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dexterous_totalus 's review for:
The Crowns of Croswald
by D.E. Night
This could have been a typical formula for a fairytale – a girl working as a scullery maid, deprived of the niceties of a good life suddenly discovers there is more to her and the world. Brace yourself for an adventure!
Ivy Lovely finds out powers she had only heard stories of thrive in her blood and an evil force that threatens the world of Croswald. Having crossed the border of the slurry fields, she begins an adventure to uncover her history and save Croswald before everything crumbles to oblivion.
Many reviews have pinned The Crowns of Croswald a hybrid between Rowling’s Harry Potter and the nonsense of Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. Potterheads don’t fret! Although there are parallels in the story and magical elements, Night has crafted a tale that stands out on its own. She has crafted a world indelible with vivid settings and breathed life to magical creatures foreign to a rabid reader such as myself.
Scrivenists and Royals
The magic systems are one I find unique. The scrivenist element nods to readers and authors. I appreciate that they are both historians and wizards of some sort. The royals are those who were born from a bloodline imbued in magic who claims a stone worn on their crowns which grants them specific magical abilities (e.g. speed, shape-shifting, elemental control etc.). It is both a boon and bane to have two magic systems in a single tale but Night is successful in delivering this. This could be due to the fact that both scrivenists and royal magic are not contradicting forces but are complimentary to each other.
The World of Croswald
My memories of the wizarding world resurfaced as I read Ivy’s journey to the Halls of Ivy. Night conjures the whimsical strengths of a fairytale and the crisp imagery truly makes you feel as if you are part of the tour. I would have wanted a map to go with the book. I felt that the settings could have been explored better in terms of distance/proximities from each location. I had some difficulty picturing some of the locations but that did not take much away from the experience. It is also fascinating to meet new creatures that only Night could have conjured. I liked the hairies, expellers, and page-turners (I want one when I read books). There is also this complexity of the Glanagerie bottles and the world in them that adds another layer of interest.
Scriven this! DE Night writes DE Night and more…
It was a fun twist to make a character based from Night’s own name and he is an author, too. Whether this is a gender-bend of her persona or not, I loved that flare. She also crafted Ivy Lovely as a complex, brave, and loveable character. There were moments when she was stubborn but none that is too annoying. I find that her actuations sometimes do not match a 16-year old though. She may be a younger one at 13 or 14 maybe. She is relatable in many aspects and I think kids would love her as their heroine.
On the flip-side, there is more to be desired from the rest of the characters. They could have been more fleshed-out. There is great potential in Fyn as a love interest but he sits around the edges. He is mysterious, popping in and out at the right moments, in a sense that does not make sense. I also did not feel much of the tension which the antagonist could have brought throughout the story. The Dark Queen poses as an evil force placed there as a figure but her actions never really threatened the protagonists or the world (well not as explicit that could have driven the motivations of the protagonists and their cause more valuable). We never really learn anything about her until towards the ending of which her origins could have added another layer to the narrative.
I also found the pacing a bit jumpy. There were chapters that occur in a day and in some, weeks have already passed and I did some rereading to fully grasp the events in the new chapter. However, in the end, the book closes neatly. There were still missing pieces in the puzzle but I am sure Night has these ready for the next adventure.
Tome’s aftermath…
Overall, this book is a fascinating, darker novel recommended for young teen readers. DE Night’s writing style tastefully wraps the story up in preparation to the second installment. She proves a sleight of hand in storytelling and offers a world readers will yearn to explore.
FORMAT: Print Paperack
PUBLISHER: Stories Untold Press
ISBN-10: 0996948651
ISBN-13: 978-0996948654
RATING: 3.75 stars
I was provided a copy by the publisher in exchange of an honest review. All opinions on this piece is mine with no influence from any outside force.
Ivy Lovely finds out powers she had only heard stories of thrive in her blood and an evil force that threatens the world of Croswald. Having crossed the border of the slurry fields, she begins an adventure to uncover her history and save Croswald before everything crumbles to oblivion.
Many reviews have pinned The Crowns of Croswald a hybrid between Rowling’s Harry Potter and the nonsense of Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. Potterheads don’t fret! Although there are parallels in the story and magical elements, Night has crafted a tale that stands out on its own. She has crafted a world indelible with vivid settings and breathed life to magical creatures foreign to a rabid reader such as myself.
Scrivenists and Royals
The magic systems are one I find unique. The scrivenist element nods to readers and authors. I appreciate that they are both historians and wizards of some sort. The royals are those who were born from a bloodline imbued in magic who claims a stone worn on their crowns which grants them specific magical abilities (e.g. speed, shape-shifting, elemental control etc.). It is both a boon and bane to have two magic systems in a single tale but Night is successful in delivering this. This could be due to the fact that both scrivenists and royal magic are not contradicting forces but are complimentary to each other.
The World of Croswald
My memories of the wizarding world resurfaced as I read Ivy’s journey to the Halls of Ivy. Night conjures the whimsical strengths of a fairytale and the crisp imagery truly makes you feel as if you are part of the tour. I would have wanted a map to go with the book. I felt that the settings could have been explored better in terms of distance/proximities from each location. I had some difficulty picturing some of the locations but that did not take much away from the experience. It is also fascinating to meet new creatures that only Night could have conjured. I liked the hairies, expellers, and page-turners (I want one when I read books). There is also this complexity of the Glanagerie bottles and the world in them that adds another layer of interest.
Scriven this! DE Night writes DE Night and more…
It was a fun twist to make a character based from Night’s own name and he is an author, too. Whether this is a gender-bend of her persona or not, I loved that flare. She also crafted Ivy Lovely as a complex, brave, and loveable character. There were moments when she was stubborn but none that is too annoying. I find that her actuations sometimes do not match a 16-year old though. She may be a younger one at 13 or 14 maybe. She is relatable in many aspects and I think kids would love her as their heroine.
On the flip-side, there is more to be desired from the rest of the characters. They could have been more fleshed-out. There is great potential in Fyn as a love interest but he sits around the edges. He is mysterious, popping in and out at the right moments, in a sense that does not make sense. I also did not feel much of the tension which the antagonist could have brought throughout the story. The Dark Queen poses as an evil force placed there as a figure but her actions never really threatened the protagonists or the world (well not as explicit that could have driven the motivations of the protagonists and their cause more valuable). We never really learn anything about her until towards the ending of which her origins could have added another layer to the narrative.
I also found the pacing a bit jumpy. There were chapters that occur in a day and in some, weeks have already passed and I did some rereading to fully grasp the events in the new chapter. However, in the end, the book closes neatly. There were still missing pieces in the puzzle but I am sure Night has these ready for the next adventure.
Tome’s aftermath…
Overall, this book is a fascinating, darker novel recommended for young teen readers. DE Night’s writing style tastefully wraps the story up in preparation to the second installment. She proves a sleight of hand in storytelling and offers a world readers will yearn to explore.
FORMAT: Print Paperack
PUBLISHER: Stories Untold Press
ISBN-10: 0996948651
ISBN-13: 978-0996948654
RATING: 3.75 stars
I was provided a copy by the publisher in exchange of an honest review. All opinions on this piece is mine with no influence from any outside force.