The Ring and The Crown by Melissa de la Cruz Published by Disney Hyperion on April 1, 2014
Pages: 384
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased by Reviewer
Add to your Goodreads TBR shelf.
Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N
Princess Marie-Victoria, heir to the Lily Throne, and Aelwyn Myrddn, bastard daughter of the Mage of England, grew up together. But who will rule, and who will serve?
Quiet and gentle, Marie has never lived up to the ambitions of her mother, Queen Eleanor the Second, Supreme Ruler of the Franco-British Empire. With the help of her Head Merlin, Emrys, Eleanor has maintained her stranglehold on the world's only source of magic. She rules the most powerful empire the world has ever seen.
But even with the aid of Emrys' magic, Eleanor's extended lifespan is nearing its end. The princess must marry and produce an heir or the Empire will be vulnerable to its greatest enemy, Prussia. The two kingdoms must unite to end the war, and the only solution is a match between Marie and Prince Leopold VII, heir to the Prussian throne. But Marie has always loved Gill, her childhood friend and soldier of the Queen's Guard.
Together, Marie and Aelwyn, a powerful magician in her own right, come up with a plan. Aelwyn will take on Marie's face, allowing the princess to escape with Gill and live the quiet life she's always wanted. And Aelwyn will get what she's always dreamed of--the chance to rule. But the court intrigue and hunger for power in Lenoran England run deeper than anyone could imagine. In the end, there is only rule that matters in Eleanor's court: trust no one.
Magical Realism in a historical setting makes me HAPPY.
Think “The Young and The Restless” meets ” Camelot” on steroids. TR & TC unfolds against the unstable historical setting of London during the Franco-British empire and Melissa De La Cruz immediately dazzled me with the sensibilities of her characters just as much as she did with the story setting.
There are several key players in this book that move around like pieces on a chess board, carefully planning each move in the name of duty, self-interest or self- preservation. However, the characters that stole the show for me were Ronan Astor and Wolfgang von Hohenzollum.
Ronan is an American girl with diluted noble-blood looking for love in all the wrong places. Ronan is her family’s last chance to save their estate because they have run out of funds. After she’s shipped off to London for the Ball Season aka “find-yourself-a-rich-husband-season” she’s taken for a bit of a whirl that screams of Jane Austen-style confusion and hits-and-misses. I enjoyed Ronan’s sometimes aloof, mostly calculating disposition especially when things go better than she could have ever anticipated.
Wolfgang aka Wolf made me pant like a Husky in heat. He was absolutely delectable and I want seconds. Wolf is the rogue brother of the heir to the Franco-British throne, and boy does he put Prince Harry to shame when it comes to brutish behavior. His dark-hair, light-eye good looks aren’t the only thing that make Wolf edible; his pension for underground boxing is the icing on the cake. Wolf is my FAVORITE kind of male protagonist in a story and I devoured every moment that transpired between him and Ronan in this novel.
Overall, I thought the pacing of this novel was on point and the plot was clever and well developed. For all the sparkling wit and glittering settings in this story, there were moments and sub plots dark enough to give this book a very realistic feel to the time period it is set in.
The balance between magic and history was perfect and made this a thoroughly enjoyable read. Sure, there are a lot of story-lines and family trees to follow, but you don’t have to be Sherlock to figure things out and keep up.
I think any fan of historical fiction/fantasy/magical realism/Arthurian legend/royalty will find this book wildly entertaining.
The Ring and The Crown was AWESOME even if Melissa De La Cruz stabbed me in the heart at the end. It deserves a better review than I can give but it’s been a few months since I read it, so this will have to do.
ENTER TO WIN a hardcover copy below to experience the awesomeness of TR & TC yourself.
I don’t really have a favorite Royalty novel. 🙂 Thanks for this chance!
Love the idea of this story! What’s the magic realism part though?
Magical Realism is when there are magical elements added to an otherwise mundane and realistic world. In this story that reads a lot like Historical Fiction, there are wizards and different kinds of magic at work behind the throne. Some other readers might have felt like this was a Historical Fantasy but it read more like Magical Realism for me. 🙂
The Princess Diaries. I love reading about Mia and her friends.
I dove into this book with really low expectations. But after I read it, I was glad that I picked it up. I’m really glad you loved this book as much as I did because this is one of my favorite books.
Is this international??
Unfortunately, no. 🙁 It says USA only in the fine print for the Rafflecopter and in the shareable tweet for the contest. I’m sorry! Thanks for checking out the contest anyway. 🙂
Hmm…books about royalty. Well, I’m reading Assassin’s Apprentice right now and that deals with royal families and such. I’m liking it too!
Hmm, hard question. Maybe Robin Hobb’s books, or the Throne of Glass novels, or A Song of Ice and Fire series.
The Selection 🙂