Enchanted Ivy

by Sarah Beth Durst

What Lily Carter wants most in the world is to attend Princeton University just like her grandfather. When she finally visits the campus, Grandpa surprises her: She has been selected to take the top-secret Legacy Test. Passing means automatic acceptance to Princeton. Sweet!

Lily's test is to find the Ivy Key. But what is she looking for? Where does she start? As she searches, Lily is joined by Tye, a cute college boy with orange and black hair who says he's her guard. That's weird. But things get seriously strange when a gargoyle talks to her. He tells her that there are two Princetons—the ordinary one and a magical one—and the Key opens the gate between them. But there are more secrets that surround Lily. Worse secrets.

When Lily enters the magical Princeton, she uncovers old betrayals and new dangers, and a chance at her dream becomes a fight for her life. Soon Lily is caught in a power struggle between two worlds, with her family at its center. In a place where Knights slay monsters, boys are were-tigers, and dragons might be out for blood, Lily will need all of her ingenuity and courage—and a little magic—to unite the worlds and unlock the secrets of her past and her future.

• ISBN10: 1442409614
• ISBN13: 9781442409613
• Publish Date: 12 October 2010
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Imprint: Margaret K McElderry Books
• Format: eBook (EPUB)
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[liz089]

DNF

[e_rodz_leb]

I overall liked this book. It was really, really fast pased. I mean the whole action came to pass in a weekend. The "mistery", the "keys" , even the bad guys were not that difficult to figure out. I did love the descriptions of Princeton and the gargoyles and other mythical creatures. The love story between Lily and Tye developed too fast to be believable, although they made a cute and compatible couple. Overall a fast and enjoyable read.

[lizarodz]

I overall liked this book. It was really, really fast pased. I mean the whole action came to pass in a weekend. The "mistery", the "keys" , even the bad guys were not that difficult to figure out. I did love the descriptions of Princeton and the gargoyles and other mythical creatures. The love story between Lily and Tye developed too fast to be believable, although they made a cute and compatible couple. Overall a fast and enjoyable read.

[Stephanie]

Lily has always wanted to go to Princeton, her Grandpa's alma maters. So when she goes to Princeton with her Grandpa and mom for her Grandpa's reunion, her Grandpa surprises her with the legacy test – to find the Ivy Key. If she manages to find the key, she is automatically accepted into Princeton.

As she starts to find the Ivy Key she meets a strange boy, Tye, with orange and black hair who says he's her guard. Crazy things start happening, gargoyles move and talk to her, a rabid animal tries to hurt her, and bookshelves move on their own. Turns out there are two Princeton's, the real one, and the magical one. The key Lily needs to find is what will open up the gate to the magical Princeton. As Lily starts to uncover the secrets of Princeton she also uncovers who she really is all while in the middle of a battle.

Her Grandpa was part of a secret club in Princeton, called the Knights. They protect Princeton from the feeders. Feeders are magical creatures from the magical Princeton that are trapped in the real world and the only way they can survive is feeding off humans, which usually ends up fatal for the human.

I absolutely loved Ice by Sarah Beth Durst and was so excited when I heard she had another book coming out. I was a little scared that since I did like Ice so much that I wouldn't like this one as much, but I was not disappointed.

This story had so many turns in it, so many that I didn't see coming. Sometimes I would have an AHA! moment, but then find out that my AHA! moment was completely wrong. Lily got on my nerves a little but just by how stubborn she was being in the beginning. It took her forever to realize that the gargoyles were really talking to her and wasn't a microphone hidden anywhere.

I really loved that this was like a mystery. Lily didn't know who she could trust, what was real, and what was really going on. I also loved all the magical creatures, the dragons, unicorns, dryads, faeries, were-tigers, everything! So this book basically had everything I love in a story. The only thing I didn't like was that the magical Princeton wasn't described as much. It was only slightly touched on and I would have liked to learn more about it.

Overall I really love this book and would recommend it to anyone who loves a little mystery, magic, and battles.