I received this book from @Netgalley. Calling all fantasy lovers. This author wrote an amazing book and as the pages turn the secrets unveil themselves and the story unravels. If you are looking for Harry Potter, princess and magic mix this book series is for you.

I received a digital copy of this book for an honest review.

When I started reading it took me a little bit to get used to the new world that was being set up for me.
But this only took a few pages and then it felt like a world I knew, from dreams when I was still a young girl that loved to fantasize about fairies. It felt like coming home but still discovering new suprises around each corner as the story unfolded before me.
I’ve seen some comparisons to the Harry Potter franchise in other reviews and some aspects might feel simular.
I really liked to read about a magic school again and loved the magic system with the quills.
As someone who likes reading and writing this was a nice replacement of wands.

I would certainly recommend this to young readers and lovers of the genre.

I would like to thank Zack G from Stories Untold Press for giving met the opportunity to get immersed into this lush new world.

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.

This digital review copy was sent in by the author in exchange for an honest review. Since I’ve seen @nkliterarynerd praising and loving this series so much I agreed to give it a shot and I’m so glad that I did.

The Crowns of Croswald is an excellent start to the enchanting, adventurous journey of Ivy lovely. Ivy is a sixteen-year-old scaldrony maid, and has spent her life in a shabby little dark room without any windows or as much as a sight of outside world, serving The Castle Plum in the Slurry Fields. She has no knowledge of her background and has accepted her pitiful life as a maid cooking pies that she isn’t even allowed to taste. But destiny has something else for her. No sooner than later, she finds herself in ‘The Town’ shopping for her school supplies, prepping to attend the Halls of Ivy – a magical school for royals and scrivenists (you’ll need to read the book to know what a scrivenist is :p) A series of weird happenings start as soon as she steps outta Slurry Fields – as if ‘The Town and the Earth beneath has been shaken awake from a stretching, long, silent sleep with a burst of spark. Everything Ivy has ever believed in is about to change.

Sounds like Harry Potter yet? I bet it’s unique in its own way despite the similarity. It reminded me a lot of Harry Potter with the entire school and the magical setting thing. Though not entirely the same, but I see a lot of similarity in subjects and examples occurring between the two (I can tell that this book was definitely influenced by the series)

It was a delightful read. The depiction of the world is astounding. You get maneuvered into a whimsical experience directly from the beginning. However, the pacing appears to either be extremely moderate, or everything surging by. Just one miss for me in this book was Ivy’s and Fyn’s chemistry, it was very under-developed and forced at times. What I absolutely adored about this book was its captivating setting, well refined plot, mysterious characters, awesome and unique names of characters, places, magical objects and creatures and of course the excellent writing. The details and uniqueness of scenes were equally enthralling and captivating.

*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.

I don't know how to say this without saying it straight. I read some reviews, if I had read Harry Potter, I was going to love this!! What I didn't expect was a total rip off OF Harry Potter!!! The similarities were undeniable and became a bit of a personal running joke.
I did like some of the interesting magical things that were original. And I think that this author does have potential, but with more development and time with her own ideas

I will not be reading the sequel, you know, because I have read Chamber of Secrets

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.

Firstly I would like to say thank you to Stories Untold for providing me with this finished copy to read and review.

I am loving middle grade books and this just hit the spot. This is a school for magic, which we see a lot, but I feel like this is totally whismical and captivating. I think that Ivy is so relatable and love how brave and outspoken she is. In a time where we currently face injustices in this world, it was nice to read about a character who just stands up and fights. I definitely think that my soon to be 8 year old would love the magics within this book. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series!!

I was sent this in exchange for an honest review.
This was an enjoyable read, which I'd classify as younger YA/upper Middle Grade. I got a lot of Harry Potter vibes, with the magic school setting and the way Ivy found out who she was. I think it's aimed at a slightly younger reader than me so I didn't find it as gripping as I may have done if I'd read it in my early teenage years. I'm hoping it'll pick up a bit in the next book - I found it got better towards the end.

Although I had a lot of fun reading it, I couldn't help comparing The Crowns of Croswald to Harry Potter, the whole time. Both books contain too many similarities for The Crowns of Croswald to shine fully. There are castles, magic schools, quills, cauldrons, magic, ghosts, balls, and more.

One thing that separated the two is the use of different gadgets, specifically the Compass Collectis. I won't go into more detail, but some of the various mechanisms were very cleaver.

I also enjoyed the main character, Ivy. I thought she was very relatable and lovable.

Overall, the biggest blessing and curse are the constant parallels to Harry Potter. Since HP is one of my favorite series of all time, it was hard for me to separate the two. If you enjoy YA magic schools, then I highly recommend this one for you.

**Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for gifting me with this book in exchange for an honest review.**

The Crowns of Crosswald is about Ivy Lovely, a girl who ends up attending a magic school. I really enjoyed the world and the school, and Ivy’s friendships with Rebecca and Fyn; I just had a hard time getting into this book, and I wished I’d gotten to know the characters better.

The first 60% of the book covers a large amount of time, and although in time it moves quickly, in pace it feels very slow. The world-building happens so fast, that I ended up missing a lot of it and being confused at times. I also feel like there was so much going on and there were so many characters introduced pretty frequently, that I was lost for a lot of it.

The last 40% was excellent with a quest, a twist, and even the introduction of a romantic plot line. I just wish that all of this had been introduced sooner, because the first half of the book mostly just focuses on Ivy adjusting to being at the school, and it didn’t really keep my attention much until a little past halfway through the book. I also feel like Ivy acted and seemed a bit younger than sixteen, which some other reviews have said as well.

I feel like this wasn’t really different from other Chosen One fantasy stories that I’ve read (and loved), which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I would definitely recommend it for middle grade readers, as it’s a fun, magical fantasy book. I think that I’ll like the second book better, because my main issue was too much exposition, and I’m excited to see Ivy’s relationship with Fyn develop.