictable to ruin the story. I still wanted to keep reading to find out the end. She was likable, relatable, and even though I am not used to reading middle grade, it was easy to remember she was young without it being distracting.

Rebecca was also a likable, yet deceiving character. When you first meet her, you think one way, but are proven wrong and realize how much her character means to the story.

I enjoyed Fyn as well, though I am very suspicious of his character. Either enough was written into his development or there is more to his side of the story.

A few things that prevented me from rating five stars were that the ending was very convoluted and rushed. While my gut told me it was probably going to end the way it did, it felt a little heavy in the details and seemed unbelievable. Yes, I know it is fiction, but it was still hard to encompass. It also felt rushed, with a lot of information, and part of the ending seemed rather lackluster. I think more could've been written to make that part interesting. I actually said out loud "that's it?" Maybe there is more to why that was written that way in the next book, but I am unsure.

Overall though, I really liked the story and would be interested in reading the next one. It was written with such detail, but yet not too much to be overwhelming, and the writer has a great tone to set the mood throughout the entire story!

Thank-you Stories Untold for gifting this book in exchange for an honest review.
I thoroughly enjoyed this YA fantasy by D.E. Night. The world she creates is charming and imaginative, I’d love to see it made into a movie someday. As others have mentioned, there are some strong Harry Potter vibes, but the story is unique enough to stand on its own.
I found the writing itself a little lacking. Parts of it were confusing and I wasn’t drawn into that deep point of view that makes me feel like I’m right there with the character, but the story was fascinating and I have high hopes for book two.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The story is about Ivy and orphan that grows up as a maid and then discover she has magic and goes to a school to learn how to use her magic and become a scrivenist. Scrivenists are magical people that help and protect royal family and keep track of history and new discoveries. Always curious about her surroundings, Ivy is bound to discover the fate of a man that she has always dreamed of and that nobody seems to remember, as that of her own family.
I really liked this book and I’m looking forward to read the sequel. I loved the characters even if I didn’t particularly loved Ivy. I really loved Rebecca and Winsome and I was growing up for Fyn. I am not really sure about the Preceptor, I can’t make my mind if she’s foe or friend and I really hope we will discover more about her story in the following books.
However, I found too many similarities with Harry Potter. I love HP but I also love an original story and sometimes reading this book I thought I was reading again the Philosopher’s Stone.
Nonetheless, I recommend this book because it is easy and I think it has a really big potential. I really want to see if the author will develop it.

Such a fun and whimsical fantasy for middle grade readers! This reads like Harry Potter meets Alice in Wonderland meets a fairy tale. This is exactly the kind of book I would’ve loved as a child when I devoured the books of Gail Carson Levine and Eva Ibbotson.

The introduction to this magical world was very reminiscent of reading Harry Potter for the first time, with a young girl who grew up hidden from magic suddenly finding herself a student at a magical boarding school. Ivy was an endearing protagonist. She is a bit awkward and an outsider, but she is smart and brave and caring. A delightful cast of characters and creatures fleshed out the worldbuilding.

As an adult reader, I wanted a bit more substance when it came to the backstory and relationships between characters, but I think it was appropriate for the intended audience. Some elements of the pacing and magic system confused me, so I hope those details are a bit more fleshed out in the rest of the series.

Overall, I thought this was a strong first book, and I recommend this series for young fantasy readers.

The Crowns of Croswald was a very magical read from the start. Ivy Lovely was hidden away at a castle caring for scaldrons and making food for the town for the first 16 years of her life. Once Ivy crosses the barrier that has hidden her magic for the past 16 years, everything changes. This book follows Ivy as she navigates her new school, Halls of Ivy, and learns about her magic and the magic of other's crowns. Ivy also discovers that there are many hidden secrets about her life and the school itself, and she's determined to find out what they are. It was such a fun and whimsical read, with many magical creatures and stories. The Crowns of Croswald was a great read for young adults and it definitely had elements that resembled Harry Potter. I found the book to be slow at some points and I struggled to read through it, but I did love the way the magic was portrayed in the book. I'm interested to see how the next book is!

