Thank you to DE Knight for sending me a copy of this story where we meet Ivy Lovely, a young kitchen maid who is forever dreaming and yearning of magical lands.
During the story, Ivy loses her job and ends up in a magical school and that’s where the adventure begins. Plagued by dreams of a mysterious figure and strange goings on, the excitement builds. Slightly reminiscent of Harry Potter at times but just as magical.
I felt the story was fast paced and full of excitement and intrigue and the writers style is beautiful, setting scenes and describing settings well.
All in all a great story that holds your attention and makes you excited for the next instalment

This story is set in a fantasy world of magic named Croswald with its own rules, creatures, spells...
Ivy is a girl, working as a maid who gets invited to attend the Halls of Ivy (school of magic for young Royals and future Scrivenist). In school we follow Ivy’s journey through her first year of learning magic and making friends while uncovering her hidden past, mystery dreams and the power of Croswalds mystical stones.

From the start of reading I was thinking of Croswald as a mix of Harry Potter and Throne of glass, but it is so much more than that.
The story of Ivy is well told, and one finds him/herself lost in this magical world along with the protagonist. The author set a fascinating base for the ongoing series which is a great read for young adult readers who like to lose themselves in a world of fiction and fantasy. Even though some parts left me a little bit confused* I enjoyed reading this story and I can only wish I would read it sooner as I would probably enjoy it more when I was a few years younger. 
*which I think that was mostly due because of english not being my native language

I would like to thank the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

"Ivy Lovely is a 16 year old orphan who has no idea who she could be. When she crosses a magical boundary, she discovers a whole new world of enchantment and mystery. But when an evil Queen threatens all that is good, will Ivy's bravery be enough?"

Full of magic and whimsical creatures, this book is perfect for a middle grade reader! There are tons of beautiful descriptions that are necessary to fully imagine the world and the characters are relatable to this age group. I'm looking forward to reading the remaining books in the series myself and adding this to my classroom library. Thank you Stories Untold, D.E. Night, and NetGalley for a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"There's a reason I opened my door to you, Ivy Lovely. The same reason you've been hidden away for sixteen years. You are special."

I was contacted by StoriesUntold to ask if I wanted to read and review this book for the author. I am so happy they asked. I am a huge Harry Potter/Fantastic Beasts fan and this gave me some of those same wizardly magical vibes. This was a magical thrill ride of a story. I absolutely can not wait to dive into more of Ivy's story. The storyscape the author develops through the book allowed me imagine Croswald in my mind with such detail, like watching TV. I will definitely read anything this author writes.

The Crowns of Croswald is a middle grade fantasy about a girl named Ivy who discovers she has magic but has no idea where it came from or how to use it. She is guided to a school for magical people's. There she learns how to control her abilities and that there is more to Ivy then she realizes.

I just gotta say first that I love this cover! It's so beautiful.
Crowns of Croswald gives me Harry Potter/ Percy Jackson vibs.
There are magical creatures, pet dragons, evil queens and mysterious books. There were quite a few scenes that made me laugh out loud too.
Also while I was reading it, I kept picturing this as a Studio Ghibli movie so if you like any of those things this books may be for you.

Unfortunately for me, this book was a bit of a miss. I'm not the biggest fan of Harry Potter or Studio Ghibli movies. Please dont come at me. I know I'm out numbered here lol.

It wasn't a bad book by any means. I gave it a 3/5⭐.

If you are looking for a book to read a loud to your kids or you have a kid that loves Harry Potter or fairy tales they will probably love The Crowns of Croswald.

The Crown’s of Croswald is filled with whimsical magic and world building. Fans of Harry Potter may love it, or not so much. For me, there were far too many, and too close, parallels to HP, with the antagonist, magical creatures, premise, and overall story line. For folks who just can’t get enough of the magical world, this may be a perfect read.

The book follows sixteen year old Ivy a girl who has been hidden behind an enchanted boundary away from magic until one day she crosses over and her powers are awakened. Leading her on a striking path, and ending up a student at Halls of Ivy a school for those who need to master their magic. After events unfold, Ivy has to delve into the mysteries of her past in order to save herself and Croswald before history is swept away.

I really loved how magical this book was! Perfect for young middle grade readers. I really thought that Author D.E. Night has created something absolutely timeless, and magical.

