Rules for Ruin by Mimi Matthews is hiding a deadly weapon behind a layer of crinoline.

** I would like to express my thanks to ☆ Mimi Matthews ☆ for providing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review **

This has to be one of my favorite books by the author so far. This book was jaw dropping. The vibes and the atmosphere that was set up the author was immaculate. From the set up to the academy and what it stood for and to the missions Effie was apart of, I loved every moment.

The tension, the moments between Effie and Gabriel were next level. There was so many things I wasn't expecting but to summarize Gabriel is a top tier man. His intuition, his dedication, his behavior towards Effie are 👏TO 👏 die 👏 for. Where can I get me one of him? To Effie as well, balancing duty with wants. How can one not fall in love with her character, her stubbornness, and her dedication. This book is amazing, and I can't wait to see what the next ones have in store!

I highly recommend this book to everyone in need of undercover spies and danger galore.

I thoroughly enjoyed this and can’t wait for more of the series! Effie was such an endearing character and I loved how her romance developed with Gabriel. The pacing was nice and quick and had a very solid plot.

Thank you to Berkley Romance and NetGalley for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

This new series of Mimi Matthews is an absolutely enchanting and captivating romantasy based around women rights. It's absolutely incredible to see this woman absolutely infiltrate the patriarchy Only problem? There's a man on the other side, also infiltrating, but with the opposite goals. Reading about Euphemia and Gabriel clashing is absolutely incredible - the tension was next level. The banter was just plain fun, and I gasped more than once. They were both just written incredibly well and I loved reading a book set in the Victorian period - the historical references and descriptions were amazing and well done. The romance is closed door but that didn't alter anything as that tension and yearning left you burning!

Rules for Ruin by Mimi Matthews came out this week - thank you to @berkleyromance for the free book and to @spotifycanada for having the audiobook as I switched between formats!

I've read several books by this author and this one was really good - it reminded me a bit of my beloved Veronica Speedwell series and I think anyone who is a fan of historical romance with a mystery component would enjoy this. There was a great female main character, Effie, and her backstory was emotional but the way she evolved as a character who really learned her worth was sweet and special. There's a cute dog too!! I enjoyed the friendships in the story and especially loved the ending. This one is the first in her series The Crinoline Academy and I am now eagerly anticipating the next one!

I read the Digital review copy and listened to the audiobook. The narrative voice flowed seamlessly, language and actions did not stray from what seemed to be normal for the time in the novel, and I appreciated that. A lot of other period pieces tend to stray in remaining true to the era of the setting, using language that is more modern. Effie and Gabriel are both characters that pull me in immediately. I love that Effie and Gabriel form this bond over time, I wanted to see more of them. Gabriel gave me Apollo from Tropical Rebel energy, and I loved it.

As someone who doesn’t read Victorian romances, I wasn’t sure how this one would land with me.

I am thrilled to report I enjoyed “Rules for Ruin” so much and am eager to read book 2 when it drops.

What worked for me was the historical connection woven into the romance storyline. Along with the enemies to lovers, will they? won’t they? vibe, Matthews writes a story that includes the fight for women's rights in Victorian England in the 1860’s (among many other heavier moments in England’s history). Oftentimes I find that adding these historical references within a romance book is a huge win for me as a reader. The “behind the book” section of “Rules for Ruin” was enlightening, earning this book an extra star in my rating.

Effie and Gabriel were such determined, strong willed people and their banter and passion for the world around them made them a pair you found yourself rooting for (as individuals and a couple).

