I thought this book was a little hard to follow. I do not read fantasy that often so that may be why it was just a different read for me. I would recommend to others though.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher/author for providing me with an ALC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was exactly what I wanted it to be! I loved it. I will make sure to check out other books by this author. When I requested this I was just intrigued by the concept of it and I loved how it turned out. This story had a great plot and if you have read this and enjoyed it, This was so much. It was such a great story. I would say give this one a try. I will continue to follow this author. Way to go to this author for not letting me down.

I highly enjoyed the narrator of the audiobook. Kept me listening.

One thing I really liked about this book is that It brought regency era and fantasy together in an interesting way. Unfortunately I did dnf this book about half way through. I didn’t find the love interest to be appealing it felt like high school lovers constantly needing to make out. Also, why is she so obsessed with the how pale he is? It gave the same energy of a men during this time period being feral over a shoulder or an ankle. Overall I felt as though the book was all over the place and a bit messy. I truly didn’t understand what was going on

A Crown of Ivy and Glass was one of my most anticipated reads. The narrator of the audiobook is great. However, I just could not get into this book. I would pick it up and put it down. It was boring and just not for me. I really really wanted to love this. Thank you netgalley for an arc.

I was really hyped to have an advanced access to a Claire Legrand's book.

However it didn't match the expectations. I think that the reading had a too slow pace for the book itself. But I can't put my finger on whether I don't think the book was that good because of the narration or in spite of it.

This book wasn't for me. I DNF'd about 65% of the way in. The pacing was slow and I just couldn't get into it anymore than I forced myself to. I won't be leaving reviews anywhere else.

A Crown of Ivy and Glass by Claire Legrand

I set this aside several months ago because it just wasn't working for me, but I wanted it to so badly! And I cannot talk myself into picking it back up. I love adult fantasy romance, and I always get so excited when I see a YA author cross that bridge from YA to adult. The joy that it brings me is immense. I could not stand Gemma. She reads like a self-centered teen, and I wanted an adult in my adult romance. The sex scenes were not well done at all, and made me wince and cringe. I honestly just skimmed those parts, which was super disappointing. I also felt like the book dragged forever and then sometimes things would oick up and I'd get invested, only to fall into a boring patch again. I felt like the genres kept switching, and things just felt very disjointed and messy. I just cannot finish this, and it breaks my heart. The narrator did a fine job, it's just this book. I can't.

Well, this is spicy. And bloody. And very descriptive about its spice and blood. I'm not sure whether some of those descriptions were needed, but...

I am very on the fence with this book. Parts were fantastic and others were chaotic (at best). Overall, this book felt a bit over-stuffed.

For Libraries: Adult/New Adult

Having had this book for awhile, it is one that is a very slow burn. I did not enjoy how long it was taking to move the story forward. I did think the story itself had promise, but the execution was not as expected.

I can honestly say that this book could have been half the length and without all the 'will they, won't they?' of the first half of the novel between Gemma and Talan. Especially since there are three books in this world to get through. This one just came across as really long winded before getting to the really great stuff in the second half of the book.

We get a lot of important information at the start. Gemma is different to her sisters in this world of magic and the fae. Not only does she have no magic in her prominent family. She is also made unwell by proximity to magic.

This doesn't actually mean she's at odds with her two sisters. Quite the opposite, in fact. With Farrin who she still lives with, there is a bit of strain, but that's more to do with the differences in the ways they're treated and ends up being a dim memory because Farrin is awesome.

Mara, on the other hand, is the softest and sweetest among them, though she doesn't still live in the big house. As a child, she was taken from Gemma and the rest of the family to an order that guards against the not good kind of magic.

There is also a feud between Gemma's family and another that, at around the point where the plot really starts to get going, halfway through or so, we find out is boltered by the actions of a demon and the people he controls over the years.

Yes, there is a lot here that needs to be set up, but it isn't the set up that takes its time. It's whether or not Gemma should trust Talan, the intriguing courtier who has recently come to her home. She wants to make plans that will help her family with him. She despises and wants nothing to do with him. She bares herself to him. He seems to betray her and disappears.

The second half of the book is a great deal more interesting with the world and Gemma's sisters coming into play. We also come to realise the reasons why Gemma is made unwell by magic as well as getting to (briefly) see the queen of the world and all sorts of magic users.