I wanted so much to like this book but it just wasn't to be.

For me things got off to a bad start with the depiction of several fat characters, which seemed to be a recurrent theme especially in the first third of the book. Mrs Butterlove and her son Woodley bore the brunt of this, Woodley's sole discerning features were that he loved butter and would probably leave grease on your hand if you were to shake it. Mrs Butterlove was described as looking like she lived above the town baker rather than the shop she did live above. And of the three resident ghosts only the fat one had a nickname. These may be little things but to impressionable children I think it reinforces the negative stereotypes that bigger means silly, lazy or bad and children's book just don't need that.

Besides those issues, The Crowns of Crosward was a fun story but one that felt like a few original, interesting ideas mixed in with a lot of very familiar ones. It had a similar vibe to Harry Potter, not just the magical school setting but even some of the dialogue felt similar. I was happ to see a female protagonist, but Ivy was about as likeable as Harry Potter and the other characters lacked depth. The pacing felt chaotic either too fast or too slow in parts.

Ivy seemed a lot younger than her 16 years despite the frequent reminders of her age and she seemed to blunder her way through every obstacle in the story. Having read a number of incredible middle grade fantasy books lately I felt like The Crowns of Croswald missed the mark on a number of things and I struggled to make it through to the end.

Thank you to the author for the ARC provided by Netgalley.

I love a lost princess trope with a lot of fun magic, magical creatures, and lovable characters. I think that if you’re a fan of Harry Potter or Percy Jackson and are looking for a magical school and adventure this book is 100% for you and will be your next favorite series to dive into.

Ivy and Fyn are fun. Ivy herself is sweet and funny and I felt to be well rounded as a character, except that she seems much younger than sixteen. Rebecca is actually a really fun and sweet character. As for the rest of the characters they felt dynamic at times and other times they didn’t feel completely fleshed out. Despite this aspect, I really enjoyed being in the story alongside these characters.

I love love loved diving into a magical school setting full of adventure personally, it’s something that is warm and nostalgic for me and I think that the author did a great job bringing to life the magic and whimsy and wonder of it all. Especially as Ivy is experiencing it. Plus, the world of Croswald and the magical creatures were so fun!

I suppose the one thing that did throw me off was the demographic of this book, while I think anyone can read this and enjoy it, it did read and feel more like a middle grade. Regardless, I think anyone can read and enjoy this thoroughly. Especially for the characters.

The Crowns of Crowsald by D.E. Night was a fun Fantasy read. Ivy is wisked away from her dreary life as a scaldrony maid when a cloud comes down to rescue her; her and her scaldron (a type of mini cooking dragon), Humboldt. The story just gets more fantastical from there. She is taken to the magic school to become a scrivenist, a job keeping track of a royal family’s life. Ivy’s days and nights are filled with school and magic of all sorts. Little clues and wonderfully eccentric characters help Ivy to learn her family’s history and lead to a show down with a wicked royal. This book captured my attention, I really enjoyed following along on all of Ivy’s adventures. There was humor, romance, peril, and mystery at every turn.

I don't think I would've stumbled upon this book if I hadn't' gotten the review copy and I'm so grateful for that, because I loved it!
The world is absolutely amazing! I loved the magic school, the magic system, all the creatures and character. I loved the idea of using quills as wands, and the glanageries is absolutely brilliant!
I loved the story, I was so eager to get to know more about Ivy's past, all of my guesses where completely wrong and didn't even compare to the real story!
It was funny and super cute, and gave me very strong Harry Potter vibes, which I loved!
I absolutely loved it, definitely going to continue with this series!

When publisher Stories Untold Press reached out to offer me a copy of this book for review, I was initially hesitant. Middle-grade fantasy holds a special place in my reading heart, and I am particular about my choices. But I shouldn’t have worried, this one hit the spot.

