Pages: 384
Genre(s): YA, Historical Fiction, Fantasy
Published: April 1, 2014 | Disney-Hyperion
Edition: Hardcover
Source: Regina @MEReadALOT
Rating:
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.
I never realized how much I enjoy the Historical Fiction genre until I started watching the TV show Reign. I was so fascinated by the era -- the fancy dresses and gowns, the extravagant balls, the cute princes & annoying princesses . . . I was just so intrigued by it all. Suddenly I found myself purchasing books from the genre, and was absolutely ecstatic when Regina from MEReadALOT offered to send me The Ring & The Crown in exchange for an honest review.
I won't lie and say that my expectations weren't through the roof, because they were, and the beauty of Historical Fiction that I just knew I was diving into, ended up being a brick wall of . . . nothing. A true disappointment. I don't want this review to come across as " ranty " or anything, but there were so many things wrong about this book, that it'll pretty much be unavoidable for me. Let's just get this over with . . .
* Le Sigh *
I won't lie and say that my expectations weren't through the roof, because they were, and the beauty of Historical Fiction that I just knew I was diving into, ended up being a brick wall of . . . nothing. A true disappointment. I don't want this review to come across as " ranty " or anything, but there were so many things wrong about this book, that it'll pretty much be unavoidable for me. Let's just get this over with . . .
* Le Sigh *
Welcome To High School
The first 50 pages of The Ring & The Crown were really good to be honest. Within these first few chapters, we spend our time getting to learn about all 5 of the MAIN characters. I thought I would like this aspect, mainly because I tend to love stories that are told in alternate perspectives, but the 5 POV's got old . . . and pretty damn quickly. My biggest problem with the story was that I couldn't stand majority of the characters. Only one stood out to me -- Wolf, the street fighting prince, but other than him, all the other characters were completely ridiculous. Our sickly princess Marie-Victoria complained to much, Aewlyn was just . . . blah, Isabelle was a damn fool, Ronan was just okay, and Leo -- who might I add didn't even have his own POV, was the prince set to marry Marie, and was the biggest asshole I've ever read about. I literally liked NONE OF THEM, except for my dear Wolf. I adored the fact that he wasn't a typical prince -- like his brother -- instead he was rough around the edges, and had such a cute & charming air about him.
The perspectives weren't told in any particular order, and while this wasn't difficult for me to follow, about 100 pages in, I was tired of the flow. One minute I'd be reading about Wolf, and sadly I wouldn't get back to his POV until everyone had their turn in the rotation. It was just too much, and proved to be utterly impossible to connect with any of the childish characters . . . not that I wanted to anyway.
" Now he was on top of her, kissing her again, and she wriggled underneath him, and found she was crying. She was crying without making a sound, the tears streaming down her face as he kissed her, just like the first time, when she had been unable to ask him to stop. "
SERIOUSLY MELISSA
Off With My Head . . . Please
I was pre-warned, (is that even a word?) about Melissa's writing, but I've never been the type to turn a blind eye to a book, especially if I want to read it. Unfortunately, all the warnings I received deemed to be true, as the storyline, plot, and everything else this book consisted of, feel pretty flat. In entirety, it seemed like EVERYTHING was lacking in this story. Besides the characters being incredibly stupid, (which is a word I NEVER use to describe characters) the storyline itself was just . . . I don't even know. There was enough romance between the characters to last us a lifetime, but none of it made any sense. I had this nagging feeling that there were going to be love triangles, and to be honest, I would have much rather dealt with that, then to get slapped left and right by insta-love between people that DIDN'T MAKE SENSE! The lack of emotion from the characters made every kiss, every hug, every stupid cry, every weird sexual encounter UNBELIEVABLE. I rolled my eyes, and facepalmed so much while reading this, that I eventually ended up with an headache.
After a certain point, I had to fight against the urge to DNF with only 50 or so pages left, and instead just focused on finishing. It wasn't too hard, the story moves rather quickly, which in this case, is a blessing and a curse. The last 30 pages were so rushed that after reading the last sentence in the book, my reaction was:
" Wait, WTF happened ?" Imagine wrapping up a handful of pointless plot twists, mysteries, and or secrets in the last couple of chapters! There was this huge plot twist that caused me to sit the book down in frustation, (It's too pretty to throw) and after a couple of major reveals, I was completely flabbergasted by how NOTHING ADDED UP. NOTHING MADE ANY TYPE OF SENSE!
" Wait, WTF happened ?" Imagine wrapping up a handful of pointless plot twists, mysteries, and or secrets in the last couple of chapters! There was this huge plot twist that caused me to sit the book down in frustation, (It's too pretty to throw) and after a couple of major reveals, I was completely flabbergasted by how NOTHING ADDED UP. NOTHING MADE ANY TYPE OF SENSE!
" I am glad he is dead, -- he was evil, Marie. He was a sorcerer -- he was poison through and through " . . .
" I knew, I saw it in him when we met again -- "
NO THE HELL YOU DIDN'T !!
So, to wrap up this review before it turns into a full-on rant, The Ring & The Crown just wasn't my cup of tea.
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