A Crown of Ivy and Glass

Product Information

Example five. I know I already mentioned zero chemistry between main love interests but It’s worth repeating because it doesn’t get better. But underneath every woman´s her glittering façade, Gemma is deeply sad. Years ago, her sister Mara was taken to the Middlemist to be a guard of the priory of Rosewarren, where she and other shapeshifting female warriors protect the human realm of Edyn against treacherous magic. Her mother abandoned the family. Her father and eldest sister, Farrin, often forget that she exists since they are embroiled in a deadly blood feud with the mysterious Bask family from the North. A feud brought to life long ago by a demon called The Man with the Three-Eyed Crown. And worst of all, Gemma is the only Ashbourne to possess no magic. Instead, her body fights it like poison. Constantly ill, aching with loneliness, Gemma craves love and yearns to belong. Oh. And a book filled with incredible characters. Like the queen of this place. She was ancient, I think. Yet young. And all kinds of interesting to read about. Though we only got to know a little about her. I want to know more. Then there was Illaria and Gareth. Both characters whom I adored. And Ryder with his sister. They were a little crazy but I grew to like them too, haha. I loved Una the dog. There was so much about this book that I loved. The different types of magic. The twists in the story. All of it interesting and exciting.

Now, to the characters. First, I think that Legrand did an excellent job of portraying the experiences and life of someone who lives with chronic pain. Gemma is very straight-forward with her struggles while also never becoming self-pitying. She is frustrated with her limitations, while also not belittling herself. I also really like the way this aspect of her character plays out over the entire arc of the book. Unfortunately, that was about all I liked about Gemma. I get that the author was very intentionally writing this character as rather frivolous and selfish; indeed, Gemma herself comments on these aspects of her personality. And I think the book used these traits to also do a great job of diving into self-loathing and self-harm. But over the course of the book, while Gemma does experience growth, I still struggled to really like her or feel invested in her story. Three and a half seems mean because I really enjoyed the second half of this book but because it took me two goes to get into it I feel that’s fairLady Gemma Ashbourne seemingly has it all. She's young, gorgeous, and rich. Her family was Anointed by the gods, blessed with incredible abilities. But underneath her glittering façade, Gemma is deeply sad. Years ago, her sister Mara was taken to the Middlemist to guard against treacherous magic. Her mother abandoned the family. Her father and eldest sister, Farrin-embroiled in a deadly blood feud with the mysterious Bask family-often forget Gemma exists. The next book will follow a different sister as the main character which I find SO exciting because we got some hints for the next romance and let's just say I'm already sold. Then she meets the devastatingly handsome Talan d’Astier. His family destroyed themselves, seduced by a demon, and Talan, the only survivor, is determined to redeem their honor. Intrigued and enchanted, Gemma proposes a bargain: She’ll help Talan navigate high society if he helps her destroy the Basks. According to popular legend, a demon called The Man With the Three-Eyed Crown is behind the families' blood feud - slay the demon, end the feud. New York Times bestselling author of Furyborn, Claire Legrand, makes her stunning adult debut with A Crown of Ivy and Glass, a lush, sweeping, steamy fantasy romance series starter that’s perfect for fans of Bridgerton and A Court of Thorns and Roses.

Gemma finds herself drawn immediately drawn to Talan d’Astier, a foreign visitor who is seeking help from her father to redeem his family honor. Intrigued, Gemma proposes that she’ll help Talan navigate the ins and outs of high society and gain an audience with the queen if he assists her family in their ongoing feud with the neighboring Bask family. If this were all of the story, A Crown of Ivy and Glass might actually be better off—there’s something compelling about the competitive inter-family rivalry, and the prospect of Gemma’s grooming Talan to fit in with the rich and royal is fun. Example one. This book is marketed as adult. But the characters and the writing is VERY YA. Cursing and bad cringy sex scenes do not make book an adult fantasy. My first initial reaction to this book was that it is the perfect blend between an English high society period drama and an epic fantasy novel.The only reason I didn’t DNF it was because I was listening to the audiobook while commuting and doing chores, otherwise I don’t think I’d have been able to finish it. But even though this was a huge disappointment for me and I won’t be continuing this series, I’ll still keep an eye out for Legrand’s future works. If you haven’t read anything by this author yet but you want to, I recommend starting with her Empirium trilogy. First, a huge thank you to Sophie from Sourcebooks International for sending me this ARC. I´ll treasure it forever.