Read via Netgalley in return for a fair review.

Three very different girls are brought before the king and find they have one unbelievable thing in common - they are all heirs to the throne and one must be chosen as the next ruler. That would seem simple enough on the surface, but they must learn to wield their magic, navigate the nobility, and demonstrate an ability to fight with the soldiers of the kingdom. And they are each hiding a secret that could not only eliminate them from the competition, but could also mean execution if discovered. They find themselves unlikely allies in the fight of their lives - and at many times for their lives.

This was an interesting premise and each character was individual and developed as their own person. At times it was difficult to keep track of who was doing what and how that interacted with the overall plot, but a decent start to a series.

The synopsis for RULE intrigued me but unfortunately I had trouble getting into the fantasy world so this is a DNF for me (for now at least, I may try again in the future).

Decent story, it kept my attention. Not my most favorite. It feels so similar to a lot of books that are currently out there for YA fiction. But overall I did enjoy it.

This is an intriguing story and not sure i read any book quite like it. We have a kingdom that has magic that can be used by tithing your blood and giving you abilities but can only be used for short period of time. We have 3 characters that are covered in alternating chapters and they all comes from different races and they are looked down upon by the society they are in. Turns out those 3 are royalty and have been brought in to contend for the throne because their farther has fallen ill. Their are secrets that each one harbors and as the story goes along someone knows all those secrets and is blackmailing each one to leave the kingdom and the chance to be crowned behind. On top of the fact that we have the three daughters competing for the crown we also have a kingdom that is poor and the rich are choosing to ignore the starving people they are meant to help and protect.

Each daughter wants to keep her secret, each daughter wants to do what best for the people, and they think they know who blackmailing them. Well that does turn out so well and we are left at the end with an very interesting cliff hanger. I am excited to dive into rise the sequel and see just where this story is going. It hard to know if their more then two books at this point guess we shall see soon. I have seen this as a recent trend wrapping books up in two books which is nice cause your not committing a lot of time but for some stories ya need more books.
Thanks for allowing me to review.

While the premise of this story was very interesting, the actual book was a poorly written version of the same story that has been done many times - especially in the past few years.

What I liked most was that all three sister characters are unique and well-drawn. I felt completely invested in three very different characters. In most books changing perspective I find myself speed reading to get to the “good” one. This was a page turner where I still savored all three stories.

New author for me but pleasantly surprised. Thank you for the approval and look forward to a book relationship with other reads in the future,

I annoyed this YA fantasy much more than I imagined I wouldn’t. The world was wholly original and it kept me riveted to my book.

This a lovely fantasy ya book. I am so excited for the second book. I love books that alternate perspectives and this one does on disappoint. The magic is unique and interesting to read. The mystery of the secrets and the blackmailer kept me on the edge of my seat. I fun, enjoyable read.

The mysteries in this book kept me guessing the whole way through. I thought by the end that I had figured it out but no, I had not.
Warning: Be prepared for a cliffhanger end. If you're usually a mystery or thriller reader, or if you're a Pretty Little Liars fan, I think you'll like Rule!
This is Ellen Goodlett's debut novel, written while she traveled for a year to a different country every month, and it shows her great talent and promise for more great books to come.

I was first drawn to this book by the cover art. It is definitely eye-catching. After reading the summary, I thought this book sounded vaguely reminiscent of Kendare Blake's Three Dark Crowns. I was excited to dive into this book, but I ended up being a little let down. I felt there was an overall lack of world-building. I didn't quite understand the magic system used in this book. It seemed to be missing some important descriptions and details. As a side note, I was not a fan of the fact that self-mutilation was required to use magic. Additionally, I did not feel a connection to any of the characters. The relationships between the characters felt either flat or forced. While I think this book may be enjoyed by some, it just wasn't for me.

It’s been a while since a fantasy blew me away, and unfortunately, Rule left me less than awed. The premise sounds promising: three young women who would otherwise continue leading disparate lives suddenly discover that they’re daughters of the ailing king. Only one of them can inherit his crown, and each sister is hiding a secret that could get her executed. Zofi, Akeylah, and Florencia are all naturally wary of each other since only one of them can rule Kolonya, but the sisters may have no choice but to work together after all three begin receiving messages threatening to expose their secrets.

My biggest issue with the book was how thinly sketched everything was: the plot, the characters, and especially the world building. War figures heavily in Kolonya’s past and present, but the details are sparse and delivered through telling instead of showing. Despite a magic system based on tithing one’s blood to temporarily gain enhanced abilities, there isn’t much of a fantasy feel here. The story focuses more on the girls’ efforts to stop their blackmailer amidst a treacherous court where no one can be trusted.

The book is also repetitive, as we’re constantly reminded that the girls must do whatever it takes to keep their secrets safe, even from each other. A plot point that could have used some hashing out instead of belaboring the secrets thing was the big reveal of the sisters’ paternity. All three accept the news that their father is the king with relative ease. The girls then move swiftly on to resuming their worries over what they’re hiding.

