Curiously enough, I was recently talking about books that start with more description than I’d like, but turn out to be worth the effort. This is one of them. It starts feeling more like a historical novelization than a fictional account where magic holds a key place. Not that the magic isn’t introduced straight off, because it is, but rather because it begins with a history lesson.

There’s no pussyfooting around this alternate history as the reader adjusts to the differences. No, you’re thrown head first into it with the critical background given to you in a voice that makes it sound real more than fiction. It’s an odd technique that so easily could have failed, but it gave me the grounding I needed to understand what is a very complex novel seeped in court politics, duty, and a sizeable number of main characters all trying to find a way to win what they desire against obstacles large and small leveled against them.

While the cast is large, their pieces are introduced gradually, leading them to coalesce into a position where each plays a role in the larger events, willingly or not. Often they become involved without understanding until too deeply embroiled to change that path, or so I thought. There were some events that caught me by surprise, not because they were implausible but more because the narrative was falling into clear paths driving the story, and then the particular character shows a wonderful blend of self-determination and growth leading them to turn 360 in some cases as they recognize their choices led them away from what they should do.

Talking about this novel is difficult because every piece comes together at the right time. Knowing something too soon might spoil some of the wealth of the novel. That would be a pity because it’s the wealth of story that makes the focus on description worthwhile for me who generally prefers a sparer presentation.

The Ring and the Crown centers around the London Season, though it’s changed due to different outcomes in earlier wars and the foundation of magic, which keeps a Merlin at the queen’s side and the mages, strictly controlled. Keeping with the tradition of the season, it’s a marriage mart with those up for barter varying from an impoverished American girl hoping to conceal her desperate straits long enough to catch a wealthy spouse to the princess herself and a handful of others.

Marriage is a tool for both politics and economics in the book, but those at the center of the negotiations have their own minds and hearts. Each character must balance personal desire against responsibilities, their sense of self against the compromises they’re willing to make. The various aspects are shown in each of the characters’ stories to craft a narrative that is both untraditional as it breaks expectations and reads very true.

I loved some of the tweaks of history, like the two lords who were out gays, a convention explained by a nod to Lord Byron that made it clear history had twisted to laud instead of imprison him.

I had two quibbles with the story, one in the beginning, and one in the end. The beginning was just that I had trouble at first with engaging two main characters: Marie (the princess) and Aelwyn (a mage just returned from Avalon at the request of her father, the queen’s Merlin). In both cases, the introduction did give us grounding in the world and the connection between these two, but in such a way I was turned off by both of them. It may be reader 50%, or just some poor choices, but soon after I clicked with both, and those concerns that bugged me in their introductions did come into play later, so it’s a small quibble. The second is a big quibble but one with a small impact. Toward the end, there is a data dump scene where Aelwyn catches Marie up on all she’s discovered. This scene could have easily been done actively with a tag at the end that Aelwyn went to Marie to tell her what she’d learned rather than having the actual scene be the retelling. However, it’s a small impact because much of what we learn in the data dump I’d already suspected, meaning it was well set up, and the rest made sense on the hearing, again meaning it was supported by the text.

So, overall, if detailed description bugs you, this might not be the book for you. However, if you enjoy description, or can tolerate it in favor of a complicated political drama, The Ring and the Crown offers complex characters working through difficult events which allow them to learn and grow.

P.S. I received this title from the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.