Cover Image: The Crowns of Croswald

The Crowns of Croswald

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Member Reviews

This story had enjoyable moments and a premise for a strong female MC. I thought parts of the plot were a tad underdeveloped. It was hard to tell what was actually happening until about halfway through.

There were times I struggled with the writing style but ultimately that’s because I realise this is not a book for me. This does not mean that it is a bad book and If you are intrigued by the story you should read it. There are a lot of similarities to Harry Potter / Alice in Wonderland.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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"This book is definitely aimed at a younger audience, but I can still say that it was a very entertaining read. The clues were always too obvious and the writing style was not my favorite part of this adventure, but the characters and the plot were a delight."
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review

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Absolutely love the magical world of Croswald created in this book. The characters are lovable and the story is just enchanting. Can't wait to continue on with the series and see where the story takes Ivy.

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This book gave me serious flashbacks of the time I used to read Harry Potter. We have an orphan girl who has been kept in the dark about the magical world to which she belongs. We have an academy with strange professors who teach students about all kinds of magical things and beings. And we have a Dark Queen that is trying to get her way to be the most powerful one in the land. The adventures were really enjoyable, and I like school/academy settings as well. I had a nice time reading this book and if my students could read in english, I'd recommend this book to them in a heartbeat ! Also, we meet an adorable pet dragon, and I hope he gets more on-page time later on in the series.

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I loved this whole magic system and Ivy as the MC, she was so fierce and this is definitely a world to get invested in to! Highly recommend for YA readers!

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For those who don't mind retellings. This is an adventurous academia series with a female fun character.

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Review

The Crowns of Croswald (The Crowns of Croswald Book 1)
By D.E. Night

Description

Middle grade/ fantasy.

👑Whimsical.
👑Magic school.
👑 Dark Queen.
👑Scrivenist

The best way to describe this book is Harry Potter meets Alice in Wonderland.
It's a fun fantasy story about a whimsical world with a dark history involving an evil Queen that threatens to destroy Croswald.
Can't wait to read the next book in the series, The girl with the Whispering Shadow.

There are four books in the series at the moment.

I give this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Thanks to Stories Untold Press, D. E. Night and Netgalley for a digital copy of this book.

#thecrownsofcroswald #netgalley #denight #storiesuntoldpress

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I really really wish I had a lot more nice things to say about this book, because I don't think it is a bad book at all, but, unfortunately, it didn’t really work for me personally.

-The writing:
I can’t say that the writing was bad. It just didn’t grip me. Despite this, even though it wasn't my thing, I do think that the writing itself was actually pretty good, and a lot of people could enjoy it.

-The characters:
The characters were bad per sè, but they were too similar (in personality and role) to characters from other popular books (mainly Harry Potter). Another thing I didn’t love was the use of overly descriptive names, such as “Ivy Lovely” and “Woodley Butterlove”, but that’s just personal. Except from this, I still liked the dynamics between the characters.

-The worldbuilding:
I actually really liked the worldbuilding. I absolutely loved that the author didn’t just rely on pre-existing magical creatures but created some new ones, such as scaldrons and hairies. I also liked the cabbies, and the corresponding storm clouds following them to keep them hidden. I think that was very imaginative.

-Any other notes:
I was a bit disappointed when I got the feeling that the fact that this book is supposed to be middle grade was seen as a bit of an excuse to make certain elements too cartoonish and not flashed out enough, but I still believe that many children could really like this anyway.

Again, I wouldn’t say this was a bad book, at all. It just didn’t work for me, and maybe it would need a bit more originality.

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I was not a fan of this book unfortunately. I found it far too much like Harry Potter. The beginning was laden with exposition and the sentences quite awkward in places. I liked Ivy but found she and her classmates to be unrealistic sixteen year olds.

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I had high hopes for this book because I really want to read more middle grade fantasy. I did not finish this book. It felt a little scattered from the first page. It felt like too much info was being dumped onto the reader without clearly understanding the world. I may take another chance to read it in the future, but maybe this story just isn't for me.

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I enjoyed this book overall, but I thought that the plot was underdeveloped. It was hard to tell what was actually happening until about halfway through. Not enough explanation of the setting was given, so it was hard to get into the right headspace for reading it.

