I honestly loved this book!
I haven’t felt so drawn in a book in a long time. If you are a lover of fantasy, magic, castles, lost princesses and evil queens this is definitely a book for you.
The story is about a young girl, Ivy, who gets an invitation to attend a magic school and a whole new world with many mysteries unfolds for her.
I found the story and the way this magical world is built remarkable. The main characters are all interesting in their own way and to my opinion the plot and humour are smartly weaved for a young adult book. Despite the length of the book, it is not tiring or boring at all and keeps the interest of the reader high.
The book is inspired from the Harry Potter world but as soon as you start reading it, the story is captivating and it did not remind me of it at any point.
Generally, the book felt like it had the right amount of everything, making it very enjoyable for me!
I cannot wait to start the next one!

The story is set in a world where magic and reality coexist. They are divided, but at the same time connected. Ivy, the protagonist, is a young girl trying to survive every day life. When she crosses the border that separates the mundane from the magical world her powers awaken. She finds herself surrounded by new incredible things and goes to a magical school to learn how to control her new powers. Everything seems to be perfect, except it’s not.

The book is a fast read. Since it’s a middle-grade the story is easy to follow and the writing style allows the reader to fully immerse in the new world.

Even if the story has something in common with other similar books, I think that the powers and the magic system are very original. The world buiding is really well done and it’s probably my favourite part of the book.

All the characters are interesting, they have both pros and cons, especially Ivy that is sixteen but seems younger. I already know they will all grow together in the next installments of the series.

The Crowns of Croswald is an adventurous, fun and whimsical story that I recommend if you like middle-grade or young adult books.

16 yr old Ivy has only known the hard life of a scaldron maid. However, as fate would have it she is banished from this life and enters into a life of magic, a new school, and new possibilities. As soon as you start reading it brings back memories of Harry Potter with a poor, forgotten child who has a new start at a new school with magic but Night does a great job of creating her own world and characters. I'm giving this a 4 star reveiw because it was quite a bit predictable but it was really a fun adventure and I can’t wait to continue the adventures into book 2 and 3.

I was provided with an electronic ARC through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

“One thing I learned in school, which I will pass on to you, is not let fear stop you from doing what you want most.”
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I have received this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
If you are looking for a fun and light read this is the book for you. Ivy has always wanted to be magic but she was only a poor maiden girl. When she turns 16 she finds out she has lived in a place that was inhibiting her powers and she is invited to attend a magic school to become a Scrivenist. They create stories and report the ones of the royals, people with crowns equipped with magical stones. The atmosphere is very very similar to the one in Harry Potter ( maybe a little too much ) and Ivy really can’t believe to be part of this enchanting world. Nonetheless strange things happen to her and her alone and she must be ready to find out shocking truths about her past and her family. Overall the story is really enjoyable in particular because some lessons and spells are very funny and original but I felt as if this was a good mix between Harry Potter and Cinder. The connection with the characters is not as strong as I expected but that could be due to the fact that’s only the first book, there’s still a lot to know about this world.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity!

I've been following the author on Instagram for some time and when I saw the possibility to read the first volume thanks to the NetGalley platform, I said to myself ... why not?!

Actually, the book didn't really excite me, in fact... I was looking forward to finishing it.

The story itself is written "almost" well and it's fluent, but boring and the protagonists didn't catch my attention at all and if I can't get at least a little bit in emaptia with the characters of the story, I'm sure that going on it won't catch me anymore.

Too bad, I don't think I'll continue reading the other books.

1.5/5 stars

I thought I would really enjoy this book. The story follows a 16 year old girl, Ivy, on her journey from being a scullery maid to a world of magic by attending a school for magical people. I persevered reading this in the hope that I perhaps had it wrong and it wasn't a cut copy of the Harry Potter series. But alas, the whole time I was reading my mind kept drifting back to Harry Potter and how similar the stories are. Change the sex of the main characters of Harry Potter and you have a version of them in this story.

