What I Liked:

- the fairytale style reminiscent of The Princess and the Goblin
- magical school and lessons inspired by Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
- the friendship between Ivy and Rebecca

What I Didn't Like:

- the pacing was very off for me and the story never really had time to breathe so I didn't connect with a lot of it
- the characters were caricatures rather than fleshed-out, complex people and I found myself not caring what happened to them
- a lot of tropes were used but not very effectively
- the info-dump at the beginning means the book is quite confusing at times and some things are never explained properly
- the plot is bland

Overall, this was a run-of-the-mill children's fantasy that didn't offer much new to the genre. However, younger children might enjoy the simplistic style and appreciate the myriad magical creatures and lessons. Just because the book wasn't for me doesn't mean it won't be perfect for another reader.

I think this book was targeting an audience a bit younger than I'm used to reading so it definitely wasn't my usual choice of reads BUT despite that it still delivered.

It has a well thought out magic system with consistent and compelling world building that draw you into the adventure.

It's well written with a solid plot and great pacing once you get into it. I did find the beginning a little jarring and it took me a little while to get into it but overall a great read for middle graders!

This book really loved it, it's full of magic and a lot of unexpected twists, I could see what there are two others and I can not wait to read them. This book is perfect for middle-aged children, if you loved Harry Potter?, this book is for you, thank you for the opportunity to read this e-book.

The Crowns of Croswald is the first book in a magical middle grade/YA fantasy series written by D.E. Night.

The book follows Ivy Lovely who works as a maid in the kitchens of Castle Plum taking care of dragon-like creatures called Scaldrons and spending her evenings sketching the same castle that has appeared in her dreams for as long as she can remember. She never expected her life to amount to much until the day she received her invitation to the Halls of Ivy.

I really enjoyed reading this book, the author has a great writing style that flows smoothly and makes you instantly love her characters and the unique world she has created. I especially loved the little illustrations at the beginning of each chapter which added that little extra dash of whimsy to the story. Once I started reading I could not put it down and finished this magical adventure in one evening.

If you are looking for a cozy book full of magic and adventure that you can read in one sitting then I definitively recommend you pick up The Crowns of Croswald and join Ivy as she discovers the secrets not only hiding in the Halls of Ivy but also in herself.

The Crowns of Croswald is a little bit Harry Potter feel a little bit Sabrina the teenage feel a little bit bad ass. This book is hands down a great book that I couldn't put down
D.E. Night did a phenomenal job writing this story and putting us into another sought out world we didn't know we needed.

** thank you to the author & publisher for giving me this e-Arc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!** This was such a cute magical middle grade that should be on everyone’s list! It reminded me a lot of Harry Potter, so if you’re a fan of that series I think you would like this one. I love that there was a female protagonist who was so well rounded, and the world building was phenomenal! It’s out now, so everyone run and pick up a copy and experience this magical world for yourself! ✨

“This all sounds very lovely, but I, I can't be the girl you're looking for. Look at me... I-I'm just. Just a girl. A nobody. Maybe you're looking for Princess Alianna?”

He peered over his enormous, round spectacles, his face softening. “Some scrivenists start out as nobodies.”

The Crowns of Croswald tell the story of Ivy Lovely, who starts out to be working in the kitchen. She is an orphan, doesn't know her parents, which is a familiar setting in fantasy stories. I was afraidf I would get the same set-up like most fantasy stories. However, it isn't the main focus of the story; she doesn't drown in the thoughts that she is an orphan, and focuses more on what she has like great friendships, which I find for sure important, and her love for sketching, which is a big part of the story for good reasons. That, and she decides to run away with some kind of dragon-like creature, away from the dwarf she saw as a friend, to get picked up by a metal wearing beast that carried two people with him (not it, don't call him that, he will get upset).

And that is where we meet Lionel Ohlander Lugg, aka LOL, aka my favorite character for that fact and that fact alone.

Ivy gets a list of supplies she needs for school, buys those, sees the Dark Queen, who as the name might suggests, is the villain. We don't know much about her besides the fact that is bad. But I wished we knew more, that we got more history of her and the reason she acts the way she acts. I'm all for a well fleshed out villain. Maybe we will see more of her in the rest of the series...

