RULES FOR RUIN is the first in a new historical romance series. Effie Flite was raised in a bit unconventional orphanage. The patroness was determined to raise young women who were educated and able to take care of themselves and eager to pursue social justice for women.

Effie was the oldest of the students and has spent some time in France as a companion to a gentlewoman. Her time abroad has given her polish, and a cute French poodle named Franc. She has come to London with the intention of finding some way to ruin Lord Compton who is an influential man, a member of Parliament, and strongly opposed to women's rights. He is also a villain who began his rise to power by stealing the fortune of a young woman he had promised to marry leaving her ruined.

Gabriel Royce is a man who has built a successful life by running a betting shop in the Rookery. He is blackmailing Compton in order to have his business protected and to further his plans to improve conditions for the people who live in the Rookery.

The two meet and recognize something in the other, but with opposing plans, there doesn't seem to be any hope for a future for them. Nonetheless, they keep running into each other while trying to further their own plans until they find a future they both can live with.

This romance is packed with historical detail concerning the struggles of the women's rights movement and the passage of the Married Woman's Property Act. It also has details about the conditions for the poor in a very famous slum that existed right next door to some very wealthy parts of London.

I liked this story and will be looking forward to more in the series.

Rules for Ruin is a fantastic start to a brand new series. Mimi Matthews creates a story focusing on strong and savvy young women, throws in a rich working class hero, and blends the two for a historical romance treat.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Effie is summoned back to the mysterious Crinoline Academy, the orphanage where she thrived as a star student. The curriculum focuses on all the things savvy young women need to know to find their way in the 19th century, along with fighting the patriarchy. But now the academy’s founder needs Effie’s help to discredit a member of the ton. While searching for evidence of the lord’s misdeeds, she meets Gabriel Royce. Gabriel runs a London betting shop where he holds the debts of many members of the aristocracy. As much as he is intrigued by Effie, he won’t give up his hold on this particular member of Parliament, who he’s been blackmailing. While the two are seemingly at odds, is there a way that they can act on their mutual attraction and still both get what they want?

Mimi Matthews is one of the few authors I know who writes closed door romance where the main characters have sizzling chemistry. It’s clear that sparks fly every time Effie and Gabriel are in the same room, even though nothing untoward happens between them. I also adore a MMC who is protective of his love interest almost against his will, and takes a while before he realizes these feelings are actually love. And a huge shout out to Franc, the charming poodle, who is Effie’s first love and protective companion.

Rules for Ruin has all the hallmarks of a terrific historical romance. If you are a fan of romances with a bit of mystery starring smart women and sassy poodles too, read this book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

We have quite the conflict of interest in these two characters! Euphemia aka Effie has been summoned back from Paris by her old benefactor and school mistress Miss Elizabeth Corvus! Miss Corvus is very ill and she sees in Effie one last attempt for revenge!
We have Gabriel Royce owner of a betting establishment and other money making ventures in the poor area of the Rookery!
Giles has pulled himself up from nothing and is determined to save as many as he can from utter poverty!
These two meet in the library of Lord Compton definitely courting scandal as no lady should be alone with a man!
Effie is searching for something her mind on her mission Gabriel senses she is not all what she seems! He has no idea how closely they resemble one another in background and deeds! They are loyal to a fault!
Effie wants to complete her mission involving Lord Compton and Gabriel seeks to protect him to ensure his businesses thrive! These two are like fire and gasoline! I love a hero that falls first!
But Lord Compton is a dangerous man as Gabriel continues to warn Effie!
I love how crinoline skirts kept people from invading your space!
But Effie has tried to face her fears over and over again but they are ingrained too deep!
Her fears have caused 1 tragedy will history repeats itself!
Can Effie thwart a merciless enemy and fall in love!? She must also keep her promises! Oh Effie you must choose wisely! Bravo well done!
I received an ARC copy for my unbiased opinion!

