WOOF. In the best way. Such a strong start to what I hope will be an even stronger series. Claire Legrand and her perfectly paced novels; what a treat. In truth, I did not care for the protagonist in the beginning, but I kept on keeping on, and, slowly at first, and then all at once, I was enthralled. I found myself unable to put this book down, and am so, SO glad I kept going. Character growth! Healthy, hot love! Fantastic worldbuilding! FANTASTIC CHARACTERS! Beautiful prose! So excited to read the sequel.

Did not finish - i was 150 pages in and this book just did not grasp me and i had to put it down.
Thank you for the opportunity to read and leave a review A Crown of Ivy and Glass!
I hope one day i may be able to pick it up again.

DNF at 31%

This book had so much potential, and I've loved books from this author in the past. But unfortunately, this book dragged so much at the beginning that I was never hooked. The Main character wasn't someone that I could support or get behind. I also wasn't a fan of the romance and I felt like the author was just trying to squish the characters together for plot's sake.

I have realised that this genre is not for me but I did appreciate the writing. i became frustrated with the plot, hence my rating but the writing was good

I absolutely struggled finishing this book. The MC was just so... ANNOYING in the beginning. A pampered, privileged upper crust? Her having debilitating pain from the constant exposure to magic nor her panic attacks. BUT once I powered through the tough to read bits, I really enjoyed discovering the mystery behind the demon bits, hence the four stars. As long as she continues growth, it will continue to be a series worth reading. I definitely can't wait to learn more about Ryder and find out why he's behaving so strange every now and then as well as the mystery behind the mother of the MC and her sisters. Will be picking up the sequel as soon as available!

DNF at 15%... this just wasn't the fantasy book I was looking for. I tried to get into it, but just felt like that wouldn't happen unfortunately. I couldn't get into the character or the story line.

Claire Legrand is one of my favorite authors ever and I will read and buy anything she writes! Her books never disappoint and this book was no exception. Her writing is gorgeous, her characters are perfectly flawed, and her storylines are complicated and messy in the best way. As always, this book was as intricate and beautiful as the cover.

I am a fan of Clair Legrand's previous books, so I was so excited to read this! I was not disappointed.

A Crown of Ivy and Glass has such fantastic world building. It's a very unique universe, and I love the magic system. The garden magic is so interesting! The characters are all fantastic. I especially love all of the sisters, they are all fierce in their own ways.

The story it really intriguing. It drew me in right away and my kept my attention until the very end. There were several plot twists and they all completely surprised me.

I can't wait to read the next book in this series!

Sadly, this was a miss for me. I DNF'ed this book at 40% of the way through.

I am always nervous giving poor reviews because I know how much energy is put into writing and publishing books.

I wasn't able to stay connected to the main story line and kept re-reading pages over and over. Eventually, I became so distracted I was unable to track what was happening throughout the book.

Lady Gemma Ashbourne is very self centered and her love interest Talen seem to spend a lot of time in sexual encounters and not a lot of time developing their love story that I was hoping would go deeper and have more connections as the story unfolded.

There was also a ton of information that I felt didn't connect well to the flow of the story.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for sending me an ARC

I love this author*s writing style, she has a way of gripping you and getting you invested in the characters. I enjoyed the book.

Stopped at 17%. Could not get into this story - I found the magic system interesting but the characters were immensely dull. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free advance copy.

Claire Legrand's 'A Crown of Ivy and Glass' is a foray into a world where magic, nobility, and ancient feuds intertwine, creating a tapestry of intrigue and fantasy. The story centers around Lady Gemma Ashbourne, who stands out in her powerful family as the only member without magical abilities. Her journey, marked by loneliness and a yearning for belonging, is beautifully rendered in a setting replete with mythical creatures and dark magic.

Legrand's world-building is rich and imaginative, drawing the reader into a universe akin to a magical version of 'Bridgerton,’ a description that immediately got my attention. The narrative blends the complexities of family dynamics, power struggles, and an ancient blood feud that threatens to engulf everything.

However, the book's pacing and structure present challenges. While the world Legrand crafts is undoubtedly fascinating, the story often feels weighed down by its own complexity. There's a sense of 'info dumping' at times, with so much happening that it becomes difficult to follow the plot's intricacies. This aspect left the story feeling bogged down.

The romance between Gemma and Talan d’Astier, though charged with chemistry, seems to rush ahead. Despite this, their relationship adds a vital dimension of warmth and passion to the narrative.

Despite its pacing and complexity, it rewards with a rich, imaginative world that has me hooked and eager to return for book two.

Gemma Ashbourne, the baby of a powerful family, grapples with a painful relationship with magic, making it tough for her to fit the perfect daughter mold. Despite her struggles, she pushes herself harder, battling hidden pain, desperation, and a serious case of low self-esteem, which triggers panic attacks. It's cool that the fantasy novel delves into mental health issues, showing how they seep into every corner of Gemma's life. However, that didn't endear her, her love interest was annoyingly flawless, and the plot fell a bit flat for me. Gemma seems stuck in her own pity party, indifferent to the fantastic world of demons, curses, and family drama around her.

