This book brought back all the feels from the first time I read Harry Potter! It was so much fun to discover a new, magical world. I enjoyed meeting each of the characters and seeing their story progress. The first book has me hooked and I will definitely be reading the rest of the series soon! The plot was interesting and captivating with so many cool details about the world the author created. Such a fun read, can’t wait to see what happens next!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It was a slow start but the world building was well done. I could see the setting so clearly. The magic system is unique and I hope book 2 explains the scrivener/royal pairing more. I’m excited to start book 2!

DISCLAIMER: I received this book free from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a little on the fence for this one because I went in willingly but blind and I did not expect it to be a Harry Potter-esque kind of book, which for me didn't work quite well enough. I really liked the first 2 chapters although I was a bit confused with the universe of the book. The story is well written but the level of the language is far too complicated as it is sold for a middle grade audience... so that was confusing too. After those two aforementioned chapters, I admit it was difficult for me to keep being engaged and I really struggled to finish it. I'm sure the glorious reviews speak some truth but I don't share the sentiment. As I said, it is well written enough and you may or may not like this one but my expectations were not met. Also, the constant similitudes to Harry Potter were a diservice and the intrigue ended up falling flat. Too bad.

I was kindly sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! (Thanks to @danielastoriesuntoldpress !)

In this book we follow Ivy, a 16 year old girl who gets whisked away to a magical school, and learns all about magic and how to use her powers. I loved the whole concept and whilst in some points it gave me major Harry Potter vibes (something I’m not complaining about), Night managed to make the story and its plot her own, and I applaud the sheer amount of effort is clearly visible in developing the world and history etc!!

This is the kind of book 14 year old me would have made my entire personality, however reading it now at 21 I think it just didn’t leave the same impression on me! I think for me, I just didn’t click in particular with any of the characters (there was nothing wrong with any of them and as well written as they were I just found them a bit bleh) and I think this is the reason I didn’t absolutely LOVE the book, it left me more just feeling average about the full experience.

Overall, I would recommend if you are looking for a light fantasy that is easily digestible, and definitely if you are on the younger side!!

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a E copy of the book on NetGalley!

The story is about a young girl Ivy— she grew up in what they call the slurry, which supresses and hides magic. One day, she gets invited to the Halls of Ivy, a school that teaches all things magic and helps the students uncover their powers. She has many adventures at the school, exploring her new found abilities and creating strong friendships, but weird things keep happening and she's sure they're hiding something from her. If only she knew what...

I absolutely LOVE anything fantasy, so this book was a good choice for me. It's aimed at younger children (think Harry Potter mixed with Eragon mixed with Narnia), but it didn't feel condescending or too simple for someone a bit older. I think this book has a lot of positive influences, which I feel is one of the most important things in children's fiction. The friendships Ivy forms are wholesome and far from toxic, which is another tick off my list of things I was looking to get out of this book. The entire atmosphere of the book was so magical and I absolutely adored how writing and drawing is seen as magic, a beautiful metaphor for how it feels to do these things in the real world.

The ending for me unfortunately felt a bit rushed and fell a bit flat after the massive build up that started the first few chapters. However, I think this was done to keep a younger audience engaged, so it's hard to fault this too much. I hope in the next books Ivy has more interaction with her new friends, because although they seemed solid friends, she seemed like a lone wolf most of the time.

All in all, I did really like this book, and I'm looking forward to finding out what happens next in books 2 and 3!!

** I was kindly sent this book in exchange for an honest review. **

Rating: 3.75 / 5 stars

If you like Harry Potter, Cinderella and Snow White then you will definitely love this book.

The story follows a scullery maid called Ivy that, when she leaves the place where she works, is swept away to a magical boarding school where she not only learns magic, but also the secrets of her past and why she’s so special.

Every young reader that loves magical, whimsical stories will love this book and it’s characters. It’s full of mysteries, magical creatures, a Dark Queen and secret rooms that make the reader want to be a part of this world.

