In short: a much needed refreshing take on popular romantasy books, absolutely enthralling especially once the plot starts twisting, and an ending arc that makes me chest feel expanded and my heart so full.

I really took my time reading this one, both because the layers of character and plot are dense, but also because it was truly so good of a book. There were many passages I went back to reread a few times, really letting them sink in like a refrain, the phrasing and word choice excellently constructed. The book does feel long, but not necessarily in a bad way. The characters go on true journeys of growth, and while the very end of the book does set up a potential sequel, the character and plot arcs do come to a resolution. You'll definitely be craving the next book, if it comes, but the main characters feel so fleshed out and rounded, broken and remade, grown from seedlings to sprout into realized and changed selves.

I also want to highlight the realistic and heart wrenching, but also strengthening, representation of panic attack and chronic pain. Gemma, I feel you, I am right there with you. It was really emotional reading her journey and NOT HAVING IT SIMPLY CURED BY MAGIC. Bless Clare Legrand for this.

Thank you deeply to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for giving me an ARC for review!

Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book on NetGalley thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca and Claire Legrand. This review is based on my honest thoughts while reading this book, and was not affected in anyway by my receiving an ARC.

In A Crown of Ivy and Glass by Claire Legrand, Lady Gemma Ashbourne lives in a world of magic and splendor. Her family is of the Anointed, and thus has amazing magical abilities. From a distance, the Ashbournes seem like they have it all. Gemma knows differently, however. Her mother left when she was young, her oldest sister is embroiled with her father in a bitter feud against a rival family, her middle sister was taken years ago to be part of the guard against the creatures that escape along the Middlemist, and then there’s Gemma. She possesses no magic, a first in her family, and in fact her body treats magic as if it’s poison. Gemma’s constant illness and loneliness drive her to place herself at the center of every ball and social gathering so no one sees her weaknesses. No one, that is, until she meets Talan. A handsome man whose family destroyed themselves, Gemma strikes a bargain with Talan for his help in winning her family’s feud, while she will help him regain his family’s honor. They set off in tracking down the demon supposedly responsible for the blood feud, all the while mysterious and deadly things are happening to both the Middlemist and to Gemma.

I saw this book being marketed as “Bridgerton meets ACOTAR”, and that, plus the book being written by Claire Legrand (author of the wonderful Empirium trilogy!) was enough to get me insanely curious about this book. I love reading regency romances, so finding a book that combines two of my favorite genres seemed like it was made for me. While the book did have a somewhat slow start, I found that as the plot developed it was increasingly harder to stop reading. The worldbuilding was very interesting. I loved how Legrand managed to intertwine a typical regency society with the aspects of magic and tales of demons and other mythical creatures.

Gemma herself was an absolutely amazing character. Her voice was so poignant that I truly felt as if she was my friend. Her illness was one that made her an uncommon character in the fantasy romance genre, but I think that Gemma is easily one of my favorites. Seeing how she struggled with herself and her thoughts and worries was something I could greatly relate to. I very much loved how she grew throughout the story. I won’t say anymore so as to not spoil anything, but I cannot say enough how much I loved her arc!

The other big part of this book to me was Gemma and Talan’s relationship. I loved how they were with each other, though there were times in the book where I thought Talan seemed suspicious and I was wishing Gemma would investigate more. However, I can definitely say that I truly enjoyed the growth of their journey, and even though books two and three are supposed to be Fallin’s and Mara’s (Gemma’s sisters), I really hope we get more Gemma and Talan!

With how this book left off, I absolutely cannot wait for book two. This plot had so much going on, and the payoff was so worth it. Certain story threads that I was not sure how they would weave in to the ultimate story were so wonderful, and I am excited to see where the next two books take us. I am hoping we get Fallin’s story for book two, however!

Oh my LORD this book was ridiculously good! It reminds me of a mix of The Red Queen series and the Court of Thorns and Roses series. The characters are so well written and I absolutely love the Basks! I can’t wait for Farrin to hopefully wake up and see what’s in front of her and really hope things work between her and the person who is clearly in love with her.
Seeing Gemma slowly come into her own, and really take charge of the fight against Kilraith was amazing and I look forward to seeing even more strength and power from her as the story progresses. I would definitely recommend this book!

I was super excited to start this book. I was craving a fantasy romance and this seemed like everything I wanted. I really loved the representation in this book. Gemma’s character was unique and I enjoyed getting to know more about her character. She had moments where it was hard to engage with her, but she did have growth. The book read kind of young in my opinion. The book kinda confused me, I felt like I was getting pulled in multiple directions.

I’m curious to see where the series will go, though.

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I was looking for a good story to read after some other world building books. I was disappointed. I think the author tried to do too many things. It was all over the place. I think if the author had focused on one thing it would have flowed better. It seemed to jump around too much.

