I was surprised when I came to back to review this book to see it listed as adult not YA, as the writing style is a bit immature for an adult book and the main character is obnoxious and spoiled with pick me girl energy. The insta love I can put up with in YA, but in an adult book where the protagonist is written to be (deliberately?) unlikable, the romance just comes across as very forced. I struggled to get through the start of the book, but I would put that largely down to the protagonist more than anything else. I did enjoy the book as it went on and the MC grew as a person, but the plot took a while to get going and I lacked connection with the MC at the beginning.
All of this isn't to say that it was a bad book - it was good butforgettable and slow moving with a writing style not properly crafted to the audience it is marketed for.
The world building is wonderful with deep history and lore given to the magic system and the world. This is a dark fantasy (check trigger warnings before you read) with plenty of twists and turns and I can see it doing well with a wider audience as it contains all the familiar tropes and themes we have come to expect from a run of the mill romantasy.
Thank you to NetGalley and Casablanca for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was super excited to receive an arc of this book since I consider Furyborn such a classic ya fantasy. There were definitely a lot of aspects throughout A Crown of Ivy and Glass that brought back Furyborn just because of the same writing style and inclusion of certain tropes. Personally though, I think that if I had to choose a favorite it would be Furyborn because the initial concept was definitely stronger and more fleshed out.
There was so much about this book that drew from other concepts within the genre while also giving a concept that I have never seen before. Main character Gemma is born into a world where families derive magic from different gods from ancient times. Her own family has magic as well as a wealthy estate. Yet Gemma herself does not have magic, and gets ill when it is used around her. Curses come into play as well when it seems that a demon has fated Gemma's family to a feud with another family, the Basks. This aspect of the story reminded me a lot of Sorcery of Thorns, so I think for readers who liked that consider this a similar new adult storyline.
I felt that this book tried very hard to be inclusive and have representation, but from my perspective it wasn't able to accomplish that intention. There were almost no characters of color except for the main character's best friend, who was there only to be helpful to Gemma when she was in trouble. Personally I felt that if there was going to be an attempt made at including diversity perhaps allowing there to be multiple characters of color who served a real purpose in the plot would have been a better choice.
I also struggled to find any of the characters in the book likeable. Gemma spent the entire book desperately seeking validation from men who deceived her. Her love interest, Talan, seemed to have no personality. This may have been purposeful on the author's part given that she did begin the book by trying to frame the main character as someone who had accepted her selfishness and greed and was owning it. However this was never really touched upon again in the book so Gemma's character did not have a clear development over the course of the novel.
All in all I gave this book three stars because it kept me entertained. It was a typical new adult fantasy book, complete with magic, curses, monsters, and battles. The concept was good and there was certainly a lot that could have been done with it, so I wanted to come back and read more to find out what would happen next. But I was just a little bit disappointed with the obvious nature of the plot twists and lack of strong development for the main characters. There was both too much and not enough happening and often problems seemed to come out of nowhere or be solved by essentially nothing. I think this is a great read for someone who has been in a reading slump or craves a story that they know they can count on because it is something similar to so many other fantasy books they love.

No one is more disappointed in this rating than me. I had the highest of hopes for this book. It is one of my most anticipated reads for this year and it failed me so spectacularly I’m actually shocked and internally cringing to have to write this review.

The one thing I did find intriguing was the magic system and lore. It was interesting enough that I wanted to learn more about it. The ancient magic, demons, gods, and other aspects were a highlight that I felt should have been focused on more to make the story more captivating.

I really hated the main character, didn't like her at all. She wasn’t relatable nor someone I could empathize with. Most of the time I was surprised at how much of a spoiled brat she was. Honestly, I think her sister would have made for a much better POV. Although I don’t always hate instalove, this one just had zero spark. It was very lackluster, with no tension or real feelings conveyed to me.

The plot felt super low stakes, and I wasn’t getting the motivations nor feeling any sense of urgency. The driving incident, if it could be called such, wasn’t driving anything for me. Between the lack of connection to the characters, and the less than thrilling plot, I kept wondering why I should really care, as nothing felt seemingly important or interesting enough for me to continue.

Overall, it just wasn’t the experience I was hoping for. My biggest point of contention being that it failed to make me care enough. Unfortunately, I think a lot of readers will be similarly disappointed. This is a long book and I don’t know that many will be hooked enough to finish it, nor continue with the series.

The concept of the book is amazing! I was soooo excited when I got accepted for an ARC. But I had to push myself to make it 10% if the way through before DNFing it.

It was too childish to be adult, but also way too wordy to be YA. It felt confusing as a reader to figure out what it was going for. And I know I didn’t give it much of a chance, but if I’m not invested at the 10% mark, it’s likely not going to happen.