A delightful book for middle grade readers who love Harry Potter and fantastical worlds. We follow Ivy Lovely from scullery maid to a magical school where she comes into her own, learning the truth of who she is. I was enticed by the whimsical creatures, the imaginative world building, Ivy’s fine friends, and her fight against the Dark Queen. And best of all? It’s book one of a series, so the charming adventure continues. Adults who love fantasy will dig it too!

4 of 5 Stars
Pub Date 21 Jul 2017
#thecrownsofcroswald #NetGalley

Thanks to the author, Stories Untold, and NetGalley for the ARC, in exchange for my honest review.

This book is aimed at readers between 8-12 so I have tried to keep that in mind in my review. My first thoughts were that I felt it had a very similar plot line to Harry Potter. But that being said, I think anyone writing this type of story for this are group is going to meet that comparison. By the middle of the book I thought it had much more of it's own voice.

I liked the characters and thought the friendship between Ivy and Rebecca worked well. I also felt that the beginnings of the love story between Ivy and Fyn was well done and it will be interesting to see how that develops. I was glad that he turned out to be a good guy! I like the fact that we don't quite know what to think of the Selector.

The imaginary world was fun.The plot was perhaps a little too busy and could have been a little simpler. And at times the dialogue felt a little forced but overall a solid story that I think is pitched just right for younger readers!

Okay, I’ll be honest here. I had very conflicting emotions about this book throughout the first few chapters or so. The synopsis and prologue excited me; I was so ready to read this book. Then the first and second chapter (ish) felt a bit rushed, with a lot of cliches I, personally, would have liked to have been handled in a different way. It was at this point that I thought I would slog through the rest of the book, or worse, add it to my DNF pile.

But!

But I was very pleasantly surprised that neither of my predictions came true. I ended up finishing the book in only two sittings after picking it up earlier this morning (or, yesterday morning, as it were; I’m writing up this review at 5:07 a.m. so time has ceased to have meaning for me). Let me put it this way: if this were published earlier or if I were younger now, I would be begging my mom to make a lavender Halls of Ivy uniform, like all the stylish first year students. *ahem* All the first year students.

So, the characters.

Ivy Lovely, our adventurous heroine herself. I have never related more to a character while simultaneously not relating to them at all. It’s a strange phenomenon, to say the least. On one hand, Ivy dreams of magic (who doesn’t, honestly), she spends every free moment sketching the castle in her dreams (slightly further from the mark, but I’m still on board), and she saved and befriended a little dragon from her castle’s kitchen (we’re back on track). But on the other hand, she is a literal trouble magnet. And? She realizes her actions will most likely have severe consequences–because as we all know, getting expelled is far worse than death–and she goes through with her plans anyway. I mean, as someone with an almost crippling fear of authority and getting into trouble, Ivy’s general “meh, girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do” attitude is refreshing. So as much as I wanted to shake her by the shoulders and drag her back to her classes by her ear, I was cheering her on just as much.

“[…] sqwinches had a propensity to over-read, over-prepare, and over-collect.”

And then I face-palmed when [nope, spoilers].

There were actually very few male characters in this book to which my reaction was something along the lines of, “Yes, ladies! Girl power!” But the few male characters there were, I absolutely adored them. Especially our main man himself, Fyn. I’m looking at the notes I made while I was reading and the sentence I underlined about Fyn was, “Okay, Fyn is ADORABLE.” And that pretty much sums up everything I could possibly say about our cute, sarcastic, green-eyed hero who has roughly the same philosophy about rule-breaking as Ivy herself. Honestly? Yeah, I ship it.

Moving on!

Next, and finally, I will briefly mention our shape-shifting princess, Rebecca. I don’t want to give anything away about Ivy’s “reunion” with Rebecca, but I will say this: LOL. If nothing else, I recommend you read the book for that scene alone. And maybe the scene with the shorehorse… and all the little interactions with Humboldt–he’s literally the cutest and most… expressive (?) creature; you know exactly what he’s thinking, despite him not being able to talk. Anyway! Back to Rebecca. When I was first introduced to her character, I was worried that her relationship with Ivy would be wrought with jealousy and pettiness (like a certain unnamed royal whose name starts with “D”), but, again, pleasantly surprised. Rebecca helped Ivy in situations that could have (*cough*) ended badly. A situation that Rebecca didn’t–and couldn’t–fully understand, through no fault of her own. Just… what I’m saying is that I’m basically a sucker for positive, supportive friendships. They give me the warm and fuzzies, okay?

