Showing posts with label The ring and the crown. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The ring and the crown. Show all posts

MAY Book of the Month


The Ring & The Crown
by Melissa de la Cruz


Title: The Ring and The Crown
Publishing Date: April 1st 2014
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
ISBN: 9781423157427 

    

Summary (via Goodreads)


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.
To see my review of The Ring & The Crown 
CLICK HERE


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About Melissa

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 Bloods series, 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 Boys and 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!).
She now divides her time between New York and Los Angeles, where she lives in the Hollywood Hills with her husband and daughter.


**EXCERPT**

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#IreadYA



This week is #IreadYA week. It's a time to tell everyone why YA fiction is such an amazing genre to read. I spent a lot of time thinking about why it is exactly I love these books so much and I came up with two very different and very important reasons. 1. Because YA novels have the most amazing book boyfriends! & 2. These books, no matter what sub-genre of YA, are full of first. Full of discoveries.

So lovelies, as part of YA Week I'm going to write two posts that show you exactly what I mean, starting with my book boyfriends!
Don't forget, as always, click on the book covers and it will take you straight to my reviews for each swoon worthy book!



Fangirl

Cath and Wren are identical twins and until recently they did absolutely everything together. Now they're off to university and Wren's decided she doesn't want to be one half any more - she wants to dance, meet boys, go to parties and let loose. It's not easy for Cath. She would rather bury herself in the fanfiction she writes where there's romance far more intense than anything she's experienced in real life. Now Cath has to decide whether she's ready to open her heart to new people and new experiences, and she's realising that there's more to learn about love than she ever thought possible...


Levi is the swoon worthy boy in Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl! He's the ultimate book boyfriend, he's sweet and cute and just so damn adorable. If you don't fall in love with this one then there is something seriously wrong with you! 


The Ring & The Crown

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.

There are so many different characters in this one you'd be pushed to pick just one guy to swoon over. However, for me at least, the only guy you should be giving your attention to is Wolf. He's this perfect mix of bad boy and sweetheart. For the time in which The Ring & The Crown is set, he's a refreshing change to the norm. 


Between the Lives

For as long as she can remember, Sabine has lived two lives. Every 24 hours she shifts to her 'other' life - a life where she is exactly the same, but absolutely everything else is different: different family, different friends, different social expectations. In one life she has a sister, in the other she does not. In one life she's a straight-A student with the perfect boyfriend, in the other she's considered a reckless delinquent. Nothing about her situation has ever changed, until the day when she discovers a glitch: the arm she breaks in one life is perfectly fine in the other.
With this new knowledge, Sabine begins a series of increasingly risky experiments that bring her dangerously close to the life she's always wanted. But if she can only have one life, which is the one she'll choose?

Ah! This ones a damn heartbreaker!!  Ethan believes in Sabine when no one else does, he's supportive and open minded and just about as selfless as you get. He could very easily have been betrayed as an angry and bitter character but he's not, and it makes me love him even more. 


A Witch in Winter


When love is tangled up in magic, how do you know what's real? When Anna meets Seth, it's magic. But her hidden powers unleash a spell that sparks a war among witches and enslaves Seth's heart.

Seth, oh this poor sod will have your heart melting quicker than ice cream on a summers day! I have to admit, Seth has a couple of moments where his book boyfriend status is questioned. However, those moments are very short and once those pass it lets you get straight to the fangirling. 


Anna and the French Kiss


Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris--until she meets Étienne St. Clair. Smart, charming, beautiful, Étienne has it all... including a serious girlfriend.
But in the City of Lights, wishes have a way of coming true. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited French kiss?

So St. Claire may be a little on the short side, and have a girlfriend for the majority of the book but he is most definitely worth adding to this swoon worthy book boyfriends list! Him and Anna have some ridiculously cute scenes together and this is also one of my favourite YA's of all time so make sure you pick this one up! 


So those were my top book boyfriends and just one of the MANY reasons I love YA novels. Second #IreadYA post will be posted on Friday!
But until then tell me, do you agree with my picks? & who are your book boyfriends? 