Some sections were over detailed and became confusing, the build up of relationships was too quick, felt forced and unbelievable. It was tough. I hate it, trust me I hate this rating and review, but it was tough.

I truly love the bridgerton type world that was created in this book. it was a perfect blend of fantasy and romance with characters to die for. I ate this book up in one sitting and could not put it down. The main character is fun and witty and her choices were entertaining to watch!

Thank you to Source books Casablanca and Netgalley for the review copy of A Crown of ivy and glass by Claire Legrand.

It's a fairly dark story with a flawed female main character. Imogen, often called Gemma is beautiful and she knows it. She is rich, indulgent and leads a fairly superficial life. She also lives with chronic pain and panic attacks and has some pretty unhealthy coping mechanisms.

There is a lot of world building in this adult fantasy novel but it unfolds really slowly so I was never confused or overwhelmed.

It's a pretty twisty read. There is a lot of fantasy elements humans with various kinds of magical abilities, warrior women who turn into creatures, revenants, demons, gods, fae.

Everytime I thought I knew where the story was going some new, totally unexpected thing happened to Gemma and she grew and changed so much throughout this story.

Trigger warnings for panic attacks, self harm, suicidal idealisation

Looking forward to book two in this new series. I have previously read two other books by the author Sawkill girls and an ARC of Furyborn. I plan to re read Furyborn some time soon and continue that series.

This review will have my feelings about the book but I can fully see why so many people were raving about this book even before it came out. I personally did not love it as much as the hype made it out to be.

Overall this book is a perfectly fine fantasy romance, so it will probably do quite well and have a bit of a fandom. However, I was not a fan for a few reasons.

The book starts off like a straight fantasy romance. It is pretty compelling and enjoyable for a bit, but the pacing of that first part does not match the length of the novel. It makes a switch partway through that feels like it wants to be a more serious attempt at fantasy instead of just romance. That vibe isn’t present in the first half as much, so it’s a bit sudden and jarring.

The connection to the plot elements just wasn’t there for me. There were also some tropes and trends that felt similar to other series I do not care for which made it a bit difficult to get into.

Positively though, I did not feel there was an abundance of infodumping or monologuing that so often plagues fantasy books that spend too much time of one element and not enough on world building.

This book took me a while to finish but once I was about 50% of the way it really hooked me. The book's first half is a lot of the world-building and the societal gossip that Imogen loves, including their rival family, the Basks, but at the halfway point the magic and hinting of other worlds really takes over. I hated Talan at first and still don't trust him but I started to like him better by the end. Not to give spoilers but I am excited about the foreshadowing of one of the Basks, Ryder and Imogen's sister Farrin. Will definitely be picking up the next book in this series!

This author was new to me, and I found the premise of the book very intriguing. I love Fantasy, and the world-building that goes with that. I think Legrand did a wonderful job describing this new world and its mythology. Unfortunately however, this novel fell flat for me and I found it very difficult to finish. At times it would hook my interest, but then it would get boring, or it would take such a strange turn that I didn't know what to make of it.

Although it is certainly a Fantasy novel, there are also elements of Horror, and sometimes a little bit of Mystery. That all sounds wonderful, but it just didn't work this time. To me, it was all over the place. The final nail in the coffin is that I found most if not all of the characters unlikable, including the main character (especially the main character)!

So with a cast of characters I couldn't get invested in, and a plot that I found confusing or uninteresting, I had to give this book a 1 star.

Oh, this was such a wonderful book! I've read most, if not all of her YA books, but I think this is her first adult. And it sounded like it was going to be a great time reading it, and it was! I loved the story, and oh, the world was so compelling!

This world where the gods died, but gave their gifts to people, on purpose or by chance, and with the Middlemist that divides this continent in half was so interesting! When you add in demons and the inhabitants of the Middlemist, it was rich and detailed and I loved it!

It was just that sometimes Gemma just would make awful decisions that sometimes it was a bit frustrating following her perspective. I understand why she was doing it, because she was in pain, and I get that, on a minor way with the amount of pain that I'm in on a daily basis. But still, wrong choices were deliberately being made! Bah!

Oh, but the way things came together in that ending? That was so fantastic! I'm pretty sure that I read that each book in this series was going to follow a different sister, and I can't wait to see what's going to happen next!

This was a fantastic read, and I can't wait to read the sequels!