After 5 years in Paris as a lady's companion, Effie is called back to the Crinoline Academy (or the Benevolent Academy for the Betterment of Young Ladies) by her benefactress, Miss Corvus. The first pupil, the brightest, and most bitter, Effie and the other girls are trained and educated to overturn the patriarchy. Her assignment is to bring down powerful politician, Lord Compton. Find evidence to cause Compton's downfall so that other politicians won't follow his lead in voting against the Married Women's Property Act. If she succeeds, Miss Corvus will discharge the debt to her, enabling Effie to leave the academy with a small sum of money, enough for an independent life with her lovable dog Frank. The problem? Gabriel Royce. Leader of the Rookeries underworld and betting shop owner, he needs Lord Compton in his pocket to insulate him from government interference and the police. He's blackmailing Compton to introduce him to the aristocrats in the ton. He needs the support of the wealthy and their influence in Parliament to stop the destruction of the Rookeries and make improvements in the neighborhood to better the lives of the poor. Without Compton's assistance the Rookery would be obliterated taking Gabriel's livelihood with it. When Gabriel realizes what she's up to he says he will stop her war on Compton. She declares war on him! I enjoyed both characters. Strong because they had to be. Both orphans and more vulnerable than they showed to the world. Effie uses her crinoline skirts as intimidation, giving her space and a place to conceal weapons. Gabriel doesn't know what to make of it. Soon finding himself neglecting his work to keep up with Effie. How they come to together in their missions is a delight.

This was a fun, interesting historical romance. Mimi Matthews is great at writing books in that genre that are closed door, while still crackling with the chemistry of the two main characters.

Euphemia Flite didn’t have a typical upbringing - she was raised in a school for young ladies that trains them to infiltrate and disrupt the patriarchy. When she is instructed to destroy the reputation of a viscount, she finds opposition in Gabriel Royce, a betting shop owner who is using the viscount (and his good name) as a pawn.

What follows is a battle of wills and wits, as they attempt to outmaneuver each other, and yet find themselves unable to escape their mutual attraction.

I've read 18 of Mimi Matthews' published books. I find her to be a consistent author who writes characters I can root for and stories that pull me in. Out of 18 I've read, I've only rated 5 less than 4 Stars. So I generally expect to like her books. Yet when I started Rules for Ruin, I had a hard time connecting to the beginning of it. I worried the story was going to stray more into a mystery than her books have in the past. All it took to change my mind was to make it to the part where Gabriel and Effie met. That was enough to hook me.

Effie has grown up in an orphanage for girls. But this wasn't a typical orphanage. The owner of the orphanage wasn't affectionate, and she and Effie often butted heads. Effie was eventually sent to Paris, and now she's returning for a mission that will, hopefully, earn her freedom. Mrs. Corvus has tasked her with ruining a man who stands in the way of laws to further women's rights--specifically protecting women's property that they bring into a marriage from being taken over by their husbands and leaving them completely dependent upon their spouses, who might not have their best interests in mind. Effie is hosted in society by a lady who owes a debt of some sort to Mrs. Corvus. This lady is frequently in the company of Lord Compton--the mark. Lord Compton has an impeccable reputation, but how he votes often sways his peers.

When Effie meets Lord Compton, she also meets a man named Gabriel Royce. Gabriel runs a betting house in the Rookery. He is trying his best to grow his business and improve the Rookery. He has good intentions. But he uses Lord Compton as protection from the law. And he's recently been pressing him for introductions to more noblemen and businessmen, hoping to garner investors in his improvement ideas. But he has to do so using a bit of blackmail. Effie's goals run counterproductive to his own. And he lets her know up front that any plans she has against Lord Compton will be undermined by Royce himself.

Effie and Gabriel have a fun journey. I liked seeing them work against each other and for each other. I liked seeing them bump heads as both tend to have a little temper and fire about them. I appreciated that Gabriel isn't a typical hero. Most wouldn't root for a man who owns a betting shop in the slums. But he was a good match for Effie. And I enjoyed their story.

I did wonder a little at a few things. The Crinoline Academy is essentially raising spies. They are trained in unconventional arts. And Effie is supposed to be the prize student. Yet, I found her skills lacking several times. Maybe she's out of practice, having been in Paris and not necessarily on a mission. But a few things felt obvious to me that she missed. Even after being warned by Nell to assume she's being followed, her correspondence being read, and being spied on herself by keyholes, Effie is never as paranoid as I would assume she would be.

Favorite quotes:
-"A finishing school in Paris, was it?" Gabriel inquired. "That's correct." Miss Flite returned her attention to the others. "And were you?" he asked. She glanced back at him again, distracted. "Was I what, sir?" "Finished?" Her mouth curved into a slow, feline smile. "On the contrary," she said. "I'm just getting started."

