I'm a sucker for sister stories so I liked seeing how each sister took her role as potential heir and the interactions after finding out that they're all a oart of a family they didn;t know about. But I wanted more from the world building - about the different regions they were from and how the magic system besides being blood based. The secrets are enough to keep you reading, but I was never really invested in the world or the story,

This book is about 3 girls- Zofi, Aleylah and Ren who have just learned that they are illegitimate daughters of the dying King of Kolonya. The girls are have been raised very differently from one another and they are called to Kolonya to see who might be the best heir to the throne. Each girl has special skills or talents that would make them a good ruler, but each girl also has a secret that could potentially have terrible consequences. Unfortunately, it soon becomes evident to the women that someone in the city does know their secret and is willing to expose them? Is it another one of the girls? Is it a potential rival to the throne? Will the girls find out before their secrets get revealed?
I liked this book a lot. It was creative and I think many people will be able to identify with the characters. The idea of tithing was different and at first I wasn't sure I was a little weird about it, but I liked how the author incorporated it into the story. I also like the differences between each of the regions of Kolonya and how they all have their own areas of concern and important events. I didn't really appreciate the infidelity of the queen, but I wonder if that will come into play later. At one point in this book I realized that I was too close to the end for the story to be wrapped up. I'm frustrated that I'm left hanging, but would be happy to read another of these books.

This book was full of surprise. The mystery behind the three sisters. Which one will get to wear the crown. It totally kept me guessing. I really enjoyed this book. I read some of the reviews where the said they DNF this book, but I’m glad I took the plunge and read it.

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

DNF
I was looking forward to reading Rule because of its enticing premise and the absolutely stunning cover. However, the book wound up disappointing me tremendously. I tried very hard to get into the story but after about 50% I simply couldn't push through. I found the world building to be lacking and the characters to be under-developed. Thank you to the publisher for a chance to read and review this title.

"Rule" was a surprise hit for me! We follow three half-sisters who have been living very different lives. Kolonya rules the land with King Andros at the helm. He can often be found in the company of his slightly younger twin sister, Yasmin, or his new wife, Rozalind. Rozalind is about the same age as the girls, and she married Andros as part of a peace treaty from Genal, a neighboring country to which Kolonya used to belong but fought bloody wars to separate from and was still warring with.

Within Kolonya, there is Kolonya proper and then the Reaches, which are operated like distant colonies (getting less/no resources, resources are taken from them for the center, and many citizens are treated like second class despite often being the soldiers and farmers who keep the country running). There are also nomadic people, called Travelers by themselves and Drifters as a degrading term. Travelers have their own tricks and lifestyle, living in family groups, which are not connected by blood but by experience.

The whole kingdom relies on magic, called the Blood Arts, which you can call up by (warning for self-mutilation) cutting yourself, which is referred to as performing a "tithe," and then gain superhuman speed, healing, or camouflage or another skill for a limited amount of time, until you become exhausted and then you must wait to tithe again. There are also the "Vulgar Arts" which are the bad things you can do with this magic, such as killing a family member. While other cuts will heal, the cuts made from the Vulgar Arts scar and have a blue tinge, marking you forever as one who has used them.

Alright, so our three main characters have never known who their father was- until they receive a summons. All three are hiding a dark secret which could get them executed. The King is dying, and his son and heir was murdered. He needs an heir, so brings his illegitimate daughters to the capital to audition to become the next heir.

Florencia (Ren) is Kolonyan and has been working as a maid. Her mother has taught her how to navigate the court and its lies well, and she is well suited to transition into the king's heir, already knowing so much about how politics work. Ren grew on me over time- she starts out seeming prejudiced and sneaky, but she learns and grows, becoming a more sympathetic character as time progresses.

Zofi is a traveler and thus an outcast in Kolonya. She doesn't allow that to slow her down- she is fierce, brave, and loyal. She also doesn't much care for what others think and doesn't seem bothered that the maids won't get near a 'drifter' and that her appearance and clothes are so different from everyone else's. She was definitely my favorite of the three girls.

