The Crowns of Croswald

I got this in a giveaway for an honest review and I've put that off for long enough.

It was a mess.

The premise was interesting, I mean who doesn't like magic schools?? The plot and characters were pretty standard for the genre, but they worked alright. The problem was the execution. Things jumped around too quickly with scenes coming out of nowhere that contributed nothing to the story, while others that should have been expanded on were glossed over entirely.

It feels like this needed a few more rounds of editing to pull everything into place. It's a shame because this book really seemed like it had a lot going for it.

“The Crowns of Croswald” is the first book in The Crowns of Croswald series, inserted in the middle grade literary genre, written by D.E Night. I was contacted by her publicist, Daniela, and they offered me a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
The concept of this book revolves around a school of magic, The Ivy Halls, where several students who have a gift for magic are invited to study and develop their skills. There are two categories of magic manifestation, and all young nobles are entitled to a crown with a stone that gives them a specific ability, having to learn how to use it. On the other hand, we have those who can become scrivenists, magicians with the ability to draw everything they see with precision, having a photographic memory, and the function of studying and writing about all their discoveries in order to contribute to the advancement of magic. In addition, each noble family is assigned a scrivenist. This concept was well developed in the book, it was what enchanted me the most, because throughout my reading I always felt that I was in a magical and joyful world, being able to immerse myself in it. That's why I give the concept two stars.
As for the story, we follow the point of view of Ivy Lovely, a sixteen-year-old girl who has the qualities of a scrivenist having, since childhood, a photographic memory and a talent for drawing everything she sees or remembers. At the beginning of the story, Ivy lives in a small village as a baker, having no friends, only Rimbrick, a dwarf who tells her several stories from different places. However, her adventure begins when she is fired and banished from the bakery and, with nowhere to go, Ivy walks with no destination in mind, but a strange person finds her and takes her to the school of magic, The Ivy Halls, stating that he had been looking for her for a long time. Entering the school, Ivy studies to one day become a scrivenist, but fate awaits her something else, something she could never have imagined. Overall the story was entertaining, easy to read and fun, the plot twists weren't surprising, I was expecting them all, making it a bit predictable. One star.
The protagonist of this story is Ivy Lovely, a sixteen-year-old girl who has always lived in the small village where she works as a baker. Despite not liking the life she leads, Ivy is still an optimistic, fun, empathetic, friendly and kind young woman, helping everyone whenever she can. One of her passions is drawing everything she sees, dreaming of studying to be a scrivenist at the Halls of Ivy. Ivy made the story even more magical, as we follow her school adventures, she is enchanted and impressed by everything she sees, bringing the magical atmosphere of the book to life. I give one star.
On the other hand, the antagonist of this story is the Dark Queen, the queen of Croswald. She is portrayed as a mysterious woman, as none of her subjects have seen her, no one knows what she looks like, spending most of her time in the palace, only going out in her carriage when necessary. I liked this mysterious element, however she almost never appears throughout the story and in the end I was a little disappointed because the confrontation between her and Ivy ended in a predictable and convenient way. Zero stars.
Finally, we have several secondary characters such as Fyn, Rebecca, Winsom and Rimbrick. Fyn is Ivy's love interest, having met him at one of the student scrivenist supply stores. He's older than she is, being a third grader, and overall a polite and friendly person, but I felt he didn't have much of a personality or anything to set him apart. On the contrary, Rebecca is Ivy's roommate, a noblewoman with a cheerful and fun personality, using her skills in a comical way. She becomes a great friend to Ivy, helping her whenever she needs it, even when plans can be a little risky. Winsom is a character with a peculiar personality, an elderly scrivenist who practices his magic inside the castle in a secret way. He taught Ivy many things, including things about her past, having been an important mentor to her. Rimbrick is a dwarf who is introduced to us at the beginning of the story, he is one of Ivy's great friends, since he was the one who told her lots of stories from distant places and brought her books for her to read, having been her source of joy during the years she worked as a baker. I liked all the characters, but I felt that some could have been better worked out and explored, so I give one star.
In conclusion, I give five stars out of ten to the first book in the series “The Crowns of Croswald”. However, I want to make it clear that this is a middle grade story, that is, it is for children, and I would recommend this book to that target audience, I think it would be a good story to start in the fantasy genre.

