This book tells the story of Ivy Lovely, a maid who discovers she has magic and is able to enter a school to learn how to become a scrivener and recorder of magic and guardian for a royal family. Ivy is a sweet girl, and is shown to be powerful, though she doesn’t know why magic affects her as it does. She makes friends with Rebecca and Fyn at the school, who help Ivy in her quest for answers. Although the characters were likeable I didn’t feel I knew a lot about them that wasn’t just surface deep. It seemed that there was a lot of time spent on world-building and not enough on character development. I also found there were some instances of fat-shaming which dimmed my enjoyment of the book.

In terms of the story I found it slow at first, there was so much of day to day life at the school, that it was hard to keep track of what the main plot of the novel was. This all changed about half of the way through. The story became more exciting as secrets were revealed and mysterious figures introduced and I started to enjoy the book a lot more. There was more action as well, though the characters never seemed in real danger. The climax to the story was over very quickly, but this book did its job in setting up for the sequel.

What I really liked about this book was the world of Croswald itself. It’s magical and whimsical. There are dragons and fairies (or hairies), magical tomes and maps, magical quills and stones. Whilst the school and the characters were very similar to other popular series, the world stood on its own, and I would like to read more about it.

Overall a mostly enjoyable Middle Grade read. If you are looking for a book about a magical school, with dragons, an evil queen and a huge magical library, this could be one to try.

Thank you to StoriesUntoldPress and DE Night for reaching out and allowing me to read and honestly review this book.

This book was delightfuly quirky! It’s about a young girl who discovers her magical powers and destiny as well as uncovers her past and who she truly is. She discovers this after attending her first year at a magical school which was fun to read about. Although this book was intended for a younger audience I did enjoy it but felt some background information regarding this magical world was missing and would have enhanced the book!

I picked up this book from Netgalley and ended up really liking it. This book is perfect for fans of Harry Potter and fantasy novels. This book has lots of action, mystery and is great for Middle school readers and beyond. I do recommend this one and will probably read it to my child when he gets a bit older to understand it. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was amazing!!! It was like a blend of The Wundersmith, Harry Potter, and Keeper of the Lost Cities. We follow Ivy Lovely as she is whisked from a life of drudgery surrounded by slurry fields. As soon as she steps outside the boundaries she is whisked away to a secret school of magic. From there all sorts of mayhem ensues and I loved every bit of it! Secret chambers, mysterious wizards, new friends, dangerous enemies, and a hidden past all combine into the epic beginning of a series. Strong and intelligent female leads and great world building makes for a wonderful coming of age story. This is a story that will stand the test of time and will be enjoyed by all ages. I can’t wait to see what else happens to Ivy and her friends.

I have to say, I missed reading children's novels. I miss the little jokes they had, and they way everything is so delightful and fun. There's a magic to them that books captures well. I've said previously that i love boarding school stories, and i wasn't wrong. I really do enjoy seeing a character taken out of a world they're familiar with and put into a school like environment. And so, I really liked the school Ivy goes to.

I think the world building borrows a little from some other common children's books, but it can also stand on it's own. (The dragons who bake in their mouths?? Loved that detail!!) But it wasn't anything groundbreaking. It was a nice read, that I enjoyed. Not necessarily thrilling or very captivating, but as someone who missed reading a book full of joy and cute moments like this book had, I enjoyed this book for what it was. I'm not sure I will continue with the series, however; the book just didn't hold my attention all that well.

But it was a fun book, and I enjoyed reading it!

I received an eARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

There are a lot of similarities between this and Harry Potter.

I did really enjoy the book, it has magic and mystery with whimsical delight sprinkled on top. There were moments that I felt were perhaps a little rushed and I wanted more from the characters relationships with others. I wanted to feel the connection that she had with those she considered love ones, and sadly I didn't feel to much for any of them.

I did however really enjoy the story, the magic and the journey that we were taken on.

Fans of the Wizarding World or the Nevermoor series may just enjoy this magical journey of self discovery.

Unputdownable! Simply magical.

What a marvelous world D. E. Night created in this fast-paced tale of magic and mystery.

Fans of Harry Potter will adore this book as much as I do. D. E. Night has created a whole brand new world, giving a sense of magic to even the smallest part of a normal everyday experience.

The story follows a young orphan called Ivy Lovely who is a maid in a remote castle, but gets called up to a school of magical learning. The adventures that follow, the friends she makes along the way, and the lessons she learns are all very exciting and I'm looking forward to reading the next installment.

A middle school fantasy that is a charming read for any aged fan of magical schools/worlds.

After being kicked out of the house in which she lived as a maid, sixteen-year-old orphan Ivy Lovely is sent to the Halls of Ivy where she learns how to harness her newly found skills in magic. She discovers that the answers to the secrets of her past may very well be answered within those halls.

