"A Crown of Ivy and Glass," was a complete delight. I was delighted when the main character was quite original. She is very self-centered and foolish, yet she has many redeeming qualities and unique magic abilities. The main romantic interest is good... no, he's bad... no, he's good... no, he's bad.. no... haha. There was magic or reference to magic often enough to make the magic anticipated and the reading interesting . Normally, I'd criticize 456 pages as being too long. But this book keep me interested with its plot twists and beautiful descriptions - which were detailed, but not too detailed. I finished it in two quick days. I look forward to reading the next book by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley, Claire Legrand & Sourcebooks Casablanca for an arc of A Crown of Ivy and Glass in exchange for an honest review. This review is wholly my own & may not be reproduced.

I'll be honest, I didn't even read the description when I saw this book was available. I had been seeing photos of it everywhere so I knew it was a highly anticipated read the the cover looked right up my alley. It is also the first in a new trilogy.

I really enjoyed the story! I started this book blindly, not knowing the synopsis beforehand. It was interesting from the very beginning and held my interest all the way through. Now, I'm not-so-patiently waiting on the second book to come out!

This story revolves around the highly regarded Ashmore family - the Sentinel father; Mara - a Rose of the Priory (a position that keeps her away from her family as she is part of the guard and is indebted to a life of protecting others from the mist and all that is within it - this position is supposed to be placed upon the youngest daughter of each family, but Mara was taken instead - we'll get there!); Ferrin - the dutiful older sister who helps keep their father balanced and helps him oversee all matters - she comes off as drab & strict, but she loves her family fiercely; and finally, Gemma (Imogen), the youngest of the sisters and the one who was supposed to serve as a Rose of the Priory, however, Gemma never had magic like her sisters or everyone else. In fact, magic harms her, so Mara was taken instead of Gemma.

Gemma is the main focus of this story. It focuses on the pain she is inflicted with because of magic an the sadness of not having magic of her own. She feels that she may have been somehow caught in the crosshairs when a curse was placed on the Ashmore family and the Bask family by a demon, the 3-eyed demon. At a party thrown by Gemma at the Ashmore home, she meets the very attractive and charming Talon. She pretty much loves him at once. Talon's family and old family home were destroyed by a demon and so he & Gemma set out to find the demons who caused their families so much pain and harm. They are hoping to find the demon and take revenge and get the curse lifted from the Ashmore & Bask families.

That is the synopsis in an extremely small nutshell. There is sooooooo much in between. All of the characters were written to perfection. There were only a couple of times I was bored with the story in particular places, but they were very short lulls and I was right back into it!

This was a solid 4/5 Stars for me and if you enjoy adult fantasy, I'd highly recommend giving this one a read. You'll be hooked!

definitely feeling a little disappointed by this book. i was super excited when i first heard about this book especially seeing that it was written by claire legrand which was why i was a little confused when i saw the rating. also i did not like gemma at all. she’s very “oh woe is me” about being lonely but the reasons she’s alone aren’t even bad?? i felt like the book started off really well but it hit a point where everything just went downhill. also this book was marketed as adult fantasy but it really just seems more like a YA book with poor writing.

i’m honestly really disappointed with this book seeing as i had really high expectations.

No one is more saddened than I am by this rating.
The Empirium trilogy is one of my favourite fantasy series, and Kingsbane is even an all time favourite, so when I heard Claire Legrand was going to write an adult fantasy book I was so excited. Unfortunately A Crown of Ivy and Glass didn't really do it for me.

I thought the premise of the story and the world building were interesting but I felt like there was a pacing problem. In the beginning the plot is quite straightforward and interesting enough (though some things felt both too slow and too rushed at times), but then there's a switch and it goes in too many directions at once. At some point I even thought I had missed a few pages or some previous explanations for what was happening. It almost felt like two books into one, which was a little confusing.
And I wasn't as invested as I hoped I would be in Gemma and Talan's story. I usually adore the way Legrand writes relationships and feelings, but I couldn't get attached to them. Out of the three sisters, Gemma is the one I was less drawn to. But I'm definitely interested in Farrin and Mara. We haven't seen a lot of them yet but I'm intrigued and I do want to know more about them, so I'm still looking forward to the next books following the other two Ashbourne sisters.

