DNF @ 34% I am so sad to be writing this review.

When I am gifted a book for my honest review, I want to at least finish it, but this one I just couldn’t.

I have read Sawkill Girls from Claire Legrand and that one was great so I requested this one because I was so excited about it.

What this one does right is having a chronically ill baddie main character who doesn’t let her pain stop her from living life.

It also has an amazing setting and descriptions of the fashion. The plunging to the navel dress is great.

The pacing and the romance are where this just lost me.

I expected a lot more to happen in almost 150 pages, but it feels like nothing really has. The greenways are confusing, the plot jumps time in odd ways and I can’t keep characters straight.

And Talan is the most boring character I’ve ever read for a romantic hero to this sassy woman that is Gemma. I didn’t understand her attraction to him except that he can take away her pain, which is a great thing, but he should also have some good conversations with her.

I am bummed that this one just didn’t work for me, but I hope it works for other readers. I just expect more banter in my romances and this is not that. I also expect when there is talk of a demon for it to get to dark fast like Sawkill Girls did, but this was just so slow.

Thanks so much NetGalley for a chance to read this in exchange for an honest review. I appreciate it greatly.

DNF 51%.

Gemma is the only person in her high class regency society that has an aversion to magic. Her older sisters are a warrior and a political mind, while Gemma plans parties. When a new boy comes to her family trying to find a secret, she decides to finally do some secret maneuvering of her own.

Don't let the author's past work or the premise of Bridgerton-meets-ACOTAR fool you: this book was infuriating, boring, and poorly constructed. Gemma made me think of how Jane Austen described Emma Woodhouse, as a protagonist that no one but herself would much like, except this time it was true. Emma Woodhouse is intelligent and charming despite her flaws; Gemma is naive, flighty, selfish, and has her priorities infuriatingly out of order. Gemma is by far the least interesting of her family members, yet the reader is tortured with following her. The love interest is so suspicious, especially because he can manipulate other's emotions to get what he wants, that he is not attractive. (Full disclosure, since I didn't finish the book, he could be a villain. If he's a villain, it's predictable and it's annoying she got with him. If he isn't, it's infuriating that he's the love interest.) This is also meant to be an adult book with spicy scenes, but our characters and world read so young that the spicy scenes feel entirely out of place (and were not desirable to begin with). The world here is not very well defined either. The gods have passed on from the world and left different families with magic, and those families are now supposed to be the regency elite. While we have ballgowns and manor houses, the characters feel too modern to keep with the regency setting. The fantasy aspects of the world aren't well established; everything feels randomly selected instead of a set logic/tone for the world (like in Furyborn). Lastly, the book was drawn out to the nth degree. No matter how much I read, there were still hundreds of pages left with no development in the plot or characters. I do not DNF books that were sent to me for review, but this had to be the exception.

Overall, I've enjoyed this author's previous books, but this could not have bothered me more.

A rather mediocre book really. I spent a lot of the beginning confused which is expected when starting a new fantasy book but I ended up with too many loose ends and eye-roll-worthy reveals. I know this is book one of the series but I had hoped for a more cohesive ending. The sudden kidnapping and curse-breaking felt so unnecessary and forced.
I didn't like Talan. He was always too good to be true, manipulative and toxic as hell. Gemma practically cut off all of her friends following this man around on some wild goose chase but she still ends up with him after all of the lies? Revealing he was the demon was predictable. He was so toxic I knew he must be bad. Gemma was wrapped around his finger so quickly it was nauseating.
Gemma and her sisters were cool. Well fleshed-out characters. I also enjoyed Gareth, he was a great character that I wish we had more of.
The world-building was nice. Felt interesting but man, I wish there was a map as I got quite confused about where things were.
Gemma and her powers were well done. I liked the mystery and the build-up to that reveal, it felt natural and exciting. She suddenly realized she wasn't as weak as she thought. The sudden reveal that she may be part fae though, that was far too sudden given the fae were never previously mentioned. A few more mentions of it earlier would've helped that feel less jarring.

Overall it was an okay book. I finished it because I was hoping more would be cleared up/revealed but I was a bit disappointed. I am unsure if I will read further into the series as I just had so many issues with it.

Unfortunately I had to DNF this ARC. I got about 25% of the way through and I couldn’t finish it. The FMC felt incredibly contradictory to me in a way I did not understand.
I can tell that the author is trying to bring mental health into this book, but I didn’t like the way it was done.
For me this just didn’t hit the mark on character development, plot, enjoyment, or readability. It was a struggle to even get to 25%.
I do want to thank NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for sending me this advanced reader’s copy. I wish it had been a better match!

Thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca for providing me with a free e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I ended up DNFing this book at around the 20% mark. I haven’t had the best luck with fantasy lately, so I thought that it might just be a me thing, but after having a look at this book’s reviews, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

I haven’t read any of this author’s work before so I had no expectations going into it, but I was still disappointed. This book is pitched as ACOTAR meets Bridgerton, and with a description like that, you’re bound to grab readers’ attention. I will say that it’s a pretty accurate description – I definitely got Bridgerton and ACOTAR vibes from this – but that’s all I got. There was no unique voice or anything that kept me interested in the story. I was intrigued by the fact that the main character gets sick when she’s close to magic, but other than that, the plot felt pretty weak.

The writing was okay, but quite juvenile for an adult book (which I only just found out it was, I thought it was a YA book, and even then I thought it was immature). I also couldn’t stand the main character. I understand that she’s supposed to be an unlikeable character, but being in her head all the time was insufferable and also really repetitive. Overall, I don’t think this is a horrible book, but I just didn’t enjoy any aspect of it so I thought it wouldn’t be fair to myself or the book to keep going.

Legrand is still good at dropping some surprises! This was a slow starter. It is a fantasy with strong romance features (and on the the spicy side). Although there have been some themes of betrayal that had me questioning judgement and ultimately I think this is why I haven't connected well with the characters. The world and the magic concepts are exciting and kept me going. There seems to be much history and lore to be learned. If you've enjoyed the Empirium trilogy, you should give this one a try too. (3.5 stars)

2/5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a review copy.

Unfortunately this book was just… not for me. I found the worldbuilding confusing, I wasn’t invested in any of the characters, and I honestly found myself dreading reading it after a while. The romance was rushed and I didn’t feel like there was enough development. I did, however, like the focus on panic attacks, as that is something I’ve suffered with. I thought the descriptions for that were very accurate.

I’m disappointed. 😞

I received an ARC through NetGalley, and in exchange this is my honest review. (Thank you!)

Right out the gate, I want to be upfront. There are some trigger warnings worth discussing. The MC Gemma suffers some intense panic episodes where she can spiral into self-harm. There's also characters contemplating suicide, and the ending paints dark imagery that can really mess with the mind. (i.e. It gets creepy.) Please read this book with that in mind.

Now, as far as the rest of the book, the readability / pacing of the book was noticeably off for me. It took me until about halfway through to realize what it was that was holding me back from really reading it. After all, the plot and the world are both really intriguing. The characters are definitely ones that I'm invested in, too. But for most of the book, I genuinely couldn't fully immerse myself. Finally, I realized what the issue was: sentence structure.

Sounds silly, right? The book has wonderful description. The dialogue reads just fine too. However, there are sentences scattered throughout the book that are too complex. You have to re-read them to understand the real way of processing the words. I don't know if it's from commas being overly used, or sentences that seem fragmented but really aren't... I don't know. Whatever it is - it makes the writing not entirely correct. This also can be seen from some paragraphs that read similarly: Subject - action - rest of the sentence. (I'm sorry, I'm not an editor nor an English major.) It'll be like "I did this... I painted that... He looked at me this way. I touched him that way..." Do you see what I'm trying to say? An entire paragraph of that makes things more static that what is actually being described.

Under NO circumstances did it actually bother me. Like I said earlier, this was scattered. Only sometimes would a sentence be overly complex, or a paragraph be made of sentences written too similarly. I wound up understanding everything. I do know this will cause issues for people who might find reading comprehension a little more challenging. This book took me 7 days to read, and it's under 500 pages. That's a long time for me.

Still - I always wanted to reach for this book. It starts off feeling a bit like a fantasy regency romance book, then dances its way into an adventure fantasy - only for it to end as this dark fantasy. Oh, and there is spice in here. Thankfully, not too much spice. (After all, there IS a plot afoot.) There's just enough spice to help keep things romantically interesting.

My only plot-related complaint is that some situations seemed to have developed too quickly. I would have loved to have less of Ivyhill in the beginning, and more of the tournament toward the middle. The ending was honestly the best part in its delivery (from the Mist to the end). And speaking of the ending, it leaves things wonderfully set up for the sequel. I'm hoping that things can be a little more fleshed out now that we have a grip on the world building.

Overall, I really did enjoy my experience reading this book. I think I would love it all the more upon a second reading, now that I have an understanding of the world, its people, and some of the quirky writing moments.