Ivy Lovely has spent her childhood working in the castle kitchens, miserable and lonely in her barren existence. Until she is rescued by the prestigious magical school, and transported to a world beyond her wildest dreams. As she slowly settles into classes, and makes friends, strange events occur around her, most beyond any explanation. Can she save her friends, and her spot at the school, when events take a very dark turn?

I loved these characters, and the storyline kept me moving forward, wanting to know what was around the next corner.

My main criticism would be the similarity to the Harry Potter story, and there were moments when I struggled not to make direct comparisons to the HP story trajectory. A few plot moments wrapped up a little too quickly and neatly, but it was never enough to make me set the book aside. I will be finding the rest of the books, because I want to know how Ivy does as she goes forward in school.

Book Review: The Crowns of Croswald by D.E. Night

Synopsis: Ivy Lovely is a nobody. For 16 years she worked as scaldrony maid who forced to serve a royal family whose only payment is a scrap of food and cold living quarters. Then, one day, she crosses a boundary she didn’t knew existed. Suddenly, Ivy is thrust into a world of magic where she must learn to navigate and harness her talents. But why does Ivy keep having these strange dreams of a man she does not know and why does the Evil Queen want her dead?

Thoughts: Full disclaimer, this author’s publishing company reached out to see if I would be interested in reading and reviewing this book. Initially, I was somewhat hesitant but after finishing my last Kindle book, I decided to give it a go.

HOLY COW GUYS! I loved this book!!! This is definitely in the same genre as Harry Potter which everyone knows I love ❤️😁🦁 . Ivy is fierce, sassy, and headstrong, just the type of female protagonist I adore 🥰 once I started reading this book, I struggled to put it down. Given that this is the first book in the series and I liked it this much, I can’t wait to read the next one. I am a sucker for magical worlds and coming of age tales!

A few critiques: I had to check myself and not completely compare it to HP. When it comes to creating new worlds, very few compare to JKR, however, I feel this author is definitely on her way! I did find it a little frustrating at times that situations seemed to resolve a little *too* easily but I’m hopeful the story line will continue to morph and grow just like all of my favorite magically series do.

Please check out this book and author! It is available on kindle unlimited.

Overall rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 4.5

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So the first notable aspect about this book is that the main character is a little older than most middle grade protagonists. At first, I was unsure about this, but then I realized that 11-year-old me was able to read about 17-year-old Harry Potter, so it doesn't really matter at all.

Right from the beginning, this book had an air of mystery to it. Ivy lives in a castle, but works as a scullery maid. One day, she crosses a magical border and she is immediately whisked away to the legendary Halls of Ivy, a school for Royals and Scrivenists. What I loved about this book is that the magic is so whimsical and absurd. There are really no limits to what the magic can do, which makes it really funny sometimes.

Ivy is incredibly inquisitive. She doesn't really adhere to the rules, and is more focused on figuring out who she is. Because surely a simple scullery maid couldn't belong at the Halls of Ivy? However, sometimes I thought she was a little too impulsive. Even though she doesn't care about the consequences for herself, that also means sometimes her friends are dragged into her shenanigans.

My only slight gripe with the story is that it takes while to get to the main plot. Ivy is being threatened by the Dark Queen, but we don't really get a sense of that until about halfway through the book. This doesn't mean that the first half of the book was boring. The first half was really whimsical, but it didn't yet tell a story.

My other point is that the last pages were a little on the predictable side. At one point it wasn't hard to guess what would happen next. I did like the ending, though. There are three books in this series, and the last pages of The Crowns of Croswald set the scene nicely for the next book, The Girl With the Whispering Shadow.

Final thoughts: The Crowns of Croswald is an incredibly whimsical story about a girl just trying to figure out who she is. I think it would be perfect for middle graders that show an active interest in reading, and enjoyed books like Harry Potter and Keeper of the Lost Cities.