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The Ring & The Crown


Happy Monday lovelies! Today I have something rather special for you. I was sent a copy of The Ring and The Crown by the wonderful ladies at Small Girls PR to review. I've ever been more excited to receive a book and this is my honest review. Expect gushing, fangirling and a little drooling. 



Rating: 5 out of 5

  


Title: The Ring and The Crown
Publishing Date: April 1st 2014
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
ISBN: 9781423157427 
Received from: Small Girls PR


Summary (via Goodreads)


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.

Review

There's no better feeling then when you find a book that you completely adore. This is one of my favorite books I've read this year! If J.K. Rowling and Philippa Gregory had a 382 page love child this would be it! It's rife with magic and enchantment while set in an historic context that will take you away to a whole other world. It's effortlessly written and is all out mesmerizing to read.

The Ring & The Crown tells the tail of the people attending the London Season in the early 20th century as Marie, the Princess of Wales prepares for her engagement to one Prince Leopold in order to secure pace between their two nations. But with Leo currently betrothed to another and Marie's heart already taken it's bound to be an interesting season indeed.

I was a little worried when picking up with book because I tend to have issues with female points of view's as they can come across a little winy and quite often the only real thought they have is 'why doesn't he love me?' But that is definitely not the case with this book! There are several different and interlocking love stories going on but all the women are strong minded and independent and give the men a run for their money.

We have Marie, the princess of Wales and heir to the British Thrown. Her childhood friend and sorceress Aelwyn. American beauty Rowan and French firehouse Isabel. All these wonderful leading ladies have vivid personalities and complicated love lives. Not a single one of them is dull or what they're meant to be. The Ring & The Crown follows them all as they have too choose between duty and their hearts. Friendship and protocol. And that's not even mentioning the boys!




SWOON ALERT - I'm going to start with Wolf. It's very rare you get a bad boy and a gentleman all rolled into one like you do here. He's cheeky and boisterous but has these romanticised ideas of what makes a relationship that is a rarity in this kind of setting. He's top of my fictional man crush list! There's also Gill and Louis to look out for, and a couple of villains that will make your skin crawl.

The ending was a full on information bomb! With one thing after another being thrown at you - I had a little trouble keeping up. It's not a hugely action packed novel but the end definitely made up for it. Although I would have maybe liked a little more fantasy as they bits we did get were really well written. Although say that the fact that it wasn't stuffed to the brim meant that you could take everything in. With so many different points of view you needed that time to really get to know everyone. If it had been any busier you wouldn't have felt for the characters, which would have made the events that unfolded towards the end of the book completely irrelevant.

As it is, I adored this book. Full stop end of story. I need more! As in a second book... now would be nice. This is one of those books that I intend to read again and again until I can quote it word for word. It's an enchanting world with vivid, loveable character's that will have you trolling your local book store for Melissa's other books. I highly recommend this and hope you love it as much as I did.

I think Melissa deserves one of these...

And one of these... I save Nathan for the very special ones.



**I received this book as an ARC from the Small Girls PR to read and review. This is a 100% honest review**



These are a few notes I made while reading The Ring & The Crown. All notes where made on my GoodReads page.




This is such a great book and there were a couple of lyric quotes at the beginning of each section so I thought it was only fitting to put together a little playlist to get this the book. It's all about GIRL POWER this one. Enjoy x


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#GLAMofTHRONES


Happy Thursday everyone! Today I've got something really exciting for you lovely people. The Ring and The Crown is the new novel by bestselling author Melissa De La Cruz and to celebrate we thought we'd have a little book blast.

About the Book


Title: The Ring and The Crown
Publishing Date: April 1st 2014
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
ISBN: 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.


I have a copy of The Ring and The Crown in the post so expect a review some time next month! To buy your copy click on the links bellow.

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes&Noble 





Now for the exciting bit! Sorrelli has hand picked these beautiful pieces of jewellery that fit perfectly with our leading ladies! And if that wasn't enough you can get an extra 10% off until the 30th April with the promo code bellow! These are seriously gorgeous pieces and I'm a little bit in love with the Ronan collection myself.









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