Member Reviews
Wow, this was a thick book. It was easy to follow and had good worldbuilding. I was initially drawn to the cover art, which is gorgeous. I went in mostly blind on the story and that was very fun for me because this is a very vast universe with a lot of creatures. I enjoyed following Gemma's story, there were times that I questioned her decisions (when do we not do that?) but overall I enjoyed the characters that were introduced and the story that was told. Makes me want to read the next one to see where they go with it.
I went in with zero expectations and was pleasantly surprised but a smidge underwhelmed.
What a start to a new world by Claire Legrand. My hope is that she grows more with her writing style and builds to a more exciting plot progression ... That being said, I am very hopeful for the future of this series. Especially given her success with the Empirium Trilogy.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!
I really enjoyed this book! It had disability representation which I always appreciate. And it had romance that I mostly enjoyed but don’t feel like was the only thing in this book, which I feel like is becoming pretty common. The only thing I would say is it felt written more like a YA book than adult book, but I enjoy both so that wasn’t an issue for me.
The only reason I finished this book, was because of the promising reviews I read before starting, but unfortunately this book didn't do it for me. I'm not sure if it was the writing style, the characters (which I couldn't bond with) or the storyline itself. The cover is very pretty though.
Okay so I love Claire Legrand but I wish she would just get to the point a bit quicker sometimes. (I felt this way at points of the Furyborn trilogy) I kept waiting and waiting for the action of this book to start which I felt like it took forever. I also just felt sad for Gemma who is just essentially bullied and always made to feel inferior too her family. Just kind of a let down because I was really excited to read this based on author, cover, and description.
This book just wasn't for me. I tried very hard to get into it, but I ended up skimming through most of it.
Thank you, Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This definitely has potential, but I personally found the main character extremely superficial, and quite unlikable. I only managed to read to 60% before deciding to DNF.
I might give it another try, some other time… because the world building and magic system are very intriguing!
Gemma Ashbourne's family was blessed but she isn't pleased with her progress within the family. She doesn't have magic like the rest of the Ashbourne line and she isn't as strong as her sisters. What starts as a court romance with Talan d'Astier, the son of a family that ruined themselves becomes a fantastical magic battle as multiple storylines open up between worlds.
A Crown of Ivy and Glass is a great fantasy with interesting world building and a unique heroine.
Lady Gemma Ashbourne isn’t a typical fantasy heroine. She’s not a badass or the chosen one or the most talented magician. She’s the only member of her powerful aristocratic family who doesn’t have any magic. And not only that, she’s basically allergic to magic. Whenever she’s around too many magic users or has to use magic created by others, she is violently ill and has to spend days recovering. She also suffers from a panic disorder and has debilitating panic attacks.
Claire Legrand does an excellent job of examining how a chronically ill person might live in a magical fantasy world. In addition to her illnesses, Gemma also great guilt because her older sister took her place as a fighter at the Middlemist, the barrier between their world and an old world filled with monsters.
I won’t get into the plot too much to avoid spoilers, but there are a family rivalry, a burgeoning romance, things breaking through the Middlemist, and family secrets. The plot takes a sharp left turn at about 60% into the book, which was totally unexpected and really well done.
This book is 558 pages and although I often struggle with long books (attention span issues), but I tore through it and it never felt too long.
Clare is brilliant and this book has so many potentials. I’d definitely pick up the next book. The sisters are so intriguing and the smut was fine but i needed more heat and i need it to be more spicy. The villains and the mystery of them had me screaming
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the advance reader copy of A Crown of Ivy and Glass!
A Crown of Ivy and Glass is the first in a trilogy of the story of Gemma Ashbourne, the third daughter of an Anointed family engaged in a feud with another Anointed family, the Basks. Before the gods died, the Anointed several families with high magic to protect the world in their stead. Most Anointed families only have two children but the Ashbornes have three. The last daughter is always sent to the Warden to protect the Middlemist but Gemma's middle sister, Mara, volunteers to go in her stead. Mara's magical abilities are as a Sentinel, like their father, who are skilled warriors. Gemma is constantly sickly as not only does she have no magical abilities, but being around magic causes her extreme pain. Gemma's father has a guest come to stay, Talan, who completely changes Gemma's life.
I really enjoyed this book! The world building and magical system is incredible. Gemma is so completely unlikable as a character at the beginning of the story that I thought I would not enjoy the book but I was completely drawn in by the end of the book. So many things happen throughout the story but it is easy to follow and the characters and magic are so well developed that it was so much fun to read.
I so wanted to love this book. Claire Legrand is a legendary fantasy writer, so I had very high hopes. Unfortunately, I just could not get into the book. The main character, Gemma, was a brat and not in a fun or interesting way, and Talan fell very flat for me. I found myself struggling to understand what was happening, but I wasn't interested enough to keep trying. My library has purchased this title, and I hope that someone enjoys this book.
