Fantasy at its best!
Thanks to NetGalley, Edelweiss and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for the opportunity to read and review Rule by Ellen Goodlett!
Zofi overhears people asking her mother about her and while her mother distracts them, Zofi cuts a slash in the back of their tent and sneaks away. She’s proficient with the Blood Arts and when she makes a tiny nip in her skin with the end of her knife, energy is pulled into her blood and she makes a much quicker getaway. To her dismay, Zofi is captured anyway. Akeylah is beaten and hated by her family, especially her father, because their mother died giving birth to her. She gets help to put a curse on her father and make him sick, through the Vulgar Arts. Florencia, (Ren), is a servant, as her mother is. Ren has been raised in the palace and knows how to interact with royalty and she believes she’s guilty of a traitorous act that caused the death of almost two thousand people. The three young women have been summoned to the king and he tells them that they are his daughters and he needs one of them to take the place of his heir, Prince Nicolen, that’s no longer alive. And the king himself is sick and dying. Akeylah realizes that she’s the one who made him ill because he’s her real father. Each of the king’s daughters has a secret to hide. It seems that someone knows about their secrets because each of them has been receiving knowledgeable blackmail notes and other messages. The three sisters begin working together to figure out who the blackmailer is and end the threat. Rule is a complex fantasy that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. The ending is intense! Fantasy at its best, 5 stars!

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Fantasy is not normally my genre, but I did find myself liking this book. I definitely saw why people have been comparing it to PLL, and although some parts were a bit hard for me to understand, I really enjoyed Ellen Goodlett's writing.

First off that cover is amazing. Love it!

Rule is a YA fantasy that centers around three young girls, but only one can wear the crown. Loved the world Ellen Goodlet created that included a unique magic system, but be warned there is a cliffhanger. Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for my arc

PLOT

" Family is the bond that holds the Reaches together. but to be a part of my family is as much a curse as it is a blessing"

Early reviewers have pegged RULE as a blend of Three Dark Crowns meets Pretty Little Liars, I can only speak on the latter to say that it absolutely has the PLL feel. RULE tells the story of a dying King who has  just lost his only son & heir to what is believed to be a murderous act by Travelers. He has three illegitimate daughters walking different paths of life that he calls to the Kingdom. None of them know why they are being summoned or their relation to the King. All three have had tough lives but have the wits & cunning to get by. It is the Kings hope to have all three trained & that by the end of their training, he will have chosen one to rule the people of Kolonya. The problem is, the King isn't the only one to have harbored a secret. Each one of his daughters carries within, dark secrets that in some way or another trace back to the King/Kingdom. Once they are made aware of their lineage and purpose, the daughters all have very different feelings about what is expected of them. With their identities revealed all of their secrets are in danger of being exposed. The sisters soon learn there is someone with knowledge of what they have hidden, set on blackmailing them.

We also learn that in this world there is blood magic aka The Blood Arts that a person can access within themselves by "Tithing." The process of tithing requires that one cut themselves and in a rather vague/unexplained way, get in tune with the blood running through their veins. Those that can achieve this can heighten their senses and magical abilities. The concept & secrets the sisters were keeping were hella intriguing & dark! The magic system however was very undefined and the rules briefly mentioned to an extent. I ended up having more questions than answers with regards to who or if everyone had access to blood magic. We got some clarification on the darker parts of the magic system with regards to The Vulgar Arts aka the act of Titheing into someone in your own lineage/relative with dark intentions. In this world, The Vulgar Arts is considered the worse of crimes punishable by death. Besides the vague magic system breakdown, I wasn't comfortable with the imagery I got of seeing one cut into themselves to tap into their abilities.

The books is told in multiple POV, each sister alternates telling their story from the point they get summoned to the castle. All have lived very different lives & I did end up really enjoying one more than the others...

Content Warnings: Self harm, abduction, death, murder, physical & verbal abuse

CHARACTERS

"Bloody seed beget bloody crops, What you curse comes back to haunt, And if the family blood you taint, You seal your own bloody fate"

Akeylah This character is very introverted & IMO carries the darkest secret between the three. She's had to deal with the verbal & physical abuse from a father who blames her for the death of her mother at childbirth. Akeylah finds love (possibly lust #jussayin) in the castle but I can't say I was with that ship...I'm all for f/f romance but there it just felt odd having it be between Akeylah & her stepmother aka the Queen.