I saw this compared to ACOTAR, and a bit to Bridgerton so I had high hopes.

We meet Gemma Ashbourne, the youngest of three daughters. She appears to live a fabulous life, but reality is not as it appears. She suffers and is always in pain, as her body reacts negatively to magic. And it is everywhere. She meets Talan and they make a deal. She will help him navigate high society, and he will help her find a demon that started the blood feud between her family and another.

This book was very long. I liked it but never felt fully invested and don't find myself on the edge of my seat for the next installment in the series.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Sourcebooks Casablanca, and Dreamscape Media for both an ARC and ALC of this one!

Thank you to Netgalley for sending me the audiobook and eARC copy of this book!

3/5 Stars

When I found out Claire Legrand was coming out with a new series, I was so excited as Empirium series is one of my favourite series. Her world building and thought process throughout that trilogy was impeccable, which is also maybe why I did not love this book as much. As I went into this with high expectations. While the world in which Claire creates for the first book in Middlemist trilogy is very interesting, it doesn’t have as much detail as I was expecting. Although were it really fell apart for me was the romance plot, I did not feel the connection between Gemma and Talan. I found their relationship lacking chemistry and felt cringy at times. I found myself wanting to skip their chapters. As of right now I don’t think I will continue on with the series, unless I hear better things with the sequel.

I received an e-arc through NetGalley and this is my honest opinion of the book.

This is my first Claire Legrand book and to my understanding is her first adult romantasy after writing YA. And it's very obvious this is new to her. The story is trying very hard to be a spicy romance and falling short *spoiler* it's an insta love story and it's so annoying because there is no chemistry or tension or anything between the love interests. The story line has stuff happening but it keeps getting sidetracked so nothing is actually happening to progress the story. The main plot is kind of jumbled to the point I forgot what the actual end goal of the story is suppose to be. The ending has a more concentrated focus of the plot but the first 75% of the book its just like impromptu spicy that's not even spicy and tension/chemistry of the characters doesn't exist. It's somewhat predictable about the story line. Overall it's a meh story and it could have been better

This was a bit of a flop for me.

I’ve read Legrand’s previous books and enjoyed them, I was really hoping I’d feel the same about this one.. and maybe I will as the series progresses, but unfortunately this first installment was very middle of the lane for me.

Pitched as Bridgerton meets A Court of Thorns and Roses I was intrigued, and although I definitely see the vibes of that present in this story, I felt that descriptor ultimately harmed my opinions as i went in with a higher caliber of expectation that wasn’t met. Because it is a bit of a genre blend this book felt all over the place for me.

Plot wise I’m intrigued but I have lots of questions remaining… I wish I had walked away from this with a stronger grasp of where this story would be going in the long run.. with that being said, I’m curious enough to see where it goes.

Character wise- I’m disappointed. I really disliked the MC of this book, I could see character growth happening, but it just wasn’t enough to offset the rest of her personality and self centeredness at the beginning. Her selfish, egocentric, dramatic personality made this book feel much younger than the audience it was intended for, unfortunately.
Add to that an insta-love relationship that I’m just not believing and I was struggling to truck my way through this one.

All in all I was surprised this book came from an author I’ve read and enjoyed plenty of other fantasy books from. I likely won’t be buying, but rather borrowing from my library to se show the story unfolds from here.

