Thank you Stories Untold for giving me an e-arc of this book to review.

So if you have been following my Goodreads or Instagram you will know I have been reading a lot of middle-grade fantasy to be able to share with my children in school.
Enter the world of Croswald, I am going to be honest and say that the start of this book had me a little confused. I had no idea what was going on for the first chapter, but as the story flowed and we met Ivy I began to feel more at home.

Ivy strolls onto the page and took my full attention, she is 16 and living her worst life, but as luck will happen, she gets booted from it. Bring on the magic school and the adventures she has.
The school was very interesting and I loved meeting the other students. However, I wish we could have had more in-depth information on the children and their lessons. I was so interested in how their magic worked and how the whole world worked really.
The ending was dramatic and everything you want in a middle-grade fantasy. Ivy really comes into her own by the end of the book and the journey was full of different adventures.

Overall I adored this story and I am going to be purchasing the next few books as I need to see where this story goes and want to know more about the world. However, I wish we had had more time with Ivy for her first year. I felt like time was not overly described, so halfway through the book, we were towards the end of the year, which confused me as it felt like we skipped a massive chunk of time. But this obviously would not be noticed by a child, so I feel like this isn't a put-off, but makes me hope we will get more information about the world during the next books.

This is a definite must for any fantasy lover, especially for children who need their next adventure. I will be getting a copy to add to my library in school and will be encouraging my children to read it.

When I received the message asking me to review this book I was definitely hesitant as it isn’t a genre I usually read. Saying that, I ended up really enjoying this read! It was a nice easy read, that was full of magic and I’m definitely looking forward to reading the rest of the series!

Rating: 3/5

A whimsical middle-grade fantasy with familiar, yet unique elements. I've heard this compared to Harry Potter in regards to the magic, school, etc - however, still unique enough and I thoroughly enjoyed this read!

I loved the world-building and whimsical feel and so reminiscent of childhood stories. Ivy is a character that could be frustrating at times, but overall just a lovely, lovely story.

My only complaint was the pacing. It just seemed to be too much at times and too much going on,

Regardless, I will be continuing this series and can't wait to return to this world!

Thanks to the publisher/author for providing this book in exchanging for an honest review.

I really liked this book. It brings me back to when I first started reading, being an excellent book for teens and young adults I think.

It's creative and magical and the little illustrations in the beginning of the chapters are really lovely. The small chapters are also a plus for me, as it gives flow to the story.
I like that the author gives a personality to the multiple creatures and involves them in the story and also as companions to help Ivy.
As for the characters:
Ivy: She was a bit flat for me in a big part of the book. For someone who is discovering a different part of this world, I felt she was way to calm. She's very intuitive and very curious, which leads her to where she needs to be, however I feel that, whith everything happening, she would ask more questions.
Rebecca: She was the friend Ivy needed by being trusful, helpful, caring and supportive.
Fyn: Was a bit of a surprise.
Humboldt: He's just adorable
Rimbrick and Winsome: I love that they are mentors to Ivy. But again, Ivy doesn't question them enough.
Also, D.E.Night: I see what you did there and i love it. :D

As a final thought: I did like the story and can't wait to see what comes next. Hoping for more character development.

i’d like to start off by saying this simply wasn’t my cup of tea. i knew from the start that this is a middle grade fantasy series so i started reading it with an open mind, but i just couldn’t get into it. for a fantasy series, it simply lacked magical feel for me.

despite ivy consistently mentioning the previous 16 years of her life, i kept picturing her as a 12 year old. that may have something to do with the harry potter parallels i tried so hard to ignore (main character leads a crappy life then finds out they’re special and goes to live in a magical school that is literally a castle).

there is one scene that really bothered me. ivy meets a broad woman who lives above of mr. munson’s shop and, i quote: “however, her size would suggest she lived beside the town baker instead.”
this blatant fat-shaming was incredibly distasteful to read and it’s disturbing to me that this was printed in a book aimed at young, impressionable children and teenagers.

overall, i just couldn’t get into this book. i don’t usually decide not to continue reading a book, but there were a couple of times i came very close with this one.
that’s not to say others shouldn’t read this - and if you do like it, good for you! but as i’ve stated before, this simply wasn’t my cup of tea.

