There were many things that I loved about this book. The plot was incredible. It kept me invested the entire time and more often than that I didn't expect the turns it would take or what would happen next.

The characters were wonderful. It was so easy to become invested in them and attached. I found myself laughing with them, crying a few times, and anxious for them during certain harrowing moments.

For me this book will always be special. As someone who has chronic pain, like the main character Gemma, and who has had those same what if I just wouldn't wake up thoughts, I truly felt seen. It made me feel connected in a way I usually don't with most books. I think anyone who has a chronic illness and any form of depression or anxiety truly should read this.

"A Crown of Ivy and Glass by Claire Legrand offers a blend of adult fantasy elements—dark magic, folklore, romance, and more. The premise, with its rich layers of family drama and magical intrigue, has much potential.

While the world-building showcases the author's imagination, I found there was a bit too much information dumping, making it challenging to fully immerse myself. The pacing was inconsistent, and the promising premise didn't quite deliver the follow-through I hoped for. Despite not resonating with me, the book might still appeal to those who enjoy intricate plots involving gods, magical creatures, and complex relationships.

So, while it wasn't my cup of tea, I encourage others to read it and form their own judgment."

While I generally enjoy fantasy - especially romantasy - this book unfortunately wasn’t for me.
I didn’t connect with the characters, and the plot didn’t grab me. Also, it felt unexpectedly YA for a book listed as adult.

I unfortunately forgot to download the e-book on my kindle before it was archived and/or lost interest in the book because it’s been on my tbr for way too long, so I wasn’t able to read and review it (on time). Since I Must give a star rating, I’ve given it 3 stars to stay neutral/in the middle. Sorry to the publisher for not having gotten around to actually read it. I never request a book without the best of intention to read it and review it, since I know how important it is to the authors in particular. But sometimes life happens and/or reading preferences change so much that you just don’t always get around to read a certain book anymore, even though at the time of requesting I was definitely planning to actually read it of course.

unfortunately i just couldn’t quite get into this one so i had to dnf it. for being an adult genre book it seemed more ya. the characters fell a little flat for me.

Sadly this book just didn’t grab as much as I hoped it would. I put it down and picked it up multiple times but I just couldn’t connect with it. Super bummed.

Ok this book had so much promise! I loved that for once our MC is not the most powerful, she’s actually the weakest. I just wish she wasn’t so annoyingly pushy and manipulative! Poor Talan is just dragged along and used continuously for her own curiosity time and time again. While at the same time practically grooming her to his whims. After this process was repeated multiple times it got tiring and then it got convoluted. This book is a long slog. Someone described it as “three book plots in one” and I agree.

We gave out MC a perfectly good name like Imogen then used Gemma the entire time as a nickname?? It’s THE SAME AMOUNT OF LETTERS!! Sorry sorry let me reign in my temper, it’s been a long haul reading this book. Like climbing a snowy mountain with a horny impatient girl on ur shoulder.

The time jumps were so random too like I get we are jumping to the action (fourth wing is guilty of this too) but we still need some sort of transition or detail about what happens in between! Like we are supposed to see her and Talan get closer but after the craziest one night of adventuring ever I’m supposed to believe nothing happens between them for an entire month??? I call BS

**There will be some spoilers going forward to the ending because I’m just so annoyed so feel free to dip out from this review now! **

Talan tells her there’s a reason they don’t like the basks and it’s because of a demon that they start to “hunt” but she literally ignores it and still plans for the downfall of the basks like girl are you not listening?? And they continue this pathetic feud that they are told is for a reason and we are practically shown that Ryder is a love interest (he’s not at all, it’s Talan the entire annoying time) until the end where of course everyone has to join forces randomly with every single person they ever encountered and fight together in a boss battle that was literally 2 pages long.

The plot twist 75% of the way in was not good at all. It left a sour taste in my mouth. Why change the entire setting? Why introduce an entire lore dump and then twist a main character into the villain when we all suspected it all along but thought it was too obvious and dumb? Nope, just went ahead with it anyway.

And I love *sarcasm* that just forgot about her magic pain after her kidnapping (which was an entirely unnecessary subplot) which irked me to no end bc this was the first chronic pain rep that I was actually feeling for the character but then the FMC just forgets it all. And I wanted more of an explanation than what little we got.