Zofi Started off being. my favorite of the three, she's a Traveler and that means she pretty much lives a Gypsy-like lifestyle. She's very protective of her people & would like nothing more than return to them and forget all this business that ties her to the Kingdom. Zofi is a bit rough around the edges but eventually comes around & sees the benefits of her position and how best to wield it to help her people. Zofi is also the only one of the three who has able to tap into her magical abilities. She actively tithes and uses her abilities whenever necessary. Her secret also traces back to the Kingdom, similar to Akhelyas.

Ren a maid in the Kingdom who one day learns her fortune has turned for the better. Ren is savy & is basically this kingdom's Varys (Game of Thrones reference), she's not the one to be mistreated based on her position in life. Ren knows who is sleeping with who in the Kingdom, there isn't anything that happens in the castle that she is unaware of. I LOVE how Ren's mind works, she knows the elite like the back of her hand and being able to stand above them now puts her at an advantage. She may be in competition with her siblings for the position as heir but that doesn't sop her from telling them they need to accept their new roles & shape up. Ren has been vulnerable in the past for a love that used her, the secret she carries weighs heavy on her shoulders.

WRITING & FINAL THOUGHTS

I won't deny how fast this book had me flipping pages, a part of that was me hoping against all that this wouldn't lead me on in the same fashion as Pretty Little Liars. I felt like the mouse chasing the cheese but nonetheless I went for the ride after all, secrets as dark as these I haven't come across in any YA books I've read. Ultimately, I really wished the world building was more fleshed out & better constructed. Fantasy is my genre of preference & so it's no surprise that I wanted to understand the magic system better, it's rules & consequences as well as (if any) the various abilities. Lastly, I wasn't a fan of being led till the very end by the blackmailer plot line. I understand setting up the story arc for the next book, it just felt like for the climax being built that we should've had some sort of resolution for act I. RULE is a very entertaining read but possibly may not have been the read for me. If you're a fan of Pretty Little Liars or Three Dark Crowns, this may be the book for you ;)

*LINKS WILL BE ADDED ON 9/24/18-REVIEW LIVE DATE*

This was a fun twist on the typical YA fantasy trope. It's kind of like a mashup of Three Dark Crowns and Pretty Little Liars.

When the crown prince is murdered, the king has no choice but to summon his backup heirs -- three illegitimate daughters he's kept secret until now. But each girl is harboring dark secrets of her own. Secrets they'll do anything to keep hidden. The trouble is, someone already knows their secrets and is trying to blackmail them. As the girls compete for the crown, they grow closer together and try to take down their blackmailer.

This is a fun story to read. It's told in third-person from the alternating points of view of each of the girls. They deal with romance, secrets, and learning the ins and outs of ruling a country. While the pacing is a little slow, it's entertaining. I'm interested to see what's next for these three princesses.

Content: Violence and perilous situations, kissing

When I first saw this book I instantly thought Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake. I was like great. It definitely had that Pretty Little Liars feel. The concept and idea for this book were great but I felt it was way over hyped for how it really was. You’re either hardcore going to love it or not, and I just feel the story is overplayed. So many fantasy books with the same type of concept.

I really wanted to enjoy this one. I could never fully get into it.

It's 100% percent my fault. It was said as being for fans of Three Dark Crowns and I also pulled a DNF on that one as well. I gave it 100 pages and just couldn't connect to either character and the love interests were so underwhelming.

Three sisters, three secrets, one throne - that is the hook and premise for Rule by Ellen Goodlett. I wanted to fall in love with this story, but found it hard. The start is slow, thought not for lack of story. We learn of each sister's upbringing and then they're in court and it just flounders until the very end. Legitimately, the last 15% of the book is where things get exciting and where I went from reading a three star book to what could have been a four or more star book.

Part of issue is that while we jump from each sister's point-of-view, it doesn't help flesh any character out fully. Akeylah throughout the story feels like a stock trope character. She is so good and she has suffered so much and she just wants everyone to be happy and birds sing and so on and on and on. Even her secret was unable to add any depth to her character. Even the would be romance, which I am completely excited about, did nothing to make her an exciting character. Zofi and Ren, while exciting, still felt one-dimensional. Ren, the typical schemer who was raised at court, and Zofi, the wild roamer no one can control. They are all introduced this way and they all remain this way through to the end. No real growth, no real depth.