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
I don’t know if I’m in a rut with Mimi Matthews, or if my on/off issues with historical romance have begun to affect her books. Because while Rules for Ruin had things that made it stand out, and which I really appreciated, I can’t help but feel underwhelmed, just as I was with the latter two books in her previous series.
I appreciate the historical context interwoven in, and I actually came away having learned something. St. Giles has been a setting for romances set earlier in the 18th century and Regency, depicting the underbelly of London, so I was fascinated to learn about how the industrialization and other technological modernizations of the time led to the clearances of the slums and an attempt to “clean up” the area, but the poor people weren’t offered any aid and were instead further marginalized by being pushed out of areas where they were once allowed and confined into smaller and smaller spaces. Additionally, there’s the period-accurate inclusion of feminism, with a woman like Effie trying to find independence in an era where she and all she owned essentially would become her husband’s property (something that would change a handful of years after the book is set with the Married Women’s Property Act in 1870. Both of these topics feel deeply haunting in the wake of Trump and the policies his administration have begun enforcing.
And I did like Effie, as well as the other women, and I liked how she and her compatriots were working to bring down the patriarchy. Gabriel was also pretty interesting, as he’s fighting for the people of St. Giles against the rookery clearances. And as a romance, they do have decent chemistry, I suppose. I can’t say I was super-wowed by them, but they work decently well together, and the ending did feel somewhat well-earned.
However, in spite of the number of interconnected plot threads and the fact that this book promises a bit of a mystery, this book was such a slog to get through. I contemplated DNFing early on, but I saw it got a 1-star review dinging it for being “historically inaccurate,” because the heroine’s a feminist, so ended up finishing it to spite them, in spite of the lackluster pacing.
While I found this underbaked, I respect what Matthews was trying to do here, even if the ideas didn’t come together in a compelling story for me. However, others have enjoyed this, so I’d recommend this if you’re interested in a well-researched, if slow paced historical romance with a strong mystery subplot, I recommend giving this a chance to see if you enjoy it more than I did.

Euphemia Flite “Effie” has been recalled to England by Artemisia Corvus, the founder and director of Miss Corvus’s Benevolent Academy for the Betterment of Young Ladies (but called the Crinoline Academy by the locals). Effie has been in Paris for the last five years working as a companion, but she owes Miss Corvus her loyalty and returns with the hope of finally repaying her debt to her and earning her freedom and pursue her dream of independence and a home of her own with her poodle Franc. She quickly learns her mission will require her to move in society, so she can collect information to ruin Viscount Compton. All she knows is that Lord Compton ruined a young lady’s life by jilting her and stealing her fortune, and while that ship has sailed, Miss Corvus is sure that he has done the same to other women and wants the proof to bury him and if Effie succeeds, she will be free of the Academy and will be given a generous stipend to start her new life. Sounds easy enough, especially since Miss Corvus has called in a favor and has a well-respect society matron to sponsor Effie. But that was before she met Gabriel Royce, a man who is bent on protecting Lord Compton. He is clearly her enemy, so why does she find him so enticing when she knows he will do nothing but destroy her chance for independence?

Gabriel Royce was not born in the Rookery, but he has lived there most of his life and has fought his way to the top. He has a successful betting shop and has made a decent fortune, but he knows that the Rookery is shrinking and without the support of parliament to revitalize it, it will soon be gone, along with his business. Lucky for him, he has a nobleman in his pocket, thanks to some incriminating letters that came into his possession. He knows what Lord Compton did to his former fiancée and has used the knowledge to force the viscount to help him by keeping the police from raiding his not quite legal betting shop, but now that is not enough, he needs to save the Rookery and will need more than Compton’s support to do it, so he once again forces Compton to help him, by introducing him to other parliament members who could support his efforts. Sounds easy enough, but that is before he met Effie Flite, a woman bent on destroying Lord Compton. She is clearly his enemy, so why can’t he get her out of his mind when he knows that she will do nothing by destroy his life?

What a great start to a new series, this was a well-written, nicely paced story with wonderful world building and likable characters. Effie and Gabriel have an instant chemistry, and it was a delight to read their story. This book has a lot going on and it is filled with secrets, lies, betrayal, heartbreak, amazing secondary characters, an adorable poodle named Franc (he is a poodle NOT a dog!), some levity, low-steam love scenes, surprising revelations, and finally a well-earned HEA complete with an epilogue. I really enjoyed this book and am eagerly looking forward to the next installment! If you are a fan of strong heroines and heroes who fall hard – this is the book for you!

4.5 stars, rounded up

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *

This one was cute! Matthews is a great with tension, and I was really rooting for the couple, and I liked how both of them were fleshed out. I've found myself returning back to this one because how of how adorable it was. Dare I say, potentially my favorite Matthews book (though Gentleman Jim is a hard one to beat)?