As for the magical world itself, I don’t have too much to say. There were elements I liked (the Den, Humboldt, the use of quills as magical implements, the “cabby” that reminded me all too much of the Cat Bus in Totoro) and there were elements that I didn’t particularly care for/ parts that were a bit too cliche for my taste. But overall, I had fun. Obviously, I wasn’t raised in a time where I dreamt about receiving a letter from the Halls of Ivy and picking up my crown from the Crownerie (though, I definitely identify more as a sqwinch). Nevertheless, I felt nostalgic for this world that Night created and I look forward to seeing what our ballsy heroine gets up to in the next three years of her studies. (I have my theories, but I’ll keep them to myself… for now.)

This time, and probably for my future reviews as well, I will wrap up with book stats… of a sort.

Feels: Ehhh, not really. It’s a fantasy/ adventure book, so no tears were shed during the reading of this book.

The Funnies: Some of the characters had a sarcastic sense of humor (which I appreciated) and there were moments of comic relief. So… moderate funniness, depending on your sense of humor.

Re-readability: Not for me (right now), personally, but I can see myself re-reading this if I were younger.

Continue-the-series-ness: Yes, I, for one, want to see what happens next!

Cute creatures: 10/10 (Also, I never thought I’d see the day when “ominous” and “unicorn” would be used in the same sentence.)

*Thanks to (Stories untold) for sending me an ARC e-book, in exchange for an honest review!*

A middle-grade/YA fantasy, focusing on the protagonist Ivy, who works as a Scaldrony kitchen maid at Plum castle. Ivy has distinctive dreams, able to recall what she sees through sketches and art- a talent of a wielder Scerevenist! She eventually gets kicked out from her line of work. From that, her adventure begins: accompanied by the Screvenist, Lionel, away from the boundaries of her past, dreadful life as a maid, she travels to the realms of magic!

As I gradually read this, I felt very immersed in the realm where castles, magical quills, curiosity and dragons were at the heart of the story. I also enjoyed the subtle medieval setting to the story. Hence, it was very whimsical; enhancing my comfortable reading experience.

Although ‘The Crowns of Croswald’, was surely inspired by the realms of HP, it was also quite different from the works of' the one who shall not be named’. However, at times, I did feel like the plot was predictable. There were moments where the pacing was quite slow or I found myself lost- due to perhaps gapping or transformations to the next chapter. Furthermore, I also felt like Ivy was delivered a little younger than her actual age (16). Though, this may be due to the target audience of mainly middle-graders.

Apart from that, I enjoyed the pleasurable elements of the story: the exploration of friendship and the concept of magical quills, plus those of royal blood and Crowning ceremonies at 16! The mentioning of the author's name- D.E Night, through the character 'Derwin Edgar Night', was also an interesting and clever notion.

Although I found some issues with the story, it was quite promising. I recommend it as a good, easy read for mainly middle-graders or those coming of age!

The Crowns of Croswald by D.E. Night is an enchanting middle grade fantasy full of whimsical characters, intriguing mysteries and imaginative creatures. Ivy Lovely has only ever known life a scaldrony maid in a castle where magic is rare, until she sets off on a journey to uncover her true identity and the magic that lurks beneath her skin. She finds herself accepted at a school for children with magical gifts, however, Ivy soon learns that she may never live the ordinary life she has always dreamed of. As more and more strange events occur around her, Ivy must unravel the mysteries within the Hall of Ivy to save her friends.

Upon opening this book, readers will be immediately immersed in the world of Croswold and introduced to the unique systems of magic. Night's world is extremely inventive - it does not remind me of anything else I've read which I love. My absolute favorite aspect of Night's story is the plethora of inventive magical creatures. From fairies with glowing hair to cooking dragons and beyond, Night gives readers such a treat each time she introduces a new mythic beast to this tale.

