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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
I was given an arc by Stories Untold in exchange for an honest review.
1.5 stars.
There was a lot going on in this book. I wanna start off with something positive and say that I loved the illustrations at the start of every chapter, and I could really tell that a lot of hard work went into the making of this world.
At the start of this book you were immediately given a lot of information at once (which is to be expected in a fantasy book), but a lot of information was held off, and a lot of things just got left unexplained. There was not a lot of monologue, but when there was it didn't really feel natural, it was kind of weird and awkward. The lack of communicating between the main person and her friends also made it less convincing that they were actual friends. I did not come out of this book feeling like I really knew any of the characters, they were mostly bland and one dimensional in my opinion.
There was one thing in this book that really fired me up, and that's Woodley Butterlove. Being fat is NOT a personality trait. Lets start off with the fact that his name is Butterlove, yes that's his actual name, he is fat and his name is Butterlove h ah ha fun. His entire character was just that he was fat and liked to eat? He had NOTHING else going for him. Nothing. Woodley was in a total of four scenes, and in all four scenes he is only either eating or being bribed with food. Theres zero reasons for this character to exist, he is only there to be made fun of for being fat and liking food and I hated it SO MUCH. It's not hard to not stereotype fat people or to not ridicule them.
The book also sat up several different plots which just gets solved right away, off page, with underwhelming explanations. This book is was whimsical, but not in a Wayward Children kind of way, but in a "what the hell is happening to me in my life" kind of way.
1.5 stars.
There was a lot going on in this book. I wanna start off with something positive and say that I loved the illustrations at the start of every chapter, and I could really tell that a lot of hard work went into the making of this world.
At the start of this book you were immediately given a lot of information at once (which is to be expected in a fantasy book), but a lot of information was held off, and a lot of things just got left unexplained. There was not a lot of monologue, but when there was it didn't really feel natural, it was kind of weird and awkward. The lack of communicating between the main person and her friends also made it less convincing that they were actual friends. I did not come out of this book feeling like I really knew any of the characters, they were mostly bland and one dimensional in my opinion.
There was one thing in this book that really fired me up, and that's Woodley Butterlove. Being fat is NOT a personality trait. Lets start off with the fact that his name is Butterlove, yes that's his actual name, he is fat and his name is Butterlove h ah ha fun. His entire character was just that he was fat and liked to eat? He had NOTHING else going for him. Nothing. Woodley was in a total of four scenes, and in all four scenes he is only either eating or being bribed with food. Theres zero reasons for this character to exist, he is only there to be made fun of for being fat and liking food and I hated it SO MUCH. It's not hard to not stereotype fat people or to not ridicule them.
The book also sat up several different plots which just gets solved right away, off page, with underwhelming explanations. This book is was whimsical, but not in a Wayward Children kind of way, but in a "what the hell is happening to me in my life" kind of way.
*Thank you to the author and publisher of this book for sending me a free copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
It was quite difficult for me to enjoy this book since most of its elements seemed familiar to me. (Too familiar if I'm being honest) Before I got my hands on this book, I kept seeing it being compared to the Harry Potter series and I completely agree!
Although Crowns of Croswald is set in a completely different time and place, I really can't shake off the fact that it has similar plot lines and supporting characters. It felt like reading something *heavily* inspired by J.K. Rowling's books. The girl is an orphan, she lived in a closet, she then receives a letter and goes to a magic school where she finds out she's special. While she works her way through her first year, she meets friends and bullies (who have similar personalities with HP characters) and when dark forces appear, she becomes the hero. Seems pretty familiar don't you think?
All in all, I wouldn't recommend it to my fellow young adult readers since this genre of writing is specifically targeted for younger readers. Props to D.E. Night for putting effort and creativity into building a magical world with new and adorable magical creatures. I personally feel like the author actually has the potential to write interesting middle-grade fantasy books, but it would be really great if she focused on developing the characters and wrote more of her original ideas instead of lifting 'inspirations' from other books.
It was quite difficult for me to enjoy this book since most of its elements seemed familiar to me. (Too familiar if I'm being honest) Before I got my hands on this book, I kept seeing it being compared to the Harry Potter series and I completely agree!