3.5 stars, rounded up - knocked down only because I felt the pacing was slightly off in the first half.

Thank you to the publisher for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a fun read! I don’t always vibe with historical romance unless it brings something fresh to the table, and this one totally did. Effie is a total badass on a secret feminist mission, Gabriel is a morally gray gangster with a soft spot, and together they had so much chemistry it hurt. The pacing was super fast, the feminist themes were actually historically accurate (finally!), and I loved that it felt a little grittier than your typical historical romance while still being beautifully written. If I had one tiny complaint, it’s that the dual POV gave a little too much away too soon, but honestly, it didn’t take away from how much I enjoyed the ride. Can’t wait for the sequel—Effie and Gabriel own my heart now!

This is one that I was dying to read, however it just wasn’t the book for me. There’s something about the writing that I just couldn’t get into. I do think that this will be a widely loved book, it just wasn’t the one for me, unfortunately.

Am I glad I read it? RULES FOR RUIN marks a whole new direction for Mimi Matthews yet retains her signature thoughtful, historically grounded, and deeply romantic style and penchant for women taking the reins of their own lives with a beloved animal sidekick along for the ride (not literally this time).

I always love how Matthews incorporates various aspects of history into her books. Here, she draws on the married women's property laws and (failed) efforts to reform them; the impact of rapidly increasing industrialization on London slums; and, as always, her deep knowledge of Victorian ladies' fashion. Matthews' use of this last one is quickly becoming a favorite theme of mine in her work. Here, the eponymous crinolines are practical, serving as a literal method of concealment for Effie's tools of spycraft, and also political: crinolines are armor, protecting the wearers from encroachment, and a means of asserting the right for women to take up space. To that end, the imagery of the crinoline works well thematically with the focus on married women's property laws.

I'm honestly find of feral for the opponents-to-lovers dynamic between Effie and Gabriel: a wolf in sheep's clothing meets a wolf in wolf's clothing, respectively. There's something so delicious about the tension between two competent people at odds with each other, where like recognizes (and appreciates) like. Oh, the TENSION! Those KISSES! Anyone who says that closed door romance isn't sexy hasn't ever picked up a Mimi Matthews book.

With that being said, it's clear that this kind of more plotty, adventurous historical romance is, in fact, a different direction for Matthews. In some places, the plot and world-building felt a bit underdeveloped. For example, the idea of sending coded messages in sewing samplers is tons of fun and clever, but, given that Effie is the Crinoline Academy's first operative, it was unclear why such tactics were necessary to begin with: who would be reading the mail going to/from the Academy at this point? Similarly, the third act conflict and subsequent resolution wrapped up a bit too quickly and easily for me. Additionally, I felt like Matthews pulled her punches with Gabriel a bit. He's supposed to be a Peaky Blinders-inspired character who did ~terrible~ things to claw his way to his current position as king of the Rookery, but, with the exception of a broken nose delivered to a drunkard, we're mostly told about his bad(ass)ness. Let villainous heroes be villainous on page, please!

Perhaps my biggest qualm with this story, however, is the contradiction between the kind of HEA Effie and Gabriel find together and the story's focus on how poorly the institution of marriage serves women. Despite explicitly stating her disinclination to marry, Effie expresses no hesitancy about the notion of marrying Gabriel beyond being distracted from her mission and readily accepts his proposal when it eventually does arrive. At one point. Effie reflects on Gabriel's initial offer to set her up as his mistress: "Effie’s heart had yearned to accept his offer. Never mind that it wasn’t an offer of marriage. Her heart didn’t care about legalities." The implication here is that marriage is the superior, preferred arrangement, a massive contradiction of Effie's mission and previously stated beliefs. Indeed, the book itself does not seem to seriously consider any alternative arrangement for our couple's HEA, thereby implicitly reinforcing the institution our FMC seeks to reform, and Effie as a character does not ever reckon with her desire and choice to marry Gabriel beyond ~all she wanted was to be with the man she loved~. It's a pretty major disappointment that a book that says "hey, marriage isn't all it's cracked up to be for Victorian women" has its FMC happily and readily end up in one of said marriages without any critical interrogation of that fact. Unfortunately, this really impacted my enjoyment of the story.

