I was so happy to be back in Croswald for the second book of this series! I had a few scenes that I loved, but the discovery of the invisitaurs was such a warm and amazing part of Ivy’s new journey. The author has a way of describing magical situations with such clarity and vibrancy, that I have an incredibly easy time visualizing myself right there in the midst of the action. Loved this ending too - the owls and the treehouse, the pedaling toward the Solo Star were beautiful scenes. Really loved this one!!

Second book done!! Thank you so much to the publisher @storiesuntoldpress for giving me a free copy through @netgalley in exchange for an honest review! And my apologies for taking so long, life forced me to put reading low on the priority list for a while.

I love this series more and more with every chapter!! Ivy really began to come into her own in this book, growing in skill and confidence. And I love love love every scene with her and Fyn. They are my OTP for sure. I also love the growing cast of Ivy's friends, who are diverse and fun. The showdown with the Dark Queen was less impactful to me than the first one, but the highlight of the finale was Ivy uniting with her friends to save everybody.

Equally as exciting is the growing list of magical creatures and objects and settings in book 2. The author's world building is thorough and charming and draws you right in. I really loved the introduction of the magic-dueling sport Quogo, which is unique but super exciting. My favorite setting in the book has got to be the Town, which is endlessly charming. I want to fly among the stars so bad.

The writing in general continues to be spectacular. You really feel as if you're going through Ivy's adventures right with her, like you're in a glanangerie bottle yourself. If you liked the first book, you'll love this one just as much, if not more.

Review waiting for approval on Amazon.

A magical town, a broken treasure, a forgotten path, a relentless villain.

The second book in the Crowns of Croswald series by D.E. Night is a fun middle grade adventure good for older kids bridging to young adult novels. My nine- and seven-year-old kids both loved this book! They were most excited by the magical creatures, battles, and world building.

The cliffhangers at the end of each chapter made it really tempting to read more than our allotted half hour before bed each night. For better and worse, my voice can only read aloud for so long.

Both kids say they’d recommend this to a friend and I found it was a good book to read aloud. Sharing it together was fun and helped ensure they understood the story, even as they expanded their vocabulary.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thanks to @StoriesUntoldPress and @NetGalley for the free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second book in The Crowns of Croswald series, following the journey of Ivy Lovely who has to collect three stones to defeat the Dark Queen and claim her rightful throne in Croswald.
However, finding the stone is not as easy as Ivy thought because danger and darkshadows are lurking everywhere.

What I really like about this book is the characters. I admire Ivy and Rebecca's friendship, it grows even stronger since the first book and I love them both. There's also Fyn, he seems very protective of Ivy and I have a feeling from the first book he's going to become something more and my guess was right! I'm hoping he will still show up in the next book to help Ivy.
The addition of new characters is also a nice touch to widen the the story plot!

The magical places and creatures really captured my interest in this story. This world is getting even more similar to the Harry Potter world, like the quil matchs, how the quill chooses the person who wield it, the invisible maps and many more. I can see the author taking inspiration from the Harry Potter world and turn it into something else magical too.

The plot is pretty well written and the short chapters keep me flipping the pages to find out more. Although, the pacing turns a bit slower during the middle of the story but it eventually picks up near the ending with the final battle.

Overall, this is a really fun read for me and I enjoy my time getting back to Croswald with Ivy and her friends. Can't wait for more adventures and other magical creatures introduces in this series!
I'm looking forward to read the next one!

Special thanks to Netgalley, D.E Night and Stories Untold Press for the review copy in return for an honest review!

Note: Will post it on Instagram on November 19th

Synopsis: Ivy lovely is send off to a mysterious town by her royal Scrivenist, Derwin to retrieve a part of her precious heirloom and also to evade the dangers awaiting her at the Halls of Ivy. What awaits her is another intriguing magical ride .
Review: This book starts off with another year at the Halls of Ivy. The magic school, scrivenists , the dark queen and Ivy's friends are back with a bang. I fell in love with the mysterious town , Belzemuthe - who wouldn't want to live there? If you want to immerse yourself in a magical read with wizards and witches, a secret club , a wizard town unknown to rest of the world and magical creatures, this book is just perfect. The author has effortlessly managed to hold the readers attention till the very end with this magical story. I can definitely say that this series has improved with the second book and is a wonderful read. I'm looking forward to the third and fourth books. It's quite hard to create an impression with books involving magical schools since most of our generation has grown up with Harry potter, but author D.E Night has managed to create a niche for Ivy and Crossword, which is quite commendable.
Rating:3.8/5

Once again D.E Night transport me into this magical kingdom, she have the ability to make you feel that you are there. I love when there's magic involved, and creatures, mystery, a villan that doesn't take a break, royalty, true friendship. One of the things that I loved it was the Quogo Game, I really want to play...Fyn and Ivy are a really good team, and their friendship is so pure and honest,, I love that there is no love interest, at least for now. Rebecca is that friend that you want on your side no matter what. Ivy has a big heart, because even when she knows who she is, she just want to save the Kingdom. Honestly I think this series is really good because the characters are really well written and the story is magical. If you like fantasy, magic, boarding schools, princess, dragons, this book is for you. I highly recommend this book. We need more magic in our lives.
Thanks to @author.denight @storiesuntoldpress and @netgalley for the book for an honest review.