The cover, the blurb, the world that this story is based on all sounds like a fantasy dream come true and the initial visuals do not disappoint. A refreshingly unique and engaging imaginative story which takes you into the new world Night builds through her flowing writing vivid imagination put to page. Although a little slow at first and the book taking a little while to get into; there was no need to fret as wow did this story grip me after this and totally envelop me in the shadows and stars it creates. Spiderwick Chronicles meets Harry Potter in a realm full of magic, shadows, mystery, and charm to produce a story that you will get so caught up in you will battle to put the book down until you release you need to order book 2 straight away.
The characters themselves are brilliantly written, relatable, and easy to connect with after the first several chapters of getting to know them. The centre of my book character love going to the amazing Ivy. I cannot quite believe I am about to type this, but I had the same connection with her as with characters from ‘Harry Potter’ when I was a child, the pure joy and love for Ivy is one that must be shared. This not only is directed at Ivy though; every character whether they only appear for a chapter, a scene or are reoccurring, have a spark that take from 2D words on a page to full life beings in your mind and on the world itself.
This book age group is listed as 10-15 but although the writing style does slightly cater to this age, the story and realm itself is for all ages and loved of fantasy from 10 years of age upwards.
There are only slight woes I have with the book, which I may add do not affect me now that I have finished the book and fallen in love with the series as a whole. The earliest being there being a character at the beginning who is then not mentioned for a long while yet, being oddly confusing. The second being the word ‘scrivenist’ which is a fantastic word now that I know the meaning and fully enjoy, but when first mentioned was not explained, so therefore took a while to connect the dots and wholly appreciate.
Crowns of Croswald will always have pride of place on my bookshelf and in my book heart, so much so that I even designed an enamel pin based on it to share the love of the Croswald world.
Many thanks to D.E Night, her lovely publisher for sending me a copy of this amazing book to fall in love with.

This book is aimed for middle school age, and for that I really enjoyed it. The majority of it set in a magic school, the world building was good and gave me a very clear image. For once, I actually kept picturing the character younger than they are due to who its aimed it, and the way they spoken didn't line up with the ages given. It did give some similarities to Harry Potter but I think any 'children's ' book set in a school will do that now. Overall I did enjoy it and will probably give the next book a try

I absolutely loved the magic of this story! It was easy to feel transported into the world and as a reader I felt the magical experience. The one thing I was not fond of was how confusing the first few chapters were. It seems to jump around a bit and I wasn't sure which POV I was in or what timeline. I understand the intention but as a reader it was a little hard to get into the story originally due to that confusion. Overall a wonderful story full of adventure, mystery, and magic!

I must say, whatever I expected - I absolutely got that and even more. This is very classic magic kind of world which is absolutely unique and fantastic!

It gave me Harry Potter and Cinderella vibe, with a sprinkle of Snow White here and there. It was in no way copy of those stories, just had similar feeling to it, which I enjoyed quite a lot.

Storyline kept me interested as it was really hard to predict what will happen next. And even though I did guessed couple things, there was so many twists that I couldn't even imagine! And the world building is truly beautiful, author obviously gave much thought even to the smallest details. Magical things are happening in the D.E. Night head for sure!

What I didn't realised, it's a middle grade book, so it was a tad too light for my taste. At some points I just wanted things to be more dramatic. But if you like to dive into a magical, creative fantasy world - give this book a try!

Also, the little initials thing author did in the book - I loved it! 🖤

The Crowns of Croswald is a super fun, magical read that's sure to enthral younger readers from the get-go.

In this delightful MG fantasy, we follow the story of Ivy Lovely, a Scaldrony Maid whose life is a lot less mundane than she's been brought up to know. Ivy's path takes an unexpected turn when she discovers that she has magic in her blood and she receives an invitation to attend and study at the Halls of Ivy - a school where students learn to master their magical blood and the power of Croswald’s mysterious gems. As the story progresses, we meet and learn of the Dark Queen's ill-intent towards Ivy, following her journey as she learns more about her own blood & history, and attempts to thwart the Queen's plans.

Night crafts Ivy's story expertly, using beautifully colourful , whimsical writing to bring the magic systems and characters in this fantastical world to life. I feel that some elements of the story are quite reminiscent of Harry Potter, but The Crowns of Croswald certainly has its own uniqueness and allure that stand to the book in its own right. There were some issues with pacing throughout and unfortunately I found my attention wandering from the pages on occasion.

Despite the few shortcomings, this was definitely an enjoyable read overall and would be perfect for young readers who love magic and adventure!

When the publisher reached out to me to ask if I would like to read this book, I almost immediately said yes! I had seen this book around a bit, and the synopsis really spoke to me! Crowns of Croswald is a middle grade fantasy book, and it truly reads like one, with all the whimsicality that comes with that genre! I loved exploring this world, so if you want a simple fantasy novel that offers a great escape: read this one!

I thought it had a very interesting plot and mystery that had me hooked at every page. The whole vibe of the book did remind me a bit of Harry Potter, which I wasn't mad about; it reminded me of the books I would dream away with as a child and devour in a single day, so it was very fun to read that kind of book again. The mystery definitley gave it a fun twist, and I think this book is great for younger readers!

