Reviews

The Girl with the Whispering Shadow by D.E. Night

thelittlestlibrarian's review against another edition

3.0

This was a fun book to read! I tore through the first book, and I have to admit this took me a little longer to get through, but the story was interesting and I wanted to know what happened as I was reading. I will say that it borrows a lot of themes from books like Harry Potter. This isn't a bad thing, but it was a little distracting for me. If you liked book 1 in this series, it's worth continuing. There are new characters introduced, and The Town that's briefly alluded to in the first book is explored! It did seem like there were some things that weren't well-explained in terms of magic, but maybe they'll be explained later on!

mmwhirley's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

hannah_reads_2020's review against another edition

4.0

A fantastical, whimsical story.

Book two of the Crowns of Croswald did not disappoint. We are thrust right back in after the events of book 1 and continue our fantastic journey.

This book has a lot of world building and really draws you in to it. The characters have some great growth and the interactions between them felt authentic. I did feel that for the length, the plot wasn’t as jam packed as the first, but I still enjoyed the ride.

the_bookishmum's review against another edition

4.0

This book is definitely an improvement on the first and as a whole the series is magical. The characters that felt flat in the first book are full of life and it was really nice to spend some time with them outside of the school in the ‘Town’.

If these books had been around when I was a teenager I would have absolutely loved them.

Thank you NetGalley, Untold Stories publishers and the author for giving me a digital copy of the book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

shaunareads's review against another edition

3.0

Once again this was a fun read. I think it would be good for anyone of the age range that hasn't read Harry Potter.

However, this one really felt like it was summoning Harry Potter right from the pages. From a ogre-like beast they fight, a dueling type fight where something goes wrong (que Harry learning he can speak to snakes), a secret club that feels a lot like DA, to quite literally crashing into the school in a magic flying transport when she's "not supposed to be there". OH did I mention there is a girl who is being influenced by a cursed book? So while technically a different story, the similarities are quite distracting, influencing my overall enjoyment.

atrailofpages's review against another edition

4.0

Thank you again to the publisher for reaching out to me for an opportunity to read this book through NetGalley.

This book continues on from the previous book following Ivy who is looking for the missing pieces of her stone.

Once again the world was so magical and I loved the magical creatures in the book. I loved seeing her relationships grow with her friends. I found it very endearing, especially when she and her friend joined the Quills club.

This book was a lot slower than the previous one. I was a bit bored until about the last third of the book when the action finally started. The rest of the book may have been about Ivy and her learning more about herself and her friends, but I feel like it focused so much on that and the school that the main focus of the story was lost and I even forgot what the sequel was actually about.

Other than that, I found it entertaining. The kids are pretty hilarious around each other. Like true friends. I did find Fyn annoying at times. He seemed to try to hold back Ivy a lot which I wasn’t a fan of, but other than that, I really enjoyed the characters and the world of course.

This definitely would have been a series I would have loved when I was younger. Definitely up my alley and if you enjoy magical books such as Howl’s Moving Castle like I do, then I’m sure you’d enjoy this series too

thebooklovingpanda's review against another edition

4.0

4.5 stars

"You can be trapped in a castle, trapped in a scaldonry. Trapped by people. But the worst is being trapped by fear."

It's always great when a sequel not only lives up to, but outdoes its predecessor! Returning us to the world of scrivenists (mages who channel magic through quills), 'The Girl with the Whispering Shadow' (incredible title) is just as full of ingenious and refreshingly original magical concepts as 'The Crowns of Croswald', with even more of the lovable characters, subtly chilling foreboding and hilarious moments that I enjoyed in Book 1.

One of my favourite things was the introduction of a popular scrivenists' game called 'Quogo' - eat your heart out, Quidditch! Quogo is almost like a magical RPG (role-playing game), where players battle it out with the spectres of retired or deceased scrivenists, using their decommissioned quills. I also loved the Quality Quills Club (where can I sign up?!), a secret society of amateur Quogo players run by our wonderful Fyn Greeley. I loved the dynamic within this friendship group, spiced up by the new additions of Ivy and Rebecca to its ranks, and they had so much great banter between them. Each QQC member felt realistic, especially after a certain accidental catastrophe, and I really look forward to seeing more of them in Book 3! This was a very well-written rendition of a found-family trope, if that's one you enjoy.

Speaking of character love, I have to include a tribute specifically to my favourites, Fyn and Rebecca! They're so loyal to Ivy but never come across as sycophants or merely foils, and yet again, Rebecca (in multiple scenes) proves herself an MVP in this squad. Fyn cracks me up so much with his sarcasm, and I'm completely invested in the adorable slow-burn between him and Ivy! I also grew to like Ivy more in this one - while some of her actions in the first book felt at times out of character, this book is where she really comes into her own and grows in confidence, maturity and just all around personality palpability.

Deep down, Ivy knew who she was: a slurry girl turned royal, an orphan denied her family's right, with the magic of the moon settled inside her, and now, the newest and proudest member of the Quality Quills Club. Her new family.

Great twists abound, with hints dropped here and there to amp up the apprehension, and several were rather disquieting.

I bring into being an orbis. Break her bones; use her for stew, sweet orbis; I challenge you. Let the magic she wields be left unspoken, her soul be harmed and deftly broken. The taste of her blood a fair token.

