First off, this is apparently an adult novel but reads like horrible YA- from the awful lead character who is the worst kind of spoiled brat, to the tragically boring love at first sight with the bad boy leading male. None of the characters seem to grow, the characters that you're actually interested in barely get any time in the novel, and I still can't even tell you what happened because literally nothing happens for most of the book. Example six and probably the biggest issue I had with this book. The main character, Gemma is absolute WORST. She is annoying, spoiled and sometimes completely empty headed.

Reading “A Crown of Ivy and Glass” is like watching a movie. Whether it’s a sex scene or a mystical landscape or a well-fitted suit, Legrand is a polished painter of word pictures. Luscious descriptions bring the story alive, making it immersive and fun even when it’s uncomfortable or excruciating. The world building was absolutely fantastic. I loved the regency society juxtaposed with magic, and the mysteries of the Mist. I loved the different demon and horror elements that were incorporated more and more as the book continued. There was a lot of twisted imagery as the book continued. I have seen that there are people who were struggling with this book. And did not love it. And I will say that I somewhat get that. Because this book was a monster to read. It was very full of different types of magic and so many twists kept happening. It was hard to keep up with. But. I loved it. I loved the twists and the different kinds of everything. I loved the writing and I loved the very messed up main character. So, yes. I suppose that this book will not be for everyone. But if you are like me, you are going to love it.

Hobbies

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.

It really does feel like Bridgerton meets magic and demons, but with mental health and chronic illness rep. The writing felt so rich and well crafted, and I'm itching to unravel more of the mysteries of Middlemist. There were a few things I noticed, like how the first and second halves felt almost like separate books, and how the pacing got a little messy in the later, but I honestly didn't mind. Example four. Three sisters that are totally water downed versions of Archeron sisters. You really thought we wouldn’t notice? I appreciate that this book portraits a main character who suffers anxiety and the discussions on mental health and chronic pain, but that’s it. The plot felt all over the place, I found the characters very much one-dimensional—and Gemma particularly insufferable—and the insta-love romance made me cringe from beginning to end. 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. 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.But her sisters. Sigh. We learn so much about Gemma and her two sisters. Mara and Farrin. Both every kind of amazing. I loved them all so, so very much. Mara got taken away as a child, to work as a Rose, protecting everyone from what lived in the mist. They miss her so. Though they visit once a month. That was not nearly enough. I so loved getting to know her. Sigh. And Farrin was amazing as well. I loved her magic with music. She was fierce and loving. And I could not help but ship Farrin with her enemy, haha. Speaking of characters, I didn't like our two leads. Gemma--especially at the beginning--was entitled and nasty to everyone who cared about her. She took everything for granted and hurt those around her. I understand that she had anxiety but I actually think using her anxiety as a weapon to hurt others is harmful stereotyping. I get that a book doesn't have to have likable characters, but especially when mental health is a main aspect of character, it's important to make characters redeemable or at least sympathetic. In that same vein, Talan was not a character, he was paper cut out that the author moved around to further the plot. He and Gemma went from disliking each other to being madly in love within a chapter and I still don't understand why. They had almost nothing in common, and the only conversations they had were cheesy declarations of love. There is so much I want to say about the plot of this book. So many spoilers. But I'm not going to mention any of them. This is a book about Gemma and Talan. It's filled with magic and danger. All of the twists. So many secrets. So much pain too. But also hope and love. And I adored every part of this book. I so loved how Gemma and Talan fit together. I loved reading about Gemma and her sisters together. And oh, I did love the ending. But gosh. There are so many things I need answers to. I must have the next book now. Gemma Ashbourne stammt aus einer der einflussreichsten Familien mit der stärksten Magie, doch sie selbst hat nicht nur keine magischen Kräfte, allein die Nähe zu Magie kann bei ihr starke Schmerzen auslösen. Claire Legrand used to be a musician until she realized she couldn’t stop thinking about the stories in her head. Now she is a New York Times bestselling author of darkly magical books.

This is the first book by this author for me. I have seen many of her books everywhere and was very curious about her writing style. Lady 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. Die Handlung klingt eigentlich ganz interessant, aber ich fand sie auch sehr chaotisch. Da ist natürlich der Dämon, der die Ashbournes verflucht hat, sodass sie sich mit Familie Bask bekriegen müssen, die aber den größten Teil des Buches nur eine Bedrohung im Hintergrund darstellen, sodass man kaum fühlen kann, warum man sie fürchten sollte. Man versteht auch kaum, warum die Ashbournes eigentlich so einflussreich sind, was Mara als Wächterin des Middlemist tut und auch generell erfährt man nur wenig über die Welt, weil Gemma in ihrer eigenen kleinen Blase lebt und nichts über ihre eigenen Probleme hinaus wahrnimmt. I think this book isn´t going to be everyone’s taste and many will make too early decisions and judgements, however I hope that more people will fall in love with this book as much as I did. I cannot wait for this book to come out next year and for everyone to dive into this world and story. Meanwhile, I´m going to sit here in misery wondering how many human sacrifices it will take to get an ARC of the second book too. First, a huge thank you to Sophie from Sourcebooks International for sending me this ARC. I´ll treasure it forever.As someone with a chronic, painful illness that has no known cure, I relate deeply to Imogen’s pain as she grapples with her place in the world and finds meaning in her oft-bedridden existence. True to life, Legrand describes Imogen’s aches and ailments with such consistency it’s impossible to forget. This story is a high fantasy about a selfish anxiety riddled young adult woman. I absolutely loved it. This has so much potential and I wanted to love it, but I'm spending most of my time being irritated and it's too long of a book for that. That said, this feels like TikTok fodder and there are people who will probably eat it up. The problem is that what I think this author does well isn't what this imprint and I assume these editors are leaning into.

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.

So, overall, this was a very mixed bag for me. I think, in the end, I didn’t end up loving this book. But, BUT!, on the other hand, I’m supremely invested in the next book in this series and can’t wait to get my hands on it! Given the nature of my complaints with this book, they all feel of the very specific sort that won’t be a problem in the books going forward. Both sisters seem like much more interesting characters than Gemma. The romantic interest/plot for one of them is already laid out and is incredibly appealing. And I think the world-building is now established enough that we won’t have the same plotting/pacing issue going forward where the tone is unclear between Bridgerton or ACOTAR. So, all of this to say, while I did struggle with this book, I do recommend it for fantasy romance readers based on my faith that the trilogy will turn out to be well worth it as a whole. Honestly, I question why Gemma had to be the first character to focus on for this series. What I liked most about her was the chronic pain rep Legrand invested in her. For some reason, Gemma not only doesn't have magic of her own like the rest of her family, but the magic around her actively harms her. She has to limit where and who she spends time with to avoid being on bedrest for several days. But she is not weak or whiny, and that is what makes it so wonderfully and respectfully done. She is a strong individual even on her worst days. But personality-wise, the girl was not pleasant. Gemma is the youngest of three sisters, and it kind of shows in how she behaves. She is rather vain, somewhat selfish and dismissive of others if it doesn't suit her, and is often focused on appearances, and not just of her own. Normally, I wouldn't have an issue with an unlikeable character like this, especially when part of their arc is to turn those traits to good, but there was something about her that felt off and made me not want to be with her. The whole time, I wanted to be in her sisters' heads instead.