This book is a magical journey. And what a magical journey it is! Potions, a Town shrouded in magic, magical stars, invisible beasts, quills and a group of friends who would do anything to help each other. A perfect book to dive into and forget about everything else.
This is a second book of the series and we see Ivy in more danger from the dark queen. She is more matured but still lands up in trouble now and then but she has wonderful friends who always help and stand by her. Fynn and Rebecca are two friends who everyone would want in their lives. The comparison of the first book to Harry Potter was apt but the second book is completely different and is a delightful read. I usually read historical fiction but this series is definitely veering me to start reading fantasies more. 5 Stars!

It's not often that the second book in a series is even better than the first, but this one definitely hooked my attention. In this installment, we dive deeper into the world of Croswald and Ivy Lovely's wild adventures. I love Night's world building and the care she puts into her characters because it really shines through. Each character, from Rebecca to Mrs. Greeley has traits that are so lovable and realistic that I want to get to know them. As Ivy grows closer to retaking her throne, it's exciting to see the bonds she forms along the way, and the challenges she perseveres through. Everyone can find themselves rooting for her, a strong, relatable main character. Thank you to Stories Untold for the opportunity to read and review the second book in this series!

As far as sequels go… this one is a win! The story picks up right where it left off adding in more magic, adventure and mischief. Ivy Lovely is back at it with a lovable cast of characters who are much more developed this time around. D.E. Night has outdone herself with this second installment of her middle grade fantasy series. If you’re a fan of fantasy and enjoy the whimsical definitely check these out! I’m already looking forward to diving into the next one 🪄🤗🪄

Thank you again Stories Untold Press and Netgalley for my gifted copy of book II in exchange for an honest review.

Fun and simple world building and easy to understand events. I truly wish I had read this when I was younger since at this time the dialogue and interactions and the story in general is too middle grade for me. But I did enjoy it.

After enjoying the first book in the series, I was so happy when the publishers asked if I wanted to read book 2. I found this story even better than the first, it hooked me in as soon as I started to read it. Definitely more drama than the first and I enjoyed the development of relationships in the story, making Ivy more relatable. Roll on the next one!

I got the chance to read the second Crowns of Croswald book thanks to NetGalley. After reading the first one I was curious about Ivy's future's adventures. I'm glad I was given this opportunity once again.

After last year's ball Ivy Lovely was warned not to come back to school, the only place that had her feeling like she belonged. She goes in search of a place to call home for a while, with only an address given by her newly found family's Scrivenist as a destination. Somehow she needs to go to the town with the secret name and location, so nobody can find it. Especially the Dark Queen.

After a very confusing and exciting trip she's met with a big surprise once she arrives, one that makes her summer stay instantly better.

I'm going to try not to give anything away, wouldn't want to spoil things for other readers.

Compared to the first book, "The girl with the whispering shadow" is action packed from the start. We get to follow Ivy around the hidden town and joining a secret club with old and new friends. Places, objects and people are described in such a way, you can practically see it.

It still had some moments where I got a lot of Harry Potter vibes, but it was less than the first book. For instance the situation around The Town and how it's hidden unless you know about it... The Town is basically the 'Room of Requirement'.
But all in all I wasn't bothered with any similarities, I guess that has to do with the fact that the story grips you right away, so you just want to keep reading.

When I finished the first book, I was very curious to read the second one and the author did it again. The books end in such a way that you expect there to be more once you turn that last page. But alas.

On to the next!

Lovely world-building and magic system which continue from the first book. I will be honest, normally the second book in a series just doesn't live up to the experience of the first book but I'm happy to say that is not the case with this series! I enjoyed book 2 immensely and would highly recommend this series.

This is the second in a series and again was so magical. You go back to the world of Croswald but this time much more in depth. With wonderful detailed descriptions, you truly can picture the characters and the setting.

This is such a fun and delightful series! I truly wish I had read this when I was younger! The world created is so beautiful and magical, the characters are lovable, and the story is captivating!

I had been looking forward to reading the second book at some point after I had finished The Crowns of Croswald out of curiosity.

Overall, it was a fun read. again, as I had mentioned before, this series gives off a bit of a harry potter vibe - considering the whole magic school and the chosen one trope. It starts off with a completely random character though, one who gets no introduction until a few chapters are over. But the first book had also started in a similarly random way so I guess that is characteristic of this series.