In general, this book's 'horror' level feels middle-grade to YA, but there were certainly some moments (like that one above) that gave me 'Criminal Minds'-type chills. The Dark Queen definitely feels more genuinely threatening in this book compared to the first, and we learn a bit more about her motives that clarify scenes in the first book.

"You let go of that stone, I let go of his life."

There were also plenty of new spells, creatures and even careers introduced - my favourite one being a teledetector matteler, a sort of teleporting magical police/CSI officer who can travel to crime scenes through mentally connecting through a scene sketch. I really like the style of magic in this series, it's very whimsical and strong on wordplay, which is right up my alley.

"Broken promises are one of the land's most bitter ingredients - great for a sundry of repellents."

"In another school, spelling might mean putting together letters to make words. At the Halls, spelling means putting together letters to make words to make spells."

If you're a 'Harry Potter' fan, or on the hunt for more magical boarding school stories, I really recommend diving into this series! Following that slight cliffhanger (and its link to the title of Book 3), I'm so hyped for 'The Words of the Wandering', out May 30! Not long now before I can return to Croswald...

Thank you to Stories Untold LLC and Netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

nataliealane's review against another edition

4.0

A high 3 (bumped it up in GR), whereas the 1st book was just a very steady, middle of the road 3. The concerns I had about Crowns of Croswald, mainly characterization and development, did definitely improve with the sequel! Ivy grew a lot, and we got to see her friends and their relationships develop too. I have a better idea of who Ivy is and who she could be. We also learn a lot more about the history of Croswald and the Dark Queen, which I liked. However, this time around it was the plot that suffered. While there were fun and sweet scenes or chapters like the Quogo matches and fishing for stars, for the most part I wasn’t very engaged with the plot. It moved really slow in terms of the big idea (finding the other part of the kindred stone and more about the Dark Queen, who let her into the Halls, etc.) and there seemed to be a lot of filler-y sub-plots. This book takes place over the course of a full school year, yet Ivy barely makes any progress on her task and the plot and action don’t speed up until maybe 65%-75% through the book. That last quarter or so I devoured! Additionally I loved learning about Derwin. However, a big part of Ivy bring back at the school and finding the Stone is the memory glanagerie, and we basically see the first and last glanagerie sessions. The pacing and balance of the plot was the weakest part o the book for sure. Showing Characterization, development, and relationships can happen alongside plot development, and if in separate scenes, they can still be better balanced.

linesuponapage's review against another edition

5.0

The last time we were with Ivy Lovely, she had just been told she could not return to the Halls of Ivy as the Dark Queen knew where she was there. The Girl with the Whispering Shadow brings us to the Town. Ivy’s journey is just as entertaining as her journey was to the Halls of Ivy. Somehow Ivy always gets into some kind of trouble when she leaves the Hall and this is no different.

I found The Girl with the Whispering Shadow to be even more entertaining than D.E. Night’s Crowns of Croswald, which I absolutely loved. I think that it’s because we get to know more about Ivy’s friends, such as Fynn’s background, we get to know where he comes from, who his friends are and we get to know a ton about The Town.

Speaking of The Town, or the name I can not speak because right now it’s a secret to all of you readers. what a great place! To me, it feels a bit like Seattle or London with its low cloud cover, but what an adventurous way to get to know it. Ivy ends up taking the serendipitous route to arrive at the address that her Scrivenist gives her before she leaves the Halls of Ivy.

Where she ends up is a pleasant surprise! My favorite part of this adventure is the amazing places Ivy has to visit to further the education and learning of her power and the backstories that give even more depth to where Ivy comes from besides as a Scullery Maid.

What I won’t tell you is whether evil or good prevails and how the adventure proceeds. I will tell you though that if you have fallen in love with Ivy, with her friends and the adventure, then you definitely need to read this second book in the series! I look forward to reading the next book in the series that came out in May 2020- The Words of the Wandering!

D.E. Night has done a wonderful job at creating tension and terror at the hands of the Dark Queen and her cohorts and has continued building darling Ivy into the heroine that we love and cheer for. Ivy has her challenges, she has her weaknesses, but she also has the strength to keep fighting for her heritage, her friends, the people of The Town, and her role into the future.

Buy this book from your favorite Indie book shop in-store or online, or if your shop doesn’t have a website and you need to buy online buy from http://www.Bookshop.org and support your favorite book shop by linking your favorite shop to bookshop.org’s option to do so.

I plan on reading this series to my granddaughters when they are older. I see myself reading this series over and over. The Crowns of Croswald series is definitely a fairytale that will become beloved by current and future readers all because of a girl named Ivy Lovely!

Thank you Netgalley, D.E.Night, and Untoldstories for the opportunity to read and review this book!

5 stars!!

campychick001's review against another edition

4.0

*Thanks to the author, @author.denight, publisher, @storiesuntoldpress, and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book to review*

In this second installment of the series, Ivy Lovely is on a journey to fulfill her prophecy - and this involves finding the two remaining pieces of the Kindred Stone to save Croswald from the Dark Queen.

This was a satisfying continuation of the series and I really enjoyed seeing the characters and relationships develop from the first book. The author does a great job of introducing new elements of this magical world. There was plenty of action throughout the story and the ending left me excited to see the character's adventures in the third book.