The book's ending was decent, leaving me curious about the next one, but I was a bit unclear on the fate of the demon – wounded, dead, who knows? Still, I found the read enjoyable!

This book was a breath of fresh air! It kept my enthralled and I couldn't put it down! It is everything you look for in a book! So so so good!!! LOVE this!

Since I loved previous books of this author, I was so excited when I got an arc of this one. But I have to be honest, I was very disappointed.

The plot in the first part of the book was all over the place, it was forcefully carried. It wouldn't follow its logical path, just the one that was needed to be taken to get to where the author wanted to arrive.

The pace was too fast. Sometimes decently fast, other times just unreasonably. It was also reflected in the romance: I know that it was promoted as a fast burn but it was waaaay to fast, in a way that I couldn't believe they had fallen for each other.

The world-building was promising but the way it was explored wasn't actually entertaining. As part of that world, old-fashioned language was used but it didn't feel natural, it just seemed like an attempted tool to make the story more dramatic, like in old tragedies.

Because of the explicit content, this story indeed belongs to the adult genre, but the writing and many parts of the plot appeared to be fit for a children's book.

The story had potential in some parts, mainly in the building of the magic and its history, but the plot ended up being very boring. It took me a year to finish reading the book. I do think "A Crown of Ivy and Glass" might be helpful for those who are struggling with their mental health, there are lots of great messages that are nice to hear in a time of need. But beyond that, I didn't enjoy spending time reading this.

This was my first time reading a book by this author so I went in with no expectations.
This book is written very much like a YA and you will either love that or hate that.
The story is about a girl named Gemma. Gemma is from a wealthy and magical family. Though the rest of her family has magic, her body repels it. She meets Talan and decides to strike a deal with him: she'll help him navigate high society if he helps her take down the Basks, a rival family

It grabbed me in the beginning.. but half way through I just lost interest. Too many things were missing descriptions, a lot was jam packed in there.. and I found myself feeling like something was missing.
All in all I read it and would say it’s not bad but also not great.

<i>I received a copy of this story from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

After seeing the star rating and reading some reviews, I wasn't sure I'd finish this book. But I ultimately did and feel like I understand better why it has received the reviews it has.

Lots of people said this feels like two different books and that's accurate. It switched just over halfway through and became much more interesting. I wish we could've done without the Gemma/Talan courtship and society shenanigans in the beginning. It's slow in a detrimental way. The romance doesn't have teeth -- I wasn't invested and I didn't understand what either of them saw in the other beyond surface-level attraction.

I think this is a plot issue. This story tried to establish a world that multiple stories will live in while it also tried to tie up an individual character arc. The balance is off and it skewed too heavily towards reading like a standalone. Important worldbuilding and long running plot details were revealed so late into this book that they came off as lazy/convenient plot devices.

Another thing that really bothered me is how young Gemma and Talan read. Gemma is spoiled and annoying. Talan sometimes seemed old and world-weary but other times seemed juvenile. It made it hard to root for either of them.

It all makes me so sad because you can see the potential! I wanted this book to be more than it is.

I doubt I'll read the sequel. I wouldn't recommend this.

While this title was definitely highly anticipated, unfortunately it didn't reach my expectations. The world building was extensive and creative but when it came to the plot, I felt it was lacking.

We get to follow a protagonist with panic attacks and anxiety and its pulled off wonderfully imo. Gemma is a character I like reading, in that her voice is clear and unique. Sure she is annoying at times and I'd like to scream at her during some scenes but she's not dumb just for the plot or the relationships. She struggles with anxiety and it makes her dumb at times, which as a neurodivergent person myself I can understand, being overwhelmed can simply short-circuit you.

Plot wise I enjoyed the mystery. Visiting her sister, who protects the borders, Gemma learns something is wrong, but they are interrupted before her sister can finish. How will Gemma be able to revisit her, before its to late? A new man enters her life and seems too good to be true. Can she trust him or could he secretly be a villain? An old family feud is in full swing which rumor has it, was started by a demonic deal. What can Gemma do to either resolve the feud or possibly pour gasoline on the fire already burning between the families?
And all through these plot points and more we get to explore a world where the old gods left behind their magic for humans to use. Both lower and higher magic exists and we learn more as the story progresses. The pacing of revealing the worldbuilding is great for this type of book.

Romance wise (my least favorite part of books usually) is still intriguing. It really gives ✨romance✨ without too much spice. I can enjoy it mostly because all of the other stuff happening around and the romance being the sole focus of the book. One thing I cannot forgive is the sex-scene while one of them is practically dying sick, bruh let the poor sod rest!

I'd also like to get more of her best friend, who sadly I felt was very neglected even though the rest of Gemmas relationships were given time on page. Dont just dis the loyal and loving (&poc) best friend!

I am very excited to await the next book in this series and dive into this world again!

This book was a slightly disappointing. However, this author does really good works. So even though I didn't love it, I did enjoy many moments when reading.