If you are a fan of Harry Potter and want to magic to live on, you should read this. Though the story lacked a bit of originality because some parts greatly reminded me of Harry Potter, it still felt different and I still enjoyed the book a lot.

The introduction showed great world building. We were introduced to Ivy, the main character and the magical world in a way that piques our imagination. Dragons, dwarves, cabby drivers, castles, porcupines, potions, quills – all so creative and imaginative in setting up this Town and magical school. Although I felt like we were missing a few pages because the story started out slow with the world building and then suddenly she is breaking the rules and doing adventures. While I was reading it, I felt like missed something because all of a sudden Ivy is this daring girl.

The magic system is really interesting. I especially enjoyed the part with the Hollow Shaft. I would've loved to see more of what the royals and what the scrivenists could do. But, maybe in the next books there'd be more details.

This book is the first in a series, even though I enjoyed it, I don't think I will carry on with the rest. This isn't just the kind of books for me now, maybe if I was younger I would've enjoyed it more. This is perfect for kids at heart!

*I was given a copy of this book for free, to review. All thoughts are mine and not influenced by the publisher.

3.5 stars. This was a fun middle grade read, with dragons, fairies, pirates and princesses. And a magic school (which is always a plus!).

It's about a kitchen maid named Ivy who finds out she has somehow secured a coveted place at the prestigious magic school, The Halls of Ivy. She leaves her hum drum life and meets new people, learns new skills and discovers that there may be more to her mysterious birth and heritage than she thought.

I enjoyed the initial world building and character development- but I feel it stopped with Ivy. I didn't really know the other characters (these may develop in the second book). The mystery element was ok but the conclusion felt a bit rushed and confused at the end.

All in all, a fun and entertaining read - and may be just the thing for the child (or young at heart) who is pining for Harry, Hermione and Ron.

The Crowns of Croswald is a great middle grade read for those who love magic, adventure, and mystical creatures.

I enjoyed the feel of the book! D.E. Night crafted this world that just sucks you with atmosphere and gives you a character to rally behind.

If you enjoy reading Nevermoor, you'll find a similar love for this book. Think Nevermoor but with an emphasis on words, ink, and writing.

SPOILER ALERTS BELOW*




Like I stated I totally enjoyed this book! I loved the writing! There were some predictable plot points and twists but still I think it is a great read for all ages.

I wasn't a fan of how the romance between Ivy and Fyn came about. Not that it seemed super forced but more like we missed a few interactions that would have made it more acceptable at the end. It was cute and I knew from the moment Ivy ran into him that he was gonna be the main love interest but I wish they got more screen time.

You get the feel that Ivy is the missing princess and I think thats the point with the school being called the Halls of Ivy and I enjoyed watching Ivy find out that too.

What I really love about this book is the magic behind writing and words. Scrivenists are so cool! I loved that scrivenists become tomes when they die. I loved the whole afterlife aspect. As a lover of books and writing I can appreciate it so much!

This was a delightful read! In it, we meet Ivy Lovely, a scaldrony maid at the House of Plum. She's in charge of the scaldrons, small dragons who use their flames to cook the food. An unexpected turn of events sends her fleeing, with the smallest scaldron, beyond the magic-blocking border that she's lived behind her entire life. And thus begins the new life of Ivy Lovely. Whisked off to a magical school, learning she's got magical powers, training to be a Scrivenist, and learning she may be so much more than a scaldrony maid – it's quite the adventure!

I liked the magical system Night created. Scrivenists have the ability to recall everything they see and record it through drawing and writing. Once trained, they are assigned to a royal family, to act as that family's historian and record-keeper. Royals are able to use different types of magic by means of different stones. It was fascinating to see the different types of powers and how the scrivenists worked.

I also loved that she named one of the scrivenists Derwin Edgar Night. I see what you did there, D. E.! Derwin Edgar Night is a very important figure in the story. Ivy has been dreaming of a man, and she realizes it is Night. She needs to find him to learn more about who she is, what her family history is.

The characters are delightful. Ivy is a young lady thrust into a situation completely different from what she's known. She handles it like you'd expect a teenager to do – sometimes she is grace and class, sometimes she's just muddling through, but she never loses her sense of humor and she never gives up. I thought Rebecca was going to be a snot, but she turns out to be quite a good friend to Ivy. I hope to see more of their friendship in future books. And Finn – there's a little spark there with Ivy, I think. Will something come of it? I'll have to read more and see!