Akeylah is from the Eastern Reach, where she has been abused physically and emotionally by her stepfather (who she thought was her father) and her half-siblings. Since her mother died giving birth to her, they view her as their mother's killer and treat her terribly. She is calm, patient, thoughtful, and slower to act than the other two sisters, but her actions are more purposeful- at least until it comes to her love life.

All three are hiding a big secret for which they are being blackmailed. As they investigate and learn about the kingdom, they are unsure who their enemies are. I actually was iffy about this because it seemed so obvious from the get-go, but then there are some interesting twists and turns towards the end, and now I have a new theory. This book does end with a cliffhanger, so now I will be anxiously awaiting the second book in this duology.

The story is told from each of the three girls points-of-view in the third person limited. While this could be confusing, here it is woven so neatly together, rarely stating the same events in two sections. Instead it flows through time while going through the different points-of-view. This keeps the story moving quickly while also letting you get to know each of the sisters individually.

I would have liked more information about the blood tithing/magic that they have here. While we do get some information as the girls investigate/through their learning, it comes very slowly (same as the history). However, this does really build up all the mystery in the book. I would give this somewhere between 4 and 5 stars, but I am rounding up in the end because it was really hard to put down. The sisters are all well-developed and unique from each other plus the mystery really kept the book moving. Additionally, there seems to be pretty good diversity amongst the sisters and main characters, which is always great to see in a YA book!

Overall, I think this is a great new YA fantasy series, and I will definitely want to read the second book when it comes out! Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the E-arc copy of this novel.
Rule was a solid read for young adults. It has interesting a dynamic of three sisters who come together from being separated as they grew up. Each having different backgrounds and ethnicity from their world. The sisters find love, mystery, and magic that will lead them to one of them becoming the new heir to the throne.

[Review will be posted on Reader Voracious Blog on 8/22/18.]

cw: self-mutilation (the magic system is essentially cutting onseself and it is described in detail), abusive family

Reading this book brought back memories of watching Pretty Little Liars; if you enjoyed the tv show I would recommend this to you! This is a book full of deadly secrets, political intrigue, and a fantasy world where the ruling class is out of touch with the people over whom they rule. While these are ingredients that I love to read, I unfortunately found the execution for Rule to be a bit lacking: the characters were one-dimensional, character relationships to have little to no development to justify their actions, and I was left wanting more worldbuilding. The base ideas are interesting and intriguing, but in my opinion need more development.

The King is dying and with his only heir dead he's forced to bring his three illegitimate daughters to Court. Whomever can learn and perform the best will earn the right to rule.
➡️ Zofi is a Traveler, part of a nomadic band of people, skilled in the art of tithe and a warrior.
➡️ Akeylah's family hates her because her mother died during childbirth, and her father is so abusive that he nearly kills her. My heart breaks for her so much and she is honestly the only character that I don't hate.
➡️ Florencia or "Ren" is a servant, essentially a handmaid within the castle with aspirations of elevating her station through a strategic marriage. Little did she know that she was royalty. She's lived her life on the outskirts of Court and is kind of an insufferable jerk.
I found the whole premise of the Blood Ceremony and succession wasn't explained well. I understand the sense of urgency and why timelines were sped up; however, I was very confused as to why the King's twin couldn't assume the throne - something that wasn't explained until like 85% into the book. That simple omission of explanation until very late made it difficult for me to believe the sequence of events at all as it all seemed 'convenient' to move the story along.

One of my biggest pet peeves is conflict for the sake of conflict that could easily be solved by the characters talking to one another, and this plot device is used a lot here. From the Talons not telling Zofi from the beginning where she was going to the sisters not talking to one another sooner (although when they finally did it felt... off?). This may not be an issue for every reader, but I think that plot device and the narrative style worked in concert against the story here. This is a case where I think the third-person omniscient narrative style did this story a disservice because it kills all suspense for the reader. The sisters are all being blackmailed and are obviously distrusting of everyone around them, but because we know what we do the inner monologues suspecting everyone comes across as annoying instead of "WHO COULD IT BE?!?!!?" I feel like by the time the characters caught up to what I had already pieced together I was forced to rehash that information for 1-2 pages, which I didn't really enjoy. Honestly I would have probably liked the story a lot better if it had all been told from Akeylah's POV (or if each book centered on a different sister's POV).

