I enjoyed this book. It is similar to Harry Potter—unsuspecting child finds out they have magic powers, goes to magic school escaping their dull life, something dark threatens their safety, the main character must work with other classmates to discover what is going on. I could see having this book in my classroom especially for students who love a magical world (or want to read Harry Potter and aren’t quite ready). It’s worth the read!

I received a copy of this book through netgalley for free in exchange for an honest review. So, let me tell you about this charming little book!

The Crowns of Croswald paints a picture of a society full of magic and mystery. We meet our protagonist when she is a kitchen maid, before she begins her hero's journey arc. Eventually she gets to leave her servitude and be educated at a school of magic.

This story had very strong Harry Potter vibes to it. In fact, many of the important plot points are virtually the same. However, the world-building was different and I did enjoy the fact that we had a female protagonist. Like many school stories, she has a group of friends and they have to work together to fight evil and discover their true powers.

This is a fun universe D.E. Night has built, and I'm so very pleased to hear that there are more in the series. I would recommend this book for middle grade readers on up who enjoy fantasy, magic, and school stories.

Thank you Net Galley and D.E. Night for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

For fans of Harry Potter or Charlie Bone, The Crowns of Croswald is definitely one to add to your TBR! This book is definitely suitable for younger readers - in fact I would label this serious Middle Grade rather than Ya, despite the main character being 16.

Speaking of Ava, her characteristics and mannerisms reminded me greatly of Alice from Alice in Wonderland. Ava has the same naivety and accepting nature, but is an overall likeable character.She's eager to talk to people she doesn't know and very curious for information. She is an protagonist you root for and one you want to follow along with her journey.

There is no denying that D.E. Night is a fantastical writer. She is descriptive, though not overly descriptive, and provides amazing imagery. The only thing I had problems with in this book was the major similarities it had to Harry Potter. I often found myself skimming most of the chapters and not surprised when major plot points happened. Even though this book wasn't for me, I can see the appeal it would have for my students who would greatly enjoy this novel.

3.5 stars! This book is very cute and is the start to a magical journey as it is the first in a series. The story is about an insignificant girl who starts to discover her dark past and realizes there is more to her than she could ever imagine. I enjoyed a lot of the characters in this book, especially Fyn. This is a great book for young readers or if you are looking for an innocent magical adventure. Enjoy!

In a world full of magic, what would you give to be free of chores, boredom and a hopeless future as a kitchen maid?

Hoping to the moon for a chance is Ivy's only way out of a sad, poor life as an orphan in Castle Plum... Or so she thinks! Suddenly she finds herself on her way to the most prestigious magic school of Croswald and living a year full of new experiences, challenges, friends and, of course, magic!!

This installment opens the door for a new fantastic world were the shadow in power lurks behind every corner of the scrivients and royals' school, making curses and forgetfulness be in the core of the mysteries and the future of the young Lovely.

Great for fans of Harry Potter and the Worst Witch saga!

ARC provided free by Netgalley un exchange for an honest review.

I received an ebook from the publisher in exchange for a honest review.

I couldn't get into this book. The writing style wasn't working for me. The story sounds great and maybe I'll be able to finish it in the future. I think the author is very comma heavy and added them into each sentence when in reality it could have been reworded to avoid this. The commas kept pulling me out of the story and since that was happening every sentence ... I just became too much and I decided to not finish it this time.

The premise of this world and story pulled me in at the start. It had Harry Potter vibes, but had an interesting approach where dreaming and magic thrives through writing and drawing - the act of creation an embodiment of magic! However, overall, it just didn’t deliver. The main character bolted from one adventure/crisis to another without adequate bridging that would have formed this into a cohesive plot line. Although marketed at a middle grade read, the main character is 16, turning 17, which I feel puts this outside the middle grade category. Also a strange and undeveloped romance of sorts comes into view in the last 25% that just didn’t fit. Ultimately, The Crowns of Croswald couldn’t decide what it wanted to be and this reader couldn’t get fully lost in the story. I might try to complete the series in order to get a grasp on this world that has been created and many others have said that the following books get better.

Escape to a magical world with a cast of intriguing characters in D.E. Night's book, The Crowns of Croswald. I definitely recommend purchasing this book for school libraries.

Thanks for netgalley and Stories Untold for providing me an E-Arc.

Thank you to NetGalley and Stories Untold for a gifted eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

For kids too young for the avada kedavra curse, this is a great introduction to the world of magic. There are nods to Harry Potter everywhere, and I enjoyed those little Easter eggs. The writing is simple and the story is easy to follow.

