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

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CE9d_tSgH4v/

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.

DNF at 53%.

In my opinion D.E. Night has a lot of potential as an author! This Middle Grade novel is chock full of whimsical scenarios, wonderful characters and elaborate explanations intended to help a younger reader feel immersed. Sadly, I often found myself confused and struggling to follow the plot lines as world building was overwhelming and tended to take up pages without adding to the plot. I found myself skipping over pieces to just read the dialogue and in the end, it just wasn’t holding my attention.

Overall, I think this book could appeal to a younger audience as the premise of the story is truly magical. The Crowns of Croswald holds unique components (the creatures were very creative!), but unfortunately this book was not for me. I do however look forward to seeing what <i>D.E.</i> creates in the future.


A huge thank you to NetGalley and Stories Untold Press for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a cute middle grade fantasy story. While the idea of a kid finding out she has magical powers and going to a school of magic is far from unique, the magical world from Croswald has quite unique features and I love the idea of scrivenists. And anyone who like me is a bit obsessed with dragons would love to have a scaldron!

*My copy of The Crowns of Croswald was gifted to me by the publisher (Stories Untold) in exchange for an honest review*

This book was such a charming read that puts you into a magical world that is both familiar and completely new. D. E. Night has crafted a magical world unique to the genre, expanding outside of the typical “witch and wizard school” trope. It took me a few chapters to feel like I knew the world that the story was taking place in, but that didn’t take away from the story that was unfolding. I read faster and faster as the book continued. This book is simultaneously a fantasy book and a mystery book, and the ending leaves you wanting more.

Reading this book made me feel like I was a middle schooler again, tucking away into my room to read fantasy novels and escape to somewhere else. I know that 13 year old Brooke would have LOVED this book, and the nostalgia of that made me love it as an adult too. I recommend this book for any middle reader fantasy lover and any adult who loves escaping into young fantasy.

Magic and whimsy galore! A pure delight for lovers of middle grade fantasy.

Ivy Lovely lives as a scaldrony maid to the House of Plum. Thrown out of her home after a kitchen fiasco, she finds herself swept up in a magical adventure at the Halls of Ivy, a school for royals with magical crowns and sqwinches with a pinch of magic in their blood. Studying to be a Scrivenist, a dream come true for Ivy, she hopes to finally feel like she belongs somewhere. However, strange things keep happening and trouble follows her around like her own shadow. As Ivy finds herself on a quest to find out who and what’s been purposely forgotten, she discovers the baffling mystery of who Ivy Lovely really is and why she was hidden away for the past sixteen years.

While the story is certainly original, The Crowns of Croswald reminds me of Harry Potter with a sprinkle of Disney. Lots of fanciful, made-up magical words that are super fun to read or say out loud. It’s a plot-driven novel with just enough description to make the reader feel like part of the make-believe world.

I never had trouble imagining the magical setting, but there were a couple of times I had to reread a page or section to clear up any confusion when there was a lot going on or a lot of information to absorb.

Even though the main characters are sixteen, the book still reads as a middle grade. I don’t remember any language or romantic scenes or anything like that. An immodestly dressed woman enters a strange ballroom scene toward the end, but, overall, it’s a clean fantasy read. I LOVED the concept and am looking forward to seeing the characters develop even more in the next book.

Thank you to Netgalley, Stories Untold Press and the author DE Night for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
This is a middle-grade fantasy book and as a child I would've loved this book so much. It made me SO nostalgic!
I loved the details the. author went into about the Croswald world and the characters, school and animals. It was fantastic!
I also love how the author, DE Night, named a character 'Derwin Edgar Night", I think this is super iconic.
Everything in the series is wholly fantasy and that quality reminded me of Harry Potter ,which I have heard other book reviewers mention that view too. However, this series is completely unique and magical in its own way.
Anyone with a child should encourage them to read this book! Its amazing, to be honest, even if you don't have a child you should totally read it!

Firstly, I loved the magic in this book. The setting and the atmosphere the author has created is magical and nostalgic. It reminded me a little of Harry Potter. Readers both young and old would enjoy it.

Secondly, I adored the characters. I loved the MC, Ivy. She has some ups and downs, but it made her so relatable.

The writing style was refreshing. I found that I couldn’t put this story down. I read it on one sitting.

I can’t wait to go on the next adventure with Ivy. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

Often I think books need to be shorter, less detail and pointless events however this book I felt should and could have been longer. A lot happen in a short amount of time and it could feel a bit disjointed in places. That saying I throughly enjoyed my ride through Ivy’s adventures at her first year at school.

Gone were the days of being a maid with her little dragons (I now want a dragon that cooks my food in their mouths, thank you in advance), her world is now full of adventure, the forgotten room and a dark queen who seems to have an unusual interest in Ivy.

I understand why every review seems to reference Harry Potter due to the boarding school and magic, but there are differences and a lot more magical elements.

If your a fan of YA and after a nice light read then I would certainly give this book ago!

Roll on book 2!

I received this book from netgalley in return for an honest review

I really enjoyed how this book took so many classic tropes that we know and love but turned them on their head and made them fresh and new and original.
I enjoyed how we ended up guessing plot points at similar times to our main character, as appose to her being slower which was a really nice surprise.
It was beautifully written and whimsical too.
I would recommend this for more advanced middle-grade readers or young adult readers because although the content itself is perfectly family-friendly the language used and mystery elements were sometimes overwhelming and slightly confusing.
Rated:3.5 Stars

Fans of Harry Potter and Pennyroyal Academy get ready because I have found your new favorite read!

The Crowns of Croswald is the magical story of Ivy, a young girl, who has felt trapped her entire life. When she leaves the castle that’s been her home since she can remember, Ivy is swept away to a school for teens with magic. While at the school, Ivy’s days will be filled with adventure, mystery, and romance.

I thought this book was okay until the last few chapters. That’s when the book got really exciting and made me want to read more! I want to see all my questions answered and I’m hoping for more of Fyn in the next book.

I felt that the beginning of the book was a bit odd, and many conflicts had underwhelming resolutions. I’m hoping that if I read the next books, they’ll be like the exciting end chapters of this first book.

I hope this review was helpful and makes you want to read this book!