Not for me. I was bored reading this. I received an advanced reader copy of this book from netgalley. Yes I am trying to get to the 100 character minimum in order to post and move on.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started A Crown of Ivy and Glass. It’s compared to Bridgerton and ACOTAR—and I can see why, but this book definitely stands on its own. If you enjoy a regency setting like in Bridgerton and the complex sister dynamics in ACOTAR, check out this book.


A Crown of Ivy and Glass follows Gemma Ashbourne, the youngest of 3 girls. When we first meet Gemma, she is living a charmed life, on the surface, but the reality is much different. Gemma is always in pain due to her body’s negative reaction to magic—and her whole world is permeated with magic. Gemma's perception of the world starts to change when she meets Talan. Talan is from a different country, and he tells her about how his family was killed by demons. Soon, he and Gemma make a deal: she’ll help him navigate high society, and, in return, he’ll help her track down the demon that started the blood feud between her family and the Basks family.

Things I Liked:
I love the representation in this book. It’s not often that a main character in a fantasy novel has chronic pain and panic attacks. Legrand handles these topics very well.
Gemma’s character arc. I saw some people complaining about Gemma’s character at the beginning, but that’s what the entire book is for—her growth. Gemma grows and matures throughout the story.
Gemma’s relationship with her two older sisters Farrin and Mara. The relationship between the sisters is complex and complicated but rooted in love.
The mix of genres and vibes throughout the book: it has fairytale vibes with a cottagecore aesthetic, and it also has dark fantasy vibes. Legrand handles all of them like a pro & creates a multi-faceted world!
The twists and turns. This story went in directions I didn’t see coming when I started the book.
How Legrand ties everything together. She connects everything really well. Things you had forgot were mentioned would appear later, and it would all click into place.

I can see why some people complained about the pacing, but this book never felt too long, in my opinion. A lot happens in this book, and I can’t see any portion being cut out. Personally, I think this is a solid start to a new series. I’m definitely intrigued and want to see what happens next!

The main reason why I didn’t rate this book higher is because I wasn’t in love with the characters. Don’t get me wrong, I liked the characters, and I rooted for them, but I wasn’t as invested as I would be in a 5 star read.

TW: panic attacks, self-harm, and suicidal idealization

Equal parts period drama and fantasy, this will appeal to anyone who loves the glitter and pizazz of a high society ball with some magical elements sprinkled in. This didn’t quite hit the mark as much as her emperium trilogy (which I LOVED) but LeGrand’s writing was still spectacular as usual.

I love this book. The entire world is so vividly detailed. The magic system is outstanding. The sisters…oh, the Ashbourne sisters are excellent characters. I can’t wait to find out more about the Basks though. I felt the first half of the book could have been condensed a bit, but in the end the extra detail did come through. Also, this book has a proper ending, even though it’s still a cliffhanger. I absolutely love that. It doesn’t make me feel cheated in any way.

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.