Although Crowns of Croswald is set in a completely different time and place, I really can't shake off the fact that it has similar plot lines and supporting characters. It felt like reading something *heavily* inspired by J.K. Rowling's books. The girl is an orphan, she lived in a closet, she then receives a letter and goes to a magic school where she finds out she's special. While she works her way through her first year, she meets friends and bullies (who have similar personalities with HP characters) and when dark forces appear, she becomes the hero. Seems pretty familiar don't you think?
All in all, I wouldn't recommend it to my fellow young adult readers since this genre of writing is specifically targeted for younger readers. Props to D.E. Night for putting effort and creativity into building a magical world with new and adorable magical creatures. I personally feel like the author actually has the potential to write interesting middle-grade fantasy books, but it would be really great if she focused on developing the characters and wrote more of her original ideas instead of lifting 'inspirations' from other books.
This is such a fun and magical ride! Crowns of Croswald is story for people who love Harry Potter, but wish it had more of an Alice in Wonderland feel. Thanks to Daniela at Untold Press and Netgalley for access to this wonderful story in exchange for an honest review. I will be continuing on with the series.
The story follows a tween girl names Ivy, in a land called Croswald. We join her in the kitchens of a castle where she is tending to the domesticated dragons called scaldrons, who are used to cook food. The charm and whimsy don't end there: stones set in crowns that grant the owner a specific magical power, a Forgetting Room and wonderful characters to root for keep you turning the page. The reader learns more about the world as Ivy does, when she is unexpectedly swept away to a magical school, The Halls of Ivy. The school, is where Ivy begins to grow into herself and realize her power, all while trying to avoid the sinister Dark Queen.
One mystery is wrapped up by the end of the book, but the larger story line is set up well for the remainder of the series. It did feel a bit short, but as it is a Middle Grade Fantasy, I can easily understand that.
The story follows a tween girl names Ivy, in a land called Croswald. We join her in the kitchens of a castle where she is tending to the domesticated dragons called scaldrons, who are used to cook food. The charm and whimsy don't end there: stones set in crowns that grant the owner a specific magical power, a Forgetting Room and wonderful characters to root for keep you turning the page. The reader learns more about the world as Ivy does, when she is unexpectedly swept away to a magical school, The Halls of Ivy. The school, is where Ivy begins to grow into herself and realize her power, all while trying to avoid the sinister Dark Queen.
One mystery is wrapped up by the end of the book, but the larger story line is set up well for the remainder of the series. It did feel a bit short, but as it is a Middle Grade Fantasy, I can easily understand that.
'The Crowns of Croswald' makes immersive worldbuilding a top priority. You can read my full review on the Shannon Jade Dreams blog: https://shannonjadedreams.wixsite.com/blog/post/the-crowns-of-croswald-review
For fans of Harry Potter and Nevermoor!
I was given a copy of this book through NetGalley by the author. I had not heard of this series before being approached to read and review it. Now I want to hand this book to every middle grade fantasy lover I know. From the first moment I began reading it, I fell in love with Ivy Lovely. After the first chapter I knew my oldest son would love this book. He does not like to read e-books however, so I immediately purchased a paper copy for him.
I will definitely continue reading this series.
I was given a copy of this book through NetGalley by the author. I had not heard of this series before being approached to read and review it. Now I want to hand this book to every middle grade fantasy lover I know. From the first moment I began reading it, I fell in love with Ivy Lovely. After the first chapter I knew my oldest son would love this book. He does not like to read e-books however, so I immediately purchased a paper copy for him.
I will definitely continue reading this series.
I received this ebook free from the publishers (StoriesUntold Press) in exchange for an honest review.
This was such a magical read! Perfect for middle grade readers.
It took me a little bit to figure out the world, but after I got into it, I found it intriguing and exciting.
If you like books with a Harry Potter vibe, then I think you’ll enjoy this one!
This was such a magical read! Perfect for middle grade readers.
It took me a little bit to figure out the world, but after I got into it, I found it intriguing and exciting.
