I really enjoyed this book. It is my first by this author and I will definitely pick up more books. I thought the world building was great, we could see how Gemma lived, how she grew up, her struggles. And then, we get to see her find her strength and courage. Her relationship ship with Talan, from falling in love, and all the disappointments, her emotions were all over the place. Her sisters, gareth, phaidra, these were all great characters. Looking forward to book 2. Thank you for the advanced copy.

This is one of those books that I was excited to wake up and dive back into. Oh my goodness, I'm already dying for news about book two. I adored this one!!!

It really does feel like Bridgerton meets magic and demons, but with mental health and chronic illness rep. The writing felt so rich and well crafted, and I'm itching to unravel more of the mysteries of Middlemist. There were a few things I noticed, like how the first and second halves felt almost like separate books, and how the pacing got a little messy in the later, but I honestly didn't mind.

My biggest complaint is just that the romance felt a bit insta-lovey at first, but it does get better! Not my favorite kind of romance arc, but I definitely enjoyed it regardless. I've not been in the mood for spice recently, but this one had a light sprinkle throughout leading to one really hot part, and I found myself loving it actually. And the cast of characters was so good, I'm excited to be able to get to see (most of :') them again in the next one.

The next book will follow a different sister as the main character which I find SO exciting because we got some hints for the next romance and let's just say I'm already sold.

A new favorite, and I will definitely think of it when asked for romantasy recommendations now!!

What worked for Me
-Chronic Illness/Chronic Pain representation in a fantasy book
-Multi layered plot including semi political intrigue
-Writing style reminiscent of A court of thorns and roses.
What didn't work as well for me
-Pacing in the middle third of the book was a bit rushed
-dialogue came off as stilted several times through out the story
Who I would recommend this book for
Fans of Young adult fantasy looking for a story that combines a writing style remniscent of Sarah J Mass with a multi layered and slightly mysterious Plot will find themselves at home within the pages of A Crown of Ivy and Glass by Claire Legrand.

Oh, this was a fun read. Claire Legrand does a great job world building, overall, and creates beautifully flawed characters. It took me a few chapters to get oriented in the novel, since the action picks up right from the start, but it quickly becomes apparent that Legrand's imagination really thought of everything when creating the world in this novel. Looking forward to future books in the series!

For a book that is advertised as adult ACOTAR meets Bridgerton, this felt lacking. The writing leaned more toward young adult than adult fantast. The main character is annoying and does not feel relatable. I also felt that the book was too long. It was almost as if there were two separate stories pushed together without a smooth transition. I think there are people who will like this book, but it just didn't flow for me.

Why do I do this to myself idk. I’m always looking for a nice cover and get excited to start a new book especially when it’s something from a genre that it’s not my main go to one.
It’s all on me that I had to dnf after a few chapters. I couldn’t get into the story at all and maybe I will pick it up again later in the year but for now I rather not.
Very grateful to the publisher for this Read Now title

I think the premise of a Bridgerton meets ACOTAR was a good idea, but I couldn't finish it because it wasn't well-executed.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

I just reviewed A Crown of Ivy and Glass by Claire Legrand. #NetGalley

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Oh man -- I was highly anticipating this book, considering how much I loved the Empirium series. I'm sad to say I struggled with this one. The first 20% was hard to get into. I just wasn't all that invested in the characters.

Secondly, the pacing in this book was pretty awful. Some sections went really fast, and others were sluggish. I was getting whiplash from this book. It was disappointing to say the least.

I wanted to like the characters more than I did. I didn't actively hate them, I just felt neutral on them. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood for this book -- or maybe it just didn't work for me.

However, I will say I immensely enjoyed the world building and the magic systems in this book. I found them intriguing, and honestly, I kept reading because I was curious about it.

Legrand's writing is terrific, even in this book, it was amazing. To add, even the plot wasn't horrible. There was just something not hitting right for me with this book, and I can't put my finger on it.

I honestly wasn't sure if I was going to make it through this book, but I powered through and finished. While I liked most of the characters (this is the only reason I kept going and this gets 2 stars) and the writing style, the plot was a bit of a jumbled mess. It felt like there were 3 or 4 plots shoehorned into one another to create this book and none of them quite fit together. The main character is annoyingly inconsistent and not at all the 20-something she is supposed to be. She felt more like a 15/16 year old, but the spicy scenes definitely prove otherwise. I'd consider reading next books in the series if they focus on the other sisters, but it is highly unlikely I will pick them up if the plots continue this way. This book itself could have been its own trilogy and that might have made the plot more cohesive, but in its current state it is a struggle to get through. I think my biggest issue, besides the main protagonist, is that every time things seemed to be getting better another massive issue arose and created an entirely new plot to deal with. This definitely could have used some more drafting and definitely some editing.

I really enjoyed the plot of this novel. Although the comparisons to ACOTAR are valid, I still thought it was very original and intriguing. Some parts of the novel that I took issue with was first that Gemma's voice felt much more YA and immature than the subject matter and the plot of the story. I also thought that some of the plot twists were predictable. And I felt like this book didn't have a good balance of anticipation in the fighting scenes. It felt as if everything just worked out, and the character deaths didn't feel meaningful in these scenes because there wasn't balance in them. Thank you to netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

2.5 - 3 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

With the exception of the sex scenes, this book did not fit into what I would normally consider Adult Fantasy Romance. While Gemma and many of the other characters are in their early-20s, they read very young, which made it difficult for me to form a connection with them. Despite ceaseless sweeping declarations of love, the chemistry between Gemma and Talan was dull. Typically, there is an element of tension that we expect to get with a Fantasy Romance. That element was missing here, which made it challenging to stay invested in the development of the individual characters and their relationship as it matured. Honestly, I was more intrigued by whatever was happening between Farrin and Ryder than I was in Gemma and Talan.