Without character growth, the story struggles through the middle. What carried this for me, were the side characters who seemed as though they had fuller thought and backstories than the main trio. I wanted to know more about Rozalind, about Yasmin, and more especially about Danton  whom I still don't know what to make of or how to feel about.

Yes, there's the blackmail conspiracy to uncover, but it wasn't enough to make this exciting. I had two theories from the very start on who the blackmailer could be and by the end, it looks like both may have been correct. The end, now that is what completely made Rule exciting and recommendable. Everything started coming together, sisters started forming alliances, and actions actually had consequences - finally. The ending gives me hope that the conclusion to this duology will be much more fast-paced and that the problematic pacing of this book was only due to setting up the groundwork.

Then, there's the issue of world-building. I'm hesitant calling this a fantasy story because that part was so underwhelming and barely there. Indeed, I forgot about the ONE magical aspect - tithing. Tithing is a system of blood magic that never really gets an in-depth explanation so that I still don't know if everyone that lives in Kolonya can do it, or only certain people, or how one learns about all the different tithes or what the limits are - if there are any. It's so limited, I feel as though it wasn't really needed for this story. In fact, Rule maybe have worked better as a historical YA story because it's the intrigue what carries it along.

Rule by Ellen Goodlett is enjoyable in afterthought for the promises it makes about the book to come. If you can find a character to root for (um, Ren is the best, thanks for coming to my Ted Talk), you'll find yourself invested in the story and everything else will melt away. If you can't find a character to love, you might have a bit of a difficult time making it through to the end.

Firstly, Rule ends with a cliffhanger. I understand that some people enjoy remaining suspended in a story until the next book is released, but not me. Especially when the cliffhanger leaves more questions than answers, and none of the major plot points are resolved. Ren, Zofi, and Akeylah are all being blackmailed throughout the book, but we still have no idea who is responsible when the story ends.

Now with that being said, I enjoyed the overall story. I thought Rule had a unique concept with an interesting setting. However, there was a lot of world-building at the start, so it felt a little slow until I was about halfway through. The story picks up significantly when the three sisters start working together to find their common enemy, instead of second-guessing each other and looking for motivations that are not there. I wish they had all been a little more honest when revelations were made, but each sister still guards their individual secret. (It really bugs me when a single conversation can clear up sooo many issues.)

I also enjoyed how little romance there was. Rule was about three sisters and their relationships with each other. I loved how well they worked together, and how easily they seemed to bond once they stopped being suspicious of one another. There were a few dalliances, but nothing concrete (yet). They were there and then they were gone, which left the sisters relying on one another more than anyone else.

Thank the gods for same sex relationships that weren't frowned upon or seen as something perverse. Men and women were free to be with whomever they wanted, and that was normal.

They mystery was really intriguing, and I found myself re-reading anything that could have been a potential clue. The girls started sharing information, but withholding anything that was relevant to their personal crime. I think they would have learned more if they'd been willing to open up completely, but I also understood why they were so hesitant. However, the suspense was somewhat diminished for me at the end, because of the heinous cliffhanger.

The blood tithes were an odd addition to the story, too. It was an interesting idea, but I hope to see it used more in the next book. I also feel like there are a lot of applications for it that weren't really addressed in Rule. Why wouldn't people just tithe for personal gain? If everyone can tithe, you'd think there would be more chaos surrounding the towns and their inhabitants. Despite the heavy beginning, I still have a lot of questions.

In the end, I enjoyed the story and I definitely want to read the next one, but I wish the content had been delivered a little differently. I liked the three different perspectives, even though I never felt attached to any of them. They always felt like characters -- never people. I wish the beginning had been condensed, or written in a way that didn't feel so informative. I want to learn something new without feeling like I'm learning something new. Finally, I disliked the ending. I don't want to work hard alongside the characters to figure the story out, and then have it end without answering a single question. Adding more questions only makes it worse.

Originally posted at Do You Dog-ear? on September 16, 2018.