Some of the character conversations were a damn hilarious blessing though, and I really enjoyed those glimpses of character peeking through: "Though Sun knows you're doing a good enough job in that getup." "At least I can move. You look like a lobster trussed up for the cooking pot." For those that enjoy romance, each sister has a budding relationship, one of which is an insta-love f/f relationship (forbidden not for sexuality but for other reasons). I have to say that the side character Vidal is wonderful and I adore him.

It is no secret that I adore worldbuilding, and it is the main thing that can make or break my enjoyment of a book. The only worldbuilding here is really recounting the political history of the region and the wars, which only tells part of the story of this world. There are so many things that I would love to have seen explained more to immerse me into the world, the biggest gap being religion. The characters have an exclamation synonymous with how some say "god" in our world that points to different religious beliefs - sands, seas, sun. I find that beliefs offer a lot of insight into cultural differences and a description into what the practices are between the Reaches would have been an excellent way to create more depth and further point out how different the lives were for people around the Kingdom beyond the color of their skin or whether they were a Traveler.

The magic system was not explained well at all: people that are from Reaches can tithe, which appears to be bloodletting? essentially cut themselves to gain temporary boosts to speed, or invisibility. Apparently the stories go that the gods blessed the people of Kolonya with tithe and that is the reason for their being Superior. There is no explanation as to who can do it, how one learns to do it, or if it is closely regulated. The King insinuates that skills are kept as a close secret for the Talons to have an advantage, yet the Travelers also tithe, and it seems that anyone can? I DON'T KNOW OKAY.
You cannot control your destiny, Mama always said. Only the way you face it.
All of the events of this book are happening as the result of three secrets: actions that each of the daughters made that set things in motion. It is almost poetic and points to perhaps their being manipulated into action - but that doesn't jive with the whole blackmailer thing, it would be interesting though!

The most enjoyable part of this book was reading it with Destiny; our banter and discussions are what kept me reading to the end more than anything else. If I am being honest, the story felt underdeveloped to me and read more like an early draft, but I read an ARC and I am hoping that some changes were made to polish the story prior to publication. This is a fast-paced read with a lot of political machinations. While this book wasn't for me, I do hope it is for you and I think that those who enjoyed Pretty Little Liars will enjoy this book.

Many thanks to Little, Brown for providing me an electronic ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Quotations were taken from an uncorrected proof and are subject to change upon publication.

This story revolves around 3 young women with very different backgrounds who suddenly find themselves heirs to the king. Each girl holds a secret that if discovered would lead to her execution. Naturally "someone" knows all 3 secrets and is blackmailing the girls to give up their right to the throne or be outed.

I really liked the premise of the book. but the characters seemed a bit forced to me. The book didn't seem to flow as easily as I would have liked it to. It was hard to empathize with the girls as each seemed motivated more by emotion than common sense. Several times I set the book aside only to remind myself that I still needed to finish it. The book is ok but it just lacked any emotional connect for me.

Loved this book! Exquisite for YA fans, those that lost fantasy, with a hint of Game of Thrones. This has all of the things a fanatical mystery fan would love, whether or not YA is your first genre of choice.

Rule is the story of three young women, raised in completely different lifestyles, who all find out that they are in line for the throne as the illegitimate daughters of King Andros.

I did really like this book. I liked the story line, and the three women and their individual stories, but there were a couple of things I did not like. First, I was really confused at the beginning. There were a lot of characters being introduced, in a world I knew nothing about. I eventually got through it and figured it out, but it took longer than I thought it should. Secondly, I felt like not enough description was given to the women. I know exactly what Zofi looks like, because they talk about her hair in every other chapter, but the other two... I'm not so sure - so I would have liked to have more description of them and even other main characters in the book.

I was beginning to get annoyed with how this book ends. It is the first book in a duology, so I knew that it was going to "be continued", but I wanted a little bit of closure in the ending. However, the last chapter's ending really left me intrigued and wanting so badly to find out what happens in the second book.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me a copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

DNF at 20%

I tried to hard to push through this but it just wasn't for me. I didn't connect with the characters at all and didn't care what happened to them at all. The writing style wasn't for me at all, I just couldn't connect with it.