It’s hard for me not to compare any “kid discovers magic and goes to magic school” story to Harry Potter and although I found the overarching storyline to be similar, it had enough differences to stand on its own. I love any book with a sense of “mystery” to it and I liked how this one was set up (if maybe a little predictable). I also enjoyed and took note of the diverse vocabulary the author used.

Thank you to Netgalley and Stories Untold Press for the digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! It reminds me of Harry Potter and A Deadly Education but still holds its own. I will definitely reading this again.

If you are a fan of Nevermoor and Harry Potter, this is the book for you!

16 year old Ivy Lovely has lived as a kitchen hand, hidden behind a barrier that separates her from a world of magic. When she finally had the opportunity to escape her mundane world, she encounters experiences she never could have imagined.

This was an easy to read, engaging story that drew me in from the first page. I especially appreciated the chapter illustrations, they were so intricate and always gave me pause at the beginning of each chapter.

D. E. Knight had some really unique and new ideas, with my particular favourite being the Kallegulous key - a magical key that can unlock any door and if a door is locked by this key and then the room that when locked, everything inside is forgotten. So unique and also gave me some chills!

There were many tropes used in this book that I enjoyed (e.g a magic school) but I found those aspects were not as unique. Still really enjoyable though! I will be continuing this series as soon as I can get my hands on book 2!

3.5

***Thank you Netgalley and Stories Untold Press for sending me a free copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions stated here are my own.***

I really wanted to love this book but, unfortunately, I didn't. I was really excited to get my hands on a copy of this because so many reviewers compared it to Harry Potter. Ultimately, I think that's where it went wrong for me. Those are big shoes to fill and I had high expectations.

I think that Night has a great imagination and I think she can be very whimsical with her writing. There were some really wonderful and original ideas here. I love the storm cabbie, visiting the Hollow Shaft, and the idea of scauldrony(dragon) maid. Also, I think that she has a lot of talent when it comes to writing descriptions. I enjoyed her descriptions of the world, magic, and creatures. I would be willing to read something else by her because I do see a lot of potential.

The dialogue, transitions, and pacing at the beginning of this book were very choppy and, at times, jarring. The pacing never felt consistent. It takes a good hundred pages for the plot to take off and then it would slow down and pick up again. The writing improves A LOT by the end of the story.

This was very similar to Harry Potter. In fact, I felt that it was too similar. There were some lines of dialogue that felt like they were taken directly out of the Harry Potter books. I don't want to be that person that compares a book to another book but there were so many things that felt exactly the same. We have Diagon Alley, a Ron Weasley character (Rebecca), a Draco Malfoy character (Damaris), ghosts in the dining hall, enchanted paintings, and the room of requirement. We also have these quotes "I couldn't possibly! I could be expelled!" and "You're a Scrivener, Ivy". I would recommend this if you are looking for something similar to Harry Potter and you aren't bothered b these similarities.

Getting into my biggest frustration: Ivy Lovely. We are told that she is sixteen but she acts like she's ten. She asks questions about things that are incredibly obvious or that have already been answered. I don't necessarily think this is a bad thing because this is a middle grade. I was expecting to be spoon fed. I was expecting I found it really hard to care about her because she makes so many bad decisions. Some examples:

Ivy and her friend break a rule and her friend gets lost. Rather than coming clean and telling the truth so she can help her friend, Ivy just leaves her there.
Ivy and another friend break a rule and the school's headmistress (or selector) makes this friend take a truth potion and he tells on Ivy. Ivy gets mad at him for telling on her.
Ivy is told that she can't go somewhere because she could endanger the other students and then she just goes anyway.

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

This book is very reminiscent of Harry Potter, yet, holds up its own. A unique magic system, a cute dragon, surprising characters and word building made this book a fun read, what I found lacking though is the pacing and the protagonist Ivy’s character not eating, food is definitely the way to my heart and that was just unfortunate!!

Would I read the following books in the series, probably not,,,

Thanks to @storiesuntoldpress for the e-book for an honest review

I think this book is perfect for younger Middle Grade readers. My daughter is almost 15 years old, but if she were younger I think she would be a great series to read with your child. I personally felt that it read too young for an adult to enjoy on their own, but with a child to read to and answer any questions that may come up, would be an excellent way to encourage literacy and spend time together.

I will not be continuing with this series, but I HIGHLY recommend to others!

I was given a digital copy of The Crowns of Croswald in exchange for a review, but all thoughts are my own!

I absolutely loved this! I love the idea of scrivenists going to a school alongside royalty and studying to one day go do magic for a specific family. The Dark Queen who terrifies everyone, even though not much is known about her, is such a fun idea and I love that we get to actually meet her towards the end. Ivy's journey to discover who she is was so heartwarming and I love that she never gave up, even when her friends couldn't remember the specifics of what she was telling them because of the Forgetting Room. The ending was just so good (even though I had called where Ivy came from, the reveal was still so good!) and I cannot wait to get my hands on the other book in the series.

