This was an interesting read for awhile but then I personally got a little bored. I appreciated the book from the publisher as they had approached my friend and I for the read and review. It just wasn't the right time for me to be reading this one as it didn't hook me enough to continue. I think it is because I had so many on my plate and it just didn't live up to the others. I do see kids and younger teens enjoying it however and I will recommend to patrons who would benefit from this story.

What an enchanting little gem this was! This middle grade fantasy has a bit of everything: magic, adventure, twists, betrayal, young love, humor. The story follows protagonist, Ivy Lovely, who is brave, imperfect and oh-so endearing. It’s hard not to like her 🥰 For readers who enjoy coming-of-age stories and becoming immersed in magical worlds (especially those not as dark) this one’s for you. Although the vibe is similar to some other fantasy series, this does hold it’s own, especially being more light-hearted and directed at a younger audience.

What I didn’t like?
-The passage of time was a bit fuzzy. Towards the middle I didn’t realize where we were in the timeline. This was likely due to a lack of defining events, such as clear seasons, holidays, school breaks, etc. to give perspective.
-Most of the supporting characters felt somewhat underdeveloped to me. There were a few I would have enjoyed more backstory on. This affects the relationships and connections formed.

Thank you Stories Untold Press and Netgalley for my gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was excited to be given a e-copy of this book because I have heard really good things about it. I am a huge Harry Potter fan, and this book has that magical boarding school special person who doesn't know how special they are vibe.
I enjoyed the character Ivy and I liked how one of the characters, Derwin Edgar Night, was a way for the author to bring her name into the story which is actually pretty cool. I also liked Fyn and the relationship him and Ivy have. The way they talk to each other and go back and forth is interesting.
I did feel that the story started out a little slow however, the story picks up once we are with Ivy at school.
Overall I enjoyed this start to the series and look forward to more.

A scent of magic will fill your room as you enjoy the pages of this enchantingly perfect book. An absolute imagination come to life in front of your own eyes with each chapter.
Beaming with shimmering magic and picturesque settings, any lovers of Harry Potter, magical boarding school fans and ‘from a maid to a princess Cinderella’ trope this book is for you!

We follow a sweet character called Ivy whose life is turned upside down when she goes from a scaldrony maid to an enrolled scrivenist at the Halls of Ivy’s. Everything is described in such beautiful whimsical detail where you sit back and admire the authors writing style of world-building and each character description. You read in anticipation how Ivy learns more about magic, and herself, and feel the rush of every troublesome adventure she goes on to discover the truth. The ending of this book is so sweet, and I am so excited for the next book! I can’t wait to see what Miss Lovely does with this all new-found identity. I’m also crossing fingers for her and Fyn to end up together! Her friendship with the other characters is heartwarming and seeing her being accepted(by some) and loved for her wittiness and uniqueness is like a warm hug.

There are beautiful illustrations at the beginning of each chapter and I loved that!

It can be compared to Harry Potter, but I think this book stands alone very well. This is the perfect read for middle graders +. I was entertained through out and read this in one sitting!


Only critique I have would be for more descriptive scenes of the classes they all attend, and the ending was quick and confusing- I had to read it again just to make a 100% sure I understood what was going on!

After reading this I also want a little dragon who makes me pies!

This book is Harry Potter meets The Descendants – and if you like either, you will LOVE it! With fantasy, adventure, and a whimsical, brave protagonist The Crowns of Croswald (The Croswald Series Book 1) is the perfect escape into a whole new world. Author D.E. Night intertwines magic, supernatural phenomena and mythological creatures with a creative spunk that I have not seen in middle grade novels recently. Ivy Lovely is a teenager stuck as a scaldrony maid surrounded by slurry fields which limits her magic. On Moonsday, she gets an invitation to attend the Halls of Ivy – the school for young Royals and up and coming Scrivenists to hone their magic, memories, and power. Once she crosses into this magical place and escapes the slurry fields (and Helga – whom reminded me of Agatha Trunchbull from Matilda), her magic begins to blossom, as does her curiosity. As year one at the Halls unfold, Ivy makes new friends (and enemies?) while trying to discover who she really is, turning this fantasy into a relatable, coming of age book for young girls.

As a mom, it was great seeing that for the Scrivenists quills and knowledge was used as their power (showing the love and importance of reading and writing), instead of a magic wand that would just make things happen. Of course, there were still lovely stones and potions – and changing scenes that included wonderful imagery allowing you to get lost at sea, in a grand ballroom, or in a tavern hidden behind a Bitter Forest with real lake monsters in a place – get this! – called Loch (get it??!!).