-"There you are," he said, with a husky scrape of triumph. "I see you now."

-"Fashion is fleeting, but a well-timed right cross is forever." She added wryly, "To paraphrase The Oracle of the Ring."

-"You're too bitter, that's the trouble. You persist in blaming Miss Corvus for the conditions that brought you here. And she's accepted the blame--foolishly, I feel--in the mistaken belief that your anger would fuel you. Instead, all it's done is cloud your judgment. It's made you suspicious of everything you've learned. Perpetually dissatisfied, imagining there's something better waiting just around the corner, if only you could be free of this place."

-"Never talk about other people. It is the mark of a small and common mind."

-"Don't be ridiculous," she said. "Blackmail is a loathsome business." She smoothed her gloves. "I intend to remove Compton from the board entirely."

-"Everyone must sleep eventually." "Some people sleep with one eye open." Effie gave him a thoughtful look. "Some people must be very tired." Gabriel's mouth hitched wryly. "Exhausted." "That's why it's important to have a true friend. Someone you trust with your life. You can sleep in turns."

-"When all the world desserts you, you will have no friend but yourself to rely on," Miss Corvus had told them. "See that you are a fierce and competent friend. A friend to be reckoned with."

Rules for Ruin is multifaceted, and I've barely scratched the surface in my review. Miss Corvus's backstory. Effie's backstory. I mentioned Nell, but I haven't described any of the side characters. Franc, the dog. I enjoyed it all. I'm so glad that I pressed on when things felt slow in the beginning. And I can't wait to continue the series with Nell's book next. Rules for Ruin gets 4 Stars. Have you read Rules for Ruin? What did you think? Let me know!

As a disclaimer, I DNFed this book so my review is based off of what I did read. I was honestly just not hooked by what I did read and really wasn't encouraged to continue.

It is as though this book was written from the depths of Mimi Matthew’s soul, it is a masterclass in sophisticated, evocative writing.

Couple an ominous air of suspenseful intrigue with an emotionally passionate duet between Effie and Gabriel. Gentle, tender notes of care and vulnerability play alongside a forte of powerful, smouldering fervency culminating in a composition with a thrilling crescendo!

From the drawing rooms of Mayfair to the rookeries of St. Giles this book will bring political intrigue, heart-stopping suspense, melting moments of vulnerability, passion and grand sweeping gestures of sentiment.
A must read!

Rules for Ruin is a sharp, slow-burn historical romance with a feminist twist—and I was hooked from the first page. Euphemia is bold, brilliant, and completely done with the patriarchy. Her mission? Take down a powerful lord from the inside. But things get complicated when she crosses paths with Gabriel Royce, a brooding underworld king who’s just as clever (and infuriating) as she is.

The chemistry between these two crackles, and their push-and-pull dynamic had me flipping pages like mad. With secret societies, political scheming, and plenty of wit, this book is smart, swoony, and deeply satisfying. If you love morally gray heroes, fierce heroines, and historical romance that doesn’t play by the usual rules—this one’s a must-read.

This is not the kind of book I’d normally pick up- I’m not usually a historical romance type of reader but I decided to give this a try. I have mixed feelings.

Gabriel, the scoundrel-adjacent MMC, is the highlight of this book. My issue? I wanted there to be MORE of him. Granted, I know this book is about both of them, and primarily what Effie is trying to accomplish (no spoilers here), but I wanted to see more of him being our rogue with a tender heart. The writing was well done. The tone and dialogue felt true to the setting.

But, let’s talk setting. . . As someone who doesn’t read a ton of historical romance I found the setting and specificity of the time period hard to follow. That is on me as a reader, so I’m sure if you are into Victorian- era HR, it would be much easier to get into. I wanted to take a chance into this genre it just didn’t do it for me. The chemistry between them felt lacking, overshadowed by the context of the story. I think it needed to deliver more interesting moments, more tension.

Overall, it was good, but took me a long time to finish. It’s truly a 3.5 for me. It’s probably great for someone who reads HR a lot- by all means, go for it- but for someone who doesn’t I wouldn’t recommend. I don’t have a lot to compare it to (in the genre) but it’s not one that I could outright recommend as an overall engaging read.