Overall, RULES FOR RUIN is a fun, if flawed, start to a fresh new series for Matthews, and I look forward to reading about Nell's story.

Rating: 🤷🏼‍♀️ (it was fine; 3.75 rounded up)

Thank you to the author for an advance copy of this title! All opinions expressed here are my own.

The only one who can outdo Mimi Matthews is Mimi herself!

Rules for Ruin, Mimi's first novel of her new Crinoline Academy Series, is a Victorian Era enemies-to-lovers romance you won't want to put down!

Strong-willed and independent Effie Flite is on a very determined mission, the success of which would finally grant this once orphan the chance to live out her days with the freedom she so desires (along with her toy poodle, Franc, of course). The only person standing in her way is the indomitable Gabriel Royce, the self-proclaimed ruler and protector of London's Rookery where the impoverished are slowly being snuffed out.

Effie's success would mean Gabriel's downfall, yet he can't help but be drawn in by this intriguing, captivating woman despite how far out of reach he thinks she is for him. Their battle of wills becomes a battle against the growing feelings they have for each other. Who wins and who loses? You'll just have to read it to find out. :)

Every time Effie and Gabriel are on the page together, the tension between them is palpable, as evidenced by these few snippets:

"The kiss itself may have been the first shot fired in the battle to come."

"His touch wasn’t sweet. It was incendiary. His knuckles lingered, a scorching brand at the pulse of her throat."

"She smelled of honey and black currants. Of everything he’d ever wanted in life but never received. Never deserved."

Preorder your copy now so that you can read it as soon as it releases on May 20th!

I was lucky to receive an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) in exchange for my honest review.

“A finishing school in Paris, was it?” “That’s correct.” “And were you?” “Was I what, sir?” “Finished?” “On the contrary, I’m just getting started.”

Women’s suffrage, mystery, secrets, and amazing characters had me turning pages as fast as I could.

Effie and Gabriel were magic!! Their chemistry was swoony! Those kisses 🫠Effie was on a mission for her benefactress and to find the truth of her past. She was intelligent, crafty, and determined. Gabriel only wants to change conditions in the Rookery. He was rough and cunning, but protective and tender with Effie.

A few quotes:
“After all these years, I thought I’d finally find the place I belonged.” “You have,” he assured her. “It’s here. Right here, with me.”

“I know who you are.” “You don’t.” “I’ve known since the beginning.” “But how—?” “We’re the same, I told you so the night we met.”

This ARC was provided by the author. I was not required to give a positive review, rating and opinions are my own.

Note: There is some mild swearing.

Thank you for the free book, Berkley Romance!

In this genre-bending romance, Effie and Gabriel have opposing goals but must fight their growing attraction. Effie is a pupil of the Crinoline Academy, which aims to dismantle the patriarchy from within. Gabriel is a slumlord who wants to utilize Effie’s main target as a shield for his business from the government. The two keep finding themselves drawn to each other, and can’t fight their chemistry without also compromising their goals.

This book was outside of my typical reading choices, as I don’t read much historical romance. However, the fighting the patriarchy vibes and similarities to Dickens’ Great Expectations drew me in, and it was an enjoyable read. Gabriel was a bit morally gray, protective, but still gone for Effie, which is an irresistible MMC combination. I loved the poodle as a little side character addition and the sweet moments between the characters. I still don’t care for regency-era language as much as contemporary romance, which is just a personal preference. However, the author’s notes about the time period were very interesting and added to my understanding of the book. Overall, I think readers who enjoy the genre will love this book, and even those (like me) who might not regularly read it will still enjoy it!

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗:
Effie is on a secret mission to defend women’s rights. Gabriel is the morally grey gambling house owner in her way. It’s cat-and-mouse game to see who can come out on top.

𝙼𝚢 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎:
This was so different from Mimi’s normal books, & yet it wasn’t? While both MCs felt like something totally new from Mimi, all of the incredible hallmarks of her writing & story telling remains - & I ate.it.up!

There is no gently bred FMC or born gentleman in this one! Both of our MCs come from harsh backgrounds, both are orphans, & both are seeking to fight injustice.

Oh & their first meeting goes like this:
“𝘼 𝙨𝙡𝙤𝙬, 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙨𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙥𝙨. 𝙃𝙚 𝙠𝙚𝙥𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙠, 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙮𝙚𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨. ‘𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚,’ 𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙, 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖 𝙝𝙪𝙨𝙠𝙮 𝙨𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙪𝙢𝙥𝙝. ‘𝙄 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙣𝙤𝙬.’”