Ivy has her ups and downs, where she can be a bit annoying, but she means well and just wants to know what’s going on, which is fair. Her curiosity is burning and it really drives this story. I liked Ivy’s friends, Fyn and Rebecca, but do wish that we had learned more about them and got to know them better. Ivy seems annoyed by them more often than anything, so I don’t think we really get to see their personalities as much as I would have liked. I loved Winsome and do wish we got to spend a bit more time getting to know him as well. I found Derwin Edgar Night (same initials as the author, which I thought was fun!) the most interesting character in the story and can’t wait to finally learn more about him in the next books!

Towards the end, I couldn’t put the book down, I just needed to know what was happening! I had an idea of what it may be, but wasn’t sure how all of it fit together. The ending was full of excitement and action, and gave us a brief overview of Ivy’s history. There were definitely things I questioned, but they seem to be things that could be answered in the next book🤞🏼Overall, it was an enjoyable read!

An uninspired introduction that lacks all whimsy and wonder. From the characters to the plot, The Crowns of Croswald was a misfire on all levels.

I DNF'ed this book. Here is the reason why in story form:
Once there was a boy named Harry, girl named Ivy who lived in a bad home situation until the day she got a magical letter to a magical school. She then proceeded to go shopping at the magical stores...
It was a bit too similar to Harry Potter at the beginning. Now, I did not read further so I cannot speak for the rest of the book but I would have greatly enjoyed some originality to the story. However, I did like the creatures at the beginning. They were interesting and unique.
Even this story was not for me, I would still encourage you to give it a try as it had a unique writing voice.

Rating: 1 Star
I am not listing contents due to DNF'ing the book.

*I received a copy of this book from the author. All thoughts are my own and a positive review was not required.

Review is scheduled to post to the blog on October 13, 2020.

Thanks to Netgalley and Stories Untold Press for the free Kindle copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
•
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 for this action-packed magical fantasy. Ivy grew up a slurry maid, but ends up with a place at the Halls of Ivy, a magical academy. What she doesn’t know, however, is her true heritage. The ending leaves it open for a sequel. The characters are likable, and I found myself sucked in. Hand this to fans of Keeper of the Lost Cities and Harry Potter.

This is a magical middle grade book that has a very Harry Potter feel. The main character, Ivy, is an orphan and works as a maid in the castle. One day she is whisked away to a magical school called The Halls of Ivy where she is told she has magic powers and that she will become a scrivenist (a magical scribe of sorts). Ivy now attends school with other squinches (scrivenists in training) as well as princes and princesses from all over the magical land of Croswald.

This book has a familiar story arch of an orphan child finding out they are something more than they assumed, then they go to a magic school where they are the underdog and always getting into mishaps, only to find out that they have more power than anyone thought, and there is a mystery surrounding their origins. Also, someone evil tries to kill them to gain their power. This book does add some different elements with royalty playing a large role in the story, which is a bit refreshing.

I give this book a 3.5 out of 5. It was a little simple for me in terms of how things played out. There wasn’t as much character and dialogue depth as I would have liked either. But knowing this is a middle grade book, this is written perfectly for a middle school aged person. If I taught middle school, I would definitely recommend this to my students. Overall, it had a good amount of action, but I would have liked the action spread out more. The best part of the book came at the end with a large epic scene. This book is also the first in a series, so I’d be interested to see how the series plays out.

Ivy, a 16 year old girl lives in Castle Plum as a maid. Unaware of her powers that she holds within, she lives as an outcast until one day her life takes a turn where she discovers her actual identity. In this magical world, Ivy comes across so many adventures in order to find the very meaning of her life, and to fix her blurred but alluring dreams. Was she meant to be in the beautiful yet haunting magical world, or is her existence much more than that?

I absolutely loved this book. So full of magic. Was clearly obsessed with discovering the dark secrets with the protagonist Ivy. This book, is so full of beauty, happiness and ofcourse abundance of magic. If you loved Harry Potter series, movie or book, I highly recommend you to read this. It'll take you into the world where never ending adventure begins

Note: I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Crowns of Croswald is a middlegrade fantasy that sends readers on a fun and whimsical ride. What really sets The Crowns of Croswald appart is the world building. Night has created a unique world rich with magic and oddities that will have readers intrigued. I loved the creativity of the magic system, from the different creatures to the glanageries.

While the prologue drew me into the mystery from the very first line, I found the rest of book less gripping. At times, the writing felt stilted and awkward, particularly in dialogue. This may have been emphasized by the fact that the main character is supposed to be 16, but often acts and speaks as though she is much younger. That being said, this is a middlegrade novel and I think it would have been appropriate for Ivy to have been aged down.