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Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Ok, this was surprisingly good. It starts off slow, and the pacing gradually gets quicker. While i could guess where the story was going, i still loved how the author wrote it. The writing was both whimsical and magical and drew me into the world. The magic system was really interesting, and I found the concepts of royals and scrivenists really intriguing. Ivy is a great main character, she is strong, driven and had great character development. I’m definitely interested to see where the rest of the series goes, and continue the journey with Ivy!!
(*3.5)

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Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

I was excited when I was approached to review The Crowns of Croswald, It looked like it had positive reviews and I had seen readers describe the story as Cinderella meets Harry Potter, which had me intrigued. Unfortunately, I think I am in the minority here because I did not mostly enjoy the book. I love Harry Potter, but this book is too similiar and not in a good way. It’s so much like it, that it’s basically the exact same story line where the author just changed the names and ages of some characters. One think that bother me was the writing, there were many issues with some sentences that I had to reread because of how oddly structured they were written. I had a hard time reading this book, my interest plummeted around page 70. I tried my best to continue reading but couldn’t read more than 150 pages so I "DNF'd" it. (the book has 229 pages) I wanted to like it, as there were aspects of it that had so much potential, but I cannot, in good conscience give anything other than my honest opinion.This definitely wasn’t a book I enjoyed reading and I probably won’t check out the rest of the series.

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I finally got around to reading this and I´m kicking myself for not reading it sooner. This is such a cute story. For fans of retelling-esque magical stories set in a magical school.

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A fun read! A whimsical, magical story perfect for my Harry Potter loving heart. I did get a little confused by the storyline at times but overall I really enjoyed this.

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Thanks for giving my an ARC in exchange of an honest review.

It was a lovely story about how a miserable girl discovers an incredible world. Then she will star studing in a magical school where she will learn more about her new reality. The worldbuilding was well-developed and very detailed, although sometimes too complex. This made me immerse myself in the story.

I think this book is perfect for people who love to read about magic and fantastical worlds.

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I was immediately interested after reading the synopsis of this book. Definitely my kind of book. Thanks for giving me the chance to read it!

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For sixteen years Ivy Lovely has been living the life of a lowly scaldrony maid. Until one day, tired of being shut away from the world, she tries to run away and crosses a magical boundary she didn't know existed. The moment she crosses the boundary her world begins to change. Powers within hey awaken and she is brought to the Halls of Ivy a school where students learn to master their magical blood and the power of Croswald's gems. When Ivy's magic-and her life- is threatened by the Dark Queen she must scramble to unearth the mystery of her past before it's too late.

This book captured my attention right from the start. It has a Cinderella meets Harry Potter vibe to it. The world building was excellent and pulled me in right away with its enchanting creatures and magical atmosphere.

Ivy is a character many can relate to as she is both timid about the changes in her life and brave as she sets out on this new adventure. The friends she meets along the way add intrigue and fun into the mix including a bit of a flirtatious relationship.

As a lover of middle grade fantasy I devoured this book! Its captivating storyline kept me entertained and I was sad when it was over. I can't wait to read book two!

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Thank you to Netgalley and D.E. Night for the ARC!

- I think some people who are looking for a middle grades magical school series may like this, but it missed the mark for me.
- it felt like it was trying really hard to emulate a certain wizard school, and it kept taking away from the story.
- I struggled with the characters. They were 16 as first years, but they acted more like younger kids and spoke like they’re very proper adults. I didn’t feel like the motivations made sense all the time. There’s a big reveal at the end, and Ivy’s reaction just didn’t feel like it fit.
- I’ve always struggled to understand what “show, don’t tell” looks like in a book, but there was a ton of showing in this book. It definitely took me out of the book.

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Picked up and put down this book so many times. Absolutely feeling guilty for how long it’s taken me but it was just so tough to get through. Theres potential but it just gets lost in its ow. World building. The magic doesn’t really obey good rules within itself (you have no idea what is or isn’t magically possible at any given time). The characters are all just a little flat and boring. It was fine but I won’t be picking up book two.

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