I enjoyed reading this more than book 1. The world building is great and so magical.. It’s great to see Ivy become more confident in herself and getting to know more friends.

I'm loving reading more adventures of Ivy Lovely! I was disappointed right along with her when she couldn't go back to school, but was happy when she did! Though I, too, was suspicious about the origins of the note. I love the academia aspects of these books! The school sounds beautiful; can never go wrong with schools in an old castle! I wished Fyn was around a bit more, but it was also fun meeting some new friends and characters. Including his mom! She seemed really nice, and it was great for Ivy to have that influence/relationship with her own parents gone. I also had a lot of fun meeting Silius! All of the creatures are so creative and I think the invisitaurs are my favorite. I was also glad to see more of the dark queen. She's a great villain! Overall, I love this series and can't wait to see more of Ivy Lovely!

The Girl with the Whispering Shadow is the second book in the The Crowns of Croswald series. Ivy Lovely has survived her first year at the Halls of Ivy, but it looks like the Dark Queen isn't done with her yet! The story takes us to the hidden Town where Ivy spends her summer with one of her closest friends. Can she figure out the location of the second piece of the mysterious Kindred Stone that is her birthright?

I liked how the book picked up right after the end of the first book. Usually sequels aren't as good as the original, but I thoroughly enjoyed this one. I totally want to be a member of the QQC. Ivy teaches the reader to be brave and courageous, and I really enjoy that.

I enjoyed reading this book. I adore Ivy’s friends but Fyn and Rebecca are my favorites, and this time, Rebecca won me over because she can turn into a dragon! I also loved the new creatures we meet in this one. Although this series is very simplistic, I really love the world. It’s as magical as it could be, and with every single book, it’s developed even more. I definitely recommend it.

The Girl With the Whispering Shadow is the second book in the Crowns of Croswald series.

I feel as characters everyone grew, From start to finish you honestly see each character grow at their own pace and see them evolve into wonderful roles in the series, and I love how we find out about Fyns kind of bad boy side, and his jealous side as well. The descriptions again are so detailed that I can imagine everything D.E Night describes from Quogo to the dragon.

I was sad to see the book end so fast because I wanted to keep going, but the ending was a major cliffhanger and I am excited what D.E Night will come up with next and where Ivy’s next adventure is going!

I have previously reviewed the first book in the series and was gifted this one as well to review.

I think the series is shaping up to have a slight Harry Potter feel, which is not bad. It's a great follow on book from the first and I love that there are new characters and the story keeps growing.

They are great books for teenagers and adults alike.

Thank you NetGalley, Stories Untold, and D.E. Knight for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Description:
Only hours after Ivy Lovely discovers that she is the fulfillment of the Moonsday promise, she is whisked away from her beloved school to Belzebuthe, a secret town for only those with magical blood.

Ivy sets out on a mission to uncover the second facet of the Kindred Stone while eluding the Dark Queen’s wrath. But even when she’s supposed to be safe, something is shadowing Ivy. She will need all her natural-born magic and more as she battles to find the rest of the Kindred Stone and return to the Halls of Ivy.

Before it’s too late...

This was a wonderful continuation from the first book. It picked up right where Ivy's story ended in the first book and it was easy to get back into the magical world of Croswald. We are following Ivy through her second year at the Halls of Ivy. Ivy spends her summer and the beginning of the school year in the Town since it has been deemed unsafe for her to return back to school for the time being. Until she is called back to school by the Selector, or so she thought. As usual Ivy gets in to trouble for various things once she returns to school, but I loved getting to "see" more outside of the school, Ravenshollow, and the slurry fields from the first book. I do feel like Ivy did mature and continue to grow as a character in this book, especially when she joins the QQC.

The Town sounds like an amazing place to live as a scrivenist. There was also the introduction of Quogo, a new magical game. Who doesn't like a good duel? I liked seeing all the main characters grow more throughout this book. Reading about them expanding their magical skills is fun and pulls you in to the story even more. I feel like the middle of the school year always seems to get skipped over a little bit in the book, but there might not be much to add from what was already written. I just feel like the meat and potatoes of the book are at the beginning and the end and I wish there was some of it in the middle. It doesn't affect the book for me at all, though. I still really enjoyed this book and will most likely continue the series. I have to know how the story ends!

Fantastic and enhancing story! This was the perfect sophomore book in the series, and held its own as a stand-alone tale.

3⭐

When it comes to world-building and plot twists, the second novel met my expectations. I had some thoughts on how the story would progress, and I was so sure that I was right, only to find out my assumptions weren’t as correct as I thought, which was a beautiful surprise.

