emleemay 's review for:

The Ring and the Crown by Melissa de la Cruz

3.0

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Fantasy-lite. But a lot of fun!

I'm glad I didn't pass this book up, despite the lack of emotional development and some of the questionable world-building. The Ring and The Crown is my first read by de la Cruz but it seems she has a talent for writing lighthearted, fluffy and entertaining stories. Reading this was a bit like reading a gossip magazine - full of the scandals, relationships and drama of the celebrities aristocracy. It won't change your life, you won't get a new philosophical perspective, but it is a fast-paced, entertaining novel that held my attention from start to finish. Oh, and there's also a few dashes of magic now and then.

As is common with traditional fantasy, there's quite a large cast of main characters and the book zips quickly from one point of view to another. Surprisingly, this works really well here and each perspective offers something unique and interesting. The world-building is patchy here and there, but this is not for a lack of trying. The author sets the scene in the prologue - this is an alternate history where the world is dominated by the Franco-British empire and its head controls the world's only source of magic. I had to raise an eyebrow at how quickly the author paints a picture of this unlikely world and expects us to believe it without further details... but, oh well. Into this world comes an array of characters: Princess Marie-Victoria (heir to the throne), Queen Eleanor (her mother), the Head Merlin and his daughter - Aelwyn Myrddn, Prince Leopold, Gill, Ronan and Wolf (to name but a few).

Queen Eleanor has high ambitions for her daughter and intends for her to marry Prince Leopold, but Marie has long been in love with her childhood friend - Gill. Their story isn't the only one of its kind in this novel. In fact, much of the book is about the romancing of the royals and aristocracy; the people they love and don't love but are being forced to marry. It's a whole bunch of romantic silliness that I don't usually care for but found extremely readable and entertaining. I suppose that sometimes this kind of light, undemanding story is exactly what you need. Just don't wander into this expecting hidden depth.

To some extent, though, I am selling this one short. Despite predominantly being a historical fantasy romance, the female characters all get their turn at being badass. Running parallel to the flirtations and sexual tension, is a story about war and magic. And the fate of this world depends on the female main characters (who all have their own strengths). I don't want you to think this is a typical romance where the women care about nothing but the guy's beautiful face, they have bigger concerns too.

Want something deep, complex and meaningful? Go find something else to read. Want something light and entertaining? Then this could very well be the book for you. This will probably appeal to fans of [b:Falling Kingdoms|12954620|Falling Kingdoms (Falling Kingdoms, #1)|Morgan Rhodes|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1337026387s/12954620.jpg|18111704] by [a:Morgan Rhodes|5295120|Morgan Rhodes|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1354050427p2/5295120.jpg].