This is Claire Legrand's first adult title, although she is the author of Furyborn, a best-selling YA title, and this new start to a new series is absolutely wonderful. There is excellent world-building and deeply layered, flawed but fascinating characters as well as plenty of action and suspense.
Gemma Ashbourne is the youngest of three sisters, and feels that she is so much less than they are because, unlike them, she has no magic. In fact, being around magic makes her sick. While her family is rich and socially connected, and except for Gemma, rife with magical talent, there is a deep sadness caused by a near fatal fire fourteen years before the story opens, and the abandonment of her mother soon after that. Gemma's father and oldest sister, Farrin, are absorbed in handling their estate and with the blood-feud with the Bask family, while her middle sister, Mara, was taken to the Middlemist to help guard the border against dark magic.
Then Gemma meets Taran d'Astier, a devastatingly handsome, mysterious man with many secrets, both helpful and frightening. The relationship between the two of them starts out shaky, but ever so slowly evolves into something that strengthens both of them and allows them to grow into the people they are meant to be.
I love seeing all the unfolding facets of both characters, indeed of all of the characters, and how they grow during the course of the story. I highly recommend this book and am eagerly looking forward to the next book of the series.

This one was perfect for my fantasy-romance-loving heart. If you like ACOTAR and FBAA, this is what should be next on your list-- and this author is one to watch. Gemma is wealthy and loves her life, except she really doesn't-- she has it all but she's neglected and sick, her family a mess. The intrigue begins instantly-- protection from dangerous creatures may be slipping, family mysteries, and romance with a man named Talan. If you want longing and spice with demon villains and truly unique world-building, this is for you. This is the Cruel Prince meets A Light in the Flame, and I'm here for it all: Gemma's growth and bravery, and her burgeoning relationship with Talan. All I need is the next book in the series-- and you will too!

Unfortunately, this was not a favorite of mine. This is classified as an adult debut but the writing certainly didn't reflect that. I thought this was written even as well as some YA novels. The plot was sticky and didn't flow in an appropriate way. It just didn't work for me.

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

CW: self-harm, anxiety, panic attacks (on-page), chronic pain, violence, parental abandonment (past), murder

It was really refreshing to see a fantasy heroine with chronic pain issues. There were so many twists and turns and interesting pieces of magic. I loved that the sisters and family were also part of this.

Steam: 3.25

Unfortunately, the ratings for this book are pretty accurate. I've heard great things about this author's previous books, so I'm surprised that this one missed the mark. I thought this was an adult book, and I had to double check. The writing is very YA and I was not impressed. If the characters had been really interesting, it would have made up for the inconsistent plot and the whiplash that I kept feeling. I couldn't give it more than two stars.

I think my time of reading a Claire Legrand fantasy is over. Her protagonists are always these great, complex, and sometimes unlikeable women, but this strength is always dwarfed by bland love interests, cliched fantasy tropes, and slow-moving plots. Especially with how expensive books are coming, this just wouldn't be worth the price for me.

I was disappointed. The writing is juvenile and I didn’t care for the characters.

I couldn’t maintain interest. Gemma kept me in a constant state of rolling my eyes. I was just a shocked that this book came from this author.

Leaving a review like this makes me feel terrible. But it sums up my brief thoughts on this book.

This book was a bit hard to get into in the beginning, it felt a little bit boring and there were so many characters and hard to grasp world building and magic systems. Buuuut, if you push through the first part, it gets a lot better. I found myself really enjoying this book and wanted to read more and more and more. It’s an adult fantasy book so it does have explicit scenes, also trigger warnings such as suicide, self harm, panic attacks, anxiety, self loathing. It was one of the more unique fantasy books I’ve ever read. Which I really liked, a lot of the fantasy books nowadays are so familiar to each other. Felt like a breath of fresh air. But do prepare yourself for learning looooads of new words, characters, magic workings, creatures and more. If you like immensive worldbuilding, then this book is for you.

This literally reads like two diff books - both equally bad.. I don’t mind ublikeable characters but this MC js just downright awful and so difficult to read about.

This follows Gemma Ashbourne, a beautiful and rich daughter of her family. However, she has a body that reacts negatively to magic, constantly fighting pain and being ill unlike her sisters who have amazing abilities with no pain. Not only that, her relationship with her father is not great, her mother had abandoned them, and her sisters has their own situations to deal with.

She also meets Talan d'Astier, an attractive person who she works with to destroy the Basks, whom their family has a blood feud with.

Throughout the novel, secrets gets uncovered, lies discovered, a romance that grows, and curses that unravel in the storyline and plot.

Overall, the beginning was slow paced but then it started picking up speed. There were a lot of twists and turns that made me wonder what else will be revealed. It was interesting to know more about Gemma's illness towards magic since I was looking for more answers to that as well. I did not like Talan much though so I am hoping there would be a good character development for him.