However, Ivy’s character lacked development an depth, which I wanted to see so badly. She’s the same annoying girl, despite the fact that she has potential, she makes a mistake over and over again, without learning from it, so the plot becomes repetitive. This was much more important than the twists and the world-building for me.

Besides this, at times, the similarities with the Harry Potter were simply absurd. Damaris Dodley is our secondary antagonist, and if the name sounds a bit familiar is because in the HP universe we have Draco and Dudley Dursley. At least, the game, Quogo, was completely different from Quidditch, being based on another idea. It involves a battle between two advanced scrivenists who use someone else’s quill and thus, the person the quill used to belong to takes a chimerical form, helping the player fight.

I went back to Croswald for the second book of the series, and let me tell you, I loved the journey! 💫

I think what I absolutely love about The Crowns of Croswald is how it showcases a different kind of magic. It’s a totally new and creative universe. The plot is intricate, yet it’s fairly easy to understand.

I loved the first book, but the reason I adored The Girl with the Whispering Shadow is BELZEBUTHE! What a treat to be introduced to the Town! Of course, since we’re already acquainted with the characters, we dive right into it!

Fyn is such a sweetheart. I really enjoyed how we’re focused on the main storyline, but we get little hints of romance from him and Ivy.

If you’re looking for a magical read, look no further 🧚🏼‍♀️

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Girl with the Whispering Shadow is the second book in the Crowns of Croswald series. After the events of the first book, Ivy must find the pieces of the Kindred stone and learn to embrace her powers so that she can defeat the Dark Queen.

This book was far more adventurous and exciting than the first one. It builds upon the magical concepts introduced in the previous book. I loved the introduction of The Quality Quills Club and Quogo - a game in which players utilize their magical quills to win.

I also found myself warming to Ivy. I felt her character was explored in more depth in this book, enabling us to fully understand and sympathize with her struggles. Her character became more real rather than merely fulfilling the role of the chosen one. I also loved reading about her relationships with Fyn and Rebecca. They added so much light-heartedness and joy to the story!

I did think the pacing was awkward in some places with it moving very fast during some scenes and dragging in others. However, I do not think this takes away from how wonderful this story is! This book definitely surpassed my expectations and outshined the first book in so many ways!

I highly recommend this series to those who are looking for a fun, magical fantasy story, particularly younger readers. Fans of Harry Potter and Nevermoor would love this!

The second book takes place right after where we left off in the first book. Ivy finds herself in a secret town, warned not to return to her school for her own safety, and tasked by her protector to find a rare heirloom. Of course, nothing ever goes as planned!

Suddenly summoned back to the Hall of Ivy, Ivy finds out only too late that the Dark Queen was behind it all. How the Queen was able to find Ivy outside of school and come after her inside the school are mysteries Ivy needs to solve, while ensuring she’s still alive to fight the darkness and keep Croswald safe.

I’ll say it outright that I enjoyed this book more than the first one! I guess this was because by now I already know the characters and care about what happens to them. Also, being familiar with the world building, it was easier to understand how the magic system works in this book. That is not to say there was nothing new here. Rather, exploring this world with Ivy as she discovers more and more about the world surrounding her and her own magical abilities was one of my favourite parts of this book.

We also meet a host of new characters and creatures, and it was fun to read about Ivy making new friends with both man and beast.

My favourite part in this book though, was the introduction of the magical game of Quogo! I think I loved all the scenes with the Quogo matches, whether played by the professionals or our young group of heroes. The ideas and the vivid descriptions of this game were both intriguing and entertaining to read about.

Without giving away any spoilers, I’ll say the ending was really satisfying because while Ivy was able to hold back the Dark Queen for now, but the victory came with a price! Even though for middle grade readers, I do appreciate when we read about adventure stories where there are consequences to actions.

This series will draw comparisons to other middle grade fantasy books, but I’m happy to say that I enjoyed this series immensely and definitely recommend to book lovers who are looking for a fun and adventurous series!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨/5

the second part really just made me fall in love with it all over again💕

The adventure continues in this one too and Ivy is getting better and stronger to fulfil her destiny.⚡️

There’s magic 🪄 laughter✨, fun 😬 and lots of new friendships along the way🫶🏼

It was a bit difficult for me (personally) to imagine a few of the elements that are discussed in the book.. although thats more of my issue with fantasy and hard fantasies..

Like there is this secret town that’s hidden away because of which its always dark and start studded.. that was a bit hard to imagine for me..

But Ivy and Fyn kept me going 🥰

It ends with a cliffhanger that has left me wanting to know more about the adventures ahead!

Love the 2nd book, thank you so much net galley and the author for giving me this book for free. I really appreciate and I love it. I didn’t enjoy the first book in the series as much as I did with the second one which is amazing

I’m gonna be honest, the first book was really tedious, but this one, has been lighter and more entertaining that the first one.