I had a hard time getting through this book. It wasn't because the story was bad - I just couldn't stay engaged with it. I found Gemma to be a bit of a drama queen, though when the story finally got around to explaining exactly what her problems were and why she had them I could give her a lot more leeway in her attitude. The setting was also confusing and events seemed to be disjointed as the author worked to set everything up. I kept reading and eventually I got interested in what was happening. Things were revealed that changed my perspective and made me want to know what would happen next. There were still confusing scenes and in the end there were just as many unanswered questions as answered ones. Hopefully, I will remember enough of what is going on to get into the next book since this is not the end of Gemma's story. I was given an advanced copy of this book by the author. My review is voluntary.

Thanks Sourcebooks for letting me read this book in advance through Netgalley. I read this willingly therefore this review is my own.

This book was so hard to follow. I don't even know how to start my review. It was described as being a mix between Bridgerton and A Court of Thorns and Roses. I read the similarities but it was so weirdly mixed, it was like it didn't fit together as a whole.
It was like putting two totally different genres, two totally different stories in the same one.

The world-building was incoherent. First, you think it's a Bridgerton vibe with magic, then boom 🤯 you're in a fantasy world with fae, demons, necromancer and it's like the Bridgerton vibes doesn't exist anymore.

The female main character was so hard to like. She's egocentric, narcissistic and it's like she has nothing else for herself. Oppositely, I liked how strong she became through the story. How she learned more about herself and how she dealt with it.

Also, I love the chronic pain representation, the depression, anxiety attacks and self-harm. It was well-written and well depicted.

The male main character, who she fell in love with, was not a favorite of mine either. He didn't choose her, let her alone when she was in need, lie to her. And every time, she came back to him. And fast !.

Honestly, I'm still curious to see what will happen next with her other two sisters and probably will be reading the second one in this series. But I cannot recommend this book. I think it will be a book that you either love or hate.

I found it really hard to get through, I just dont think this book was for me! It feels very YA even though its pitched as adult,

This was my first Claire Legrand book, and I could tell pretty immediately it wasn't going to be my type of book. Mostly because the writing was clearly YA "trying out adult". But can't leave the YA behind completely.

I wanted to like this book. I really, really did, but something was just missing. Legrand's Furyborn trilogy was one of my favorite reads of last year so I had high hopes for this story. I loved the setting and the concept was interesting. Find the demon that is pitting two well-respected families together and make a deal with it. Simple enough. Except the whole time they're searching for it, they don't know if the demon is real. It makes for a rather poor motivation to me.

Beyond that, the characters were very surface-level. I found Gemma to be incredibly shallow and vain and there was very little to redeem her from that. And her relationship with Talan felt so instalovey and absurd. The pacing was also all over the place that it was hard to really keep track of everything that was going on. All in all, I just found myself so bored. I felt like I had been reading this one forever when I had only made it about 30% in and had to force myself to keep going. As much as it hurts my heart to give it this rating, I can't force myself to give it any higher.

(2,5)

Truth be told, I did not know what to expect when I dived into A Crown of Ivy and Glass since I had never read a book by this author before. But the story sounded like a fantasy I could like so I had many hopes for it.
Sadly, this one fell short and I am disappointed. I did not find much to enjoy as I could not find it in me to be interested by the story which I thought was pretty boring. And I did not care much about the characters either, or anything really.
Maybe it will be a little harsh but as a book pitched as Bridgerton meets A Court of Thorns and Roses, it failed to
deliver.

I quite enjoyed this! I did struggle through the first half due to the world building, but overall this was not a bad book. Definitely a solid start - this series has potential.

Full review to come closer to release date.

Sadly, I had to DNF this ARC. By the time I reached 40%, I had a hard time finishing because it felt so uninteresting and boring. I love fantasy and the world-building that goes along with it. ACOTAR is my all-time favorite series, yet this book is nothing like it.

In terms of character development, and storyline, this fell flat for me. I had to read the book's back so many times just to understand what the plot was supposed to be about because it was so difficult to understand.

The main character, Gemma, was the main issue of difficulty for me with this book. She is the worst ever and incredibly obnoxious. Also, no chemistry exists between the two main characters. I don't like insta-love, but if the story and the relationship are well-illustrated, I tend to get past my skepticism.