I think that it's a book that has potential to become popular among kids who like books about magic and magic schools. The main character is nice.
But there are some points that made the reading experience kinda meh for me. The plot is nice, but there were some clichés that I truly disliked : a strong link between some characters' ugliness and evilness, a boy described as "round" who loves to eat, people of color's skin described using food and not colors...

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A brilliant fantasy series for teens and families. This is the first book in a four part series. Ivy Lovely, aged 16 years, orphaned and working in a kitchen, finds herself enrolled in a magical boarding school, where a world of magic potions, scrivenists, mythical creatures and Scaldron dragons await.
During her first year, Ivy finds herself on a rollercoastwr journey of fantastical adventures, and learning with a few broken school rules along the way. Del.E Night has penned a fabulous new fantasy world, reminiscent in style of JK Rowling's famous Harry Potter series. The sketches that mark each chapter opening are beautiful. I could easily imagine this series on TV or Film. #thecrownsofcroswald #familyfantasy #denight #storiesuntold #netgalley #teenfantasy #fantasybookseries

It was not my cup of tea. Was extremely childish and was more a children's book than a middle grade. As a 24 year old I just could not get through the writing. It was very cringey

A really nice magical read for middle grade readers. Its very whimsy and imaginative, and I know I would have loved this as a kid.

This book is fast paced and filled with adventure, perfect for kids who may struggle with books keeping their attention

I can honestly say that The Crowns of Croswald is much more than your average middle-grade fantasy. The world-building throughout this book was complex but written in a way that allows it to develop throughout the story, making it easy for younger readers to comprehend.
The Crowns of Croswald was exactly what I was hoping it would be. A well-paced and immersive fantasy book, with well-developed characters and fantastic dialogue.
I would highly recommend The Crowns of Croswald to anyone but I think it would be ideal for grades fourth through eighth or even as a family book to read before bed each night because of the exceptional themes. However, as a seventeen-year-old, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I absolutely loved Ivy’s and Rimbrick’s characters and thought the story was extremely well-paced.
I believe The Crowns of Croswald would be perfect for those wishing to continue in a world of fantasy after Harry Potter.

3.5⭐
Fantasy is not one of my personal go-to genres, but as a 5th grade teacher, I know that it is a favorite genre of young readers. I was excited to read this and find a fresh book choice to recommend to my students. Even better is that this is the first book in a series!

Blurb from Goodreads: Ivy Lovely is 16 and she has no idea who she is—or what her powers could be. When she crosses a magical boundary, she discovers a whole new world of enchantment and mystery. Making friends that will last a lifetime—and save her life—she steps into her own abilities and discovers more about her hidden past, magical blood, and the power of Croswald’s mystical stones. But all is not well: a dark history and an evil Queen threatens all that is good. Will Ivy’s bravery and wit be enough?

Everyone will find something to love about this book: mystery, magic, good vs. evil, royalty, a strong female lead, even a young crush. This book was written with such whimsy and amazing descriptions; I loved visualizing while reading. As a word nerd, I also loved the whimsical names for various objects, jobs, etc., in this world. I’m excited to talk to my students and school librarian about this book, and to get this series into their hands!

I received an eARC of The Crowns of Croswald in exchange for an honest review.

This title is very much like Harry Potter, and I usually love books that take inspiration from HP. The Crowns of Croswald was a little too similar. I enjoyed Carry On (aimed at a different age group) because there were notes of HP, but it built on and created new lore that was unique and fresh. The Crowns of Croswald didn't hold my attention with fresh details in the way other stories that were inspired similarly have.

This is a middle grade book centred around 16 year old Ivy Lovely (yes, that’s really her name) who lives as a poor maid in a castle only to find out that she actually has magic. As such she is suddenly whisked away to magic school, discovering more about her powers and herself.

I really wanted to like this book; it has everything I thought I would enjoy. Magic? Check. Boarding School? Check. A plucky young heroine? Check. I’d also heard a lot of comparisons to Harry Potter. And yes, this is absolutely similar; complete with an orphan, a class mate who randomly hates her, a powerful and mysterious headmaster and a villain with a grudge. But sadly this didn’t live up to my expectations. Ivy was a slightly confused character, at some points she was incredibly naïve and felt much younger, then in others she suddenly seemed more confident. The secondary characters didn’t get much development beyond being there to help Ivy out when she was in trouble and the love interest was suspicious to me. He just kept turning up like some creepy stalker.