I enjoyed this. It follows the perspectives of 3 sisters, who find out they are the bastard daughters of the ailing king. They have each been raised in very different lifestyles and each have different experiences and opinions of the kingdom their father rules. This has been compared to Three Dark Crowns, and I can see where that comparison comes from, however the sisters eventually come together to thwart a common enemy. They are all pitted against each other, as the king must eventually choose one of them to be his heir, but as each of them is being blackmailed for some sin they've committed in their past, they must unravel the mystery of their blackmailer to figure out who is at the heart of the blackmail. This is not as dark and sinister as Three Dark Crowns, and the sisters so far are not trying to murder each other. So this is very much it's own story. I thought I had it figured out, but the twist at the end totally threw me so know I don't have a clue whodunit. The cliffhanger at the end left me wanting to know what is going to happen next and I'm very much anticipating the next book.

I liked the magic system in Rule, each person must call upon magic in their blood to perform tithes to perform different magical acts. I feel like this could have been developed a little better because it is very much a part of the story and the dark side of the magic is mentioned quite often and also a significant part of the plot. I hope to see the magic system developed more in the next book. I wanted to know so much more about it.

Each of the sisters has a romantic relationship, and each is troubled by something. I would have liked a bit more character development especially with the side characters. I think that would have helped strengthen the plot a bit and move things along. I think because we switch POV's each chapter we don't get to know any particular set of characters as much as I would have liked. We do get to know the sisters well enough, I just wanted more.

Overall, I really did enjoy this and I'm looking forward to the next book.

I cannot say this was a fun read for me. I feel like it was tedious due to all the POVs and having to work to remember which was which. I liked the idea behind the story but execution could have been smoother.

Too predictable to really enjoy. Every YA cliche is employed in this book and the story added nothing that we haven't already seen in this genre before.

Ellen Goodlett is bringing the fantasy drama on fierce!

First things first, Thank you so much to Little Brown, Books and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Rule was recently released on September 11, 2018 and is Ellen Goodlett’s debut novel. She does a great job!

This book is going to be part of a series, and book two (RISE) was just announced as well. So strap in for at least two books~ I’m hoping it goes a bit longer. hahaha

Rule follows the story of 3 young women that battle for leadership over the throne. These three women are not the best options, nor are they in the best situation. You will begin the book thinking ‘omg, what is happening no no no’. That is how the scene is set.

*Cue all the drama* *grabs popcorn*


“It was a nice lie. The dead deserved to die. If you believed that, you could believe you’d never be the one on the wrong end of the knife.” – Ellen Goodlett, Rule

It’s hard to articulate my feelings on this one. I did enjoy reading this but not in the way you may think~ so I’ll start with the my impression on the plot line first. The setting of Rule is excellent and the premise is solid. I enjoyed the world creation, as well as all the side character introductions and little things that made up the foundation building. This novel has all the good ground work and it makes the initial read very enjoyable and worth it.

As far as the characters, the first half of the book FLIES BY because of all the drama and secrets you find out. Can I just say the backstory on this is jaw dropping and shocking? (LOL) I kept saying to myself “Oh no… OH NO!” which is always fun and a good indicator of where the story leads you.

I do think I have a favorite character and it’s Zofi~ she’s the most hardened of them and risky and I have a soft spot for that. Ren was probably my second favorite because she has a coldness and brutality that is specific to political intrigue. Her character does an excellent job with it. My least favorite character is Akeylah but I think that was mostly do to her BAD DECISION MAKING. Not that all of them made bad decisions in the beginning, but her love interest choice is also not great and I wanted to shake the book. *why can’t you see traps*

Where was I?

Also, I would like to point out there are quite a few trigger warnings on this book. Warnings for Abuse, Self harm (which is a major component of the magic system), abduction, and violence.

Overall, I enjoyed the book but it didn’t blow me out of the water with plot or characters. I desperately wanted to love this book but I kept reading more for the drama than the plot progress. Then the plot progress wasn’t much and the drama did eventually get old. That being said HOLY CLIFF HANGER FOLKS. So fair warning on cliffs, haha.

Overall Rating: 3.25 Stars
Plot: 3 Stars
Character Development: 3.5 Stars
Dialogue: 3 Stars
Writing: 3 Stars
I would recommend this to anyone that enjoys a quick YA fantasy read.