Mimi Matthews does it again! A perfect mix of grounded and romantic Victorian details, a kickass heroine, romantic tension, and satisfying outcome. Future books in this series will automatically go on my tbr.

Rules for Ruin is a clever, romantic historical story about Euphemia, a young woman trained to take down powerful men, and Gabriel, a sly underworld boss with his own secrets. As she tries to ruin a viscount to protect women’s rights, she ends up falling for the very man who stands in her way. Full of sharp banter, intrigue, and slow-burn romance, this is an enjoyable, twisty read.

Rules for Ruin was such a fun book to read/listen to. I loved Euphemia and learning about her childhood and how Gabriel became so protective of her...even though they are at odds with their relationships with the viscount. Gabriel was also not looking for a woman to love. It really explained how they both grew into the adults that they were and what propelled them in how they currently lived their lives.

I both read and listened to the audio version of Rules for Ruin. I liked the female narrator, Elizabeth Knowelden, more than the male narrator, Will Watt, who did Gabriel's voice. He really did a wonderful British voice, but I had to slow it down when I listened to his chapters.

Mimi Matthews is a wonderful author and now I'm looking forward to book 2 in the The Crinoline Academy, The Marriage Method, where we will get to read Nell's story.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Publication date: 20 May 2025

Effie Flite has been recalled from Paris to join polite society in a scheme to bring justice to Lord Compton for ruining a poor woman years ago. She never expected to find herself rivaled against Gabriel Royce, a businessman with a vested interest in Lord Compton’s reputation remaining pristine.

As the two become acquainted, neither can deny their growing attraction. But will their feelings for one another prove more important than their personal aims with the lord?



This was such an interesting story! Having an orphanage that doubled as an academy for tutoring young women in espionage related activities is such a unique concept for a historical romance. I liked that there were high stakes with this story, outside of the romance itself.

Effie is such a strong and brilliant character and watching her overcome her personal struggles with her past and navigating a world she wasn’t born into was a joy.

Gabriel is a beautiful example of someone learning that family is sometimes who you choose and who chooses you, not just the person you’re born from.


As fun as this one was, I did hate that Effie and Gabriel were at odds on one page and the next they were confessing feelings, more than once. It was a little to back and forth on if they were friends or foes for my liking, but it overall only knocked my rating down one Star.

Definitely a fun, exciting start to a series of interconnected stand alones. I am looking forward to Nell’s story next!

No notes! 👨‍🍳💋

But can I give it 6 stars??

Thank you to the author & Berkley Romance for the #gifted copy. All thoughts are my own.

This checked boxes I didn't even know I had.

Effie is tasked with taking down a lord. She has to infiltrate the ton and find a way to discredit the man society holds up on a pedestal. But his word can take down any hope of a new and bright future for women. Standing in Effie's way is Gabriel, a man who reminds her of her roots and one who is eager to protect his interests, including his lordship.

I don't know what I can say that I haven't said before about a Mimi book. No. Notes. It's beautifully written and celebrates a time of change. I loved the setting, the passionate nature of our main characters, the chemistry, the thoughtful historical details. To say I'm eager for book two is underestimating it. I highly recommend this book. I think readers of romance, historical or not, will gobble up this lush love story.

If you frequently read regency romance, disregard this review. If you dabble in it, this review is for you. I do not read much but I heard rave reviews about this author and the synopsis intrigued me (down with the patriarchy!) so I gave it a shot! I can tell this is well written. I however did not feel any romance between the two characters. Possibly the language was too formal or maybe it was that there was a lot more to the story than romance but I was not feeling it. I did think the main character was really well done- I love her boldness, determination and spunk! Overall though, this was okay and I think it was mainly reading preferences that make this a 3 star for me.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It didn't blow me away, but I liked the plot and the characters.

My main issue with the book was the way it was written. I felt like the style of writing tried to elevate an otherwise simple book and plot. It just made this book harder to read. I felt like more effort went into making this book sound eloquent and advanced that the plot and characters were kind of left behind.

Again, i thought the chemistry and relationships in this book were endearing, and I loved their banter. It was an exciting read and I never felt bored!