The chapters go by, to give more insight on the school system and the magic system, which is an interesting one. Some people have crowns, and they have stones that give them a specific kind of magic, like changing into an animal or control an element. I never read of a system like that, so bonus points for such an unique system!

Sooo, after those chapters, which sometimes felt a bit too rushed for my liking, we go back to the story. Because something strange is going on and that is that nobody seems to know or want to know who Derwin Edgar Night. And to find out who it is, because Ivy wants to know. She takes her friend Rebecca in her problems. And I loved it. I love their friendship and how even though it developed fast, it also developed so honest. They sure are great in causing problems and make a great team, which is nothing but fun to read about. Because they cause so many problems and because they also get punished from it, even more problems are caused, which gave an even more deeper insight in both the history and magic. If you are afraid there will be infodumps, I would say it isn't that bad. From time to time, there sure is a longer story out of nowhere, but in the end it all comes together very nicely and makes you forget it is even the case. That, and since it has this middle grade feeling, it is easy to understand what is going on and how things work.

All by all, this book is a great first book which also sets up the rest of the series. It has great friendships and a blooming romance maybe. If you want to try out more middle grade/fantasy, I recommend starting here because you wouldn't regret it!

Also, every chapter has a cute little illustrations, which is always a win in my book.

I was really intrigued with the blurb and my curiosity got the better of me when I was asked to review the book for the blog and am I so glad I let my curiosity win. The Crown's of Croswald was an excellent read, it was clearly influenced by some other children's books but that didn't make it less enjoyable or less unique. I enjoyed the writing, I thought it was well paced out and the characters were great

Got this from the publisher and from Netgalley for a review!

We all grew up with Harry Potter in some way - we had a best friend, a sibling, a parent, or we ourselves loved it so much that it shaped our reading habits for the rest of our lives...but now years later we have all of this information about the author and times are changing and I for one think that it's time we lift up other authors who have taken up the sort of theme of the books and elevated them into their own imagination and The Crown of Croswald is one of the books I'd like to start with.

Truthfully, if this book hadn't been suggested to me I would not have known about it but now that I do I'm digging it. I'm digging it so much that when my pay from work comes in I'll be ordering all three books from the closest store for my niece because I think she would love it, and also so I can see the pretty cover art in my shelves.

One of the unique aspects of this series so far is the difference in magic compared to how other people use magic in books.

They use porcupines (the poor things generally scare easy) and sketching for magic as well as royal crowns and stones and I love it. I'd buy an entire novella dedicated to the history of the magic system in this world because I've read a ton of books and this is the most out-there one so far.

For a middle-grade series, I feel like she aged up the characters too much. 16-17 for this sort of series doesn't seem right to me because I think that they should be the same age as the readers but the way that it's paced and worded makes it easy to follow and guess what's going to happen so it's a good starting point. It's a slow build up to an intense end of the book and I like that in a book but some younger kids might not, depending on their individual reading level.

This is a middle grade fantasy series, full of magic & adventure - I adored so many things about this first book! At first, I was getting some major Harry Potter vibes and I really loved it, and it’s so great that it was from a female perspective and eventually got to it’s own story development. Ivy’s character is my favorite, and I was so glad she had such an awesome support system. And can we talk about how cute Humboldt seems?! I loved the illustrations at the beginning of each chapter, they are absolutely beautiful and I couldn’t wait to make the connection in every chapter. Also when the prologue made sense in this book, WOW - this book was simply amazing!

I honestly loved this book!
I haven’t felt so drawn in a book in a long time. If you are a lover of fantasy, magic, castles, lost princesses and evil queens this is definitely a book for you.
The story is about a young girl, Ivy, who gets an invitation to attend a magic school and a whole new world with many mysteries unfolds for her.
I found the story and the way this magical world is built remarkable. The main characters are all interesting in their own way and to my opinion the plot and humour are smartly weaved for a young adult book. Despite the length of the book, it is not tiring or boring at all and keeps the interest of the reader high.
The book is inspired from the Harry Potter world but as soon as you start reading it, the story is captivating and it did not remind me of it at any point.
Generally, the book felt like it had the right amount of everything, making it very enjoyable for me!
I cannot wait to start the next one!

