** I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own**


For sixteen years Ivy Lovely has been hidden behind an enchanted boundary that separates the mundane from the magical. When Ivy crosses the border, her powers awaken.
Curiosity leads her crashing through a series of adventures at the Halls of Ivy, a school where students learn to master their magical blood and the power of Croswald’s mysterious gems.
When Ivy’s magic - and her life - is threatened by the Dark Queen, she scrambles to unearth her history and save Croswald before the truth is swept away forever.

 

I originally picked this up mostly on account of the amazing cover, but it turned out to be honestly one of the best middle grade books I have read in a long time! The story isn't necessarily particularly unique in a lot of ways - magic school, fairies, spells, dragons etc, but what I feel sets this apart is the world building. From the very start of the book I felt like I was a part its world -there are so many fun little details included!

This felt a bit like the Medoran Chronicles, a bit like Sorcerer to the Crown, and a bit like Enid Blyton - with dragons thrown in too - so I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoyed those. I haven't read Harry Potter (I know, shhhh!) but I suspect this would probably be a pretty good fit for fans of that too.

 

One last thing on this one, D. E. Night's website has some really cool looking content, including a trailer and a sample you can read for free.

This one got four stars from me, and I can't wait for the sequel to come out!

The Crowns of Croswald is out now. I received an e-book copy in exchange for an honest review, but only chose to read it because it sounded like something I would enjoy (life's too short to read books we don't think we'll enjoy). All opinions on my blog are my own, and I wouldn't tell you it was good if I didn't really think so. =)