I struggled getting into this book. The synopsis sounded amazing and I couldn't wait to start it. It dragged though. I will say the writing was exceptional. I would try another one of the author's books.

LeGrand's adult debut is a bejeweled romantansy full of forbidden romances, elusive magic, and stunning prose. In a land ruled by a blessed queen, old dangers lurk in the mists. An unusual event that sends forth monsters and demons from nightmares. Gemma, the youngest of an impressive line of magical aristocrats, is an outsider, dedicating her days to balls and whimsy as she deals with her chronic pain. But the introduction of a fake suitor leads her down her family history, making sense of demon deals and betrayals.

While Gemma is a strong protagonist trying to navigate a world that literally sickens her, her journey of self-discovery is marred by a weak second act and an ending that feels too similar to Legrand's Sawkill Girls. The start of The Middlemist Trilogy is enjoyable despite the over-crowded world-building (witches! Demons! Fey!), where the real heart is in the sisterhood between Gemma, Mara, and Farrin.

Readers of current NA fantasy trends and historical-tinged romances will become loyal fans!

NetGalley provided a copy. All opinions are my own.

This was first advertised as a cross between acotar and Bridgerton and I was looking forward to it. Unfortunately this book was not the crossover book I expected. I did not get any acotar vibes and while it did have a regency theme it wasn’t Bridgerton. Overlooking that I still did not enjoy this book. This is a fantasy book and it had plenty fantasy elements but was poorly written. I feel like there were too many fantasy elements that were smushed together in this book which resulted in underdevelopment of everything. There was just too much happening and it didn’t give readers a chance to really understand this world, which is a super important part of fantasy books. Not only was the plot and fantasy elements bad but so were the characters. I just did not like Gemma or Talan and couldn’t find myself to care or root for them.

Overall, this book was a major disappointment for me and wish it could’ve turned out better.

I was very excited about the synopsis for this book. Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay focused as the story seemed all over the place. There was nothing compelling or exciting about it and just fell sort of flat and seemed very long and drawn out.

This book was not for me. The synopsis was amazing and I was excited for Legrand’s adult debut, but I didn’t connect with the writing. It felt incredibly YA, the plot pacing was weird, and it almost felt like two different books. I’ll give Legrand another chance but likely not with this series.

Three and a half seems mean because I really enjoyed the second half of this book but because it took me two goes to get into it I feel that’s fair
Sadly I didn't particularly care for Gemma initially as she felt juvenile, spoilt and frankly pretty vapid. Luckily as the book progressed i did begin to understand her more and indeed the choices she's made. Talan, hmm his abilities felt intrusive and honestly I never actually warmed to him and had suspicions about his motivation. The way the author brought this to a close had this reader actually way more keen to read about another couple in this book as they did feel grown up. Look there's a lot thrown into this from Demons, Necromancers , the Fae which all meant the romance between Gemma and Talan just somehow got lost and for this reader no amount of ahem grown up scenes really satisfied me. Would I read more ? Yes because I want to know more about Gemma's parentage and ancestry plus there's still a big bad out there so although I struggled to become initially wowed I am left intrigued enough to want answers but readers beware this from my point of view wasn't particularly adult at times.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

This is a fantasy romance with world building based upon a royalty structure. For the first 2/3 of the book, Imogen the protagonist is a frail weak individual beset with illness and pain. The tone is fairy tale-ish, complete with a handsome lover. The feel of this book is florid and dramatic but also a bit juvenile. That becomes jarring in the sex scenes which feel wildly out of sync with the rest of the book. In the last third of the book, the action ramps up to a fever pitch and I found I had to hand wave away a lot of plot points.

I didn’t really enjoy the book. I found it slow and precious. I think it just wasn’t for me although I very much enjoy fantasy. I could see the mechanisms in action but they didn’t create a world or characters I could care about., I never felt much for Imogen and Talan. I know this will be a series but for me this ends here.

I really enjoyed this book. It is my first by this author and I will definitely pick up more books. I thought the world building was great, we could see how Gemma lived, how she grew up, her struggles. And then, we get to see her find her strength and courage. Her relationship ship with Talan, from falling in love, and all the disappointments, her emotions were all over the place. Her sisters, gareth, phaidra, these were all great characters. Looking forward to book 2. Thank you for the advanced copy.

This is one of those books that I was excited to wake up and dive back into. Oh my goodness, I'm already dying for news about book two. I adored this one!!!

It really does feel like Bridgerton meets magic and demons, but with mental health and chronic illness rep. The writing felt so rich and well crafted, and I'm itching to unravel more of the mysteries of Middlemist. There were a few things I noticed, like how the first and second halves felt almost like separate books, and how the pacing got a little messy in the later, but I honestly didn't mind.

My biggest complaint is just that the romance felt a bit insta-lovey at first, but it does get better! Not my favorite kind of romance arc, but I definitely enjoyed it regardless. I've not been in the mood for spice recently, but this one had a light sprinkle throughout leading to one really hot part, and I found myself loving it actually. And the cast of characters was so good, I'm excited to be able to get to see (most of :') them again in the next one.

The next book will follow a different sister as the main character which I find SO exciting because we got some hints for the next romance and let's just say I'm already sold.

A new favorite, and I will definitely think of it when asked for romantasy recommendations now!!