I do wish there was a little more of a backstory or that the characters such as the Dark Queen and the Selector, were developed more, but with two more stories already available in the Croswald series, this may be a purposeful ploy to grab the readers attention to want to read more. I am interested as well as to where the name “Halls of Ivy” came from for the school - which was never discussed (and Ivy never questioned it, strangely), but there obviously has to be a connection in the following stories.

I absolutely loved that Night added in personal touches with plays on words such as with her initials (DEN) and having a main character named Derwin Edgar Night along with the library called a “Den.” You can tell that this author is clever indeed and foreshadows some plot lines throughout the book, that hopefully young adults are able to pick up on. All fanatical fans from ages 10 to 19 will not be disappointed in this great read that checks all the boxes for me (and I’m in my 30s!).

Thank you so much to NetGalley and @danielastoriesuntoldpress for giving me the opportunity to read this book that I am sad to admit I hadn’t heard of before, but thoroughly enjoyed it and will be purchasing the next two books in the Croswald series soon!

Please follow me at @NinaNeedsNovels as I begin my journey reviewing books!

Special thanks to @netgalley and #storiesuntoldpress for the gifted copy and an opportunity to enjoy this book. All thoughts and review are my own.

The book’s imaginative storyline starts off introducing a new world of magic to middle graders. Ivy Lovely, an orphan teenager, lives in The Slurry as a scaldrony maid, who works in Castle Plum’s kitchen making sure that castle dragons are working hard for every meal and assistant to her horrible boss, Helga Hoff. When Ivy turns 16, her life in Croswald is about to change. She hops on a strange carriage that transports her to a school of magic for scrivenists (writers) and royals. She learns that there’s more to her gift of sketching than she realized. As the school term starts, strange things happen.

The Crowns of Croswald is a captivating journey of Ivy Lovely coming towards to her past and facing her future. It is @author.denight’s first installment debut of YA Fantasy book series that invites young readers to explore themes stepping into a whimsical story with dragons, magic potions, magical quills and mythical creatures.

I kind of feeling nostalgic when I was reading the book. It has similarities with Harry Potter and Sorcerer’s Stone in terms of the formula and elements in the plot. Nonetheless, the book was able to hold its own. I could imagine that the setting of the story happened in the medieval times. There are funny creatures. And, the author’s creative language is remarkable. For example, scrivenists as writers, sqwinches and hairires (fairies). I just wish that there’s a map of Croswald to make this book more interesting. For sure, the sequel of this book is anticipated for young readers who are keen of fantasy fiction.

Ivy is a scaldrony maid with about as dreary an existence as the name suggests. The only bright spots in her life are her drawings and the stories Rimbrick shares when they see each other during the full moon. Until, that is, she gets swept away to the Halls of Ivy, where royals and scrivenists train in their magic. Suddenly, Ivy finds herself in a whole new environment which only seems to give her more questions than answers.

If you've a reader in your house who is looking to challenge themselves for the first time with longer chapter books, this is a good option. It's a wonderful bonding experience to read aloud together and show how reading can be magical and fun, not just a task for school.

Even if you aren't necessarily the "target audience," there are still a lot of whimsically creative aspects to enjoy. For a cozy reading experience, I would personally recommend this with some blueberry pie and clobber coffee (seriously, can that be a thing, please?)

The Crowns of Croswald is the coming of age story of Ivy Lovely, a 16 year old kitchen maid who unknowingly crosses a boundary into a world of magic, royalty, mystery, and evil.

D.E. Night does a really wonderful job building an intricate, magical world. The world building is incredibly complex; even from the prologue, Night does an incredible job delving deep into details about Croswald, its history, the magic, the creatures, the society, and more. The writing and the description is captivating. In the prologue, Night describes the imagery of the magic itself as a newly graduated scrivenest mades flowers and their scent appear mid-air. The Crowns of Croswald is one of those books that could have endless supplementary pieces to it if Night wishes and readers would eat it up.

The plot itself seems like an amalgamation of many stories—Harry Potter, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Tangled, Narnia, Alice and Wonderland. The Crowns of Croswald meshes pieces of all of these stories together and then adds new pieces of its own to create a new, interesting piece of work. Although there are similarities to other works, the story stands out particularly in its description in much of the magic. The glanageries in particular stood out to me as incredibly interesting and original. The plot is also incredibly fast-paced while still being a story that takes its time to develop. As the idea is quite complex, the length of description was necessary and enjoyable.

Unfortunately, everything from the climax onwards seemed very rushed. As the characters involved in the climax were relatively new and introduced directly for the first time, I wish there had been more time dedicated to describing everything going on. The last chapter in particular felt like ongoing monologues to try and illustrate all of the points that still needed to be understood.