Now, there were parts where I enjoyed reading and others when I felt like it was dragging on a bit. I can't exactly define the pace of the book overall because it kept changing throughout. Also, there was a lot of mind hopping (jumping from one person's pov to another's at random places to make more sense of the circumstances) in this book which diminished the reading experience just a little bit.

But I would still recommend trying it out because it has very interesting worldbuilding that is worth exploring. I look forward to finishing this series whenever I can.

I want to start this by saying I really enjoyed the first book in this series for its whimsy and unique magical elements. This one honestly felt too much like a Harry Potter copy. Just some of the examples I found:
- there is a teacher playing good and bad (AKA Snape)
- Thestral like creatures that are invisible horses
- a stone that is hidden inside a bank
- dementor like creatures
- memory bottles that you can enter
- a magical sport called “Quogo”

There were a few HP similarities in the first book but I overlooked it due to it being a series set in a magical school and therefore there’s bound to be similar situations. However this one just got too much for me.

Also, the characters are 17-19, but the dialogue is very basic and reads very much like a younger end middle grade. I’m not a fan of the villain as there has been no development as to why she is evil and I personally prefer my villains to have a reason.

The author also referred to a homeless man as a ‘hobo’ which I felt was very derogatory. Overall, I love the unique elements that the author has created themselves, however far too much of it seems similar to HP for it not to have been directly influenced. The characters fall quite one dimensional and the writing just doesn’t match up with the age group. Sad to say I don’t think I’ll be continuing.

The Girl with the Whispering Shadow is the second instalment of D. E. Night’s ‘The Crowns of Crosland’.
Following on from (a couple of days in fact) from the events of the first book, Ivy and Rebecca have finished their first year in the Halls of Ivy and are planning to spend their summer holidays in their respective places. Rebecca is off home, and Ivy is going….to the place that has no name.
Well, that’s not strictly true because it does have a name, but it is a secret. In fact, it’s so secret that it doesn’t appear on any map and it is shrouded in darkness. However, there’s danger ahead (well there would have to be wouldn’t there, we do need some story after all!) as Ivy is tasked to find more pieces of the Kindred Stone, and to evade the Dark Queen’s plans
The Girl with the Whispering Shadow sees D. E. Knight gaining more of a firmer footing in this the second book, and whilst there is still some information to be passed on, particularly in relation to the town of Belzebuthe, which sometimes slows the pace down a little, this is a lot more of a focused novel that doesn’t have the added weight of introducing the reader to the world that she has created.
You have to mention the characters in a review don’t you, and this was the part that I couldn’t wait to get to. I have to say that D. E. Knight writes some fantastic characters and Ivy is a marvellously strong female character for this particular age group. However, not only that, but she also populates the rest of Crosland with equally strong characters, and whilst I am out of the intended demographic for this book, my reading changes are the same as when I was younger. I want a book with a good plot that keeps me interested, good characters and plenty of magic, and with this series you get this in spades.

Great book and couldn't put the book down. I love this series and the author. I was on the edge of my seat and guessing what would happen would happen next. I was so excited when i got an advanced reader copy of this book.

I didn't like how the story started off with a character, Greta, who we don't know. She becomes a major part of the plot which makes me wish she played a big role in the first book. I do like how it picks off right from where the first book left off. The author's writing is very clear and descriptive. it forms a perfect picture in your mind of what is happening in the book. The book reminds readers what certain important objects in the book are. This is important as I am a very forgetful person when it comes to certain things. The story is very fast paced in many areas which I like as I tend to easily get bored. However, some areas did go by a little too slow. As this book is targeted towards kids, there are many good vocabulary words sprinkled throughout the novel. I think that the magic system and worldbuilding in this book is very unique, which is a good thing as many fantasy books struggle in this department. I liked learning more about the Town as well as finally learning its name. Sometimes the book does talk about things such as Quogo as if we (already) know what they are when we don't. This is a bit frustrating. Then, in other areas, the book will info dump on these topics. Once in a while the narration slips out of third person limited into third person omniscient, which is a bit annoying as it takes you out of the story. The prologue of the first book is mostly left unaddressed in both book one and book two until chapter 17 of book two (this book). I didn't really like the subplot of Quogo and the Quality Quills Club. This is probably because I'm not much of a sports person but it still made me a bit bored and agitated when I had to read about it. The friends could have just as easily been a study group that used real quills instead of porcupels and all would have been the same. Another area I did not really like was when the author would compare skin color to food for the person of color. This is a habit that authors need to break ASAP. In this book, we get to see some of Derwin's forgotten memories which I wish lasted longer than it did. Overall, the book was entertaining and enjoyable apart from the aforementioned points.