The Crowns of Croswald

“The Crowns of Croswald” is the first book in The Crowns of Croswald series, inserted in the middle grade literary genre, written by D.E Night. I was contacted by her publicist, Daniela, and they offered me a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
The concept of this book revolves around a school of magic, The Ivy Halls, where several students who have a gift for magic are invited to study and develop their skills. There are two categories of magic manifestation, and all young nobles are entitled to a crown with a stone that gives them a specific ability, having to learn how to use it. On the other hand, we have those who can become scrivenists, magicians with the ability to draw everything they see with precision, having a photographic memory, and the function of studying and writing about all their discoveries in order to contribute to the advancement of magic. In addition, each noble family is assigned a scrivenist. This concept was well developed in the book, it was what enchanted me the most, because throughout my reading I always felt that I was in a magical and joyful world, being able to immerse myself in it. That's why I give the concept two stars.
As for the story, we follow the point of view of Ivy Lovely, a sixteen-year-old girl who has the qualities of a scrivenist having, since childhood, a photographic memory and a talent for drawing everything she sees or remembers. At the beginning of the story, Ivy lives in a small village as a baker, having no friends, only Rimbrick, a dwarf who tells her several stories from different places. However, her adventure begins when she is fired and banished from the bakery and, with nowhere to go, Ivy walks with no destination in mind, but a strange person finds her and takes her to the school of magic, The Ivy Halls, stating that he had been looking for her for a long time. Entering the school, Ivy studies to one day become a scrivenist, but fate awaits her something else, something she could never have imagined. Overall the story was entertaining, easy to read and fun, the plot twists weren't surprising, I was expecting them all, making it a bit predictable. One star.
The protagonist of this story is Ivy Lovely, a sixteen-year-old girl who has always lived in the small village where she works as a baker. Despite not liking the life she leads, Ivy is still an optimistic, fun, empathetic, friendly and kind young woman, helping everyone whenever she can. One of her passions is drawing everything she sees, dreaming of studying to be a scrivenist at the Halls of Ivy. Ivy made the story even more magical, as we follow her school adventures, she is enchanted and impressed by everything she sees, bringing the magical atmosphere of the book to life. I give one star.
On the other hand, the antagonist of this story is the Dark Queen, the queen of Croswald. She is portrayed as a mysterious woman, as none of her subjects have seen her, no one knows what she looks like, spending most of her time in the palace, only going out in her carriage when necessary. I liked this mysterious element, however she almost never appears throughout the story and in the end I was a little disappointed because the confrontation between her and Ivy ended in a predictable and convenient way. Zero stars.
Finally, we have several secondary characters such as Fyn, Rebecca, Winsom and Rimbrick. Fyn is Ivy's love interest, having met him at one of the student scrivenist supply stores. He's older than she is, being a third grader, and overall a polite and friendly person, but I felt he didn't have much of a personality or anything to set him apart. On the contrary, Rebecca is Ivy's roommate, a noblewoman with a cheerful and fun personality, using her skills in a comical way. She becomes a great friend to Ivy, helping her whenever she needs it, even when plans can be a little risky. Winsom is a character with a peculiar personality, an elderly scrivenist who practices his magic inside the castle in a secret way. He taught Ivy many things, including things about her past, having been an important mentor to her. Rimbrick is a dwarf who is introduced to us at the beginning of the story, he is one of Ivy's great friends, since he was the one who told her lots of stories from distant places and brought her books for her to read, having been her source of joy during the years she worked as a baker. I liked all the characters, but I felt that some could have been better worked out and explored, so I give one star.
In conclusion, I give five stars out of ten to the first book in the series “The Crowns of Croswald”. However, I want to make it clear that this is a middle grade story, that is, it is for children, and I would recommend this book to that target audience, I think it would be a good story to start in the fantasy genre.