As much as I’d hoped that Rule would be an engrossing fantasy read, it spent too much time on its non-fantasy plot as well as went down the YA trope road with some insta-love and a potential love triangle. I considered DNF-ing this, but there was something about the pacing that still made Rule compulsive to read. As much as I’d also hoped that there would be some resolution to the girls’ blackmail situation, alas the book ended on a giant cliffhanger which I’m not invested enough in to see the outcome of in a sequel.

This read like a typical fantasy, but I still mostly enjoyed it. I think this one is on me - I've just been reading too much of the same kind of fantasy lately and they're starting to blur together. However, I would still recommend this if you like fantasy.

I was given an ARC of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I picked up this book because it reminded me of Three Dark Crowns, and I was hoping that it book would be better.

I had a little bit of a hard time getting in Rule at first. The story jumps around from all three sister's povs, but inconsistently which is a big pet peeve of mine. I also found myself confused by some details, still the world was interesting and the writing style was pretty good. Also early on we learn that Akeylah is a lesbian, which made me interested to know what happened to her. 

I admit I almost gave up on this book, but then the author kept having really great twists in the story and I couldn't stop reading. And the longer I stayed with the book the more I found myself caring what happened to the sisters. I love that they became friends and started to work together. I couldn't figure out who was threatening them and I had so many guesses. 

In the end I couldn't put the book down and now I'm eagerly waiting for the second book. I gave this book 4 stars on Goodreads and I think you all should give it a try!

Three Dark Crowns meets Pretty Little Liars. Three girls who have all been raised in different parts of this world yet are brought together by the King of their world, who reveals they are all half-sisters and daughters of the King himself. All three harbour a dark secret, but someone else knows what each of these girls has done and lets each of them know this. The king's health is deteriorating and, with his heir murdered, he turns to his bastard daughters. The girls must compete to win the crown. It's a fantasy whodunit.

The story moves quickly most of the time. The three storylines are told in alternating order and the themes are pretty parallel. There's an wlw\ f/f relationship but it feels a little skeezy because it's between one of the daughters and the king's very young wife (ie: her stepmom). The world-building is well-done.

This book is sort of one long cat-and-mouse game. Also, there were chapters and chapters where nothing really happened.

This book had so much potential. Three girls that are totally different and have some major baggage are brought to the capital to compete to become heir. But all are threatened with something from their past. The thing is, the “bad guy” just wasn’t believable. And then the person you thought was the bad guy ended up not being it so it sort of felt that the whole book and no purpose. I won’t be picking up the next book.

Three and a half stars: An intriguing story of three half sisters battling for a crown, but beware of the cliffhanger.

Zofi, Ren and Akeylah are about to get the shock of their lives. The three have been living unique lives in different parts of the kingdom, until the day they are all summoned by the king. The girls learn that they are the king’s daughters and would be heirs as well as half sisters. A shock. Zofi is not prepared for life at court, she has spent her entire life as a traveler, trekking the kingdom with her people. Akeylah, on the other hand, welcomes the change as she spent her life abused at her supposed father’s hands. Ren is the most likely to fit the mold as she grew up the daughter of a lady’s maid serving the nobility of the court. Now the three sisters are to be adversaries as they vie for the throne. However, things get ugly when each of the girls receives blackmail notices from someone who knows their darkest secrets. With no one else to turn to, the sisters look to each other to sniff out the traitor and save the kingdom, but can three different girls become friends?
What I Liked:
*Rule is a book that I had a love hate relationship with. There were many parts that I found intriguing and I easily slipped into the world and the story. This ended up being a strong book despite the cliffhanger. If you are wanting a fantasy story with magic, betrayals, camaraderie, secrets and more, this is one to try.
*At first, I wasn’t sure who amongst the girls that I would identify with, each girl was unique in her own way, but thankfully each girl demonstrated likable qualities and I had no trouble liking all of them. Zofi was the hardest one for me to identify with at first. She comes across as wild, unfettered and she has no regard for rules or anyone else. She grew up living a gypsy lifestyle, and she has little loyalty for anyone. That being said, I ended up liking her fierce spirit and her wild ways. She could always be counted on when things got rough. Akeylah starts out meek and mild, the victim of years of abuse. However, once she breaks free of her abusive stepfather, she begins to blossom. I liked watching her grow. Ren, is the wild card. She grew up in the court, and she knows the ins and outs of court life, but she made a terrible mistake by trusting someone, and that trust was broken when information gotten by her hand killed over a thousand men. She is desperately trying to right her wrong. It was interesting to get to know these girls and watch them grow.
One thing that I wasn’t expecting was the eventual bond and friendship that formed between the girls. They start off as adversaries and enemies, but things change when someone starts blackmailing them. The girls turn to each other and soon become friends and even sisters. I loved watching them work together. This was my favorite part of the book.
*I appreciated that there was plenty to keep me invested in the story. There were plot twists, betrayals and lots of dark secrets. I thought I had things figured out, but there was a startling development at the end, leading me to believe that all my conjectures were all wrong. I am eager to know more.
*I liked that there was magic involved in this one and a nod to the dark arts.
The book culminates with a brilliant climax packed full of stunning developments and a couple of twists that I didn’t see coming. I was on the edge of my seat until the cliffhanger.
*I listened to the audiobook version, and I loved that three narrators were incorporated to voice each girl’s perspective. It added to the enjoyment of the story.
And The Not So Much:
*My biggest annoyance with this book was the cliffhanger. Every time I go back and try a YA book, I am once again slapped with a cliffhanger. I am so over the cliffhanger endings. I hate them!
*This is a niggling point for me, but it drove me crazy. Each girl constantly used a phrase that was inherent to her part of the world to express shock or dismay or frustration. The use of these phrases was constant and it drove me nuts after awhile.
*There are some subtle romances in this one, but nothing that I thought was worthwhile. There is a f/f romance, but it lacked substance. It felt disingenuous and I thought it was based on lust. It was an insta love type relationship. I didn’t care for any of the romantic relationships.
*I felt like the world building was a bit lacking. I wanted more depth especially when it came to the outlying areas and the magic.