(I don’t know how Effie held it together y’all, I would’ve been a puddle of swoon)

The plot is fun, but its also suspenseful & has an espionage type feel to it. But as with all Mimi’s books, there’s also plenty of swoony moments thanks to Gabriel & his “touch her & die” vibes - although Effie sure can hold her own!

"𝙑𝙞𝙤𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙢𝙮 𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙧𝙩𝙨𝙡𝙚𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙙𝙤? 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙖𝙨𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙢𝙚, 𝙈𝙞𝙨𝙨 𝙁𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙚.”
“𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙄 𝙨𝙖𝙮? 𝙄’𝙢 𝙖 𝙛𝙖𝙨𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚.”

The chemistry between these two had me in a chokehold. There is a bit of a slow build to start, but I love Mimi’s writing so much that I don’t even mind it. Honestly I don’t know how Mimi does it, but she never ceases to amaze me with her books!

"𝘼𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙨 𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙨?”
𝙂𝙖𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙡 𝙗𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙚𝙧. 𝙃𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙥𝙨 𝙗𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙡𝙠𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙚𝙖𝙧. “𝘿𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙄’𝙢 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙚.

As much as I loved Mimi’s past series, I can already tell this one is going to be my new favorite. The grittiness, the secrets, the strength of the women & the morally grey aspect to the men…I am so ready for book two!

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗲𝘁:
🐩historical romance (London 1864)
🐩Peaky Blinders meets Bridgerton
🐩secret society / hidden identity
🐩feminist themes
🐩morally grey MMC
🐩rivals to lovers
🐩scheming / spying
🐩he’s only soft for her
🐩touch her & die
🐩dog companion

Thank you so much to Berkley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

Fast paced and exciting, this is a great read! The chemistry between the characters kept me coming back for more of this novel.

Who doesn't love a strong female protagonist getting things done?

Effie is a woman on a mission to right wrongs and learns a whole lot about herself along the way.

Tough Gabriel is totally gone for her from the start. I love a strong man brought low!

Mimi Matthews has crafted an excellent adventure full of excitement and tenderness while also providing commentary on the plight of women in the Victorian era and the need for women to always work together.

If Mimi wrote a list of her car repairs, I would read the crap out of that.

But I digress, I was supremely honored to read an ARC of this lovely story and I'm so grateful for that! With all the chaos, unrest and distressing news going on in the world, it was SO NICE to be able to escape into a wonderful Victorian spy-romance for a little while.

This novel stars Gabriel Royce (who was briefly featured in Lily of Ludgate Hill) and Euphemia Flite--both characters had less than stellar upbringings, and were at odds with the other during most of the book, which just added to the intrigue and sparkling chemistry between the two of them.

This was a bit different than other Mimi books in the sense that it seemed heavily focused on the plot and the plan to take down a powerful lord who, for lack of a better word, is a total douche! I loved how well researched Mimi is with places and the shifting landscape of women's rights and property laws at the time which felt like I was pulled right into Victorian London.

Gabriel was the perfect foil to Effie--he was somber, powerful, a little dangerous and besotted with Effie, though he tried SO HARD to not be. This was one of my favorite insights to his feelings for Effie:

Her arms remained around his neck, her body pliant and trusting against him if only for this fleeting, precious moment. The full skirts of her black silk dress spilled about his legs in a profusion of starched petticoats and wire crinoline.
Mine. The word reverberated through Gabriel's veins, even as he counseled himself not to hold her too tightly, not to be too precipitous. It was dangerous to reveal the innermost desires of one's heart. A surefire way to guarantee those desires were left unfulfilled. And he didn't want that. He didn't want to frighten her away.
"You don't understand," she said. "After all these years, I thought I'd finally found the place I belonged."
"You have," he reassured her. "It's here. Right here with me."
So much for not being precipitous.

Mimi does an excellent job of showing strong, independent women who can still be vulnerable and still fall in love without losing who they are in the process. The banter between the two of them was so fun to read I was chuckling and swooning the entire time!