~~Happy Reading!!
Ash

Zofi, Akeylah, and Ren are from three different part of the Koloyna and have three very different personalities. What they do share is a father who happens to be the king, though none of them knows this until they are summoned to the king's castle. Each girl is also hiding a dangerous secret, one that could mean their execution if exposed. Now that they are competing to become the heir to throne, they are fighting hard to win. But someone knows their secrets and is playing a deadly game with not only their lives but the fate of the kingdom.

RULE by Ellen Goodlett definitely earns its comparison to PRETTY LITTLE LIARS. There are lots of threads of deceit and suspects...and also not a terribly tidy ending. This was a quick-paced, delightful read. I loved the different personalities of the girls and how they end up coming together to fight a common enemy, even their not sure who that is.

Quick Summary:

This amazing LGBT+ fantasy follows three sisters raised in very different circumstances in various parts of the Kingdom until one day the King informs them that they are all bastards Princesses in line for the throne. With the Princes assassination and the Kings detoriating health the Kingdom needs a new heir. However not everyones happy about the replacements. Instead of a throne the sisters dark secrets might just get them the noose. Their only option now is to discover their blackmailer and find a way to secure their silence.

My Thoughts:

I found all three perspectives and their distinct personalities compelling. I loved how they each had their own reason to stay at the palace. We get Zofi with her zero patience for appeasing peoples opinion of her. Being part of a band of Travelers can be difficult when people constantly mistrust and scorn you, but it offers things like adventure, freedom, and a tight nit community that Zofi wouldnt trade for any luxury. The fighting instincts that have kept her alive this long will come in handy when it comes to resisting the pressures of court life and forming unlikely alliances.

Akeylah on the other hand couldnt wait to be rid of her family. Her emotional backstory helped me really connect with her. Akeylahs upbringing has given her the determination and quiet strenght of a survivor. Shes smart and perceptive. Being able to read people and hide her emotions were often essential to avoid a beating and now she can use those skills at court. We also have Florencia, the only one who has any experience with court life thanks to being raised in the palace as a maid. Her position has given some insight into the nobles dirty little secrets. Knowledge that will be indispensable while she navigates court life.

I just adored the relationship that developped between the three sisters. It had a wonderful message of being able to accomplish more together than we can apart. I even enjoyed the relationship they had with their father. One of my favorite parts of this novel was the amazing female romance and how the love interest goes above and beyond to help our main characters. I dont think the romance will be for everyone, but it definitely worked for me. I didnt mind the love interest being promised to another for political reasons. We also get plenty of banter with some hate to love romances starting with the other two sisters and their love interests.

I did get some Three Dark Crown vibes which was awesome since I love that series. However this book focuses more on plot and less on descriptions so you get a quicker pace. The writing was straight to the point and easy to get into. The world had an interesting magic system, but I had a hard time picturing the setting. Besides that I loved the suspense the mysterious blackmailer added to the plot. Im usually pretty good at guessing the direction of the plot, but this one took me by surprise. The story ended on a cliff hanger and I still have so many questions. The wait for the sequel is going to be painful, but totally worth it.

DNF at 50%, no star rating.

Three girls from various backgrounds learn that they are bastard children of the king who has lost his only child. Now they are brought to court to see who will inherit the crown.

The Story-
I really hate DNFing books, but sometimes I just decide enough is enough. In this case I was actually somewhat intrigued by the plot of this book. The idea of three sisters competing to rule a country doesn’t sound incredibly unique until it’s broken down, but that aspect of the book actually had me diving in quickly.

From what I read each girl had a distinct background, and something in their recent past that would hinder their chance to the throne. The great thing is that each of their individual histories played in well to what they did. The bad thing is, I was reading chapter after chapter of them looking over their shoulder wondering who knew what they did, because ultimately it appears someone is blackmailing them…despite the demands for anything. The mystery aspect of who knows what they did definitely added a unique element, however, the competition for the throne had yet to begin at 50%, and this is a standalone book told from 3 POV, I had a feeling that the competition for the throne was not going to actually be all that exciting, and quite possibly rushed. However, I didn’t actually get to that part of the book, so don’t hold me accountable for that aspect.