Rule was an interesting read, but it never felt completely original. There were aspects that I enjoyed, especially the friendship that was forged between the three girls, but the cliffhanger was a huge frustration, making this feel like the same old same old in the YA genre. It was a good read, but I wanted fantastic, thus I am on the fence as to whether or not I will continue this series. If you are one that enjoys YA fantasy and you don’t mind cliffhangers, definitely give this a whirl.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated.
Posted@Rainy Day Ramblings.

I was so excited to have the opportunity to read this book. Rule was one of my highly anticipated reads for 2018 and it did not disappoint. Fantastic world building and character development. I can’t wait for the sequel.

I’m not going to lie; I went into this book with low expectations. Though I didn’t particularly enjoy most of this book, I did find myself eager to see how it ended and quickly flipping the pages in the last fourth of the book.

Rule follows three half-sisters; Florencia, Akeylah, and Zofi. All three are called to Kolonya (the heart of the kingdom) by their birth-father, the king, when it’s discovered that he’s dying. As the sisters come to learn from their father and compete to be named his heir, each girl finds themselves haunted by a mysterious blackmailer. A blackmailer who knows each of their dark and deadly secrets and demands that they leave Kolonya. To protect their secrets and themselves, the sisters desperately try to uncover the identity of their blackmailer, learning hidden secrets along the way.

My favorite things about this book, and the only things that kept me reading, was the sister relationships and the mystery surrounding the blackmailer. I’m a sucker for sibling relationships, and I was so glad this didn’t go the route of “all the siblings plotting against one another”. I can’t quite remember all the girls’ ages, but their interactions all felt true to their age of 15/16ish years old. And as I mentioned, I was so enthralled by the mystery of blackmailer, who somehow managed to learn all three girls’ secrets. I won’t say anymore on this aspect because I don’t want to spoil anything though, but ahhh, it did keep me captivated at the end of the novel.

The biggest reason that I rated this book so low was because how cliché and trope-y the story came across, specifically in regard to Akeylah. Not only does she suffer from a history of parental abuse that feels as if it was put there for the sole purpose of attempting to flesh out her character (not the mention the portrayal of it felt shallow and weak, with lots of telling and not showing), but Akeylah’s romance resulted from EXTREME INSTA-LOVE. I adored that it was a f/f romance, but so disappointed that there was no basis for the attraction between Akeylah and her love interest. I couldn’t understand what the characters saw in each other (other than sexual attraction), but perhaps this was also a result of underdeveloped characters.

Luckily this was a relatively short book, because I also struggled with the pacing in this book. The beginning is extremely rushed, with the first chapter from each perspective being the scenes where the sisters find out they’re being summoned by the king. The audience is literally given no time to see the characters in their “ordinary world” settings and thus have little opportunity to get to know the protagonists. But what is even more frustrating after this rushed beginning was that the following one hundred-ish pages are super slow. I lost interest at this point, and alongside with the craziness of college, ended up setting this book aside for a couple of months.

I had a bunch of other minor problems with the book, including an unclear magic system and amateur writing, but overall, I found Rule to be a shallow fantasy with too many clichés. Of course, if the synopsis intrigues you, I won’t discourage you from picking up the book, but I will warn you to avoid going into the book with high expectations.

I cannot believe that between this and Truly Devious I have gotten deeply invested in a part 1 book of a duology where the second book hasn't come out yet. Truly, I am a fool.
That said, I will 100% be reading Rise if only that I NEED THAT CLOSURE.
(Also this book is fine, y'all can relax) (Also also, I have not yet read Three Dark Crowns, (its on by TBR list) but I am not sure why, apart from the vague similarities EVERYONE is comparing the two, look forward to seeing what's up there)