This just was not a fun read at all after the first fun chapters that grab you in and are never explained again.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

I really just did not enjoy this one. There’s so many great fantasy books out there and I just found that this one did not stand out among the others right now.

I received this book for free for an honest unbiased review from Netgalley.

I wish more books were this well written. Characters were witty and the setting fantastic.

The fantasy in this book swept me up and deposited me in a place that will stick with me for a long time. The characters in this book stood out to me due to the fact that they were imperfect. Legrand wrote her characters in a way that felt broken at times and relatable. I want more of this story ASAP!

I think this one was marketed so incorrectly, taking two very large and well loved titles (Bridgerton and ACOTAR) when it really isn't for those audiences at all. As a Claire Legrand lover, this one wasn't for me.

Loved this book, thank you so much netgalley for the advance copy. A really enthralling tale, fantasy at its best

I liked this one and feel like it is perfect for someone just getting interested in fantasy books. I've sold quite a few at my store.

Unfortunately, I was disappointed with this book. The main character really annoyed me, I never connected with the other characters, and I wasn't very interested in the world or the magic system. It started very abruptly which made it difficult to figure out what was happening, and there was too much time spent on extraneous details rather than plot-specific elements that would have rounded out the book. I'm sure that this book would be a good read for others, but it was not for me even though I really liked Claire Legrand's Empirium series

We start with our main character, Gemma, who is the charming youngest daughter. She seems very self absorbed and vapid. But we find out that her body is always in pain due to a reaction to magic. In comes Talan, who says his family was killed by demons. These two strike a deal that Gemma will help Talan in society life and Talan will help Gemma track down the demon responsible for the blood feud her family has.
I found the magic and world interesting. Unfortunately, I found the side characters more compelling and did not connect with the main characters. I thought the pacing was slightly off but I did not see some of the twists coming. I would be interested in seeing what the author does with the rest of this trilogy.



Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for my early read. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

I loved this book! There are so many layers to this story, it's a little hard to wrap my head around it.
The beginning is fun, flirty, magical, and a little sad. They're hunting demons and falling in love.
Then it's intense and a little scary. No sooner do you get the answers to the big mystery, that another bigger mystery comes up.
Next, it's a run for their lives from an unfathomable evil. With the love of family and new friends, they escape to fight another day

Having had this book for awhile, it is one that is a very slow burn. I did not enjoy how long it was taking to move the story forward. I did think the story itself had promise, but the execution was not as expected.

I enjoyed the world building and characters. Parts of it were very predictable, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I could see it coming way before it was revealed. I didn’t care for the love interest, and there seem to be a lot of similarities to other fantasy books like ACOTAR. I would be interested in seeing where this series goes, but this book also felt unnecessarily long.

I can honestly say that this book could have been half the length and without all the 'will they, won't they?' of the first half of the novel between Gemma and Talan. Especially since there are three books in this world to get through. This one just came across as really long winded before getting to the really great stuff in the second half of the book.

We get a lot of important information at the start. Gemma is different to her sisters in this world of magic and the fae. Not only does she have no magic in her prominent family. She is also made unwell by proximity to magic.

This doesn't actually mean she's at odds with her two sisters. Quite the opposite, in fact. With Farrin who she still lives with, there is a bit of strain, but that's more to do with the differences in the ways they're treated and ends up being a dim memory because Farrin is awesome.

Mara, on the other hand, is the softest and sweetest among them, though she doesn't still live in the big house. As a child, she was taken from Gemma and the rest of the family to an order that guards against the not good kind of magic.

There is also a feud between Gemma's family and another that, at around the point where the plot really starts to get going, halfway through or so, we find out is boltered by the actions of a demon and the people he controls over the years.

Yes, there is a lot here that needs to be set up, but it isn't the set up that takes its time. It's whether or not Gemma should trust Talan, the intriguing courtier who has recently come to her home. She wants to make plans that will help her family with him. She despises and wants nothing to do with him. She bares herself to him. He seems to betray her and disappears.

The second half of the book is a great deal more interesting with the world and Gemma's sisters coming into play. We also come to realise the reasons why Gemma is made unwell by magic as well as getting to (briefly) see the queen of the world and all sorts of magic users.