The pacing was fine, though I did note a couple of significant events that felt rushed. For example, the scene in which Gemma creates her own glamour in Chapter 5. The plot of the book is constructed around Gemma's lack of magical ability, yet, she unintentionally uses magic to create a glamour and it's glossed over, as is Jessyl's odd reaction to it. Overall, it wasn't a bad book, and I can see potential in the series. I think younger readers (or those who prefer YA) would enjoy it more, as they might have an easier time connecting with the characters than I did.

Overall I felt very "meh" about this book. I was beyond excited to receive this arc but this book, unfortunately, did not live up to the hype.
It felt like this was two books crammed into one and everything felt very disjointed.
I loved the beginning, was enthralled in the story, and felt like it then wholly changed.
I enjoyed the story and am not mad that I read it, but it was just very "meh" to me.

What a beautiful adult debut from author Claire Legrand. Even though it was a little slow to start, the magic system in this story sold me on it. Readers may find the strong details and world building a bit tough at first, but if you read it all the way through, they will be enthralled and add it to another much loved fantasy shelf in their library. It felt fresh and new at times, which is tough given the saturated fantasy genre. Very much worth reading!
Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca via NetGalley for this arc. I voluntarily read it and all opinions are my own.

"A Crown of Ivy and Glass" is smutty high-ish fantasy with strong fairy tale vibes. Crown of Ivy and Glass follows Gemma Ashbourne, the youngest of three sisters and member of an Anointed family tasked with protecting Gallinor against evil magic. Due to her sickness around Magic and being the only family member not in possession of some magic herself, Gemma’s sister Mara is taken in her place at a young age by the Warden to become a Rose warrior, one of the protectors of the Middlemist. For years, Gemma grapples with the guilt she has carried that her sister was taken and not her, as tradition dictates. After a particularly harrowing attack while visiting Mara, Gemma decides to lift everyone’s spirits with a party, using the occasion to also serve as a distraction for the Rose warriors to do their protective work. At the party, Gemma meets Talan, a handsome stranger from another land, and embarks on a new journey of bargains, family feuds, lies, demons, magic, and romance.

⭐️: 2.5/5

Lady Gemma Ashbourne has it all. She is rich, young, and born into a powerful family, caught up in a famous and well known blood feud with another family, the Basks. However, Gemma is the first Ashbourne to possess no magic herself. Instead, her body rejects it, causing her physical pain when she’s around it. When she meets the mysterious Talan d’Astier, the only survivor of a family plagued and dishonored by a demon, she makes a deal with him: she’ll help him navigate high society and redeem his family name if he helps her defeat the Basks for her family. As she and Talan get closer, their passion grows, and the stakes of their bargain start to get higher.

I’ll start by saying that I think it’s hard to write a compelling fantasy story when the heroine starts out as a “somebody.” I think we prefer to see her come from nothing and gain her power, but still keep her grounded and level head and her passion for the little guy. Gemma has none of these qualities, and on top of it, does not seem to respect logic, and thus makes errant and rash decisions that continually make her more and more unlikeable. I’m not really sure what the intent was, but the result was a narrator and main character that did not excite me and did not make me want to come back to continue following her story, one who was written to be insufferable and think she was the one best equipped to fix everything, when none of her traits lead the reader to believe it at all. Her preoccupation with looks and social standing was also off-putting, because it made her staggeringly difficult to commiserate with when her plans went awry. Overall, I didn’t find the plot or characters compelling, and the plans made throughout the book were ill-formed and abrupt, even by fantasy book standards. I’m not particularly interested in continuing on with the characters, or learning the remaining mysteries present at the end of this book, which is a problem, considering that this is supposed to be the first in a trilogy. This one ended up just being another on a long list of fantasy series of which I read the first one and will not continue.

Thank you to @netgalley and @sourcebookscasa for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

I found it so difficult to connect to this book. The 1st person voice was frustrating and I wasn't keen on the character of Gemma. There were enough questions raised early on that I pushed through and finished, but this really wasn't a book that I enjoyed, and getting to the end was a struggle!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

After loving Furyborn and Kingsbane, and highly anticipating this book, I feel a little disappointed in this read.

I was not fond of the narrative and while I enjoyed the beginning of the story it started to feel like it was dragging down the line and the story was becoming more jumbled and incoherent to what it was described as.

At some points throughout the book I was even considering DNF-ing it because of how juvenile it felt even though this is supposted to be an adult novel.

Needless to say I was very disappointed because the synopsis for the book sounded so fun and intruiging!

*thank you to NetGalley, Claire Legrand and Sourcebooks Casablanca for this e-arc of A Crown of Glass and Ivy. It is much appreciated

While I do love Claire Legrand, I own all of the Empirium trilogy, this one didn’t perform as well for me as the previous mention series. I had a hard time finishing this one. I will give the next book a try.

I am giving this title a Three Star Review. That's only because I myself did not enjoy the book and did not finish it. But, as a librarian, I can definitely see my patron's reading this title. I was interested in reading the book based on the description. Unfortunately, I did not make a connection to the characters or the storyline enough to enjoy reading it. It just wasn't my cup of tea.

I did not finish this book.

Touted as an adult debut, it sounded really interesting, but it read incredibly YA. THe MC was insufferable, and spent the first part of the book going on and on about the looks of D'Astier.

I loved the idea of magic making someone sick, but all she wanted to use her magic for was to be pretty? Gross.

All DNFs get 3 stars.