
Part of Series
The glamour and enchantment continues in the sequel to bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz’s The Ring and the Crown. After a wild season of ballroom dances, magic, high treason, and wars abroad, Marie-Victoria Grace Eleanor Aquitane, Princess Dauphine of the Franco-British Empire, joins in matrimony with the Kronprinz of the Prussian Empire, Wolfgang Friedrich Joachim von Hohenzollern. “Wolf” for short. On the night of Wolf and Marie’s wedding, her mother, Queen Eleanor, dies suddenly and ends a centuries long reign. Bound by blood magic, the Queen’s mage, Merlin, gives up his own mortal form. His passing leaves daughter, Aelwynn Myrddyn, as the most powerful magician and new Morgaine of the Realm. Set to ascend the Lily Throne, Queen-Designate Marie needs all the help her magical confidant Aelwynn can provide, but malevolent forces seek to tear them apart. A spectral fog brings ships of war. Isabelle of Valois, Lady Orleans, fights for her own kingdom now stripped away. A mysterious first cousin twice removed, Henri de la Rouchefort, seeks the services of Ronan Astor a beautiful, American socialite and fine milliner, to make a new royal crown, but for whom? The fate of the empire and even the world is as stake in this dazzling sequel. About this Edition: This book is an unedited first draft of the previously unpublished sequel to The Ring and the Crown. Proceeds from the sale of this title will benefit the YALLWEST book festival and its school outreach programming, bringing books and authors to underserved communities. Praise for THE RING AND THE CROWN “Preening royalty, a touch of magic and dramatic betrayal. What’s not to love?” —Teen Vogue “This character-driven novel has fabulous balls, glitzy gowns, and plenty of drama and plot twists, making it hard to put down.” —School Library Journal
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 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.