I have sort of mixed feelings about this one! Gemma annoyed me SO much at first, but that was kinda the point I suppose. I did end up getting hooked once I was halfway in, but I was also a little confused because SO much was going on. I also found some bits really repetitive? I did love Talan, and I also want to learn more about the Basks. 3.5stars, rounded to 4 here.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for a review. This wasn't for me but not everyone will feel the same way. I"m sure there are those who will love it but it just wasn't for me.

I’m going to be very honest, I really struggled to get through this one. It took me around 2 months to read.

I did enjoy parts of it. I enjoyed the author’s writing style, and she had some wonderful descriptions and world building. Everything just felt so vivid, and it was very detailed and immersive.

I found the pacing to be all over the place. Some elements were very rushed while others dragged on. I also felt that there were too many plot lines which made it overall pretty inconsistent and confusing to read. Plus the book was so long, so it really just felt like it dragged on and on.

However, I was really into the last maybe quarter of the book with some of the action that occurred. I think I will still pick up the next book in the series once it’s released to see where the story goes.

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

DNF
Unfortunately this book fell a bit short for me, no matter how hard I tried to get into it i lost interest it and was unable to connect with it.

Unfortunately this book fell a bit short for me, there was some beautiful world building in the beginning with a lot of hope. I felt the middle started to jump around a lot and had me losing interest, I wanted to stick it out but I wasn’t connecting with the characters. DNF @ 62%.

Wow, this was a thick book. It was easy to follow and had good worldbuilding. I was initially drawn to the cover art, which is gorgeous. I went in mostly blind on the story and that was very fun for me because this is a very vast universe with a lot of creatures. I enjoyed following Gemma's story, there were times that I questioned her decisions (when do we not do that?) but overall I enjoyed the characters that were introduced and the story that was told. Makes me want to read the next one to see where they go with it.

I went in with zero expectations and was pleasantly surprised but a smidge underwhelmed.
What a start to a new world by Claire Legrand. My hope is that she grows more with her writing style and builds to a more exciting plot progression ... That being said, I am very hopeful for the future of this series. Especially given her success with the Empirium Trilogy.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!
I really enjoyed this book! It had disability representation which I always appreciate. And it had romance that I mostly enjoyed but don’t feel like was the only thing in this book, which I feel like is becoming pretty common. The only thing I would say is it felt written more like a YA book than adult book, but I enjoy both so that wasn’t an issue for me.

The only reason I finished this book, was because of the promising reviews I read before starting, but unfortunately this book didn't do it for me. I'm not sure if it was the writing style, the characters (which I couldn't bond with) or the storyline itself. The cover is very pretty though.

Okay so I love Claire Legrand but I wish she would just get to the point a bit quicker sometimes. (I felt this way at points of the Furyborn trilogy) I kept waiting and waiting for the action of this book to start which I felt like it took forever. I also just felt sad for Gemma who is just essentially bullied and always made to feel inferior too her family. Just kind of a let down because I was really excited to read this based on author, cover, and description.

This book just wasn't for me. I tried very hard to get into it, but I ended up skimming through most of it.

Thank you, Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This definitely has potential, but I personally found the main character extremely superficial, and quite unlikable. I only managed to read to 60% before deciding to DNF.

I might give it another try, some other time… because the world building and magic system are very intriguing!

Gemma Ashbourne's family was blessed but she isn't pleased with her progress within the family. She doesn't have magic like the rest of the Ashbourne line and she isn't as strong as her sisters. What starts as a court romance with Talan d'Astier, the son of a family that ruined themselves becomes a fantastical magic battle as multiple storylines open up between worlds.

A Crown of Ivy and Glass is a great fantasy with interesting world building and a unique heroine. 

Lady Gemma Ashbourne isn’t a typical fantasy heroine. She’s not a badass or the chosen one or the most talented magician. She’s the only member of her powerful aristocratic family who doesn’t have any magic. And not only that, she’s basically allergic to magic. Whenever she’s around too many magic users or has to use magic created by others, she is violently ill and has to spend days recovering. She also suffers from a panic disorder and has debilitating panic attacks.

Claire Legrand does an excellent job of examining how a chronically ill person might live in a magical fantasy world. In addition to her illnesses, Gemma also great guilt because her older sister took her place as a fighter at the Middlemist, the barrier between their world and an old world filled with monsters.

I won’t get into the plot too much to avoid spoilers, but there are a family rivalry, a burgeoning romance, things breaking through the Middlemist, and family secrets. The plot takes a sharp left turn at about 60% into the book, which was totally unexpected and really well done.

This book is 558 pages and although I often struggle with long books (attention span issues), but I tore through it and it never felt too long.

Clare is brilliant and this book has so many potentials. I’d definitely pick up the next book. The sisters are so intriguing and the smut was fine but i needed more heat and i need it to be more spicy. The villains and the mystery of them had me screaming