Night Ivy was truly an excellent novel. The story of Xelle really gripped me from the beginning and seeing her journey progress throughout the book was a captivating read. The storytelling felt musical and enchanting like a song. I enjoyed the descriptive world building.
Xelle is a very relatable protagonist, and it is very easy to imagine yourself in her shoes. She has the same fears and ambitions and anxieties as so many of us, which I feel makes her come across very likeable.
A very gripping and poignant tale and I would highly recommend it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me free access to the digital advanced copy of this book.

I gave this a three out of five stars, its not very memorable. I did like the talk of gender, sexuality, and mental health though. I did like the pros of this.

Night Ivy has an almost musical quality to the writing style. This book is the kind of fantasy that is so easy to get lost in. Xelle is a very relatable protagonist, and it is very easy to imagine yourself in her shoes. She has the same kinds of fears and ambitions and anxieties as so many of us, and she comes across very likeable. Night Ivy represents a variety of gender identities, which I thought was really cool. At its heart, Night Ivy is about finding yourself, and it was a really enjoyable read.

I really enjoyed Night Ivy. Although I felt the book took a couple of chapters to find its footing, once it did I couldn't stop reading.

It reminds me of Becky Chambers's A Psalm of the Wild-Built in a lot of ways--a focus on character relationships and a quiet, but sometimes intense, approach to storytelling and description. One of the other reviews here compares it to Nghi Vo's Singing Hills cycle, which I think is on point for its interest in narrative and storytelling. Sometimes it reminds me of Studio Ghibli films as well, with lots of lush, loving description of places I totally want to visit, and a deft eye for "ma" (negative space) as well as for action and character development.

Finally, as a person in middle age as well as someone who suffers from anxiety (social anxiety sufferer in particular), I really appreciated Xelle as a character. It was refreshing to see someone who struggles with people in similar ways to me, and whose journey through the world looked a little more like mine than your stereotypical (teenage, male, able-bodied, neurotypical) fantasy protagonist.

I did feel that there were a few loose ends by the end of the book, but since it's the first in a series that's to be expected. And some of those loose ends felt like they were deliberate, as well, a choice made by the author to create a world that's messy and imperfect rather than one where everything is resolved in the space of a few hundred pages.

The bottom line is that if you're looking for fantasy about neurodiverse characters--or just great fantasy in a unique setting, period--you'll definitely want to check out Night Ivy.

As usual, when I start a book I requested on NetGalley, I generally don't remember what it's about, and in this one we are directly thrown in a fantasy world where nothing (or so little, or very late in the book) is explained. Night Ivy follows Xeleanor, aka Xelle, who is a Study in the Arc Tower, one of the seven towers of Alyssia. One day, she'll be sent on a mission to the Breath Tower to investigate on a possible conspiracy against the election of a Mage in Arc.

The beginning of the book is very slow, and despite the stakes of the mission, the book rather reads as a slice of life: Xelle gathers her things, thinks about how she will travel, visits a town, talks to some people,... Even when she gets to Breath, the stakes are still pretty low. It's only when she gets back to Arc that she decides to investigate more thoroughly, but she's more interested in knowing why she was chosen for the mission than on the mission itself. The ending was pretty abrupt and unexpected: Xelle had no idea of what was happening and suddenly she connects some dots like in two seconds. And I thought this was a stand alone, but it's actually the first book in a series.

I think that the purpose of the book was not the mission but rather Xelle's quest to find herself. She has a lot to think about: she has been a Study in three different towers (the magic is different in each of them) and at her age she should already be a Mage. Xelle is very anxious, and even if the book is written in third person, we have access to every thought and worry Xelle has. I found this representation pretty accurate, even if it was a bit tiring, which is also very accurate when you have so many thoughts that prevent you from enjoying the present. Xelle anticipates everything: how much the travel will cost, where to put the money for better access, how to dress, how to formulate her thoughts... However, she never takes the time to think of an excuse as why she has to be in Breath which to me was so unlikely for someone with anxiety who doesn't like to lie. At the same time, Xelle has accepted the mission as an opportunity to reflect on her life and didn't really take her role as a spy really seriously. But still, having to find a good excuse on the spot looks to me as a nightmare for an anxious person, especially as she had time to prepare!

The story is full of elements that I thought were important for the mission but...they weren't. It's also full of details that are never explained, like why people have to stop what they are doing when there is an eclipse (there are several), why people hide their hair, how the magic works (I wanted to know more!), how Alyssia works, etc.

It's also full of (I think) made-up words to describe people. Indeed, in this world, gender is very very fluid, to the point that people introduce themselves with their name, their place of origin and their pronouns. For example, Xelle is Xelle du Tam, she/e, and her pronouns will change in the book without any explanation (but it's always clear to follow). There are so many pronouns and at one time, Xelle thinks someone is "rainbow gender" (if I recall correctly), but we never get an idea of what all the gender identities are because it's so natural and a "non-problem" in this world. There are also a lot of words for the term "person" and I never really got what the differences between them were. People also refer to their relationships with gender neutral terms like "spouse" or "nibling" (which I had never seen).

