A Crown of Ivy and Glass

The Middlemist Trilogy, Book 1

By: Claire Legrand

Narrated by: Evelyn Rose

Length: 21 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

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.

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.

But attacks on the Middlemist are increasing. The plot against the Basks quickly spirals out of control. And something immense and terrifying is awakening in Gemma, drawing her inexorably toward Talan and an all-consuming passion that could destroy her—or show her the true strength of her power at last.

©2023 Claire Legrand (P)2023 Dreamscape Media

Critic reviews

"Rose’s skillful pacing and character portraits will draw listeners into Legrand’s first installment in a planned trilogy. A suspenseful fantasy romance for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Jennifer L. Armentrout."—Library Journal

Worth finishing

Definitely slow and hard to stick with, the main character is annoying. But does pick up and the character development was good.

A slow start but worth it!

Originally, I believed I would hate this new series from Claire Legrand. I loved the Empirium Trilogy and thought I would be immediately immersed into this book. I wasn’t. I found the MFC Gemma extremely self-centered and shallow. I DNF the book convinced I wouldn’t be able to read 300+ pages of her self-absorbed words. BUT, I decided to purchase it via Audible determined to finish it because I appreciate Legrands writing and story telling and this story has fae and his target more towards adults. I’m glad I did. Although, I didn’t care for the accented voice of the MMC (personal preference for how I viewed Tallon). Slight cringe. It takes a while to get into but there books is heavy on romance (artfully descriptors intimate moments), mystery (for once I couldn’t predict the plot) and fantasy realm with a unique magic system. You will not regret it.

Buy it NOW!

Let’s talk about her love interest…

I’m not gonna sugar coat it I hated him. The story itself was really good, but let’s be honest woman to woman. I would literally never trust that man again and her getting back with him at the end of the book is just so utterly stupid. That is my biggest complaint about this book I hated the main love interest with a fiery passion, especially after she found out everything. I wish she would’ve been with anyone else, I know the next book is about her sister, but I hope that she finds a different love interest I really do.
Other than that, I do love the book I thought it was really good. You do need to give it a little bit of time but the character development is there.

Nothing like her first series

If you're like me, and are/were excited for this one because you loved the authors first series... I am very sad to say don't waste your time here :(

Midpoint Review

I have about 8 hrs of listening left and it hasn’t been an easy listening. The narrator does the best she can, the story isn’t what I expected. It was a very slow start and still can’t explain or understand a lot of what’s going on in the book and way too much sexual activity for my taste. I found myself cringing and some parts