Overall, the Crowns of Croswald is a great middle grade fantasy read for those interested in magic, enchantment, and mystery. I give this a 4 stars and really enjoyed delving into this intricate, magical world!

I am a huge fan of reading fantasy books so when I was asked to review the crowns of croswald, I couldn’t wait!
Although it’s aimed towards a young audience,
I still enjoyed every second of Ivys page turning journey! The beautiful world the author has created is just stunningly magical, I wish I could live in it!
If you’re a fan of magical schools and solving mysteries this is definitely the perfect book for you!
Also I just love the amazing cover artwork!

I can’t wait to continue the series!

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

FIRST, I WILL NOT FANGIRL OVER THE COVER as I already did to many of my friends!!! But it's GORGEOUS!

Now, let's get to the story before I deviate a lot about the art style of this book. This was an EPIC FANTASY JOURNEY and I will definitely read many more books to come by the author!! I love her IG feed too, so if you haven't followed around and you need a strong dose of magic in your life, please do!

Secondly, yes there are Harry Potter vibes but let's be very honest here for a minute: all fantasy books have some vibes from our favourite tween series, don't they? The book stands completely by itself, it's exciting, fast-paced and with well-rounded characters. I was in shock the whole time reading it really, as I was really sucked into this magical world so much, I would love to write some fanfic about it, lol

In any case, I should also congratulate the author on doing such good work with the scenery and bringing Croswald alive. I'm very happy that I received this book for free as I had never heard of it before, but now the author's world will have a special place in my heart.

I received a free copy of this book from the author/publisher I’m exchange for an honest review.

This book for me was a combination of a few of the worlds of magic I read as a tween, in particular Harry Potter and House of Night. Although it stood completely in its own right I did see flares of both of these worlds amongst the storyline. The story is fast paced and the characters likeable although at times Ivy does come across a little bit self absorbed. I went into this book thinking it was YA however I think it would suit younger teenagers more so. As I read this I found the similarities the book drew to Harry Potter difficult to ignore making it hard for me to not compare them, with Harry Potter’s plot being so extensive and the character development so good I found it made this book seem very light in comparison. I found the descriptions in the book really effective and they created great imagery although at times it did feel like a lot of description although I’m not use to reading books aimed at children and that might be why, at times for me it took away from how quickly things were happening and the combination of the pace with the description made it feel a little chaotic. Overall I think this book is certainly well written and the magical world well thought out. I think any child between 8-13 would be the perfect audience for this book and the cliffhanger ending is a great teaser for the rest of the series.

This was an immediate 4.5/5 star read for me, and I encourage everyone to check out this book and experience the magical beauty found within the world of Croswald.

I absolutely adored Ivy as the main character and loved watching her grow as the story progressed. I also think the author did a phenomenal job detailing and describing the setting of Croswald, down to each and every shop, classroom, and magical building we were able to visit. The vision I created in my mind was super clear, and I could only imagine how much I would have loved visiting this magical place as a younger teen/ child version of myself!

Without spoiling any of the plot, the ending of this book absolutely leaves things wide open for the second and third book to take the reader even further into the fantastical Croswald universe. I’d highly recommend this series to both young and adult readers who enjoy reading about fantasy, magic, mystical beasts, and lots of adventure.

I’m eager to read the additional books in this series, and thankful to publisher for reaching out to me and introducing the book!

The Crowns of Croswald is whimsical middle grade novel about a girl named Ivy Lovely who gets thrust into a magical school. The world was quite curious and the creatures were unique and interesting but nothing else really appealed to me.

The characters were quirky but felt bland and I would've liked to see more development with the friendships in the story. I never really felt the connection between Ivy and Rebecca or any other character she interacted with. The plot was also not great—nothing happened until half way into the book and even then I didn't understand the turmoil or point of the book. Overall, I felt bored while reading to be frank.

I really enjoyed this one. The writing was excellent. The characters very realistic. I loved the magic. Cannot wait to read the rest of this series. So good!

I first heard about The Crowns of Croswald sometime last month and I was very interested in the book from the start. The Crowns of Croswald is a middle grade fantasy story that involves a magical school, and I love a good book with a magical school setting and I have been wanting to try to read more middle grade books!

Throughout the book I was most interested in Ivy’s character. I enjoyed seeing how Ivy adapted to her new life as a future scrivenest and it was interesting to see what trouble she got herself into throughout the school year.

The other characters in the book were interesting as well. Rebecca and Fyn seemed to be good friends to Ivy, and Damaris was definitely amusing in her own snobby way.

Although I enjoyed the characters I had a little trouble with the world and magic system. I’m not quite sure where my issues come from because I understand that the crowns manifest their magic through magical stones and scriveners manifest their magic primarily through drawing. However, I almost feel like I didn’t see enough examples of students really practicing their magic.