Of course, sexual and romantic orientations are also "non-problems". It was never specified, but I had the feeling that Xelle was ace when I read some of her thoughts concerning her crush.

It is a good book that intrigues me and I will read the sequel, not so much for the investigation (even if it's interesting), but rather to learn more about the world!

And I forgot to mention that there are dragons!

Rep: anxiety, many gender identities, many sexual and romantic orientations
TW: blackmail

3.5 stars rounded up. This was an interesting, sweet fantasy with a great personal growth arc for our main character. I also really enjoyed the broad gender spectrum in this world and the neurodivergent representation. The magic system was a bit vague, and I had trouble understanding the practical differences between the different magic towers, but I do think there were some unique ideas there and I might grow more accustomed to it on a reread or if I continue with the series. Not a favorite read of the year, but I will keep an eye on this author and other books from this small publisher

This is a warm and enjoyable book about our main character Xelle who goes on a (sort of) quest. I saw that E.D.E Bell described Night Ivy as not quite having a plot and I think that’s a really good way to characterise the book and test if it is for you or not. When I describe it to my friends, I liken it to a mixture of Dark Crystal and episodes of a wholesome children’s tv show that operates episodically. The anxiety and neurodivergent representation is really good and I absolutely loved the style of the first half. As the book focused a little more on the mystery, I found it less engaging. That said, I would recommended Night Ivy for lots of people.. It is ideal for readers who enjoy magic, fantasy, and going on gentle adventures with libraries and hostels and new people in each chapter. Also, dragons!

I feel like this book simply wasn't for me. i appreciated the representation though! I will definitely be recommending this too others who i think will like it :]

Excellent world-building and diversity of gender identities. The anxiety representation in Night Ivy was done really well. I enjoyed following Xelle as a main character and I think this would be a great read for anyone who enjoys the stories of Nghi Vo. I am grateful to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of Night Ivy.

This book was so beautiful and I love how amazing the representation was throughout. Bell did this in such a natural way - if only the world was so perfect. Xelle was a really interesting character and I related to them so much, especially due to the anxiety aspect. As someone who suffers it felt this was done amazingly. Bell may have well made it onto my auto-read list.

I received this story as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have to start by congratulating the author on fantastic world-building. The writing was very descriptive without feeling convoluted. It was easy to get lost in the world following Xelle's adventures. One of my favourite parts of this world was diversity. I liked that there were various gender identities represented. I love when authors remove the very real and current types of bigotry (real-world racism, homophobia, etc.) from their fantasy world sometimes!

Xelle was a unique main character. She came across as very relatable and easy to get attached to. Her characterization felt very refreshing! As someone who struggles with my own anxiety, seeing myself represented in a story made me feel seen and validated in a weird way. I also adored the way Xelle's sexuality was addressed. It felt grounded in the reality of how attraction works for many people on an individual level. There were moments I felt a little confused at the beginning of the story but it was very easy to get sucked in the story. I cannot wait to read more from E. D. E. Bell

This book feels like a fairy tale, a sweeping song. The prose are so good and really create the atmosphere for it to feel so magical, but so real and imaginable. This book reminds me a lot of The Singing Hills Cycle by Nghi Vo, one of my favorite series.
I love the way gender, sexuality and mental health were all portrayed in this book- themes you don't see explored in fantasy a lot and it was so wonderfully done here. I really connected with Xelle through these aspects of their character as it felt very familiar and comfortable to me, seeing a lot of my own person and people I know in this character.
Is this a standalone or going to be a series? I am begging for another book!!

I was lucky enough to have this book given to me in the form of an eARC to read.
Reading eBooks is hard for me, my head hurts when I do it too long, and looking at my phone in the car makes me car sick,
But I literally had SO MUCH trouble putting this book down.
Descriptive prose made it so easy to picture every location, every feeling, every person that Xelle interacted with.
And, speaking of Xelle, it is not very often you read a protagonist with anxiety, and how refreshing (can I say that?) it is to relate to a narrator and protagonist so deeply as I did to Zelle.
Even more still! The books is Set in a world where gender identities are varied and respected, but not in a way that feels hand fisted, and the protagonist is bi in a subtle way, that feels natural and genuine. Zelle’s romantic interests are not her singular personality trait, but something that just… is.
And again, I say, how refreshing!

If you’re looking for a lovely tale, told with a bardic kind of vibe, with vibrant storytelling and world building, look no further than Night Ivy!
I cannot wait to have myself a hard copy of this book, and would love to see special editions of it come to my favorite subscription boxes.
I look forward to the story’a continuation!

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the writing and the character development. I think the way that the protagonists anxiety is described and used within the story was really well done, I have axiety and I found this so relatable. I can't wait to read more.