The pacing of the book was fast but it sometimes felt like it was too fast and you were getting information thrown at you without time to process it. The dialogue felt clunky and the writing in general wasn’t brilliant. I could also see where the plot was heading from a mile away. Without my glasses.

Having said all that, I am looking at it through an adults eyes who has read very little middle grade recently. If I imagine myself as an eight year old it’s possible I would love this book. Although maybe not ACTUAL 8 year old me – I was already reading Agatha Christie by then (my obsession with crime started early). There were some positives - the world building by D E Knight was one of them and the magic system was unique and interesting. The creatures were also adorable and imaginative - more Humboldt please!

Overall I would advise adults to maybe skip this series. Some middle grade books can be enjoyed by both adults and children but this isn’t one of them. However, I would still try it out on younger readers as this may be a perfect introductory path to the wonderful world of fantasy.

Ivy grows up without a family, sleeps in a closet, gets taken away to this magic school and meets all her classmates. There's a mysterious headmaster, a weird female version of Filch, and then instead of Voldemort, there's a dark queen who's basically just second rate Queen Levana from The Lunar Chronicles. This is a Harry Potter RIP-OFF. This book tries to be original, but it absolutely is not.

I did not enjoy this book at all. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to give a more positive review. Not only that, but I just couldn’t, in good conscience, give anything other than my honest opinion.

I was so excited to receive this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to @danielastoriesuntoldpress over on Bookstagram for inviting me into the magical kingdom of Croswald.

This book hooked me within the first three chapters! I am so in love with the imagery. DE Night paints the story so beautifully in my head. The colors and the dragons and the castles and the plants and the characters—all so vibrant and alive and… Lovely! (Get it?)

By about chapter six, I get some serious Harry Potter meets Alice in Wonderland vibes. And I of course am a HUGE HP fan. But… Maybe it actually is a little TOO similar to HP..?

While this book has plenty of description of landscapes and characters’ appearances, the plot lacks some of that needed explanation. At certain points, I found myself slightly confused about what exactly was happening to Ivy or how exactly she had gotten to a certain location. It seemed a bit messy and rushed at times.

I found this book an overall enjoyable read. The beautiful and mysterious land of Croswald enthralled me. But will I read the second book? That is yet to be seen.

I received a copy of this book via Net Galley, and was asked for a review. Usually I don’t review many Middle Grade books, but I am always happy to find new recommendations for customers at my library. I started reading this with zero expectations. I didn’t read the books summary and didn’t read any reviews so I wouldn’t be biased starting out.

All of that being said, I did not like this book. Immediately I realized that the story was meant to be geared towards readers of Harry Potter, and hoped to be the second coming of magical fiction. The author tried so hard to write a book like Harry Potter without actually writing Harry Potter that it fell flat. The prologue tried to build a climax for what was to come but it was just confusing, especially when trying to capture the interest of a Middle Grade reader. It would have been better, in my opinion, if the Prologue was axed, and the book simply started with the first chapter.

We meet Ivy, an orphan working in a castle kitchen where she is verbally and physically abused by a character named Helga. Helga is written to be the equivalent to Harry Potter’s Vernon Dursley without any of his depth. Ivy eventually gets whisked away from her life in some sort of magic carriage and deposited in a less than interesting version of Diagon Alley. As we read more about Ivy she seems, at this point, to be a combination of Ron and Harry, with a splash of Hermione’s intelligence. Basically, she is poor, an orphan, always finds trouble, is highly intelligent, and has no clue how to handle magic.

