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usuallydave 's review for:
The Crowns of Croswald
by D.E. Night
The Crowns of Croswald is a fun YA Fantasy read that feels much more Harry Potter than it does Lord of the Rings, which is a good thing.
The book opens with a slightly familiar premise of an orphan girl living a life of relative obscurity and poverty, yet having some mysterious friends, a talent for drawing, and dreams that are vividly real. Almost immediately we're thrust into the story proper as Ivy(our main character and said orphan girl) is whisked away to a mysterious magic school.
I enjoyed how the different types of magic were presented and while there certainly were more than a few Harry Potter vibes in terms of general themes, I feel like the magic system and story elements were unique in their own right, making this feel like a familiar yet unique story.
In fact, the one qualm I have about this book IS the magic system itself. I won't say too much as I don't want to spoil anything, but we see a lot of examples of the magic being used throughout the story yet we don't see a whole lot of explanation as to HOW the magic system works. But that may just be the "Non-YA Target Audience" side of me nitpicking AND it may be something explained/explored more in the following books in the series.
Overall, as a YA Fantasy title I think the book was pretty decent. While I'm certainly not the exact target audience, I can see how this would be a highly enjoyable world for a younger audience to really get sucked into. For me, it felt a little bland(though I LOVE the concept of the Scrivenest and the magic in the quills) and a LOT predictable. I think from the earliest chapters, anyone that has enjoyed modern YA fantasy is going to find it's very predictable, yet still enjoyable, to read.
The book opens with a slightly familiar premise of an orphan girl living a life of relative obscurity and poverty, yet having some mysterious friends, a talent for drawing, and dreams that are vividly real. Almost immediately we're thrust into the story proper as Ivy(our main character and said orphan girl) is whisked away to a mysterious magic school.
I enjoyed how the different types of magic were presented and while there certainly were more than a few Harry Potter vibes in terms of general themes, I feel like the magic system and story elements were unique in their own right, making this feel like a familiar yet unique story.
In fact, the one qualm I have about this book IS the magic system itself. I won't say too much as I don't want to spoil anything, but we see a lot of examples of the magic being used throughout the story yet we don't see a whole lot of explanation as to HOW the magic system works. But that may just be the "Non-YA Target Audience" side of me nitpicking AND it may be something explained/explored more in the following books in the series.
Overall, as a YA Fantasy title I think the book was pretty decent. While I'm certainly not the exact target audience, I can see how this would be a highly enjoyable world for a younger audience to really get sucked into. For me, it felt a little bland(though I LOVE the concept of the Scrivenest and the magic in the quills) and a LOT predictable. I think from the earliest chapters, anyone that has enjoyed modern YA fantasy is going to find it's very predictable, yet still enjoyable, to read.