I would absolutely recommend this book to anybody who enjoys family curses and bitter feuds. This book is all about breaking those curses and striving to be a better (happier/healthier) person.

I enjoyed this for the most part, even though I felt like I was reading two completely different books smushed together.

Even with the outstanding chronic pain/illness and anxiety rep, I thought Gemma was a boring, whiny, and altogether unlikeable MC. I didn’t think Talan was anything interesting either until closer to the end of the novel, and I’m still not sold on him. Give me more of Ferrin and Ryder! Their relationship dynamic is already the times more interesting with the few crumbs of scenes we got with them.

My biggest issue was with the pacing and overall plot structure. Like I mentioned, I felt like this was two separate books combined. I had no idea why the plot progressed like it did, why the book was so long, or why there needs to be a whole trilogy dedicated to it. I don’t want to give spoilers, but I was confused on why this was compared to ACOTAR, and then the most popular fantasy element was thrown in.

Overall, I think if the author had picked a team in regards of plot (either focusing on the atmosphere of either half all the way through), this could’ve been more enjoyable. The disjointed-ness of it will definitely deter some readers.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I struggled with the first half and did find things got more interesting about 50% in. Overall, the world building was confusing and felt like the author crammed so many different fantasy elements into the book that I wasn't sure the direction she was heading. Readers would benefit from a world map!

What I Liked:
*The spotlight on mental health - panic attacks & Chronic Pain
*Ryder and Mara are interesting characters (I hope Mara and Farrin's stories are more entertaining)

What Didn't Work:
• The world building
• Insistent Pacing
• Talan and Gemma's romance was rushed - I don't understand how they fell in love so quickly
• I wasn't invested in ANY of the characters and would've be okay if anyone of them died
This is her Adult debut novel and it read as YA

I have not read any of Claire Legrand's other books, however I do know her other series is YA and this was her "adult" fantasy debut, unfortunately I found that this still read very much like a YA novel in terms of dialogue overall narrative of the book. Now that isn't necessarily a negative thing, I just personally am not a huge fan of YA. I found the concept super interesting, I love getting lost in fantasy worlds and tuning out reality. The concept of meshing together a Bridgeton like romance with a fantasy plot was a very unique and interesting idea, it drew me in right away and I really enjoyed the chemistry between the two characters!

Unfortunately the book lost me a little in the second half, with all of the new additions it became a little muddled and confusing, it also felt like the 2 halves of the book didn't fit together properly. Gemma as a character was not someone I connected with, I found her unlikeable from the start and unfortunately she did not have much growth in my eyes. I am however looking forward to future books in this world with some of the other characters that I found more enjoyable!

I will continue to read this series as it has intrigued me, this one wasn't a huge hit for me but I did find myself wanting to finish it regardless of the bits of confusion the world building caused me!

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
A Crown of Ivy and Glass is Claire Legrand’s adult debut, and from what I’ve seen, it’s received rather polarizing responses. Having now finished it, I understand why, as while there’s potential here, it didn’t blow me away.
The world building is one of the standouts, and I would be open to seeing what Legrand does with it going forward. The pitch of “Bridgerton meets ACOTAR” captures the vibe pretty well, as the world feels somewhat Regency-inspired, but also fairy tale-esque. The world is fun to explore, and if it weren’t let down by some other aspects, I’d have enjoyed it a little more.
Gemma was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I didn’t care for her as much at the beginning, but she grew on me as the book went on. I enjoyed the exploration of the relationship between her chronic pain and her inability to do magic, and how it wasn’t a story that demonized disability. I also enjoyed her complex relationships with her sisters, and they reminded me a little of the aspects of ACOTAR I liked before giving up on that series.
Talan was fine…he’d typically be the type of character I like, being a softer sort of character. But he didn’t feel as well developed to me, and she ended up falling in love with him pretty quick for some inexplicable reason.
The main downfall for me is that this book was so long, and it didn’t feel like it needed to be. It was unevenly paced, droning on in places, and it didn’t feel like a single coherent story, but a couple different loosely connected ones crammed haphazardly together instead.
I do see potential in this series, and I may check out future installments to see how Legrand grows as a writer. And as flawed as this book is, I’d recommend anyone looking for more fantasy romance to give it a chance to see what they think.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca, Netgalley and the author for an ARC of this book. I am leaving this unbiased review voluintarily.