I also had trouble at some parts imagining the world because at time it would be over explained and at other times it almost felt under explained to me.

The Crowns of Croswald would be a great read for anyone who loves middle grade fantasy books, and magical school settings. The magic in the book is interesting and I would like to see where it goes throughout the series. There are also several imaginative creatures other readers might enjoy in The Crowns of Croswald.

I think this is a great fantasy book for someone who doesn't even think they like the fantasy genre. The main character is relatable, someone you want to root for and well written. The book itself doesn't have much fluff in it which I appreciate and the ending really leaves you wanting to immediately start the second! The story reminds me of a combination of HP and the Sorcerers Stone/Hunger Games/Maleficent which are all within the fantasy world but not as intimidating to jump into.

This novel follows the story of Ivy Lovely, a young girl who navigates a magical realm. If you are a fan of Harry Potter, this is definitely something you will enjoy. However, for me, the book is so similar to Harry Potter that it kind of loses its charm.

Here are the pros and cons!

Pros

> gorgeous world building - the world and its magical system is well developed, and it feels 3D and realistic. I love how creative the author got with every aspect of her magical realm - the royals, the scrivenists, the hairies (adorableeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee T-T)
> the theme of friendship over the theme of romance - Nowadays romance practically comes with fantasy, and it’s refreshing to have a book on friendship instead of lovey-dovey couples. *cough* totally not me going to read a romance now *cough*

cons

*Please don’t kill me I know some of you disagree with me but this is just IMO*

>Writing style-Throughout the book, the author uses phrases that are quite difficult to digest. At the beginning I thought that once the plot picks up, it’ll get better, but I was 130 pages in and still I had to read each sentence twice before my brain registered it.
>Similarities with other books and cliches - For example, the bully. The mean girl is just ‘the mean girl’, nothing else. It would be so interesting to get an insight of her character as a whole. Some books that are similar: Harry Potter, Nevermoor, ect
>Character Development-I think the characters can be fleshed out more, especially Ivy. I didn’t really get what her character was except that she draws. There can be some more in depth development there.

I think overall it is an enchanting and sweet book for children and teens, but I can’t really say I would strongly recommend that you read it. The idea and concept is great, but unfortunately has been used too many times.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, Stories Untold, in exchange for an honest review.

My rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Book Synopsis: Ivy Lovely lives out in the Slurry fields as a scaldrony maid, tending to the scaldrons to heat up meals and being yelled at by Helga. Ivy only looks forward to the evenings when she can sketch and talk with Rimbrick, an ancient woods dwarf. Until one morning, Ivy finds that one of her scaldrons has flue flem, and while trying to tend to him and all the meals- she greatly angers Helga and gets kicked out of the slurry fields of Castle Plum. When going to the hill to talk to Rimbrick, she sees that he left her a letter saying to leave the slurry fields and a pocket full of some change, but Rimbrick is no where to be found. Ivy then decides to leave the slurry fields and never look back with her new flue-flem scaldron, Humboldt. Shortly after, Ivy is swept up by Woolem and Lionel Lugg in a giant cabby and is taken to the Halls of Ivy where she will now be taught to be a scrivenist! But as she gets to The Town, she realizes strange things happening and maybe that her being noticed as a scrivenist and all these occurrences and might not be as coincidental as she thinks.

My thoughts: Don’t we all wish we could grab a pop-of-gold tea to see the inner brilliance in ourselves from time to time? Or Loshes Washes scrubbers to clean up our messes? I personally would like Flutterlights while I read at night ✨ This was such a sweet read, and for any little middle grade readers, I highly recommend it. It has a lot of themes that make you feel magic is woven through every page, and it was action packed and kept you guessing of what was happing in Ivy’s life and how certain events were all intertwined. Her friends were so sweet but quirky in their own ways, and you couldn’t help but root for Ivy.

I loved the fairy tale aspect of this book. Ivy, the main character is relatable and I always love a book with a heroine. I feel like it will draw the attention of students. It reminded me of a new-age Alice in Wonderland. As someone who studied children's literature and fairytales in college, I really enjoyed it. I wish I could adapt it for my students. I would be interested to see how the rest of the series progresses.

Sixteen year old Ivy was a fun character with magical abilities, who goes to a school where magic is a form of breathing, and where she finds herself home.

This book was so magical! I have to give the author props for how vivid the world building was— it was like jumping into a new world where there’s a new adventure waiting at every turn. There’s a reason why this book is often compared to Harry Potter in most reviews, the magic in the world of Croswald is very familiar and nostalgic. This book was such a breath of fresh air and I enjoyed reading it from start to finish.