The story is set in a world where magic and reality coexist. They are divided, but at the same time connected. Ivy, the protagonist, is a young girl trying to survive every day life. When she crosses the border that separates the mundane from the magical world her powers awaken. She finds herself surrounded by new incredible things and goes to a magical school to learn how to control her new powers. Everything seems to be perfect, except it’s not.

The book is a fast read. Since it’s a middle-grade the story is easy to follow and the writing style allows the reader to fully immerse in the new world.

Even if the story has something in common with other similar books, I think that the powers and the magic system are very original. The world buiding is really well done and it’s probably my favourite part of the book.

All the characters are interesting, they have both pros and cons, especially Ivy that is sixteen but seems younger. I already know they will all grow together in the next installments of the series.

The Crowns of Croswald is an adventurous, fun and whimsical story that I recommend if you like middle-grade or young adult books.

16 yr old Ivy has only known the hard life of a scaldron maid. However, as fate would have it she is banished from this life and enters into a life of magic, a new school, and new possibilities. As soon as you start reading it brings back memories of Harry Potter with a poor, forgotten child who has a new start at a new school with magic but Night does a great job of creating her own world and characters. I'm giving this a 4 star reveiw because it was quite a bit predictable but it was really a fun adventure and I can’t wait to continue the adventures into book 2 and 3.

I was provided with an electronic ARC through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

“One thing I learned in school, which I will pass on to you, is not let fear stop you from doing what you want most.”
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I have received this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
If you are looking for a fun and light read this is the book for you. Ivy has always wanted to be magic but she was only a poor maiden girl. When she turns 16 she finds out she has lived in a place that was inhibiting her powers and she is invited to attend a magic school to become a Scrivenist. They create stories and report the ones of the royals, people with crowns equipped with magical stones. The atmosphere is very very similar to the one in Harry Potter ( maybe a little too much ) and Ivy really can’t believe to be part of this enchanting world. Nonetheless strange things happen to her and her alone and she must be ready to find out shocking truths about her past and her family. Overall the story is really enjoyable in particular because some lessons and spells are very funny and original but I felt as if this was a good mix between Harry Potter and Cinder. The connection with the characters is not as strong as I expected but that could be due to the fact that’s only the first book, there’s still a lot to know about this world.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity!

I've been following the author on Instagram for some time and when I saw the possibility to read the first volume thanks to the NetGalley platform, I said to myself ... why not?!

Actually, the book didn't really excite me, in fact... I was looking forward to finishing it.

The story itself is written "almost" well and it's fluent, but boring and the protagonists didn't catch my attention at all and if I can't get at least a little bit in emaptia with the characters of the story, I'm sure that going on it won't catch me anymore.

Too bad, I don't think I'll continue reading the other books.

1.5/5 stars

I thought I would really enjoy this book. The story follows a 16 year old girl, Ivy, on her journey from being a scullery maid to a world of magic by attending a school for magical people. I persevered reading this in the hope that I perhaps had it wrong and it wasn't a cut copy of the Harry Potter series. But alas, the whole time I was reading my mind kept drifting back to Harry Potter and how similar the stories are. Change the sex of the main characters of Harry Potter and you have a version of them in this story.

The story was busy and fast paced, in a rushed sense. So much was left out of the story that would have added perspective and further creativity. I also found the grammar and storytelling to be unpolished and in need of a good editor. I enjoy reading Children's fantasy stories as an adult and thoroughly enjoy them, this has nothing to do with the genre classification rather the writing itself.

Despite all of this, the story does have some originality and creativity. I enjoyed the aspect of the forgotten room, the royal crowns with jewels and the magical worlds in glass bottles. Overall I would recommend this to children aged from 7-12.

It isn't very often that I pick up Middle-Grade books, so when I was contacted by Stories Untold if I would like a review copy, I jumped at the chance!

The Crowns of the Croswald follows the story of a young girl called Ivy Lovely who discovers that she is more than a maid. She has magic! From here on, I was taken on a magical adventure to the Halls of Ivy - a magical school where she could learn to better use her powers and become a Scrivenists.

