A Crown of Ivy and Glass

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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. 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. 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. I just finished this book and can say that I think I have a new favorite! The Empirium Trilogy is one of my all time favorites, so I was highly anticipating this book! I am so intrigued that it will be told as three connected stand-alone stories following each of the three sisters of the Ashbourne family, in a fully fantasy setting. I love the combination of conventions from the different genres.

This was one of my most anticipated books of 2023, so it kills me to say that I didn't love it as much as I wanted to. Pitched as Claire Legrand's version of Bridgerton X ACOTAR X Ballet Retellings with strong anxiety representation, it had literally everything I look for in a book. I think that might have been the problem; the author tried to do too much rather than focusing on a central storytelling element. If you asked me what the plot of ACOIAG was, I probably couldn't tell you. The two halves of the story didn't fit together at all. First, we had the Bridgertion high society plotline and then suddenly were thrown into the ACOTAR/Ballet Retelling halfway through. There was no consistency or coherency, either with the plot or the characters. That being said, I absolutely adored the second half of the book. It felt like a Claire Legrand novel and the characters found their footing. Rating 7: A very mixed bag for this book specifically, but I was definitely sold on the concept and anxiously await the next entry in the trilogy! 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. This book was a COMPLETE mess. I’m gonna start with that I really enjoyed Bridgerton books and ACOTAR is my all time favorite. I’m telling you this right now. This book is NOTHING like those two series.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.

Book Description: 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.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. What in the world happened?? With a pitch that is Bridgerton meets ACOTAR written by Claire Legrand, author of one of my all-time favourite epic fantasies, this should have been a home run. I mean, everything was screaming my name and instead I am left incredibly disappointed.

I don’t care what scars you have. I have them too. I’m not afraid of your grief. I’ll help you carry it and you’ll help carry mine.” Her bestselling Empirium Trilogy consists of epic fantasy novels FURYBORN, KINGSBANE, and LIGHTBRINGER. She was such a special girl. Fully broken, but trying. Somewhat. She was trying to seem better than she was. Trying to not let people see how much she hurt. And the panic she often had. I loved reading about it. As it was so hurtful and raw and real and honest. I loved it so. Gemma was precious to me. Sure, she often did things I did not agree with, ha. But I loved her. Most especially at the end of the book. Oh, and her family. Gosh. Her mother was not there. Her father was pretty much the worst. Ugh. I truly hated him. The result is a genuine and exciting character arc that puts disability and mental illness in the spotlight for an honest, earnest evaluation. As a result, the story is sometimes difficult to understand or follow the narration. Because many descriptions are missing or it is simply unclear what the author meant writing some things.

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My biggest complaint is just that the romance felt a bit insta-lovey at first, but it does get better! Not my favorite kind of romance arc, but I definitely enjoyed it regardless. I've not been in the mood for spice recently, but this one had a light sprinkle throughout leading to one really hot part, and I found myself loving it actually. And the cast of characters was so good, I'm excited to be able to get to see (most of :') them again in the next one. This story is a high fantasy about a selfish anxiety riddled young adult woman. I absolutely loved it.