A review by emeraldrina
A Crown of Ivy and Glass by Claire Legrand

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I enjoyed this book way more than I thought I would. At first Gemma is a very unloveable character, but as you learn more about her and her family you begin to sympathize with her. I’m not completely sold on her character development though - the switch from selfish to self-sacrificing was a bit abrupt. But her pain and panic attacks and self-harm were more believably dealt with.

I really enjoyed the world building and magic system. The mystery about the family heritage is interesting enough to make me want to read more. Although I figured out both “twists” before they were revealed, there were enough questions about them that the reveals were still intriguing. 

The romance was the weakest part for me. Especially given the twist, it makes little sense to me how they fell in love so fast. And there are several points where Gemma is way too instantly forgiving. It felt like there was conflict stirred up then rapidly waved aside. Talan is also a bit bland, weirdly. He should be the most flawed and contradictory character, but instead he’s just whatever Gemma needs him to be. More real flaws and conflict would’ve made the romance more believable and interesting.
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