Monday, March 31, 2014

ARC Review of The Ring and the Crown by Melissa de la Cruz

Goodreads Summary:
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.

My Review:
It took me a little bit to really get into this book. The plot is pretty in depth so all the characters need descriptions and the time period set up. Give it time though, this is a great story. The story takes place quite a long time ago, it is never really specified. Complete with Royalty, Kings, Queen’s, Prince and Princesses. My favorite part has to be the magic users though. The world set up is just great; the way all the characters’ lives intertwined was simply brilliant. The Ring and the Crown is a story about duty, honor, love and heartbreak. In a world where you have to do what is best for a country which doesn’t always involve love. These characters are tasked with many choices about their lives. Some that would leave them happy and some that are because of your status in society. Would you be able to make the tough choices? To decide what is right or who to love?

The story starts by introducing you to all the characters; Wolf, Marie, Leo, Isabelle, Ronan, and Aelwyn. All are from different levels of society. Wolf and Leo are brothers, both Princes. Leo is to be King and Wolf is just living in the background. Isabelle is betrothed to Leo. Marie is the Princess of England. Aelwyn is a magic user and Ronan is a noble from the America’s. They all live within the same world but, nothing is as it seems. There are secret motives and liars among them. Their worlds soon come crashing together in ways that I never imagined. I don’t usually read books from this time period but, I loved it. The Royalty, the way they talked, and the clothes. I think I will be reading more.

There is a lot of romance going on. I don’t want to give anything away but, let’s just say that there is definitely scandal and love ahead. True love is something that is treasured among humans. We all deserve it right? Unless there is a war that needs to be stopped and countries to save. Choices are made and hearts are broken. Will anyone get the happily ever after they are looking for? Or will duty win this battle? 


I really enjoyed this book. I realized how much I like this era. There was so much deception and stuff going on in the background I never knew what was coming. You don’t have to like historical reads to enjoy this one! 

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