If you like books with a Harry Potter vibe, then I think you’ll enjoy this one!
Spanish/English Review.
**Thank you Stories Untold for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review**
At 250 pages, D. E. Night introduces us the world of Croswald and the magical world within.
What's not to love in a school of magic, secrets within the walls of the Halls of Ivy and a main character that discovers who she is? I loved the whole touch of magic schools, did remind me a bit of Harry Potter but the whole thing with the crown jewels per royals and the scrivenists that record all of their adventures with their photographic memory.
We follow Ivy, a sixteen year old maid that turns out to have the potential to be an amazing scrivenist, though she does have a couple of mishaps during the year. She's too nosy and curious, which often leads her to trouble, but more so often adventures that help her discover who she is. That's what I loved this book. The author introduces this completely magical world ( very detailed I must say) and the small illustrations in each chapter number are so beautiful!
Something I must say is that with all the names and so much description, I did get a little lost somewhere through the middle of the book, but nothing so big that kept me from following the story.
We have some small touches of romance, a whole lot of friendship, and mostly, discovering who you are and the power within you. I wholly recommend this to young readers that are searching for that fantasy fix in an established series (there's more books! might just grab the second one to follow Ivy's story).
Also, I'm still trying to figure out how to pronounce scrivenists
Follow me:
@nocturnal.reads on Instagram
@_nocturnalreads on Twitter
Nocturnal Reads on Youtube
**Gracias a Stories Untold por una copia digital de este libro para una reseña honesta**
Con 250 páginas, D. E. Night nos introduce el mundo de Croswald y la magia dentro de el. ¿Cómo no me iba a gustar una novela con escuela de magia, secretos dentro de los pasillos y un personaje principal que descubre quien es? Me encanto todo lo relacionado a la escuela de magia, me recordo un poco a Harry Potter pero con lo añadido de gemas en coronas para los estudiantes de la realeza y los "scrivenists" que escriben acerca de sus vidas y aventuras con sus memoria fotográfica.
Seguimos a Ivy, una chica de 16 años que de ser una criada tiene el potencial de ser una excelente "scivenist", aunque resulta tener un poco de aventuras durante el año escolar. Es bastante curiosa (y algo metiche) que ocasionalmente la mete en problemas, pero más bien resultan ser aventuras. Eso fue lo que me encantó de este libro. La autora nos introduce un mundo completamente mágica (y bastante detallado debo decir) y con esas pequeñas ilustraciones al inicio de cada capítulo estaba encantada!
Algo que debo de decir es que con todos los nombres y tanta descripción, si me llegué a sentir un poco perdida como a la mitad del libro, pero nada super serio, ya que seguí el hilo bastante bien.
Tenemos un poco de romance, bastante sobre amistad y principalmente, el descubrir quien eres y el poder que tienes dentro de ti. Recomiendo totalmente este libro a aquellos lectores jovenes que buscan algo de fantasía (especialmente si te encanta la magia y/o Harry Potter) ya que hay más libros en esta serie! (Y probablemente voy a buscar el segundo para saber que pasa con Ivy)
Nota adicional: todavía sigo intentando saber como se pronuncia correctamente scrivenists
Reseña en Youtube aquí.
Sígueme en:
@nocturnal.reads en Instagram
@_nocturnalreads en Twitter
Nocturnal Reads en Youtube
**Thank you Stories Untold for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review**
At 250 pages, D. E. Night introduces us the world of Croswald and the magical world within.
What's not to love in a school of magic, secrets within the walls of the Halls of Ivy and a main character that discovers who she is? I loved the whole touch of magic schools, did remind me a bit of Harry Potter but the whole thing with the crown jewels per royals and the scrivenists that record all of their adventures with their photographic memory.
We follow Ivy, a sixteen year old maid that turns out to have the potential to be an amazing scrivenist, though she does have a couple of mishaps during the year. She's too nosy and curious, which often leads her to trouble, but more so often adventures that help her discover who she is. That's what I loved this book. The author introduces this completely magical world ( very detailed I must say) and the small illustrations in each chapter number are so beautiful!