The story was busy and fast paced, in a rushed sense. So much was left out of the story that would have added perspective and further creativity. I also found the grammar and storytelling to be unpolished and in need of a good editor. I enjoy reading Children's fantasy stories as an adult and thoroughly enjoy them, this has nothing to do with the genre classification rather the writing itself.

Despite all of this, the story does have some originality and creativity. I enjoyed the aspect of the forgotten room, the royal crowns with jewels and the magical worlds in glass bottles. Overall I would recommend this to children aged from 7-12.

It isn't very often that I pick up Middle-Grade books, so when I was contacted by Stories Untold if I would like a review copy, I jumped at the chance!

The Crowns of the Croswald follows the story of a young girl called Ivy Lovely who discovers that she is more than a maid. She has magic! From here on, I was taken on a magical adventure to the Halls of Ivy - a magical school where she could learn to better use her powers and become a Scrivenists.

My initial thoughts were that this book could potentially be very similar to Harry Potter. And so, my concerns were the book would not stand out and be overshadowed due to its similarities. Unfortunately, there were just too many similarities!

I was quite disappointed with this, so it was really difficult for me to really engage and enjoy the story to its fullest. I won't list them as there are way too many and I feel this would spoil the plot greatly.

Ivy Lovely was an interesting character but I am having trouble deciding whether I liked her or not. I found her at times to be too stubborn and it felt too forceful. As if, the writer was trying to continuously get that point across. At times it felt she was just looking for trouble for the sake of it and it really didn't do anything for the plot.

The magical system itself was interesting and I liked how it differed from other systems that I have read in books.

The pacing of the story was quite odd. I really enjoyed the beginning. It had strong pacing and was developing at a reasonable pace. Once we were at the Halls of Ivy, it kind of seemed to jump all over the place and before I knew it, nearly a whole year had taken place! Perhaps this book could have been a tad longer.

I cannot fault the authors' world-building and writing style. The worldbuilding was well developed and left me feeling that I was in a magical place with Ivy Lovely.

Overall, I did enjoy this book but it was exactly for me. The similarities to Harry Potter were too intense and it made me struggle to read. 3 out 5 stars from me!

I am not a fantasy or middle grade reader, but I adored this book. The world building was arguably the best part. Croswald comes alive on the page and pulls the reader into a beautiful story of self-discovery.

Ivy Lovely lived her life underestimating herself until she embarks on a journey to the Halls of Ivy, where she hones her magic and embraces her strength.

Middle grade readers always deserve a strong, powerful, fearless heroine and The Crowns of Croswald provides. I would highly recommend this whimsical story to anyone, even if they claim to not be into fantasy like me.

Thank you to Stories Untold Press and NetGalley for access to this book.

3/5 stars
I was interested in seeing how a middle grade novel, which usually focuses on friendship, adventure, and coming of age, would handle a 16 year old protagonist, especially since a lot of books with teen characters focus on romance. Although it’s not necessary that the MC be the same age as the target audience, it is more common. The plot was engaging enough.
I think it started off a bit confusing, having the first chapter from Derwin’s perspective, when so few of the chapters are not from Ivy’s perspective anyway; the transition between the two was confusing. Something that I think Crowns of Croswald did excellently was the magic school element. I definitely got Harry Potter vibes, but in a good way; the author does a fantastic job of capturing the sense of delight and wonder of someone discovering they have magic and get to attend a magic school!
Unfortunately I never really got invested in the characters. Although Ivy grows in her confidence over the course of the school year, I never felt any kind of connection to her or the other characters. It was also frustrating that there were simply so many questions presented throughout the book, most of which were not answered, and the ones that were weren’t addressed until the last few chapters. There’s a lot of red herrings, suspicious clues, and traces of Derwin, but sometimes it felt like they were disconnected. I understand wanting to set up the story for a sequel(s), but I still felt like I wanted more information, and spread out more evenly, over the course of the book. Additionally There were only a couple twists that actually kind of surprised me.
Lastly there was a romanctic subplot, which I don’t mind in books, but it was extremely weak. We don’t really understand why Ivy likes Fyn, and she doesn’t have much of a basis. He pops in and out of her life, is conveniently there when she needs help (because he’s supposed to keep track of the freshman), but he’s also working for the Selector and does some shady things (even if the Selector does possibly have good intentions). I hope that the sequels develop the information we have more coherently, as well as the characters and their relationships.