I also found the descriptions were very brilliantly done, and it was very easy to picture the world! Everything was whimsical, which overall made for a really pleasant experience. I thought the magic system was very interesting, and very well built, though I'd loved to learn out more about the different stones and families. The writing was really easy to follow, and I thought the book was well-written overall! It was also a fast-paced book, with a lot of action, which I really appreciated.

The book was also a good set-up for a series; it had a lot of important worldbuilding to get you a feel for the surroundings, and how the world was put together, without solely focussing on world-building and still leaving enough room to set up the plot.

However, I did I find the story to be a bit unrealistic at times; the characters seemed to get into impossible-to-get-out situations, that were all resolved incredibly easily; it seems like Ivy's luck never seemed to run out. This led to there being a lot of superficial drama and events that didn't have any major or lingering consequences, and was moved on from fairly quickly. Though some events were definitely necessary to move the story along and were vital to the plot, I don't think this was the case to everything which sometimes cluttered the book.

Ivy could be very stubborn and selfish at times; she only did whatever she wanted to do and dragged others with her into her misfortunes, not really caring too much. What also confused me was Ivy's age; she was supposed to be 17, but sometimes she seemed no older than 14.

Overall, I did really enjoy the book! It was a solid start of a series, that did a great job setting up the story and the rest of the series, but on its own was also very enjoyable! Definitely will be checking out the next book!

If you’re like me and wanted to be whisked away to Hogwarts when you were a kid but were sorely disappointed when you weren’t, “The Crowns of Croswald” is the balm to that disappointment. A magical boarding school, a spunky main character, and plenty of adventures make “The Crown of Croswald” a delightful read for all ages, even if it’s a middle-grade novel.
“The Crowns of Croswald” follows Ivy, the spunky misfit who dreams of magic, which she unwittingly stumbles upon and is whisked away to a magic boarding school. As Ivy traverses class, mean girls, and her own magic, she’s drawn into the mysteries of her school and home through a Forgotten Room, secret tower, and mystical lake that leads her toward the answers she’s been searching for–and her destiny.
Night effortlessly creates a character so relatable, it hurts at times. Ivy’s misfit tendencies and attitude jump off the page and narrate the story. The other characters–Winsome, Rebecca, and Fyn–are also well-crafted, but lack a story arc, although it might be a bit premature to say that given “The Crowns of Croswald” is the first novel in “The Croswald” series.
If you’re expecting a similar magical world to Harry Potter, you might be disappointed, but fear not! This world is just as mystical and fantastical as Harry Potter’s magical realism.
“The Crowns of Croswald” delightfully lays the foundation for what I expect to be a fantastic and adventurous series into Ivy’s experiences and world. A refreshing read, no matter what the age.

The Crowns of Croswald is the first in the series and is set at a magic school. It has similar elements to other fantasy books I’ve read, but also very different and unique. I enjoyed reading about this world, the creatures, and characters. I’d love a scaldron like Humboldt.
The world building is great and you’re on a journey of learning along with Ivy. Though you do put the pieces together very early on about who she is.
There’s a lot left open for the next books which is good. Originally the prologue was confusing but made more sense after rereading once I finished the book.
I prefer close 1st or 3rd POV, and I wish this did that. D.E. Night did a great job, this is just personal preference.
It’s a middle grade book but with a 16 year old main character, which I thought was an interesting choice. Ivy could’ve been 12 or 13 easily.
Overall it’s an intriguing book and great for middle graders and fantasy magic school lovers.

As a middle school teacher I’m always looking for middle grade books to recommendation to my students. So I was thrilled when I was asked by the publisher to review it. This was a very enjoyable middle grade fantasy novel!

It’s similar to Harry Potter in the sense that it takes place at a magical school and follows the “chosen one” trope but is still unique and different.

It was a bit of a slow start but really picked up in the middle and end. With any new fantasy series the first book is usually setting the scene for the new world and can drag. However, I’m certainly interested in reading the remainder of the series now that we know the world of Croswald.

In the end, I was glad to read this and will definitely recommend it to my fantasy loving students!

Thank you to Netgalley and Stories Untold for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to Stories Untold and NetGalley for providing this book for free in exchange for an honest review!

My rating: 4/5 stars

I'm really intrigued to read this because... BOARDING SCHOOL (it's my current obsession to read anything boarding school-related) but also, MAGIC and CASTLE and PRINCESSES?
I've seen a lot of people compare this to Harry Potter, and I've read them since I was a kid I kinda agree with the first part of the book. But for me, I think The Crowns of Croswald have its own magical system.