Something I must say is that with all the names and so much description, I did get a little lost somewhere through the middle of the book, but nothing so big that kept me from following the story.
We have some small touches of romance, a whole lot of friendship, and mostly, discovering who you are and the power within you. I wholly recommend this to young readers that are searching for that fantasy fix in an established series (there's more books! might just grab the second one to follow Ivy's story).
Also, I'm still trying to figure out how to pronounce scrivenists
Follow me:
@nocturnal.reads on Instagram
@_nocturnalreads on Twitter
Nocturnal Reads on Youtube
**Gracias a Stories Untold por una copia digital de este libro para una reseña honesta**
Con 250 páginas, D. E. Night nos introduce el mundo de Croswald y la magia dentro de el. ¿Cómo no me iba a gustar una novela con escuela de magia, secretos dentro de los pasillos y un personaje principal que descubre quien es? Me encanto todo lo relacionado a la escuela de magia, me recordo un poco a Harry Potter pero con lo añadido de gemas en coronas para los estudiantes de la realeza y los "scrivenists" que escriben acerca de sus vidas y aventuras con sus memoria fotográfica.
Seguimos a Ivy, una chica de 16 años que de ser una criada tiene el potencial de ser una excelente "scivenist", aunque resulta tener un poco de aventuras durante el año escolar. Es bastante curiosa (y algo metiche) que ocasionalmente la mete en problemas, pero más bien resultan ser aventuras. Eso fue lo que me encantó de este libro. La autora nos introduce un mundo completamente mágica (y bastante detallado debo decir) y con esas pequeñas ilustraciones al inicio de cada capítulo estaba encantada!
Algo que debo de decir es que con todos los nombres y tanta descripción, si me llegué a sentir un poco perdida como a la mitad del libro, pero nada super serio, ya que seguí el hilo bastante bien.
Tenemos un poco de romance, bastante sobre amistad y principalmente, el descubrir quien eres y el poder que tienes dentro de ti. Recomiendo totalmente este libro a aquellos lectores jovenes que buscan algo de fantasía (especialmente si te encanta la magia y/o Harry Potter) ya que hay más libros en esta serie! (Y probablemente voy a buscar el segundo para saber que pasa con Ivy)
Nota adicional: todavía sigo intentando saber como se pronuncia correctamente scrivenists
Reseña en Youtube aquí.
Sígueme en:
@nocturnal.reads en Instagram
@_nocturnalreads en Twitter
Nocturnal Reads en Youtube
In Croswald, the only thing more powerful than dark magic is one secret...
The Crowns of Croswald by DE Night
Personal Rating: 4/5 ✨
DISCLAIMER: Big thanks to NetGalley, DE Night, and Stories Untold Press for providing me the eARC of this book. However, all of these are my personal and honest opinions. It has not impacted my review, at all.
Ivy Lovely was 16 and she had never known her parents, more so her past life. She was basically a maid and had only a dwarf named Rimbrick as a friend. So, one day, Rimbrick helped her to escape from the castle she was working at and all of a sudden, she was accepted to the Halls of Ivy, a magical school in Croswald, where she was going to study to become a Scrivenerist. Little that she knows that her story is entangled with the town Croswald itself.
Personally, this was a ride for me. I was on the verge of a reading slump and this book helped me to get through that. It was an enjoyable read especially because it's right up in my alley which is fantasy and middle grade lol
Characters: 4/5✨
There are a few important characters in this book like Ivy, Rebecca, Fyn, and Derwin Edgar Night himself. When you read the book, you will feel that they have no connections whatsoever with Ivy being....well, Ivy. But all of them seemingly have interesting chemistry with one another. Ivy herself is a well-developed character. She did not know that she had this underlying strength within herself and I can foretell that in the next book that she will grow into a very complex, well-written main character.
World Building: 5/5✨
If you want detailed, super amazing, mesmerizing world-building descriptions of a middle-grade book, look no further. Some would actually compare this book with Harry Potter and I can kind of see that but honestly, the author wrote a very complex world that just immerses you into it that you can just get lost in the words. I honestly was taken by surprise because I did not expect a middle-grade book can actually make me feel enthralled while reading it.