Thank you so much Netgalley and Sourcebooks for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had a difficult time getting invested into this book which seemed like it would be my cup of tea. The writing style did not scream adult novel to me. I feel like this could absolutely be advertised as an upper YA book. I thoroughly enjoyed the world building that was seen throughout. I think the Claire Legrand really delivered on the fantasy aspect of this book, but fell a little short in the romance area.

This is the first book by this author for me. I have seen many of her books everywhere and was very curious about her writing style.

Since this is my first book by her, I have no comparison to her other books.
I admit, after reading the book (and listening to the audiobook!), I read some reviews and saw that many fans of her books are disappointed with this first book in her new series.

My neutral opinion, since I don't know her yet, is that I really enjoyed this book 😁
I mean, the book got me out of the reading slump.
That means a great something, right?

Did I like everything about the writing style?  No, definitely not.  Was the story interesting and exciting?  Yes, definitely. 
Was the story a bit chaotic and muddled?  100%, but it was still incredibly fascinating, engaging, and exciting.

The topic was very fascinating.
It's a mix of ACOTAR, TOG, and an action-packed fantasy version of Bridgerton.
Only we're talking about all kind of magic and mythical creatures version of them here 😉

The only problem is that the author tried to pack as much action into this book as possible, completely overloading the book.
As a result, the story is sometimes difficult to understand or follow the narration. Because many descriptions are missing or it is simply unclear what the author meant writing some things.

I think the series has a very good chance of being very good, if the story were written a little more structured.

Nonetheless, I read this book with great joy and excitement and will definitely read the other 2 books in the series. Hopefully, they'll be a bit shorter than the 560 pages here 😬

There’s something about the title of a novel that almost always draws my attention. When I saw this one and it's beautiful cover art, I was excited to dive into the world Legrand would weave for her reader. However, after about 25%, I had to admit this story was not for me. Usually I am a fan of fantasy and a bit of romance and adventure. Yet the characters in this story are so unlikeable I had almost no investment in the progression of the story. The main character seems shallow and vain with nearly no redeeming factors. The writing style seems chaotic as though the author is trying to prove she can write in a certain style but doesn’t quite hit the mark. At times it felt the author was trying to take on too much or trying to weave together multiple stories without fully developing them for the reader to understand and follow. I know I only got about 25% into it, but once I decided this book wasn’t for me I realized I was not the only one who felt the same. Some said it reads like YA but I, in fact, like YA fiction and will pick it up pretty readily. I think it was just the disjointed story for me and how the author didn’t seem to know where she was focusing her attention.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for this earc

This book was a COMPLETE mess. I’m gonna start with that I really enjoyed Bridgerton books and ACOTAR is my all time favorite. I’m telling you this right now. This book is NOTHING like those two series.

Example one. This book is marketed as adult. But the characters and the writing is VERY YA. Cursing and bad cringy sex scenes do not make book an adult fantasy.

Example two. I don’t know about you but for me it’s very hard to continue with a book if nothing interesting happens in the first 20%. The first 35% of this book read like a badly written fan fiction. REALLY badly write. From insta lust with somehow zero chemistry between two main characters to almost none to very confusing world building.

Example three. The middle of the book what I guess supposed to a transition from bad fan fiction to the fantasy part of the book was completely boring. I honestly can’t tell you one thing that happened.

Example four. Three sisters that are totally water downed versions of Archeron sisters. You really thought we wouldn’t notice?

Example five. I know I already mentioned zero chemistry between main love interests but It’s worth repeating because it doesn’t get better.

Example six and probably the biggest issue I had with this book. The main character, Gemma is absolute WORST. She is annoying, spoiled and sometimes completely empty headed.

The last third of the book couldn’t have been so much more if by the time I got there, all I wanted to do is be done already.

The only who actually interested me were the Basks. But even they couldn’t save this disaster.