1900 , Arthurian , Crown , Europe , gay , LGBT , love , Mage , Magic , Merlin , Queen , Rated R , review , Royals , Sex , time , witches , YA

The Ring and the Crown (The Ring and the Crown #1) by Melissa de la Cruz | Review

12:00:00 AM

Pages: 384 pages

Publication Date: April 1st 2014 by Disney-Hyperion

ISBN: 1423157427 (ISBN13: 9781423157427)

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

Now, What I Thought:

This book definitely intimated me. Not only had it been out for quite a while but it had tons of reviews and was and still is quite popular. Starting off the book we are introduced to Princess Marie, who has an illness. I was a bit confused at first and it did take till Wolfgang's P.O.V and him describing her illness for me to fully understand what was happening with her. There are a lot of characters in this book and at first, it was really overwhelming haha. I literally found this book to be, put plainly, a bunch of horny teens that are obsessed with sex. LMFAO. IM SORRY BUT THATS WHAT I THINK.

I think my favourite character was Aewlyn, because who doesn't love a powerful, fierce witch, or mage as this book calls them. I felt like she was the smartest and knew how the courts worked and how to work them for her favour. Also, hello. In the FABULOUS trailer, which will be linked below, the actress that portrayed her is beautiful! I couldn't stop myself from just staring at her face. Speaking of the trailer, I can say that it is the only reason I read this book and even knew it existed. It was so professionally done and not cheesy like most book trailers are, it was a total favour for this book. Was this book the best thing ever? No. Was it cool and had a interesting concept? Yes! The whole book is told from 5 point of views: Marie, Aelywn, Wolfgang, Ronan and Isabelle.

Princess Marie: Sweet, shy, calm, well-mannered Princess who is 17 and has tuberculosis, in which she has to wear leg braces... all in all, she's pretty plain looking. Also her mother's like 150 years old and only Marie can see her mothers true face (old and haggard) while everyone else marvels at how she doesn't look a day over 30. Yikes.

Prince Leopold: Handsome, smart, brave.. and an asshole. He's the famous, lovable prince that everyone worships and adores. Obviously except Marie considering she sees right through his act. OH and he's especially horny, like really really horny.

Gill: Handsome? um.. brave?? I mean he's just a strong guard that Marie is truly in love with for saving her life. I guess he has personality?

Aewlyn: Beautiful, strong, powerful, witch. Also, daughter of Merlin, I mean .... I LOVE the Arthurian Era, so whats better than having Merlin in this book? well the fact that his daughter could be more powerful than even him. Dun Dun Dun...Basically her day job is being Marie's best friend and accomplice.

Ronan: Who? sorry thats right, the American who goes to Europe to get married off to save her broke family. Thats when she meets Wolfgang... the prince... even though she doesn't know it yet.

Prince Wolgang: Horny. Ass. Teenager. I mean, he is the brother of Leopold after all. He is the handsome, underrated, charming prince that might not get to be King, but gets all of the ladies instead. He's sweet and nice when we meet him.. except that in the first five minutes of meeting Ronan, and other girls might I add, he suggests strip poker as an icebreaker. Yep. Horny teens!!!

Isabelle: Beautiful, petite, French royal, delicate, and not a virgin considering she's been sleeping with Prince Leopold for the past how long? You see, Isabelle has the worst luck. At first, she's originally engaged to Leopold and even gives it up to the man-whore thinking he loves her for who she is blah blah blah. Until, that engagement is taken and given to Marie. SO what does Isabelle do? try to ruin it.. of course. Something horrible does happen to her so I cant be too judgemental.. oh wait I can considering she literally has. to. cry. all. the. friggan. time. WHY. Isabelle was my least favourite character by far!

All in all, the book was pretty entertaining for a quick read. Just saying, with everything said and that I've made fun of, I will still read the upcoming sequel because I mean.. it is a cool concept and hello! MERLIN.

HERES THE TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeqBgUglvao

Also, the song is what immediately pay more attention. If you know it, kudos!