The “world building” is still very good, it shows how much the author has thought about every detail of the magical beings, the city, the games and others.

The story as such, starts very slowly, only at half of it do things start to happen (and not so many). throughout the beginning, I felt that they barely introduced me to the new characters, also, at no time did I see Ivy look for what Derwin had told her, I think that's my biggest problem with the story, "lots of talk, but not much action." But it was still fun to read.

I still feel that I haven’t created any bond with the characters, I feel that they all still need a lot of development and that they have to finish what they have already established and don’t leave it halfway, such as the "relationship" between Ivy and Fyn, the first book stablished that they had a liking for each other, but they do not deal with that subject until the end where they only say that they blush, but it does not go further and I do not say that I want tense scenes, because in the end they are children between 16-19 years old, but I would like them to establish more the kind of interaction.


In general, I liked this second book more than the first one, but it did feel very slow. I'm still intrigued by the ending and want to know what happens

Honestly, this was a decent 2nd book. I tend to not really enjoy the 2nd book in a series as it's usually much slower, but this one was pleasantly surprising. It was mysterious, intriguing, and still full of action.

I loved seeing Ivy's relationships grow and seeing her discover who she is, now that she knows about her past. Her determination is one aspect of her character that I really enjoy.

I am still captivated and intrigued by the magic in this series. I loved being introduced to Quogo (a kind of quill duel) and the invisitaurs (I feel like the name is enough discription). Both new aspects to this world were well created and very enjoyable to read about.

Although I wasn't sure if I would continue this series after the first one, I am definitely interested to see where the series goes with the last 2 books. I'm definitely wanting to recommend this series, now!

The Girl with the Whispering Shadow is the second book in the The Crowns of Crosswald series by D. E. Night. The story follows Ivy, an orphan turned royal, in finding her magic and her true self through life threatening adventures.

The story itself is really well written and the imagery is once again absolutely brilliant, I found a lot of the descriptions quite mesmerising especially as it came together in my head. I absolutely love how this book is very, very YA, but can also be classed as middle grade.

I have to say that this second book did take me quite a while to finish, and this affected my rating quite a bit, but regardless I do quite like this series and I will certainly continue it in the near future.

Ivy's character is weirdly relatable, but also so sweet and innocent... I just love her. I also loved the incorporation of both the found family and the secret society trope, both of which are very much appealing to a reader like me.

Overall, I definitely recommend this book and this series, especially if you're looking for something magical, something fantasy, with only a pinch of romance. If you like Harry Potter, you'll also like this.

Thank you to D. E. Night, Stories Untold and Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

Loved loved loved!

I was so hooked on the first book in this series when I read it that I immediately ordered the second book! This story just keeps getting better and better - I'm ashamed at how long it took me to read this and I hate that I haven't read the other books in the series yet!

I love the characters, I loved everyone in the first book and that hasn't changed with this one! D.E Night does an amazing job at fleshing out the characters she writes, she really makes you care about everyone and they do honestly feel like friends.

Fun and enchanting story - a great read! Highly recommend!

This series just keeps on improving! I really enjoyed The Girl with the Whispering Shadow more than the first book but that’s because DE Night set up the story in the first book so well and this book was even better.

I love the world this book is set in and I really enjoyed learning more about the magic system. It’s so simple but it is described really well throughout the book and it feels very magical and mystical.

I love the characters even more in book two, and I fell in love with Ivy’s friendships with Rebecca and Fyn. I was happy with the character development within their friendship and I’m looking forward to reading more. Ivy is such a good main character and even though I wasn’t sure on her in the beginning I love her character in this book.

This book left on such a good cliffhanger for the next book in the series and I’m very much looking forward to reading it!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

To be honest… the first book still in my favorite. This books really slowly for me. I know this 2nd book try to give the reader image for the world building more than the first book, but there are too many new characters that I even can’t remember. For the plot, I loved how the overall plot turned out. The big story line get more cleared about the Ivy past and about what happened to Derwin, though it’s totally slow progress .
I feel like some part of this book like the Quogo play reminds me of Harry Potter’s Quidditch. And also The shadow ‘s part that being controlled by the Dark Queen was kind of similar to Harry Potter Chamber of Secrets . But I like about Belzebuthe town, and how the author describe this secret town.
And after reading the 2nd book, it makes me sure that Ivy is not my favorite character. Too many troubles she made which risk people around her and at some point made me so angry to her.

But, do I want to read the the rest of this series? yes! But I hope the rest of the story specially for the scenes not too similar with
Harry Potter again or other magical books series. And Ivy get better character development, because I didn't see it in this 2nd book.