This was a hard book to read. I didn't think it would affect me and when I first started it didn't. However, I have a medical disorder and it's painful, I ended up in a flair up while reading this book. I could feel how the girl felt, I could understand her fascination in not hurting. The book is very interesting and I recommend it but be aware it is hard in points to continue reading.

Even though this novel is described as her adult debut, I wanted to read it because I do have some students who love to read high fantasy novels.
While the title intrigued me, I was quite lost several times in the story. It seemed as though Legrand could't decide what she wanted the characters to do, so the plot jumped around too much for me. The spicy scenes weren't overly adult-like with the descriptions, but this is definitely a book for more mature readers. At 75% complete, I felt like the plot finally came together, and I was curious about how it would end. I'm not sure all fantasy readers will enjoy this one as it does drag on too long before the plot actually becomes interesting.

There was great world building and interesting characters here, but the unexplained instalove romance was a bit baffling. I would continue the series.

This book was not exactly what I was expecting but it was still a good read. Not sure if I will continue the series though. That remains to be seen.

Lady Gemma Ashbourne is unlike the rest of her family who were Anointed by the gods and blessed with special abilities. Gemma is not only powerless but her body fights magic like it is poison. When she meets the devastatingly handsome Talan, the lone survivor to a family seduced by a demon. They strike a bargain: Gemma will help him navigate high society and he will assist her in destroying her family's rivals. According to legend the demon called The Man With the Three-Eyed Crown is behind the families' blood feud so if Talan and Gemma can slay the demon, they can end the feud once and for all. This fantasy book is intriguing and has a twist I did not see coming. There were a few points that seemed to jump out of sequence, and I had to reorientate what was happening in the story. The romance was a slow build but worth the wait. Each character's special abilities are interesting and the application of them throughout the story for their character growth and story development was thought out nicely. It leaves off on a bit of a cliffhanger, and I am curious to see what comes next for these characters.

Special thanks to Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

You probably know how it goes with someone who just happens to be young, gorgeous, and rich. You know those people just have it all which all describes Lady Gemma Ashbourne. But even when those look all polished and kept together, we truly do not see the real them. This is true for Gemma too. She is sad due to her sister, Mara being taken years ago to Middlemist to guard against treacherous magic. Then, on top of that, her mother abandoned them and her father as well as her older sister, Favrin are in an active blood feud with the mysterious Bask family.

Honestly, I know that A Crown of Ivy and Glass has received a lot of mixed reviews and is more on the lower rated scale. On Goodreads this book has a 3. 14 rating and I totally get why people either dislike or like this book.

I first discovered Claire's books back when Furyborn, her debut first released back in 2018. I enjoyed Furyborn but I struggled a bit with Kingsbane when I tried physically reading it and I only enjoyed it to the point I gave it a 4/5 stars because I ended up listening to it on audiobook. I think with A Crown of Ivy and Glass, I only enjoyed it because it was like Kingsbane for me. Her books are a struggle for me to read physically but on audio they work better for me. So, if you want to read A Crown of Ivy and Glass or are struggling with it, then totally pick this up as an audiobook.

This book is marketed as an adult fantasy but I did find Gemma to be more naive and younger with her thought process and actions, so I think this would have been better marketed as YA.

A Crown of Ivy and Glass is marketed as Bridgerton x ACOTAR x Ballet retellings, which is fine to do but did come off poorly executed as if the plot was suffering an identity crisis due to trying to be many things at once. Other than that issue, I enjoyed the story. Claire writes well and sets a good pace for the story.

Yes, Gemma is entitled and came off as irritating but I did enjoy seeing some character growth in her and I am sure she will have more character growth as the series progresses. I think the
romance was well done as well.

I do look forward to reading the sequel in the future and yes, I'll be reading it on audio.

I wanted to like this book so much more than I actually did. I didn’t really connect with Gemma as a character, so being in her head was a bit annoying at times. I did however enjoy the world building, so I might read the second book.

This was unfortunately a DNF for me. It was painful to listen to and felt that the story took too long to get going I couldn’t’ get myself to finish this book.

Review: DNF AT 15% This one just didn't work for me. I was excited about this and was a bit bored, which scared me because this is a long novel. Thank you to the publisher and net galley for allowing me to read this ARC. I will still try another Claire Legrand novel in the future.

I adore this author but this storyline felt like it took a little too long to get going. I did not know it was a series before beginning it and, perhaps, this impacted by enjoyment as I was anticipating a standalone. Great character development, as can always be expected from Legrand.