Overall, this book was an enjoyable read and I would recommend it to younger audiences.

The Crowns of Croswald follows a story about Ivy, a sixteen year old girl, who enters a magical world and finds her powers unlocked after crossing over the magical barrier. She finds herself at Halls of Ivy, a school where they practice their magic.

The book reminds me a lot of Harry Potter, and has quite a fantastical spin to it. The world building is incredible. I loved reading the details and history of the Croswald universe. I also really liked the idea of the Scrivenists, who wield their power through their quills. The mystery and adventure aspect of the book kept me going and made the book a thrilling read.

Ivy was a fun and exciting protagonist, and a great middle school character. Ivy learns more about her reccurring dreams and how it is connected with her past and Croswald. She does so along with the help of her friends Rebecca and Fyn who are such adorable secondary characters.

The world building is amazing (oops, did I say that already) and gives much potential for the rest of the series!

Definitely recommend to middle-school readers or anyone who loved Harry Potter.

4.5 Stars
I really enjoyed this book, even if it did take me a while to fully get into it. I really enjoyed learning about the world, it’s magic system and characters! I always love magical school settings, and the Halls of Ivy did not disappoint! I am excited to read the next book and continue the story!

I have received a e-book of this book from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.
(This review is up on goodreads)
Actual Rating: 3.5

-synopsis-
Magic + Adventure + Fantasy + thrill
I really enjoyed this book it brung back the nostalgia for me of childhood. This was a great in take on magic and a magical universe. If you brought this book to me a couple years ago I would definitely have adored it more. This was a fun quick easy read for me.
-setting-
Croswald was a fantastic magical world filled with magic (of course) , slurry flowers, and mystery. One of my initial thoughts while reading this was “this reminds me of harry potter” The world is quite similar in a good way.

-Writing-
This story, like I said was a fun light read. The magic system of Croswald was very original and interesting. This was pretty slow paced for me during the first couple of chapters. But once Ivy arrived at school the book just grabbed my attention immediately!

-characters-
The characters had there own personalities and I loved them dearly. Although at times I kept forgetting Ivy was 16 because she just seemed so much younger in the book. I adore how relatable Ivy was and we also had similar interests which was cool. I loved Fyn, Rebecca, the selector and all the other characters. I wish there were more background information on them though.

-conclusion-
This book was well paced, magical, and overall fun. I would definitely recommend this if you love harry potter. I would also say this is a great book to get into reading it represents fantasy well.

While the cover depicts a feature of the story, it does not convey the young adult nature of the book. Based on the cover, I would have thought this a middle grade novel, but when the story starts our protagonist Ivy is turning sixteen. Furthermore, the boy she may or may not have a crush on is 18, since he’s in his third year of study when Ivy begins her first.
That’s not to say those who are younger can’t read it, as there is not much violence, no gore, and no language or sexual undertones, but I think having a different cover would engage a wider audience. If you’re a fan of magic, boarding schools, and adventure, then you will enjoy this book!

Ivy is accepted to the Halls of Ivy, despite not realizing she had any magical ability. She gets into lots of trouble, but also makes some great friends. I wasn’t sure whether I could trust Fyn for a large part of the book, and the Selector is definitely suspicious, but I did see the reveal of Ivy’s identity coming from the beginning, although not the specific details.

The magic system is entirely unique, and I wish we had learned more about it. There are two groups of magic users, royals who get a specific power from the gems in their crowns, and scrivenists who have magic in their blood and use quills (not wands) as the conduit. The scrivenists’ magic doesn’t seem to be as easily described as the royals’, and so I’m still a bit confused as to how and what the scrivenists can do besides write and sketch and brew potions, but I’m hoping there will be more explanation in the next books.

It takes a little bit to get acclimated to the world, and I think that’s why the first few chapters are slower-paced, but it definitely picks up. Sometimes it actually seems too fast later on with all the different descriptions and things happening. I wish it didn’t end at the moment it did!

This is a really whimsical, magical story following a young girl who finds out she is magical and goes to a magical school. Ivy Lovely is a very inquisitive young girl who wants answers to all the questions she has and will do anything to get those answers.

Throughout this story there is a dark ominous feel as strange things happen and danger is mounting which created some great tension and made me want to keep reading and figure out what the heck is going on.

The magic system in this story is very unique and interesting but also very easy to wrap you head around it. As I was reading this book I felt very comforted and it reminded me of when I read the Harry Potter series. Some things that did happen in this book I did feel like they were very reminiscent and similar to Harry Potter which I really enjoyed.