Britin Frazey

Rings of Fate, by Melissa de la Cruz, left me with several questions, and wanting more from the world that had been built— which is perfect, since it’s the first in a series. This review is what I would consider spoiler-free, but there are nuggets of information that may cause others to disagree. This is to say: read at your own risk.

This was the Book of the Month that I chose for January 2026. I started it in early February and finished it at the start of May, mainly due to my hectic schedule, especially as I focused on making it to graduation. Well, I made it! And finally, I was able to finish, which was overall very enjoyable.

I gave this story four stars, though I can easily understand why other readers would give it only three, or why some would dub it a five-star read. Even now, writing this review, nearly two weeks after the time I finished it, I have pretty split opinions on this story.

The first, most easy observation about this novel is how gorgeous it is. Especially Book of the Month’s edition, with its shiny, illustrated sprayed edges, as pictured below.

Even without sprayed edges, or with different ones, just look at this cover! I think it sets the tone for the world well: it may, at first, look unassuming, but will prove to have many hidden layers of interest.

The cover does a great job of helping readers picture a very important item which is integral to the plot: the Rings of Fate themselves. So, that seems like a good place to start for this review, especially given that readers know (assuming they read the book jacket) that one of the two main characters, Prince Dietan, carries these Rings.

Readers quickly learn that Dietan literally carries these, as they have been lodged within his back— specifically between his shoulders— since he was a child. These are items of immense power, which can either save or destroy the world. His dad, the King, needs them, as political tensions are rising with a war on the horizon. So, Dietan plans to find a bride, or at least someone to pretend to be his bride, so he can set out on a journey to remove the Rings from his body.

The other main character is Aren— what I assume to be an interesting spelling of a common name, in true fantasy-form— who runs a bar in a small village, and definitely doesn’t want to get married, or have any interest in princes. No, Aren is definitely not like other girls.

Okay, in fairness, the character doesn’t use this as an annoying pick-me front, I just think that author de la Cruz was a little too attached to the idea of her female lead being “sassy,” and it really annoyed me at the start of the book. In fact, that was far from the only thing that annoyed me about the beginning. I really had to push through, but it got continually better the further into the novel I got.

This author also wrote The Isle of the Lost, which was the inspiration for Disney’s Descendants movie franchise, which I ADORE, so I had a sense of loyalty, even though I never read that book. I only learned it was the same author from the book jacket’s portion about de la Cruz, but it was enough to keep me going, and I’m glad I did.

Although the summaries state that Aren isn’t interested in being a bride, it’s clear that she’s going to end up being the woman who poses as Dietan’s bride for his “Wedding March” through the continent. And, though it takes a while to get to that point in the book, there end up being several cute bonding moments in the story that serve as a build-up for their eventual journey, as well as set up for Aren’s younger twin sisters, Ophelia and Sonja, who seem like they’ll play bigger roles in the later novels of the series. Weirdly, the twins end up with Dietan’s two best friends, which seems a little too convenient, and I wasn’t convinced by either of those pairings from this book.

A few things to note about the world: it looks HUGE on a map, but when they actually hit the road, it takes (what read to me as) very inconsistent lengths of time to traverse seemingly even spaces. However, I’m not nit-picky enough to care much about that. Though, take a look at this image, which I also obtained from Amazon:

Doesn’t it look like the bridges would be, like, normal bridges? I’m very happy to report that, when we get to the first one, this proves not to be the case. In fact, I think the bridges may be the coolest thing about this world. They are miles wide; not just long, but WIDE. Enough so that there are buildings and structures— basically whole towns and cities— set up on these bridges. I found this so cool, and wanted to spend more time in these settings.

Despite my love for them, this book doesn’t spend a lot of time in these locations, but they made a larger impact on me than any other setting.

Some more notes about the world: magic is called “The Whisting,” and it seems to be incredibly rare. Dietan possesses it, but lacks control, both thanks to the Rings implanted in his back. And, personally, I spent the entire book thinking that I was picking up hints that Aren had some power over it, too, or some equal but opposite force. However, I ended up still feeling confused by this by the end. I’m sure later books will revisit this, or at least confirm whether I’m reading too deeply into it.

The romance in this novel was possibly my favorite part, mainly because that’s what left the biggest impact on me, aside from the bridges. I thought that the characters complimented one another really well, and their relationship was a natural slow-burn that I enjoyed reading.

There were several parts of this book that really frustrated me, though, many of them due to the perspectives. It is a dual perspective, with Aren and Dietan each narrating parts of their story. However, there is minimal consistency for when they alternate. Sometimes, there’ll be several Aren chapters in a row, and other times, there’ll be one Aren, then one Dietan, then one Aren, and so on. I couldn’t find a pattern or any rhyme or reason to it, and it bugged me.

Also, without getting too far into it, to avoid spoilers, the ending to the Rings plotline of Dietan’s was extremely underwhelming.

There is a lot of political intrigue, with an Usurper on one of the thrones, and family relations between the royals of every country, which was fun to read, but didn’t leave enough impact on me to review that portion as thoroughly. The foreign country courts use a sort of truth serum on outsiders, which was interesting, until there was an annoying plot hole written just to try to trick readers. It didn’t work, it just frustrated me. If we’re in both characters’ heads, we shouldn’t be being tricked into not knowing what one of them is actually thinking about the other lead— at least not without some hint as to why this might be.

Would I recommend this book? It depends.

Anyone who can get through the first A Court of Thorns and Roses book can definitely make it through this; the romance is a lot stronger, there isn’t a morally-questionable age gap, and the male lead is much more likable. However, I don’t know what’s coming in this series, but when I read the first ACOTAR, I knew what to expect from the romantic pairing (that’s right— I don’t mind having major plot points spoiled for me, I just don’t want to be that person for others).

If you started, but didn’t finish the first ACOTAR, then this book probably isn’t for you. It starts slow, and honestly, the writing at the front is a lot weaker. I feel like this book could have used some further edits— some minor developmental ones, but mainly lots of line editing.

Finally, if you’ve never attempted to read ACOTAR, then I’d recommend you read that first and wait for the next book in the Curses and Crowns series to come out. When it does, I will definitely be reading it, and can give further insights into whether this is closer to a five-star read or a three-star series; right now, it’s hard to tell.

In any case, if you’re still curious about this book, then I think it’s probably up your alley, and you should definitely read it! If you do, I’d love to discuss it further, especially the ending.

I’ll leave you with this: the back of the book says “not your average fairy tale,” but personally, I don’t see much difference between this and Cinderella; though this was definitely a much fresher take.

To hear my thoughts in a different, more succinct format, watch my TikTok review!