By Juliana Riverin
Staff Writer
Money, power and magic once again are the main culprits for the plethora of conflicts in Melissa De La Cruz’s new historical-fiction, “The Ring and the Crown.”
Although the overall setting of the novel is seemingly interesting, it only results in an unexplored good idea. The rest of the book, specifically both plot and character development, is lacking and repetitive.
Set in an alternate version of the Middle Ages, “The Ring and the Crown” revolves around the Franco-British Empire, a country founded after the English conquered the French monarchs.
The central narrative takes places hundreds of years later. The children of the country’s wealthy are beginning to play the game of political bargaining through relationships and manipulation, and from there, the struggles for the throne begin.
De LaCruz’s emphasis on having an absurd amount of characters, most of whom are largely indistinguishable from one another, serves to be one of the novel’s major flaws. Most of them are little more than rich children who feel confined to their family’s long-established lineages. The unnecessary characters featured in the historical fiction tale only convolute the novel.
Even worse, each individual character has a series of conflicts it endures throughout the story, almost none of which are vital to the main plot. The result is an abhorrent emphasis on quantity over quality, leaving the reader even more frustrated.
The most disappointing aspect of the “The Ring and the Crown” comes from the underrealized setting, which despite being uncommon and warranting intrigue, remains entirely unexplored. The idea of an alternative history between Britain and France, as well as a magically-influenced Europe, opens up a multitude of intriguing paths to be followed in the story. However, none of these are even briefly explored, resulting in a crushing disappointment of ungrasped potential.
Despite an interesting, if entirely lacking, universe, “The Ring and the Crown” is a tiresome read dragged down by some of the worst character writing seen in recent novels. The result is a completely unremarkable novel worth no one’s time.
“The Ring and the Crown” is available starting at $9.99 digitally and in retail.
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