*3.75

This was offered to me in exchange for an honest review and I accepted because I liked the plot, but at the same time I was a little hesitant because it's a middle grade and I'm not very into them.
So this was a big surprise (in a good way), such a magical experience!

This reminded me so much of Harry Potter with a female protagonist and with royals. It's not as complex but it's definitely on the good way, a very good debut novel.
I found it enjoyable and funny, never boring and it made me want to go on with the story.
I absolutely can't wait to read the next books in the series!

I know many readers amongst my library users who will love this book. It is a perfect middle grade read for anyone who loves a bit of magic! When young Ivy Lovely and her smallest scaldron ( a dragon that provides fire for cooking food) are carried away to a magical boarding school the fun starts.

This is a perfect next read for fantasy fans with a host of convincing characters and marvellous magic. Even better it is the first in a trilogy which is an added bonus.

Thank you so much to the amazing publishers of this book for gifting me a copy of this book!

I've recently dove deep into the world of Fantasy and when I came across this book it seemed quite fitting for what I was looking for. While I'll admit this book was a bit difficult to get into. I feel like we were very quickly thrown into the world so rich with detail that I was a bit put off. I read the beginning again just to make sure i didn't miss anything. While I continued on most questions I acquired were easily answered and explained.

The world building in this book is wonderful and is presently nicely as we follow the main character and world explained.

This book is definitely one best suited for fans of Harry Potter looking for another fantasy world to dig into. While this book is young adult and I'm not in this category, this was still a pleasant read. I do feel like it would be much more enjoyed in the proper age group. I am sad that this book wasn't out when I was around this again. I feel like this is perfect for late elementary/early middle school students.

The story has parts where it felt a bit slow to me and transitionings between chapters or paragraphs that I wasn't quite found of. I do appreciate the detail put into the world presented around us in this tale.

Overall, this was a lovely and give this book 3.5 ⭐. As I said I believe the appropriate age group with this book would have a much stronger impact.

Thank you so much again for this wonderful opportunity in exchange for my honest review.

𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭 (𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞) 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰. Thank you so much for the copy.


Honestly speaking, I kind of really feel the Harry Potter vibes that this book is giving me if I compare this to Carry On, this book is much more of Harry Potter fanfic i call since a lot of readers compare this to the HP series. And yes, the plot is kind of the same. I also think that it was kind of boring.


The things is, I didn't like how the story progressed. It was messy and confusing for me that ended up being a forgettable in a sense that I needed to go back to the previews pages just to reassure the scenes there.


I think the the part towards the end was okay. It wasn't that mindblowing as I hope it would be. The characters, I just couldn't feel them, they are just you know not my type, kind of unrealistic. With that being said I am intrigued with the next book as I've heard that it was much better than the 1st one.

It is an awesome book. I was interested to read it when I heard that it gives you a Harry Potter kind of feel. It made me feel like I was back in the Harry Potter world ( even though nothing will be like the Harry Potter series ). I enjoyed the book very much. It was a fun read.

I loved the bond that Ivy and Rebecca shares and I ship Ivy and Fyn ( we need a ship name for them ). I loved the way the author described the Halls of Ivy and all the lessons and teachers. I can’t wait to read the next books.

If you loved Harry Potter I would surely recommend this series to you.

