The Ring and the Crown By: Melissa de la Cruz
Synopsis: 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.
Alright... review time! This was a very....... interesting read. I honestly don't know how to describe it besides saying its "interesting". Truthfully, it was like the Soap Opera "The Young and the Restless" in the 1900s. Let me give you an example, I came down stairs and my mom asked me how my book was and I replied with this:
"Ohh yes, its really interesting mom! This one girl, Isabelle just ran away to marry her like second generation cousin removed and then he was murdered and she found out she was pregnant and she doesn't know if its her ex husbands (the prince who basically sexually abused her) or if the kid is her perverted uncle's. He used to sexually assault her as well, you see??"
It was in that moment that I realized that maybe there was like 7 too many plot twists thrown into this book. haha! This novel switches between 5 or 6 points of view which was also very hard to follow. I loved the magic and the role that the merlins and magic people played in society but the relationships between the characters really lost the book some major points. I really think that one of the main things that angered me about this book though, was the fact that none of the couples ended up together. Like I had to read through 300 pages of all the love triangles and forbidden romance and dramatic SOAP stuff and its all for NOTHING! *facepalm*
I really enjoyed the world in which this story took place and i liked the characters (although I couldn't really relate to them) but Melissa de la Cruz really needs to calm down with the plot twist and drama. I honestly felt like I should have had a pen and paper and been taking notes to keep track of it all...
Okay! Happy reading nerds and sound off in the comments with you opinions and perspective in this novel!! :)
Synopsis: 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.
Alright... review time! This was a very....... interesting read. I honestly don't know how to describe it besides saying its "interesting". Truthfully, it was like the Soap Opera "The Young and the Restless" in the 1900s. Let me give you an example, I came down stairs and my mom asked me how my book was and I replied with this:
"Ohh yes, its really interesting mom! This one girl, Isabelle just ran away to marry her like second generation cousin removed and then he was murdered and she found out she was pregnant and she doesn't know if its her ex husbands (the prince who basically sexually abused her) or if the kid is her perverted uncle's. He used to sexually assault her as well, you see??"
It was in that moment that I realized that maybe there was like 7 too many plot twists thrown into this book. haha! This novel switches between 5 or 6 points of view which was also very hard to follow. I loved the magic and the role that the merlins and magic people played in society but the relationships between the characters really lost the book some major points. I really think that one of the main things that angered me about this book though, was the fact that none of the couples ended up together. Like I had to read through 300 pages of all the love triangles and forbidden romance and dramatic SOAP stuff and its all for NOTHING! *facepalm*
I really enjoyed the world in which this story took place and i liked the characters (although I couldn't really relate to them) but Melissa de la Cruz really needs to calm down with the plot twist and drama. I honestly felt like I should have had a pen and paper and been taking notes to keep track of it all...
Okay! Happy reading nerds and sound off in the comments with you opinions and perspective in this novel!! :)
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