Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Historical Fiction
Publication date: April 2014
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Read: August 2014
Pages: 384
Rating: ★★★★☆
Summary
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.
My review
"The ring and the crown were there for the taking"
Before reading:
I heard about this book from Polandbananasbooks on booktube. I fell in love with the hardcover and the font is absolutely stunning! I've never read a book by Melissa De La Cruz so this is actually the first book I read by her. I didn't really know much about this book so I didn't really know what to expect.
While reading:
I was impressed with the writing style. The words are enriched and classy, I guess. When I read the "Prologue", I didn't know if I was going to like it though because it was different amd out of my comfort zone. At first, I was really confused. Then I realized there were talking about different characters in each chapters at the beginning. I was really intrigued when I got to the middle part of the story when all the characters were in London. I also liked the part when Wolf and Ronan first meet. I really adored Aelwyn, she's so smart and brave. I wasn't a big fan of Marie-Victoria though, she was annoying most of the time in my opinion. I thought I was going to hate Isabelle but I ended up really liking her. Lastly, I had a crush on Leo at the beginning but it turns out, he's a total jerk.
After reading:
I really really like this book. It surprised me that's for sure because I never thought I was going to like it. I got it a few months ago and I just started reading it this month. I am so glad I gave it a chance because it was absolutely amazing. I thought we were going to see more of the Merlin and Queen Eleanor but I was wrong and that's totally fine. I felt like I was watching a movie while I was reading it. I realized when Wolf and Ronan first met, it kind of reminded me of the "Titanic" movie with Rose and Jack. I really hope that one day this will turn into a movie because I think the story is very interesting to watch. I ended up falling in love with Kronprinz Wolfgang Friedrich Joachim von Hohenzollem. Wow what a long name! Melissa De La Cruz's writing is unique and everyone needs to read this book as soon as they can. I recommend it to everyone. Before I end this review, I want to say that I'm glad there will be a sequel to this book called "The Queen & the Courtesan".
Two girls.
One beautiful and strong.
One plain and powerless.
Only one shall be queen...
And the other shall serve her.
But as I awake from sleep, I still don't know
Which one of them is my daughter?
And which one is the traitor?
About the author
Melissa de la Cruz is the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of many critically acclaimed and award-winning novels for teens including The Au Pairs series, the Blue Bloodsseries, the Ashleys series, the Angels on Sunset Boulevard series and the semi-autobiographical novel Fresh off the Boat.
Her books for adults include the novel Cat’s Meow, the anthology Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boysand the tongue-in-chic handbooks How to Become Famous in Two Weeks or Less and The Fashionista Files: Adventures in Four-inch heels and Faux-Pas.
She has worked as a fashion and beauty editor and has written for many publications including The New York Times, Marie Claire, Harper’s Bazaar, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Allure, The San Francisco Chronicle, McSweeney’s, Teen Vogue, CosmoGirl! and Seventeen. She has also appeared as an expert on fashion, trends and fame for CNN, E! and FoxNews.
Melissa grew up in Manila and moved to San Francisco with her family, where she graduated high school salutatorian from The Convent of the Sacred Heart. She majored in art history and English at Columbia University (and minored in nightclubs and shopping!).
Melissa lives in Los Angeles and Palm Springs with her family.
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