Book Review: The Ring and The Crownㅡby Melissa De La Cruz

The Ring and The Crown

Series: The Ring and The Crown #1 (Discontinued sequel)

Published: February 07, 2017 (First Published: April 1, 2014)

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion Books

Rating: 4 Prints

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.

First of all, I had troubles in starting this book. I’ve read about two chapters and would stop. Why? Because The Ring and The Crown took forever to start. The first five (?) chapters would be an introduction for the characters. There are soooo many characters and they have complicated names. The first five chapters gave me different stories of different characters within the whole book. It was hard to understand who is who until you read his/her name. There was no reminder like “hey! This chapter is Aelwyn’s story.” It was so confusing. Plus, the story was slow or I just didn’t notice that I reached the rising action point of the book?

The book “The Ring and The Crown” is a historical fiction with a mixtures of fantasy and romance. It has castles, wars, magics, and fixed marriage. Anyway, this book have four stories of four different lives in the same event. There are Aelwyn’s, Marie-Victoria’s, Isabelle’s, and Ronan’s stories. These four women are connected to each other, wanna know why? You have to read the book to find out!

An unexpected thing that happened here is when Marie-Victoria asked her friend, Aelwyn, to literally be her. Using Aelwyn’s magic, she would copy every detail of Marie-Victoria. What will it do to Marie-Victoria? She will be free with her true love and not with the handsome, yet rude Prince Leopold.

This book contains an unexpected plot twist and a tragic love story. Better start reading it!

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