What worked for Me
-Chronic Illness/Chronic Pain representation in a fantasy book
-Multi layered plot including semi political intrigue
-Writing style reminiscent of A court of thorns and roses.
What didn't work as well for me
-Pacing in the middle third of the book was a bit rushed
-dialogue came off as stilted several times through out the story
Who I would recommend this book for
Fans of Young adult fantasy looking for a story that combines a writing style remniscent of Sarah J Mass with a multi layered and slightly mysterious Plot will find themselves at home within the pages of A Crown of Ivy and Glass by Claire Legrand.

Oh, this was a fun read. Claire Legrand does a great job world building, overall, and creates beautifully flawed characters. It took me a few chapters to get oriented in the novel, since the action picks up right from the start, but it quickly becomes apparent that Legrand's imagination really thought of everything when creating the world in this novel. Looking forward to future books in the series!

For a book that is advertised as adult ACOTAR meets Bridgerton, this felt lacking. The writing leaned more toward young adult than adult fantast. The main character is annoying and does not feel relatable. I also felt that the book was too long. It was almost as if there were two separate stories pushed together without a smooth transition. I think there are people who will like this book, but it just didn't flow for me.

Why do I do this to myself idk. I’m always looking for a nice cover and get excited to start a new book especially when it’s something from a genre that it’s not my main go to one.
It’s all on me that I had to dnf after a few chapters. I couldn’t get into the story at all and maybe I will pick it up again later in the year but for now I rather not.
Very grateful to the publisher for this Read Now title

I think the premise of a Bridgerton meets ACOTAR was a good idea, but I couldn't finish it because it wasn't well-executed.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

I just reviewed A Crown of Ivy and Glass by Claire Legrand. #NetGalley

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Oh man -- I was highly anticipating this book, considering how much I loved the Empirium series. I'm sad to say I struggled with this one. The first 20% was hard to get into. I just wasn't all that invested in the characters.

Secondly, the pacing in this book was pretty awful. Some sections went really fast, and others were sluggish. I was getting whiplash from this book. It was disappointing to say the least.

I wanted to like the characters more than I did. I didn't actively hate them, I just felt neutral on them. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood for this book -- or maybe it just didn't work for me.

However, I will say I immensely enjoyed the world building and the magic systems in this book. I found them intriguing, and honestly, I kept reading because I was curious about it.

Legrand's writing is terrific, even in this book, it was amazing. To add, even the plot wasn't horrible. There was just something not hitting right for me with this book, and I can't put my finger on it.

I honestly wasn't sure if I was going to make it through this book, but I powered through and finished. While I liked most of the characters (this is the only reason I kept going and this gets 2 stars) and the writing style, the plot was a bit of a jumbled mess. It felt like there were 3 or 4 plots shoehorned into one another to create this book and none of them quite fit together. The main character is annoyingly inconsistent and not at all the 20-something she is supposed to be. She felt more like a 15/16 year old, but the spicy scenes definitely prove otherwise. I'd consider reading next books in the series if they focus on the other sisters, but it is highly unlikely I will pick them up if the plots continue this way. This book itself could have been its own trilogy and that might have made the plot more cohesive, but in its current state it is a struggle to get through. I think my biggest issue, besides the main protagonist, is that every time things seemed to be getting better another massive issue arose and created an entirely new plot to deal with. This definitely could have used some more drafting and definitely some editing.

I really enjoyed the plot of this novel. Although the comparisons to ACOTAR are valid, I still thought it was very original and intriguing. Some parts of the novel that I took issue with was first that Gemma's voice felt much more YA and immature than the subject matter and the plot of the story. I also thought that some of the plot twists were predictable. And I felt like this book didn't have a good balance of anticipation in the fighting scenes. It felt as if everything just worked out, and the character deaths didn't feel meaningful in these scenes because there wasn't balance in them. Thank you to netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

2.5 - 3 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

With the exception of the sex scenes, this book did not fit into what I would normally consider Adult Fantasy Romance. While Gemma and many of the other characters are in their early-20s, they read very young, which made it difficult for me to form a connection with them. Despite ceaseless sweeping declarations of love, the chemistry between Gemma and Talan was dull. Typically, there is an element of tension that we expect to get with a Fantasy Romance. That element was missing here, which made it challenging to stay invested in the development of the individual characters and their relationship as it matured. Honestly, I was more intrigued by whatever was happening between Farrin and Ryder than I was in Gemma and Talan.

The pacing was fine, though I did note a couple of significant events that felt rushed. For example, the scene in which Gemma creates her own glamour in Chapter 5. The plot of the book is constructed around Gemma's lack of magical ability, yet, she unintentionally uses magic to create a glamour and it's glossed over, as is Jessyl's odd reaction to it. Overall, it wasn't a bad book, and I can see potential in the series. I think younger readers (or those who prefer YA) would enjoy it more, as they might have an easier time connecting with the characters than I did.

Overall I felt very "meh" about this book. I was beyond excited to receive this arc but this book, unfortunately, did not live up to the hype.
It felt like this was two books crammed into one and everything felt very disjointed.
I loved the beginning, was enthralled in the story, and felt like it then wholly changed.
I enjoyed the story and am not mad that I read it, but it was just very "meh" to me.

What a beautiful adult debut from author Claire Legrand. Even though it was a little slow to start, the magic system in this story sold me on it. Readers may find the strong details and world building a bit tough at first, but if you read it all the way through, they will be enthralled and add it to another much loved fantasy shelf in their library. It felt fresh and new at times, which is tough given the saturated fantasy genre. Very much worth reading!
Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca via NetGalley for this arc. I voluntarily read it and all opinions are my own.