Night's writing style is well-paced and entertaining. She crafts a great adventure with a compelling mystery for readers to unravel. The layers of the tale are artfully woven together, creating a wonderful tapestry by the time everything has been revealed. Most every scene feels extremely purposeful and adds to the overall narrative that Night is building.

Ivy's journey throughout this book is interspersed with many fantastic characters. I do wish that we had gotten to know some of them a little better. It isn't until about halfway through the story that Ivy starts to develop friendships. I also felt that Ivy's friendships would have been a great opportunity so show more character growth. Ivy starts off with an extremely transactional view of friendship which I had hoped would change throughout the book, however we do not see as much development in this area as I would have liked. The secondary characters that we do get to know are charming and endearing and add a lovely element to the story.

This fun mystery will delight young readers and keep them guessing at every turn!

This book was received as an ARC from Stories Untold in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book right from the start reminded me a lot of the House of Night Series by P.C. and Kristin Cast. From the very beginning I was hooked. Everything from the characteristics of Ivy to the set up of the School of Croswald's I knew I was in for the ride of my life. Ivy's encounter with her powers and the rise of anxiety entering the school and then encountering with the Queen of Darkness, I'd say that there was a lot on Ivy's plate that came unexpectedly and that she is beyond ready for. I have been waiting for a series like this for a long time and I can't wait to see another adventure of the Crowns of Croswald.

We will consider adding this title to our JFiction collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

I really wanted to love this book. The magical creatures are incredible and the scenery is absolutely beautiful. D.E. Night's writing style is wonderful. But the story itself feels almost exactly like Harry Potter. I don't think that would bother a 10-12 year old nearly as much as it does me, who grew up living for the next Harry Potter book. This is a great one for kids who love Percy Jackson, Fablehaven, etc.

Thank you to Stories Untold for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I had never heard of this book or the author at the time the publisher messaged me to see if I could read and review, so I looked it up and discovered that the story bears a strong resemblance to another story about a magical wizarding world (which shall remain nameless). I decided to give the book a try since I loved the story-that-shall-not-be-named, and even though it ended up being a fun read, the similarities spoiled it for me.

The story’s protagonist, a teenaged-orphan named Ivy Lovely, discovers she has magical powers and is plucked from a life of servitude to attend the Halls of Ivy, a prestigious school of magic. While at school Ivy embarks on a journey of self-discovery and her true destiny is revealed.

🧚‍♀️🧚‍♀️🧚‍♀️/5

While I thought the author did a fantastic job with the world building, the character development fell flat for me. You don’t really learn too much about the characters and the little you do learn doesn’t happen until the end. I also really enjoyed the ending as it tied up all of the loose ends in the story. This fast-paced book is geared towards middle-schoolers and I think it’s a good book for that age range. They might enjoy recognizing all of the similarities with the other wizarding book but as an adult reader it was a little too distracting for me.

Have you ever finished a book and wanted to re-read it again right away to catch all the things you missed the first time you read it? That's exactly what this book did to me. In this first installment in the Croswald series, we meet Ivy Lovely, who has spent her whole life serving others in a castle as a scaldrony maid where she is neither cared for or noticed, unless dinner is late. She escapes this life with a kitchen dragon named Humboldt and with the help from Rimbrick, an ancient woods dwarf, and a flying coach in a magic made storm. She learns that she has been accepted at a magic school to become a scrivenist, a person who has their own magic, whose job it will be to serve a royal family, to make spells, and document all of their discoveries. She's been labeled the "Most Disruptive Student" at the Ivy Halls, the teachers may or may not be out to get her, and then there's the mystery of who she really is and all the strange clues and happenings that only seem to happen to her. There's magic around every corner: Cloaked Broods, a locked Forgotten Room (where things go to be forgotten), Bearded Clouds, Dark Queens, Wandering Families, and so much more! If you're a fan of the Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling and the Nevermoor series by Jessica Townsend, then you will absolutely love The Crowns of Croswald.

Synopsis:
For sixteen years Ivy Lovely has been hidden away in the safety of castle Plum. Surrounded by magic-repellent ‘slurry’ her life so far has been anything but interesting. Suddenly, she is thrust into the world of magic, fantasy and most importantly the Halls of Ivy. Her life now consists of Scrivenists, hairies, scaldrons and textbooks with pages that document her every move. When the dark queen senses Ivy’s appearance she is hellbent on removing her from existence. Will Ivy learn her true family history? But more importantly will she survive the dark queens evils powers?