This is the first book that I have read by this author and apparently, the first adult fantasy the author has ever written. Frankly, I find that astounding. This book drew me in the from the first page and I just could not put it down. The world building was incredible. Often I find with fantasy novels that I get a bit lost in the world if it's too different or strange, but this was just the right amount of different and strange.

The three sisters at the centre of this book are compelling and beautiful characters with complex emotions. I can't wait to read more about Gemma, Mara and Farrin. I hope the next book focuses more on Mara and Farin, although I believe this story really is about Gemma. At first she seems a little vapid but the pain she hides and the strength she has makes her a more interesting character than her first impression leaves.

Talan is also complex and mysterious. The development of their relationship is heart-wrenching.

I loved Illaria and Gareth, and again, I hope to see more of them in the coming books.

My absolute favourite has to be Rydrer Bask - Farrin and he have something going on beneath the surface, I am sure of it. I am rubbing my hands together gleefully in anticipation of what happens with them.

Can't wait to read the next one - can't believe how quickly I read the first! Hope I don't have to wait too long!!

Okay, so I didnt love this. For an adult fantasy I felt the characters were acting pretty juvenile. There were a lot of subplots and stories going on at once which I found really confusing and hard to stay engaged. I wish we had seen more character development. Maybe that will happen with the next book. Im not sure Im invested enough to pick up the next one, since this was so large and I found tedious to get through

Unfortunately, this just did not work for me. Gemma was too frustrating. She was very silly and stupid within the first two pages, and while I think some of her reactions to things were understandable...an engaging, compelling character also needs to give the reader a reason to be interested in them. Gemma was just a painful, annoying character to spend any time in the head of. The world is really cool, and I am not opposed to reading the other books in this series!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc.

I feel like author wanted to wrote two different books in one. One is kinda regent era romance in fantasy world with some magic, second is full fantasy with whole world building. Unfortunately this two books didn’t connect like they should. First half is interesting, we don’t know much about world and magic but it’s slowly showed to us. There is some mystery to this whole thing. But then something happens and we are left with info dumping, creatures jumping from nowhere and for nothing, to quickly and they are without any purpose only to name drop and fill the page.
Main character is of course “special”, but not in a good way. At first we are led to believe that she’s narcissist and vain and that would be interesting if not for a fact that somewhere in the middle she stops being that and to be true I have no idea what changed her soooo much. For me her whole arc was kinda boring and predictable, and Talan, eh… had so much potential but I think it was wasted by rushed second half of the book. After whole reveal I still didn’t bought why he was acting as he was. To be true I’m interested in story of secondary characters and I would want to read about Bask family.
Romance is so rushed and this whole thing with MC who is not thinking straight but only about jumping love interest was cringey as hell. Unnecessary and without any deeper connection which makes their love not believable.
*

eARC provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

A Crown of Ivy and Glass has a lot of great potential. A spunky protagonist with a crippling disability, strained relationships with her sisters, a literal blood feud with another family, and a dashing man who sets her heart aflame. Oh and there's a bunch of magic and the Most keeping demons and other old powers locked away is falling apart!

A lot of the books focus is put on Gemma's relationship with Talen, but ultimately it is her relationship with her sisters and her would be enemies, the Busk family, that really drives the story. I wish those aspects had been more focused on (and tbh I could've had the romantic subplot slowed down and/or eliminated... Though Talen is Gemma's motivation for all her actions).

Read if you like:
⚔️ Fantasy Books
✨ Magic
♥️ Romance

This one was super fun! I’ve never read anything from this author before but I really enjoyed the way this felt like a regency romance with fantasy elements brought in! It’s definitely action packed and maybe a bit too much going on at times as I did get a little lost, but that could also be just the world building phase of the story.

I also loved the daughter not having magic within a magical family as a plot point as it made me think of Aelin from TOG and I truly loved her character.

Thank you so much to the publisher for my ARC in exchange for my review!

I have heard good things about this author’s book Furyborn, so I was excited for this. The premise sounded interesting and I was happy to receive an ARC (thank you, NetGalley!)

Unfortunately, this was a slog to get through. I didn’t care for the relationship dynamic between the two sisters, and I found I was not rooting for any of the characters, not even the main girl.

The plot was slow, and I kept wanting more. Kudos for an interesting world, but there was also a bit too much for the reader to follow.

Did have those Bridgerton, acotar, throne of glass, vibes, definitely a compelling fantasy that had me rooting for those imperfect main characters but was a bit too slow-paced and long for me. Interested in the Farrin/Ryder hints and the Basks type of magic.