There's a touch of Harry Potter to this – magical school, Ivy going shopping for her school supplies, magical creatures and transportation. But Ivy's story is uniquely hers. It's billed as YA fantasy, but I promise you that I'm nowhere near “young adult,” and I was absolutely captivated by the story. I recommend this for fantasy lovers from sixth grade to 60 and beyond! Five stars, and bring on book two!

Thanks to the author and publisher for a review copy. All opinions here are mine, and I don't say nice things about books I don't actually like.

In Croswald, the only thing more powerful than dark magic is one secret...

For sixteen years Ivy Lovely has been hidden behind an enchanted boundary that separates the mundane from the magical. When Ivy crosses the border, her powers awaken. Curiosity leads her crashing through a series of adventures at the Halls of Ivy, a school where students learn to master their magical blood and the power of Croswald's mysterious gems. When Ivy's magic and her life is threatened by the Dark Queen, she scrambles to unearth her history and save Croswald before the truth is swept away forever.

Warning: This review may contain clich??s and superlatives in my description of this book.

(Please note: no clich??s or superlatives were harmed in the writing of this review)

When I started reading this book I had a hatful of superlatives that I intended to use, you know, things like Magical, Enthralling, Enchanting, Captivating etc.

However, I decided to throw them out of the window and tell you what I really think.

I loved this book! It made me remember why I fell in love with fantasy books. Why, as a kid I would want to read books that took me out of this world and plonk me into another world with strange beasts, magic and a hero that would defeat the evil King, Queen, Sorcerer (delete as appropriate).

If I could time travel back to my childhood, I would take this book back with me, and say ???Here kid, read this!???

Now, I suppose you want me to tell you about pacing, character development and all that kind of stuff! Well, I don't know if I want to!

Well, I might just do that, but in a bit. What I wanted to tell you is that when I started this book, I started it with a reviewer's hat on, but after the Prologue, I decided to throw away all pretence of trying to review this book and decided to let myself get caught up in the story's joyful style and just read it, and enjoy it.

As the description tells you, the book is the story of Ivy. A maid in the Plum household, a household devoid of magic and is quite simply the most boring place in the world.

Ivy is a Scaldrony maid, in the kitchens of the Plum Acreage. Her job is to look after the Scaldrons,a type of dragon that doubles up as an oven. The kitchen is run by the tyrannical Helga Hoff and after a series of mishaps involving the aforementioned Helga Hoff, Ivy, finds herself, quite unexpectedly, out on her ear into the wider world.

However, things are not as they seem when her friend, Rimbrick, the bright spot in her previous life of drudgery, leaves her a small fortune, some books and a mysterious letter, telling her of a debt that he owes to her family.

She is shortly collected by the mysterious Lionel Lugg, longtime scrivenist and freelancer. The scrivenist informs her that she is to attend The Halls of Ivy, where Royals and Scriveners alike receive an education in the arts of magic.

What follows is a classic fish out of water story of a girl who is thrust into a world she does not understand. We follow Ivy as she tries to fit into this unfamiliar world, sharing with her the isolation that she feels and the sense of excitement and wonderment that she experiences when she is plunged into this new world that she does not quite understand.

As Ivy becomes more proficient in her learning, her powers start to blossom and soon Ivy finds that her world is full of secrets, adventures and mysterious strangers.

Now, full disclosure. I am not the intended demographic for this story, exceeding that age by at least three or four times. But does that matter? No, not one bit. I was able to enjoy and relish the story as much as I would have done when I was a much younger reader and admire the quality of the prose (although younger me would have no idea what that word meant).

Night's world is rich, filled with characters that will delight (Ha ha, I told you to expect that didn't I?) and keep the reader enthralled (there's another one!). Ivy???s character develops as she learns more about magic and the Halls of Ivy. Throughout the world, there is a vast array of beasts that will keep any young fantasy fan happy. She also has an interesting magic system that works well. However, this magic system is not too impenetrable for younger readers and is pretty easy to follow. As for the world, she is constantly introducing new aspects that enrich both the environment around our main protagonist and also the story.