Ivy Lovely is having a rough day. After having the strangest dreams, which make her late for her job, she finds out that one of her dragons has the flue! Wait a minute...dragon flue? The plot only thickens from there!
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Whisked away to a magical school, Ivy soon learns that she is anything but the ordinary (though strangely gifted) sculdrony maid she always thought she was doomed to remain. In fact, she may be the key to saving all of Croswald.
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The Crowns of Croswald is a delightful addition to the fantasy world. It is a story full of brand new magical beasts, exciting adventures, and a lurking mystery pressing at the edges of every page. I was enchanted from the beginning, and I look forward to reading more from this world.

ivy has never thought of herself as anything but normal, but the moment she realises she has magical powers, everything changes. she gets invited to the 'halls of ivy', a magical school, where she meets other students, who either have magical blood or get magic through some peculiar gems. on top of struggling with finding out about her ancestors and why she never knew about her powers, the dark queen is threatening her life! will ivy be able to fight her off and what more secrets about her own history will she uncover..?
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the author definitely has a beautiful and enchanting writing style that really makes you feel like you're part of the magical world of 'croswald'. the prologue starts with the perspective of a male character, i was pleasantly surprised that from chapter one on it switches to ivy's, an almost 16-year-old girl. while there is a lot of female representation, which i loved, there was some stereotypical characterization that i didn't enjoy as much. of course there had to be a popular 'mean girl', who doesn't care about ivy's feelings or anyone else's, who wants other people to do all her work, while she lets her nails dry off.. there has been so much female rivlary in popular culture, do we really need more of that? moreover, there are a lot of harry potter similarities that one can't look over, it does feel a bit like a revised female version of rowling's works. whether that's something you want to criticize or you actually might be looking for is up to you!

thanks to netgalley and i received a digital review copy in exchange for an honest opinion!

I received a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

This book is the debut for this author. It is very well written and kept me wanting more. The character development was excellent. I felt myself experiencing the feelings and anticipating what would happen next. The World building was on point! The descriptions were so well done I could see them in my mind.

I will read any book written by this author with high expectations! I am excited to follow Ivy’s adventures.

What an enjoyable read! I thought that the premise and set-up for this book was so fun! The magic school, but with lots of fun, was an entertaining spin on the trope. I was entertained from start to finish, and found the characters to be super engaging. I think the plot really picked up in the second half, so that made me excited for what's to come in the series!

Thank you to Netgalley, D.E. Night, and Stories Untold Press for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This was such a fun story! Magic, lives being uprooted, all kinds of change - I am here for it!!!!
The main character, Ivy, has discovered that she has magical powers and her entire life changes. Leaving the mundane life she has been living behind, she is taken to attend a school of magic where she learns to grow, harness, and create magic!

Filled with fun creatures, danger (of course - wouldn’t be the same without it!), and friendships forming, this was SUCH a fun read! There are some very unique ideas the author came up with (I will not spoil them) that really add to this story and help keep it different from other magical stories such as Harry Potter and Charlie Bone.

Even though the main character is 16, I feel it reads more like a middle grade book, allowing for a wider audience! It’s a very clean story, nothing too scary for younger readers, and will certainly leave the reader wishing they had magical powers of their own!!!!

I was gifted a copy of the ebook for review by the author.

This is a very interesting world. There were some parts that I really enjoyed (like the Hollow Shaft and some of the magical creatures). I also enjoyed many of the characters - they had good motivations and were believable.

While reading, I couldn't help but draw comparisons to another well-known series set at a magical school. Sometimes, the similarities were a bit too much and that detracted from my enjoyment. Although, I do think The Crowns of Croswald is different enough to stand on its own. Aside from that, there were parts where I felt like the words were there mainly to be words on a page. There was a bit too much exposition and not enough showing. I wish the world building and some of the character establishment was more engaging. There were descriptions of things / characters that did not add to the story or to the world. I felt they slowed down the reader and didn't provide much value. An example is the multiple comments about how bad someone smelled. To me, that was a distraction and didn't help me understand the character any more.

Overall, this was a decent read. The world is interesting and would be fun to explore some more.