Ivy’s a castle kitchen maid but when events involving a scaldron get her kicked out, her magic awakens. Being invited to attend the magical school – the Halls of Ivy – was beyond anything she’d ever imagined and it's there that she learns the art of scriveny whilst also tries to navigate the politics of the classroom. But something bigger is at play that involves a mysterious man that no one but Ivy can remember and the powerful Dark Queen.

This story was bursting with magic with a whimsical tone. The system was interesting between the scrivenists with their quills and the royals with their crowns and there was a strong, entertaining plot that kept me engaged to find out what was going to happen next.

But the passing of time and pacing was a bit jarring. I think including the change of seasons over the school year in the setting could have helped with this. Initially you’d think only a couple of days had passed but it had been months. Or it would be very fast-paced and then suddenly slow down.

Also I felt that character development was sacrificed for plot and magic. Ivy didn’t feel fully fleshed out and although she’s 16, sometimes she behaved much younger. There were just quite a few things that didn’t make much sense for her character. For one thing, given she’d spent her life as a servant, I can’t imagine why Ivy would constantly skip meals. Her relationships with Rebecca, Winsome, Fyn, Damaris, and the Selector were weak. Rebecca is meant to be her best friend at school but Ivy, for the most part, ignored her friend’s worries and own struggles. (Side note: why weren’t the school worried that they had a missing student for almost two days when she was locked in a cage?) Winsome is meant to be a mentor but there weren’t key defining moments shown to enhance this bond when they were training together. The fledgling romance felt forced. It would have been better if it was delayed till later books and instead had more of a build up as their feelings for one another intensified. And I still don’t know why Fyn consistently popped up randomly at just the right moments, but I’m very suspicious. After the climactic end, where is the Selector?

Every moment felt like it was there to push the plot along rather than to grow the characters and their relationships. There were a few plot holes too but I’m hoping they will be resolved in later books. So although I wasn't completely swept away by The Crowns of Croswald, I would like to revisit this world.


Thank you to NetGalley and Stories Untold for providing me with a copy to review.

This book follows sixteen year old Ivy Lovely who has been working as a scaldron maid (scaldrons are dragons who bake, treated poorly and has never know any different. One day she gets herself fired and crossed the scurry fields to a big bang that turns out to be an enchanted boundary. Suddenly Ivy’s magical powers awaken along with confusion over her family history and to how she gained these powers. Ivy finds herself at prestigious magic school, Halls of Ivy, where scivenists learn to document magic and Royal learn to harness the stones in their crown to perform magic.

I gave this book 3 stars because I really liked it but didn't love it. It had a lot of similar concepts to Harry Potter but I did enjoy the world building and the mystery running through the story. I definitely got caught up in it and wanted to find out Ivy’s story.

I liked Ivy as a character, her curiosity and determination to keep exploring to find answers. Fyn, Rebecca and Winsom were perfect side characters and I loved the humour they brought to the book.

The idea of scrivenists documenting everything through drawing and sketches whilst Royals had magic through the stones in their crowns, each stone giving the wearer a different ability was interesting. I liked that all the Royals had different abilities and how sometimes it didn’t exactly help them!  

I wanted to love this more and to be honest I couldn't really tell you why I didn't, it's got magic, cute dragons, all the things I love, it just wasn’t quite there for me.

A brilliant book that would help introduce young people to the world of fantasy. This book gives off Harry Potter like vibes - discovering magic at a certain age, magical school, grave danger, and good friends. I will definitely be recommending this series to my junior students at school.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.

This middle grade fantasy novel surprised me and brought me back to my Harry Potter days as a kid. Such a fun world!

The Crowns of Croswald is the first in a series and follows Ivy Lovely, an orphaned girl whose life changes drastically overnight. One day she’s a scaldrony maid...the next, a student at a magical school! While honing her new skills, it’s clear she has forgotten part of her past. Her raging curiosity leads her to break rules in order to solve the missing memories. Little does Ivy know that remembering the past may put her and those she cares about in danger.

Overall, I give this 4 stars out of 5. Honestly, no thanks to my slump, I almost didn’t continue with this, but I’m so glad I pushed through. I loved the quirky characters, especially Winsome, and the changing relationship between Fyn and Ivy. I’m excited to read the next book in this series.

One random fact: it took me a while to realize that hairies were indeed hairies and not fairies misspelled.

Thank you to Daniela @danielastoriesuntoldpress, @netgalley, and @author.denight for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

ivy finds herself propelled off to school at the House of Halls. She likes to draw and believers herself destined to be a Scrivenist, one who records the lives of the Royals. She spends her first year at school battling Royal princesses, making friends, and finding her own magic. She also sets on a quest to follow her dreams. Great characters, fun magic, ghosts, dwarfs, forgotten rooms and a mentor who no one knows about. Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book.

I honestly tried to get through this book, but it became clear that this wasn't book for me. The concept of this book is interesting and the world whimsically inspired, but there was just a lot going on in the text that made it difficult for me to get into and enjoy the story. I was unable to finish it. This kind of book may work for someone else, it just isn't for me.