I was very interested in the world building but after a while it seemed a bit slow and predictable. I got a lot of From Blood and Ash vibes. So, if you enjoyed FBAA, you might enjoy this one. It was a bit slow and I found myself having difficulty picking it back up.
Pros:
- interesting world building, once they dug deeper into that aspect I was hooked
- full cast of characters with interesting personalities
Cons:
- aggressively trying too hard to be like ACOTAR with the title (also I don’t think the title even fits the book imo)
- don’t care for MC and her love interest
- the book feels disjointed between the first and second half. The first half took me months to get through and for the second half I was actively looking forward to see what was happening
Overall, wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend this book, but also wouldn’t tell someone not to read it. I think if the description sounds incredibly interesting to you, then go for it, but just know it probably won’t be the best thing you’ve ever read. Undetermined if I’ll read the second in the series.
Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to read this book! I have to be honest and say that I've struggled with it. The beginning chapters are simply not engaging enough and I kept putting the book down and coming back to it only when I saw it on my kindle. It wasn't a win for me, but I do enjoy Claire's writing overall, so this was just not a book that worked for me.
I wanted to love this book so much. It is touted to be a cross between Bridgerton and ACOTAR but honestly, I didn't find it truly resembled either books... Maybe some super watered down similarities with ACOTAR but that's it.
The world building and descriptions of things in this book were good. I was curious to find out what was behind the FMCs illness and felt invested in the story at the start. I also liked the chronic pain and anxiety rep. That being said, I couldn't connect with the characters - some side characters were nicely written but the FMC was so selfish and kinda hateful and her love interest was 2D in my opinion. I wasn't feeling their chemistry and the romance felt so rushed. This book is an adult fantasy but many aspects of it felt very YA, including the romance and character feelings.
My biggest gripe however is the pacing. Some parts of this story were rushed, while other things dragged on and didn't amount to anything. As a result, this book felt much too long for nothing.
I hear this author has written other books that people love, so I will check those out but this one was just not it for me.
Content warnings: Self harm, suicidal thoughts/suicide, panic attacks/disorder, death, grief.
Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca and Netgalley for the ARC for review. All opinions are my own.
A Crown of Ivy and Glass is a complex romantic fantasy starring deeply flawed characters still trying their best to follow the right path. I liked Gemma’s femininity and imperfections, but readers should be warned that there is a lot of suicidal ideation in this book. I also didn’t love Talan as a love interest. He exhibits a lot of markers for an abusive partner, and while some of that gets explained in the narrative, the romantic aspects of this book make me anxious. Fans of Fourth Wing might like this novel, but to me it has a very different tone.
DNF @ 25%
The writing is juvenile given that it's supposed to be adult fantasy romance. Book was boring. Would not recommend
A Crown of Ivy and Glass is Claire Legrand's adult fantasy romance debut. I was excited to read it, but ultimately it left me scratching my head.
Lady Gemma Ashborne has everything she could wish for--except magic. Despite her wealth and beauty, she is deeply sad, and the magic of others attacks her body like a poison. Her sister Mara has been sent to guard the Middlemist, and her eldest sister and father are embroiled in a blood feud with another magical family.
A handsome young man, Talan, arrives and takes an interest in her, but all is not as it appears. Dangers, including demons and other nightmares, are closer than she imagines.
For me, personally, I feel like the author tried to cram too much in. It felt like all the tropes from all the recent fantasy romances were shoved into a plot blender and this complicated, meandering, convoluted book was the result. I'm no stranger to fantasy; it's one of my favorite genres, but I found this one to be difficult to follow. Sometimes less is more, and I think this book could have benefitted from some paring down. It will be interesting to see how the world-building and the plot develop in the next installment,
Thank you Sourcebooks Casablanca and Netgalley for my ARC.
TLDR: Pretend you never read the Empirium Trilogy and the focus of the book is on family and not the romantic interest.
Like many others, I went into this ready to have my world absolutely rocked my world like Legrand's Empirium Trilogy did. Her ability to create incredibly morally gray characters who OFTEN choose to do wrong things (we love women's wrongs) is what drew me to reading this book. It is pitched as Bridgerton meets fae, which was very exciting. I like this book but left it mostly confused from about the 60% mark on.
My main issue with Gemma and Talan is their instalove and the fact that they are surrounded by an incredibly more interesting cast who I wanted to get to know. If her next books in this series follows Gemma's sisters, I will gladly read the sequels. The only other thing I didn't completely vibe with was the large sideplot involving the Villa as I couldn't see the through line of the two plots.
I actually think if you take Talan out of the story, it becomes a much more compelling story. This story should be judged based on the chronic pain and mental health representation while being rooted in a story (likely the overarching one) about sisters. Legrand crafts incredible women and her women in this book shone and I wanted to know more about all of them as character.
I am excited to see the next book in the series. I received an ebook ARC from Netgalley and never get paid for my opinions.