Magic System: 4/5✨
If you are into light academia, this book is for you. One of the main setting of this book is a library and there are so many stories to tell in this setting alone. There are a lot of interesting elements when it comes to writing a fantasy book, and as a young reader, you would tend to be confused. However, that was not the case with this book. It does well in explaining to the readers in their dialogues among the characters. We're talking about The Forgotten room, bearded clouds, cloaked guards, queens with magical crowns, and of course Scrivenerist with their magical quills. It's so well thought out that I felt like it was an element of surprise for me.
Story Plot: 3/5✨
I think, that because this book is the first book of a series, that the writer emphasizes a lot on the world-building and magic system, and somehow she kept the story plot simple and predictable. However, there was this plot twist that I did not see coming. So I'm giving her props to that lol
Writing: 4/5 ✨
For a middle-grade book, it was quite hard to understand. I can imagine 14-year-old me would find it hard to understand and might not even finish this book. And even the pace is quite slow, I would say. However, I feel that once they read the first 15% of the book and with all the world-building, it is easier for them to understand. With this, I feel that the book was definitely a page-turner for me.
Final thoughts:
It was an enjoyable read, though at first, I felt like it was a bit pretentious. However, I feel that this book has an interesting premise with likable characters, a very interesting world-building, and a magic system that is well thought out. I would definitely recommend this to any of my friends who has a teenage child back home who would love reading fantasy books.
The Crowns of Croswald by DE Night
Personal Rating: 4/5 ✨
DISCLAIMER: Big thanks to NetGalley, DE Night, and Stories Untold Press for providing me the eARC of this book. However, all of these are my personal and honest opinions. It has not impacted my review, at all.
Ivy Lovely was 16 and she had never known her parents, more so her past life. She was basically a maid and had only a dwarf named Rimbrick as a friend. So, one day, Rimbrick helped her to escape from the castle she was working at and all of a sudden, she was accepted to the Halls of Ivy, a magical school in Croswald, where she was going to study to become a Scrivenerist. Little that she knows that her story is entangled with the town Croswald itself.
Personally, this was a ride for me. I was on the verge of a reading slump and this book helped me to get through that. It was an enjoyable read especially because it's right up in my alley which is fantasy and middle grade lol
Characters: 4/5✨
There are a few important characters in this book like Ivy, Rebecca, Fyn, and Derwin Edgar Night himself. When you read the book, you will feel that they have no connections whatsoever with Ivy being....well, Ivy. But all of them seemingly have interesting chemistry with one another. Ivy herself is a well-developed character. She did not know that she had this underlying strength within herself and I can foretell that in the next book that she will grow into a very complex, well-written main character.
World Building: 5/5✨
If you want detailed, super amazing, mesmerizing world-building descriptions of a middle-grade book, look no further. Some would actually compare this book with Harry Potter and I can kind of see that but honestly, the author wrote a very complex world that just immerses you into it that you can just get lost in the words. I honestly was taken by surprise because I did not expect a middle-grade book can actually make me feel enthralled while reading it.
Magic System: 4/5✨
If you are into light academia, this book is for you. One of the main setting of this book is a library and there are so many stories to tell in this setting alone. There are a lot of interesting elements when it comes to writing a fantasy book, and as a young reader, you would tend to be confused. However, that was not the case with this book. It does well in explaining to the readers in their dialogues among the characters. We're talking about The Forgotten room, bearded clouds, cloaked guards, queens with magical crowns, and of course Scrivenerist with their magical quills. It's so well thought out that I felt like it was an element of surprise for me.
Story Plot: 3/5✨
I think, that because this book is the first book of a series, that the writer emphasizes a lot on the world-building and magic system, and somehow she kept the story plot simple and predictable. However, there was this plot twist that I did not see coming. So I'm giving her props to that lol
Writing: 4/5 ✨
For a middle-grade book, it was quite hard to understand. I can imagine 14-year-old me would find it hard to understand and might not even finish this book. And even the pace is quite slow, I would say. However, I feel that once they read the first 15% of the book and with all the world-building, it is easier for them to understand. With this, I feel that the book was definitely a page-turner for me.