The other thing that we have here is a strong female lead and a collection of equally strong female characters. The main positions of power centre around women and the fact that they have got there by being exceedingly brilliant in every way. And whilst the story centres around female characters, Night successfully brings in a nice element of scrunginess to the female characters that makes them seem like real girls, instead of the popularised image of little girls wanting to be princesses and queens (although there are plenty of princesses and queens in the story).

For me, the story centres around the magic of books and words. The scrivenists embrace the use of words in order to create their magic, but ultimately, the power is held by books and stories.

In all, Night brings in the right amount of danger, comedy and world building to keep the story moving along at a pretty good pace. The sense of threat is there to keep the reader involved and wanting to know more before they put it down for the night.

So, if you have a budding little fantasy book nerd at home, and you want to keep them happy, give them a copy of this book and hopefully, all will be well.

Right, I was asked by the publisher, Stories Untold & Netgalley to have a look at this book and review it. I did & all the enjoyment is my own. So there!

This is perfect for those who love a middle grade fantasy. While the first half of the book is slower paced than the remaining half, that's to be expected as the characters are introduced and the world is built. This is highly reminiscent of Harry Potter and while I thought I would enjoy that factor, it bugged me more than made me fall in love with it...simply because it's TOO much like Harry Potter so (in my eyes at least) it's not very original.

The MC is also supposed to be 16 but her mannerisms and thoughts are those of someone younger, which does fit I suppose, since this is a middle grade book, but if her age wasn't stated I would have figured she was a lot younger. Overall it's a fun & magical journey, but I am not interested in continuing the series. However, I would recommend for those who aren't huge Harry Potter fans as you may really enjoy it.

I appreciate receiving this E-Book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone.

DNF - I just can't seem to be able to read it, even if I actually like the plot and the writing style. I will come back to it at some point and give it another chance.

3.5 stars

This is the first book in a middle grade/YA fantasy series by D. E. Night. It follows Ivy Lovely, who has watched year after year as students receive their invitations to attend the Halls of Ivy magic school (where students with magic in their blood study scrivenry- magical sketching, and royals study the magic in different stones embedded in their crowns). She's always wished to go, but as a kitchen servant, it's not a possibility for her. Until she gets kicked out of the castle she worked in. Then, events happen that allow her to attend the school (not a spoiler, this happens right away), make new friends, and learn more about her own history - that just may impact the future of all of Croswald.

Let's start with what I loved:

I really loved Ivy, the main character. She was stubborn and determined but still sweet, and she had insecurities and weaknesses that made her more real and relatable. She was fantastic. I also loved her friends Fyn and Rebecca. They were so much fun and added so much character to the story. I want to be friends with them too.

I also really loved the school & classroom element of the story. It's always so fun to go to class with book characters, especially if it's a fantastical class that I can't take in real life. Ivy's classes on sketching and potions and creatures were so entertaining to experience.

The way the plot unfolded was interesting too, the mysterious element to it. I enjoyed figuring out Ivy's backstory along with her. It may not be the most original plot, but it was definitely a fun one!

Now for some downers:

Like I just mentioned, parts of the plot were predictable (this is a typical “chosen one” story). This is not a negative thing in itself; those tropes work so well because readers love them! But it was something that stood out to me. And there were places where the choice of wording felt a little awkward.

Overall, though, I had a fun time reading this and recommend it! I'm in the middle of book 2 and am enjoying that as well!

Content warning: there is magic in this story (if you couldn't already tell) and it got a little dark at the end, so if you want to stay away from that, then this probably isn't the book for you. I personally didn't find it problematic though.

I received a copy of The Crowns of Croswald from the author in exchange for my honest review.

To be honest, when I first started this book I thought it was just a Harry Potter wannabe but it didn't take long to see how very different the story was. I am really glad it was different too. I actually loved it and especially love the creative mind of the author. I loved the idea of black unicorns driven by the dark Queen and shorehorses. All of it actually! I wanted to go there and be a student at the Halls of Ivy. The story is about Ivy who was an orphan who worked in the kitchen at one of the castles. The slurry fields around the castle blocked magic so she never knew she could do magic until she had to leave. A lot of amazing things began to happen immediately as she left that place and she received her invitation to the Halls of Ivy, school of magic. There she was finally able to make some friends and eventually, learn about herself and where she came from. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
#giveawaywinner