"Indeed, most fashionable people would agree that, after the intimacies you inflicted on me, a proposal of marriage would be--"
Gabriel caught her arm, cutting off her speech. "You infernal minx," he said in a low growl, bringing her around to face him in a swirl of poplin skirts. "It would serve you right if I did propose to you."
Effie's heart leapt. She was briefly startled into a genuine smile.
His cold expression softened a fraction. So did his grip on her arm. "And I inflicted a kiss on you, did I?"

If you love rivals to lovers, excellent banter, he falls first and falls HARD, espionage & crackling chemistry, Rules for Ruin is the book for you!

Huge thank you to Mimi, Rel & Berkley Romance for the ARC!

I have read (I think) 7 Mimi Matthew’s books, and this one might be my favorite! Rules for Ruin feels so much different than her previous novels, but still retains her same beloved writing style.

Effie grows up at “The Crinoline Academy,” a school for orphaned girls where they learn various life skills that best complement their own strengths. But they also receive and actual education, unlike the norms for most women at this time. And they learn - most importantly - to take down the patriarchy and become feminist queens. Effie is tasked with taking down Lord Compton, a member of Parliament who is set to kill an important bill towards married women’s equality. But she soon discovers that Gabriel Royce, the hottie-bad boy-betting shop owner, has a vested interest in keeping Lord Compton in power. The two soon find themselves at odds while simultaneously fighting their growing feelings for one another.

This book is darker than her previous novels, but similar to chiaroscuro in art, it provides more depth to the characters and story. Mimi Matthew’s previous books romanticized this era. And while this novel still paints certain aspects of this time in a (perhaps unrealistically) positive light, she also reflects on the negative aspects of the time in a more compelling and complex way than she ever has before. This book has zero spice, but the love and yearning between Effie and Gabriel is so delicious and tender.

I really loved this book, and the blurb for the second installment in the series has me SO excited. I can’t wait for the next book’s release! If you enjoy historical fiction, or romance, or both, then you will love Rules for Ruin.

I LOVED THIS SO MUCH!!! Seriously, one of Mimi's best - filled with fantastic banter, tension, and incredible characters. I could not put this down!

*kisses only, closed door romance

A pretty standard regency romance with two non-titled characters. Effie comes to London to ruin Lord Compton. He opposes a bill that would allow women to keep their money when married. Gabe wants Compton where he is. Compton protects Gabe's gambling interests. After some confrontations and butting heads, Gabe and Effie accept that they have more in common than not and make things work for both of them. For fans of enemies to lovers.

ɴᴇᴛɢᴀʟʟᴇʏ ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡ || RULES FOR RUIN [thank you to Berkley Romance and @netgalley for my #gifted copy!]

Title: Rules for Ruin
Author: Mimi Matthews
Genre: Historical Romance
Format: Digital
Star Rating: ★★★★☆

ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ:
At a secret Academy outside London, women are trained to take down the patriarchy. For sharp-tongued Euphemia Flite, that means infiltrating a powerful lord’s circle and destroying him from within. Her reward? Long-awaited freedom.

But underworld kingpin Gabriel Royce has his own plans—and he won’t let a rebellious debutante ruin them. As their schemes collide across smoky alleys and glittering ballrooms, a slow-burning attraction sparks.

The greatest threat to their missions might just be each other.

ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:
If you enjoyed Matthews last series, then you are in for a treat — because she NAILS it AGAIN with this first installment in the Crinoline Academy. I absolutely loved being able to see a society where women are sent in because they’re considered innocent & meek, but that means that they’re able to go without notice and find the ton’s secrets (not unlikely Matlock in the new Paramount+ series).

But I think what MADE this book for me was Watching as Effie and Gabriel collided with combating interests and tried to thwart each other’s efforts at every turn. It was so interesting to see them go from strangers to enemies to allies/friends to two people who can’t remember when they fell in love, but here they are.

This book does a great job of mixing together a historical romance, fiction, political drama, and mystery without making you feel like you lost the point or any storylines weren’t well fleshed out. While I enjoyed the romance (because it’s me, and I am nothing if not romance’s #1 fan), I was just as invested in the stories coming from The Academy.

Historical romance fans, add this to your TBR! I can’t wait to see how the second installment plays out!

ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
Dark London
Cat & Mouse
Dual POV
Espionage & Intrigue
Closed Door Romance
Female Vigilantes

ᴅᴇᴛᴀɪʟꜱ:
GR: 4.37 ⭐️
# of Pages: 400
Pub Date: May 20, 2025