Throughout the beginning of the book we are told their situations through a series of different POV for each girl with flashbacks of their lives, and recent misconduct. This gave a lot of info dumping, and worst of all for me, I couldn’t remember which girl was which. It isn’t until where I am leaving the book that I actually have a decent grasp on each character that is involved with each POV.

My biggest problem with the book was one of the love interests. If you plan on reading this, please note that minor spoiler ahead. One of the characters hits it off with a girl she’s talking to at a party, little does she know its her newly found father’s new wife. Thus, making their relationship a super taboo romance between a step mother and step daughter. I know they’re not related, but this is the lady that your dad is trying to get pregnant.

Trigger warnings: self harm & physical/emotional abuse.

The World Building-
There were certain aspects that I thought were interesting, but I wasn’t sure if it is further explored in the remainder of the book.

The first was that there were three moons. Now, my biggest concern is that this was just thrown in. What aspect of there being three moons in this book actually affected the story? For instance, in Nevernight, the fact that there are three suns is a part of the story and coincides with the plot. In this case, it just seemed like a peculiar thing to have in the world.

The second thing was the blood magic. I was really eager to see much more about the blood magic. Like does it tie in with religion, and why wasn’t that explored more? Why doesn’t the other country get it? Now while I found this to be a unique take with magical abilities, especially the lack of boundaries the blood magic can provide, it also opened up the concept of self harm and should be listed as a trigger warning, as I pointed up above.

The Characters-
Aside from getting a little confused on the characters in the beginning I thought there were some pretty unique personalities. Due to the fact that they all had different backgrounds, each girl expressed different concerns and brought different experience to the story.

For those of you looking for any LGBTQIA+ rep, we have at least one f/f relationship along with no pretense of a gender ruled society. Not only is the king passing his crown to his daughters (although, why not his wife? OR his twin sister?) but during a ball there was same gender dancing.

This book can easily be separated into 3 parts for me. The beginning, which was intriguing with the world-building and getting to know the 3 main characters. The middle, which almost bored me to tears and had me wondering if it was okay to not finish an ARC. And the end, which picked back up and made me wanting to read the next book. While this book has its flaws with dull points in the storyline, Goodlett makes up for it with the points in the book where I wanted to keep reading to find out what happened.

Sadly, this was a book that just didn't work for me. I couldn't keep my focus and I felt like this book was just too YA for me. I do think the younger crowd will really enjoy this though. Bot really any fault to theauthor, I'm just the wrong reader. I did end up getting a physical ARC that I read, Instead of this E-galley.

Rule is the first book in a planned young adult fantast duology by Ellen Goodlett. I enjoy YA, but I don’t read a lot of YA fantasy. However, when the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book popped up on Netgalley, my interest was piqued.

Rule has all the hallmarks of books from the genre: lush fantasy world, chosen ones, political intrigue, and magic. The TL;DR here is that the sudden death (read: murder) of the heir apparent has made king realize his own impending mortality and the need to secure the future of his line. He has three of his illegitimate children tracked down and brought to the palace. Three girls are around the same age, but they come from vastly different parts of the kingdom. He must have been completing some sort of scorecard or something, extra points for different zones. Anyway, the girls aren’t quite sure what to make of their new circumstances, and they are each harboring a Big Secret- and it appears as though someone else knows about their secrets too. Can they trust each other? Is the fate of the kingdom at stake?

This book was interesting. The story unfolds from each of the three girls’ perspectives. They come from very different backgrounds, so each voice is unique. Much of the story revolves around the magic surrounding the kingdom. Accessing this magic involved “tithing” and there are different types of tithing that achieve different purposes.

There are love interests, of course, including a f/f pairing. This is actually somewhat problematic because of the three chosen girls begins a clandestine relationship with the king’s new wife (i.e. her stepmother). Now, the stepmother is almost the same age as the girl, but still… it doesn’t sit very well. I also can’t offer any glowing praise for the other love interests either.

I would recommend Rule. I think this book is going to appeal to its target demographic. Things end on quite a big cliffhanger, and my interest is piqued as to what is going to happen in the next book. Goodlett has created a very interesting world, and I’m looking forward to reading more from her in the future.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.