My initial thoughts were that this book could potentially be very similar to Harry Potter. And so, my concerns were the book would not stand out and be overshadowed due to its similarities. Unfortunately, there were just too many similarities!

I was quite disappointed with this, so it was really difficult for me to really engage and enjoy the story to its fullest. I won't list them as there are way too many and I feel this would spoil the plot greatly.

Ivy Lovely was an interesting character but I am having trouble deciding whether I liked her or not. I found her at times to be too stubborn and it felt too forceful. As if, the writer was trying to continuously get that point across. At times it felt she was just looking for trouble for the sake of it and it really didn't do anything for the plot.

The magical system itself was interesting and I liked how it differed from other systems that I have read in books.

The pacing of the story was quite odd. I really enjoyed the beginning. It had strong pacing and was developing at a reasonable pace. Once we were at the Halls of Ivy, it kind of seemed to jump all over the place and before I knew it, nearly a whole year had taken place! Perhaps this book could have been a tad longer.

I cannot fault the authors' world-building and writing style. The worldbuilding was well developed and left me feeling that I was in a magical place with Ivy Lovely.

Overall, I did enjoy this book but it was exactly for me. The similarities to Harry Potter were too intense and it made me struggle to read. 3 out 5 stars from me!

I am not a fantasy or middle grade reader, but I adored this book. The world building was arguably the best part. Croswald comes alive on the page and pulls the reader into a beautiful story of self-discovery.

Ivy Lovely lived her life underestimating herself until she embarks on a journey to the Halls of Ivy, where she hones her magic and embraces her strength.

Middle grade readers always deserve a strong, powerful, fearless heroine and The Crowns of Croswald provides. I would highly recommend this whimsical story to anyone, even if they claim to not be into fantasy like me.

Thank you to Stories Untold Press and NetGalley for access to this book.

I received a digital copy of this book for an honest review.

When I started reading it took me a little bit to get used to the new world that was being set up for me.
But this only took a few pages and then it felt like a world I knew, from dreams when I was still a young girl that loved to fantasize about fairies. It felt like coming home but still discovering new suprises around each corner as the story unfolded before me.
I’ve seen some comparisons to the Harry Potter franchise in other reviews and some aspects might feel simular.
I really liked to read about a magic school again and loved the magic system with the quills.
As someone who likes reading and writing this was a nice replacement of wands.

I would certainly recommend this to young readers and lovers of the genre.

I would like to thank Zack G from Stories Untold Press for giving met the opportunity to get immersed into this lush new world.

3/5 stars
I was interested in seeing how a middle grade novel, which usually focuses on friendship, adventure, and coming of age, would handle a 16 year old protagonist, especially since a lot of books with teen characters focus on romance. Although it’s not necessary that the MC be the same age as the target audience, it is more common. The plot was engaging enough.
I think it started off a bit confusing, having the first chapter from Derwin’s perspective, when so few of the chapters are not from Ivy’s perspective anyway; the transition between the two was confusing. Something that I think Crowns of Croswald did excellently was the magic school element. I definitely got Harry Potter vibes, but in a good way; the author does a fantastic job of capturing the sense of delight and wonder of someone discovering they have magic and get to attend a magic school!
Unfortunately I never really got invested in the characters. Although Ivy grows in her confidence over the course of the school year, I never felt any kind of connection to her or the other characters. It was also frustrating that there were simply so many questions presented throughout the book, most of which were not answered, and the ones that were weren’t addressed until the last few chapters. There’s a lot of red herrings, suspicious clues, and traces of Derwin, but sometimes it felt like they were disconnected. I understand wanting to set up the story for a sequel(s), but I still felt like I wanted more information, and spread out more evenly, over the course of the book. Additionally There were only a couple twists that actually kind of surprised me.
Lastly there was a romanctic subplot, which I don’t mind in books, but it was extremely weak. We don’t really understand why Ivy likes Fyn, and she doesn’t have much of a basis. He pops in and out of her life, is conveniently there when she needs help (because he’s supposed to keep track of the freshman), but he’s also working for the Selector and does some shady things (even if the Selector does possibly have good intentions). I hope that the sequels develop the information we have more coherently, as well as the characters and their relationships.