What I like about this book:
- The world-building is fun and I've never read or found any book like this before (Scrivenists with magical quills, Castle and Queens, princess and princes, and magical boarding school together).
- The characters (mainly Rebecca.. sorry Ivy). Rebecca is funny and supportive to Ivy and I just really like her character. Fyn has a sweet, protective, and mischievous personality especially towards Ivy, and it turns out I like him too.
For Ivy, well she's great. She's curious, adventurous, and quite rebellious too. But um, I want to see more of her character development in the next book.
- I like how the author put her own name as a mysterious character in the book.
Wait... I think I like Ivy mainly because of this particular scene:
"I don't feel like doing much today, and probably not tomorrow, either. A few absences never hurt anyone. I feel like I need a break."

"A break from what?"

"Life."

Ah yes, that 1 sentence, and that 1 word is so relatable to me as a student...

What I don't really like about this book:
- NO MAPS :(( this made me really sad, I really wished there was a map, so the reader can have a picture of how the world looks like.
- I wish I could see more of Humboldt...
Yeah, I don't know what else I don't like about this book honestly.. But the no maps is such a bummer...

In general, it's an enjoyable read. It started out really slow, but from the middle to the last chapters the pace picking up perfectly. For me, I think this book is more appropriate for middle grades. Okay, that's it for me, now I'm craving a pie.

Thank you to Stories Untold Press and Netgalley for a copy of The Crowns of Croswald in exchange for my honest review!
In the Crowns of Croswald (book #1 in a 3 books series), Ivy, a lonely scaldrony maid (a dragon keeper) manages to get kicked out of the castle where she works and the only home she has known. Somewhat to her surprise, she winds up at The Halls of Ivy magic school where she learns to master her underdeveloped magical abilities as a scrivenist. The book goes on to reveal her enchanting journey at the Halls of Ivy as well as her run ins with the Dark Queen.
I read The Crowns of Croswald with my middle grade reader. Both of us loved it and were enthralled from very early on! If you our your child loves fantasy novels like the Harry Potter series, you will love The Crowns of Croswald too! Initially there seemed to be quite a bit of similarity to HP, but the book quickly took it's own path! Everything about The Crowns of Croswald is intriguing from the mystical cover to the very visual and descriptive nature of D.E. Night's writing!
Overall I would recommend The Crowns of Croswald, but perhaps to the older end of the middle grade novel spectrum due to the sophistication of some of the language used. We're looking forward to reading Book 2 - The Girl with the Whispering Shadow!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eCopy of the book to review. The Crowns of Croswald was an enjoyable book that really reminded me of Harry Potter with the magic the world revolved around.

The story centers around Ivy Lovely and the adventures she has in her first year at the Halls of Ivy, a magical boarding school. At first, the story seemed to start off slow, but it certainly picked up the more I read. Sometimes, in the beginning I was confused with some aspects of the world building, but as the story went on, I was able to understand different elements more. I really liked learning about this new magical world the author created. The different professors in the school, as well as the school itself, were very interesting to read about. The ending will leave readers wanting to know more as it ended on a cliffhanger. The book had a lot of action and fantasy elements which I really liked. I also liked the friendships Ivy made throughout her journey in this first installment of the series. I think that middle grade kids will absolutely love this story and will leave them wanting to attend the Halls of Ivy themselves!

The Crowns of Croswald was such a fun read! I love that book two is already out so there's no waiting to continue on with this story. It's great for YA readers who have been thoroughly in love with Harry Potter for their entire lives...guilty as charged...no shame in my game!

I felt like the magic structures in the book were so unique and cool, it all works so well and gives a fun new take on a magical world. As far as middle grade reading goes (I have a few favorite series that are MG, again, read what you love, no shame in my game) this book was excellent and I can't wait to read more in this world.

Let's dive into the characters...my favorite part of any book. Ivy is wonderful. She's just want you want to see in a fierce young woman. She's learning, she's growing, and she's brave! So brave! It's amazing to see and I wish I would have had this series when I was growing up and looking to characters in books for inspiration!

The Crowns of Croswald is a wonderful read. It's a fun, fast, magical adventure that will leave you wanting more...and more you shall have since the series is already well established. Join Ivy as she herself dives head first into whatever life throws at her, you won't be disappointed!

4/5 stars from me, a wonderful read and I can't wait for my physical copies to arrive so I can share them with my favorite middle grade readers!

I just reviewed The Crowns of Croswald by D.E. Night. #thecrownsofcroswald #NetGalley

I’m not the one that enjoys middle grade books, I just wanted to say that. So, having said that it also needs to be said this book is very fun.
Some common fantasy elements for sure, predictable at times, but fun so very fun! Magical and beautiful, you will enjoy this world for what it is - magical!