There is no depth to Ivy. I didn’t feel like I got to know Ivy at all, and that I was just haphazardly following her throughout the book. With each new character introduced: The Selector, Rebecca, Fyn, and Damaris had even less depth than Ivy herself. The Selector remained a distant figure who appeared now and then to discipline Ivy only to fade into the background. It seemed like she was Dumbledore without any of his personality. There was Rebecca, a princess/scrivenist, started out trapped in a cage, then spent the rest of the book trying to figure out what she wanted to be. But again, no depth to her character. She was basically Ivy’s sidekick that constantly got left behind. Fyn just appears out of nowhere any time Ivy is thinking about him, or she’s about to do something dangerous. He comes off as more of an obsessed stalker with a handsome face. Ivy doesn’t even really question it and then develops a crush on him which is just weird. Lastly Damaris is cast as Ivy’s nemesis, and she is written as the female version of Malfoy without any substance.

The rest of the book just follows the plot of Harry Potter to the letter. There are ghosts, huge dining halls, a castle, professors, a secret, an evil villain, the villain’s followers, a final battle between the main character and the villain, and it all wraps up with the main character learning about their past. I finished this book disappointed and frustrated by its lack of originality. I really think this book has the potential to be better and could be if it didn’t try to so hard to be something it’s not.

"Ivy lovely is 16 and she has no idea who she is or what her powers could be when she cross the magical boundary, she discovers a new world of enchantment and mystery"

This story was really interesting. I was full of wonders and adventures. I also love all the characters and their stories too. Our main girl Ivy was so interesting and it was really interesting to follow her through this journey. I really love the world and magic system. It was so unique. It's debut book by the author but it was still very impressive and really caught my attention. One of my main complaint is first half of the book is very slow other that it was fantastic read.

The Crowns of Croswald is a fun YA Fantasy read that feels much more Harry Potter than it does Lord of the Rings, which is a good thing.

The book opens with a slightly familiar premise of an orphan girl living a life of relative obscurity and poverty, yet having some mysterious friends, a talent for drawing, and dreams that are vividly real. Almost immediately we're thrust into the story proper as Ivy(our main character and said orphan girl) is whisked away to a mysterious magic school.

I enjoyed how the different types of magic were presented and while there certainly were more than a few Harry Potter vibes in terms of general themes, I feel like the magic system and story elements were unique in their own right, making this feel like a familiar yet unique story.

In fact, the one qualm I have about this book IS the magic system itself. I won't say too much as I don't want to spoil anything, but we see a lot of examples of the magic being used throughout the story yet we don't see a whole lot of explanation as to HOW the magic system works. But that may just be the "Non-YA Target Audience" side of me nitpicking AND it may be something explained/explored more in the following books in the series.

Overall, as a YA Fantasy title I think the book was pretty decent. While I'm certainly not the exact target audience, I can see how this would be a highly enjoyable world for a younger audience to really get sucked into. For me, it felt a little bland(though I LOVE the concept of the Scrivenest and the magic in the quills) and a LOT predictable. I think from the earliest chapters, anyone that has enjoyed modern YA fantasy is going to find it's very predictable, yet still enjoyable, to read.

4.5 ⭐️ for this cute book

first of all i’m gonna thank the author for the free copy in exchange with an honest review.

this book literally harry potter 2.0. the way everything about this book is so magical and i can already felt in the beginning of the pages. you just can feel the magic in every page. that’s why this book is a page turner.

the main character named is Ivy Lovely. she’s a young girl who doesn’t even know that she had power until she arrived at the magical boarding school, the Halls of Ivy. basically, i found myself easily predicting the main characters actions towards their adventures but i really enjoyed it. and overall the unique magic creatures and objects really caught my attention and i just want to know more.

the only thing i had an issue with was there’s some part that could get a little confusing and weren’t clear but yes i still managed to figure out. i think that’s all i’m gonna say. will try to pick up the next book.

Interesting concept, but just not for me. I can see how people like it and continue to read the series, but I’m not one of them. Again, not saying it’s horrible or anything like that, just saying it’s not my style but I recognize that it’s good. It never managed to get me hooked, which can be frustrating at times and made reading it seem like a chore. I felt that in some parts the explanations of scenery weren’t necessary or at least to the extent they were described to. Some parts felt VERY much copied and pasted from Harry Potter (but, nowadays, what fantasy book doesn’t? 😅) Overall, it’s good and I recommend you read it in order to formulate your own opinions. Although I enjoyed it, I won’t be continuing the series. Thank you for letting me read this book!