Final thoughts:
It was an enjoyable read, though at first, I felt like it was a bit pretentious. However, I feel that this book has an interesting premise with likable characters, a very interesting world-building, and a magic system that is well thought out. I would definitely recommend this to any of my friends who has a teenage child back home who would love reading fantasy books.
Firstly I would like to thank Daniela Stories Untold Press for offering me an ARC of this book to review. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
This book.was absolutely fascinating, I seemed very Harry Potter-esque to brin with. The premise being a young girl , named Ivy, who doesn't know she is magical until she is whisked away to a school of magic. Very Harry like. However she unlike Harry is a part of the magical world already and is aware that it exists. She works as a scaldonry maid using dragons to cook food for her castle inhabitants. She dreams of being a scrivenist and learn all about magic working for a royal family.
As the story develops a magical world is built before your eyes, at parts I was left a little confused as the amount of detail was very Intricate and there was a lot of new language. However I got into the swing of it and fully enjoyed Ivy's adventures as she navigated the world she was becoming a part of and began to unravel the many secrets cloaking her life and her history.
There were some nice side characters, Fyn and Rebecca plus some fun characters to loathe (namely Damaris) as well as the distant fear emanating from the Dark Queen and her cloaked brood.
All in all it was a fun YA story and it will be interesting to see where Ivy finds herself in the future books of the series.
This book.was absolutely fascinating, I seemed very Harry Potter-esque to brin with. The premise being a young girl , named Ivy, who doesn't know she is magical until she is whisked away to a school of magic. Very Harry like. However she unlike Harry is a part of the magical world already and is aware that it exists. She works as a scaldonry maid using dragons to cook food for her castle inhabitants. She dreams of being a scrivenist and learn all about magic working for a royal family.
As the story develops a magical world is built before your eyes, at parts I was left a little confused as the amount of detail was very Intricate and there was a lot of new language. However I got into the swing of it and fully enjoyed Ivy's adventures as she navigated the world she was becoming a part of and began to unravel the many secrets cloaking her life and her history.
There were some nice side characters, Fyn and Rebecca plus some fun characters to loathe (namely Damaris) as well as the distant fear emanating from the Dark Queen and her cloaked brood.
All in all it was a fun YA story and it will be interesting to see where Ivy finds herself in the future books of the series.
Any kid reading this book will want to move to that magical place, meet the characters and enter that school.
I loved following Ivy in her adventures, meeting the characters, discovering magic. It felt so nice entering a new magical world and it reads very easily and I really enjoyed the main character being a strong, adventurous young girl ready to take action and think for herself, we definitely need more of these strong female figures for young readers. The only thing I would say is that I persuaded myself that the characters were younger (10ish) that they truly are (16) but that didn't stop me from enjoying the ride and wondering what magic would escape from the following pages.
If like me you appreciate a story with a strong world building that book won't disappoint. The places, the magic system, the books, the potions, send me straight into the story and I was ready to wander the library, visit the tomes, prepare some potions, try my luck with the glanageries.
Definitely will read the rest of the adventures so thank you very much D.E. Night, the publisher Stories Untold and Netgalley for the chance to read this book for free.
I loved following Ivy in her adventures, meeting the characters, discovering magic. It felt so nice entering a new magical world and it reads very easily and I really enjoyed the main character being a strong, adventurous young girl ready to take action and think for herself, we definitely need more of these strong female figures for young readers. The only thing I would say is that I persuaded myself that the characters were younger (10ish) that they truly are (16) but that didn't stop me from enjoying the ride and wondering what magic would escape from the following pages.
If like me you appreciate a story with a strong world building that book won't disappoint. The places, the magic system, the books, the potions, send me straight into the story and I was ready to wander the library, visit the tomes, prepare some potions, try my luck with the glanageries.
Definitely will read the rest of the adventures so thank you very much D.E. Night, the publisher Stories Untold and Netgalley for the chance to read this book for free.