Plot:
I enjoyed the plot and felt like this magical world had been delicately created in its entirety. The description added was superb and really helped to build the image in my mind. I always find that fantasy genres can be quite hard to read if you can’t imagine it yourself and so I was worried I might not have ‘bought into’ the book, but I needn’t have worried. I enjoyed following Ivy’s journey and felt like there were a lot of adventures packed into this first book! It certainly did not rely on one dramatic ending- as Ivy’s life was definitely in danger on more than one occasion! The pacing of the book was enjoyable as it didn’t have any slow moments and although Ivy’s heritage was easily predictable it never took away from the overall story as I simply enjoyed being immersed in this newly created world.

Characters:
I enjoyed Ivy’s character and the single perspective narrative helped to add mystery to the story. I have read reviews saying that Ivy seemed quite stubborn and nonchalant towards school. However, I found her characterisation quite endearing and realistic as she had not been brought up with the magical customs and so was simply finding her feet in the overwhelming circumstances, she found herself.
The secondary characters, such as Rebecca, Fyn and Derwin also added to the story and were good additions. The idea of the royals having different powers based on the type of stone nestled in their crowns was interesting as this meant that other less familiar characters could become important depending on what situation they found themselves in- I thought this was a nice touch and could be built upon in other books. I also do have my suspicions about some characters intentions and so I am looking forward to reading the other books in the series to see if my suspicions come to fruition.

Layout:
The stark contrast of the prologue and the rest of the story interested me throughout. I was anticipating when the separate storylines would interlink so I felt I was eager to read more to find that out. The chapter length was adequate, and I have mentioned before I thought using a single person narrative was a clever writing tool as it added mystery throughout and allowed information to be given in a timely manner without the use of red herrings.
Working in education, whenever I read a middle-grade book I always think about whether I would read it within a classroom and with the Crowns of Croswald I think it could definitely be used as an educational tool. The language used within the book is diverse and imaginative and the sentence structures are varied enough to use as examples to teach the target audience many literary techniques.

Final comments:
Although this genre is not usually my typical ‘go-to’ I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it to fantasy enthusiasts and young readers. With this being the first book in the series I am eager to read the rest to see how the storylines of Ivy and her friends work out.

Woah, what? You can’t end a book like that. That’s outrageous!
How am I supposed to sleep tonight not knowing what happens to our dear Ivy Lovely?
When I was first approached on Instagram about reading this book, I’ll be honest... It didn’t sound like my sort of thing but I wanted to help the author out.
Oh my goodness, WHAT A BOOK.
I loved every single word of it. I was completely and utterly immersed.
On the websites I’ve looked at, it does say that this is a kids book but I would probably say young adult is more suited. I mean, as a 24 year old reader, I had no complaints!

I received this e-book for free from the publisher (Stories Untold) on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Ivy Lovely is a 16 year old maid and orphan who gets invited to attend the Halls of Ivy, a school of magic as a scrivenist. From there she enters a world of whimsy and adventure making friends & enemies, and learning magic along with who is really is and the power of imagination.
This book would be great for young fans of Harry Potter [the comparison is inevitable] and princess fantasies. It felt like a quirky, action-packed hybrid of Cinderella and Harry Potter. The book felt more like a children's book then young adult.
Also- snaps to the author for including their own name. DERWIN EDGAR NIGHT? D.E. Night? I love it.
Overall- 3.5/5 stars

This is a magical tale of a young girl who is ripped out of a not so pleasant life and thrust into one that is magical, mysterious, and surprising. Ivy Lovely is the main character and she has always dreamed of attending the magic school that she sketches from her dreams, but she definitely didn’t think she’d ever end up there or going on the adventure that she did when she got there.

This is very much a book and story reminiscent of Harry Potter, but with a wonderful female lead character. Magical people, magical characters, magical creatures, and of course your typical not so nice school girl and grumpy head of school. It is a wonderful book and a wonderful story, and I would love to catch up on the second book in the series. It’s a middle grade fantasy genre, and as someone who has a 10-year-old who loves Harry Potter, I could definitely see him, and eventually my daughter, very much enjoying this story.