A Crown of Ivy and Glass

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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. 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.

The last third of the book couldn’t have been so much more if by the time I got there, all I wanted to do is be done already. Nothing makes me more excited than reading a new book by Claire Legrand. She is my most favorite author and I have loved every single one of her books. This was no exception. I loved it. Way too much, perhaps. I may have loved it too much to be able to write a review that will make sense, ha. Five stars, of course. 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. As in every Claire Legrand book, the writing, and descriptions were wonderful, as was the worldbuilding. Often, I had a clearer image of what a scene looked like than I did the role the characters played in that scene, which though problematic, made the story immersive (that is until Gemma started complaining). The sensory writing was incredibly vivid, as were the hints of horror the author included. 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 fair

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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. 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. 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. 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.

The result is a genuine and exciting character arc that puts disability and mental illness in the spotlight for an honest, earnest evaluation. 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. 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. A Crown of Ivy and Glass was just as perfectly incredible as I knew it would be. Full of magic, romance and curses. Full of pain and passion and hope. The sisterly love between the three of them was amazing and I loved it so. The steamy romance was the most I have read in books before and I very much loved it. I know the next two books will be about Farrin and Mara. And I can't wait to know more about them, eee. I do hope there might be some Gemma point of view too. Fingers crossed. I must know more of this world.

Christmas Gifts

Was the story a bit chaotic and muddled? 100%, but it was still incredibly fascinating, engaging, and exciting. First off, Lady Gemma Ashbourne, our main character, is INSUFFERABLE. She cares so much about her vanity and how LONELY she is. Yeah, okay she's neglected, but for VALID REASONS. Her sister is protecting the Middlemist, and her eldest sister and her father are at work dealing with a DEADLY blood feud. I get that being lonely is sad and depressing, especially considering she is lowkey dying, but GIRL think about someone besides yourself for once! She's also always bragging about how her family is so rich and how privileged they are. SHUT. UP. Example two. I don’t know about you but for me it’s very hard to continue with a book if nothing interesting happens in the first 20%. The first 35% of this book read like a badly written fan fiction. REALLY badly write. From insta lust with somehow zero chemistry between two main characters to almost none to very confusing world building. Talan and Gemma are two lonely souls. Talan has no family left to speak of, and Gemma is an outcast within her own family. She is the only one in her family to not possess magic, and even further she suffers from chronic pain and illness just being around magic. At first, she comes off flippant and flighty, but as the book continues we see more depth to her characters and honestly a lot of character development. If you start this book and are unsure how you feel about Gemma, just continue reading because her character goes through a journey. I think LeGrand excels at writing flawed, real women who might not always be likeable but draw you in nevertheless. Talan and Gemma are drawn to one another immediately, and their romance was sweet and tender.