Three girls plucked out of their lives find out one of them will wear the crown.
This was so much more in depth and convoluted than I went in thinking. The author did a great job of giving each girl their own voice, problems, and thoughts. I was worried it would be to like three dark crowns but it wasn't. Instead it gave a new view on three different but similar girls.

This story revolves around 3 young women with very different backgrounds who suddenly find themselves heirs to the king. Each girl holds a secret that if discovered would lead to her execution. Naturally "someone" knows all 3 secrets and is blackmailing the girls to give up their right to the throne or be outed.

I really liked the premise of the book. but the characters seemed a bit forced to me. The book didn't seem to flow as easily as I would have liked it to. It was hard to empathize with the girls as each seemed motivated more by emotion than common sense. Several times I set the book aside only to remind myself that I still needed to finish it. The book is ok but it just lacked any emotional connect for me.

One thing that I disliked greatly was the complete lack of an ending. I understand leaving the it open for sequels but I hate no freaking ending at all. What this does is annoy me because I feel that all the author is only interested in stringing the reader along for his monetary gain. You want to know what happens - buy that next book. It doesn't have to be a clear cut, drawn in the sand type of ending but (for me) I need SOME KIND of conclusion. For this reason I round my 2.5 star rating to a 2 star.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for offering a copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars
Rule by Ellen Goodlett is the first in a series (trilogy?) that begins with a king having his three illegitimate daughters located and brought to court. The king of Kolonya decides to acknowledge his three illegitimate daughters only after his son and presumptive heir dies.

The three young women are very different and quite amazed upon discovering not only their unknown father, but also that they have siblings.

Nothing especially new in this YA fantasy...except that (Spoiler) <spoiler>the three girls eventually form a bond, supporting each other, instead of the expected cut throat competition for the crown. This was actually the thing I liked most, the siblings uniting.</spoiler>.

Each of the daughters carries a dark secret, and each of the secrets could carry a dreadful consequence. When the blackmail begins, who is to be trusted?

I enjoyed the first installment of this series.

Read in July; blog review scheduled for Aug. 25.

NetGalley/Little Brown Books for Young Readers.
YA Fantasy. Sept. 11, 2018. Print length: 384 pages.

At the beginning, I felt like I read super slow because there were a lot of characters and terms thrown around that was unfamiliar. By the end of this book, I was totally hooked and wanted more. Overall, it's an easy read but has some very serious themes woven through family and relationships.

Rule heavily reminded me of Pretty Little Liars series. If you have read those books then expect some naughty relate-able teens with some pretty nasty secrets and someone leaving elusive notes threatening to out them....just in a really cool magical YA fantasy world.
3 teenage girl living in different parts of the kingdom are called to court where it is revealed they are the bastard daughters of the king. His son has been murdered and now one of them will be the next heir to rule in his stead for the King is terminally ill and doesn't have much time left...oh yeah and the kingdom is on the brink of a war and a revolution. If that wasn't crazy enough, his daughters all have a terrible secret they are each hiding and magically someone in court knows about each one and is planting notes threatening to expose them if they do not give up the throne and leave.

The things I liked about Rule
- Easy, fast paced read
- Creative world building by author. Did great with details of how their "tithes"(think superhuman cool abilities) work and their limitations.
- Out of the three sisters you may find at least one of them likable.

Things I wasn't too crazy about
--- Felt as if I read this book before, although the world was creative, the plot was anything but.
---The last part of the book where it was finally getting juicy just felt much too rushed and it was kind of off --putting. The author really set the stage for it to be a cool showdown and then it just sort of zipped on by as if there was more important things to uncover...but then the book just ends leaving you feeling unsatisfied.
--- Not sure if its a spoiler or not so stop reading if you care..... but the sisters started off not really giving a rats ass about one another since they were basically strangers, then they moved towards suspicion which is 100% normal and plausible for their situations. Once they determined they were no threat to one another towards the end of the book they were suddenly like " how did i ever live without this sister, so grateful, can't let them down!!". This wouldn't be too bad normally if this didn't take place withing a couple of goddamn days!! I didn't get that suddenly jump to loyalty and family, even when going through a crazy ordeal as they had...i mean at least go through a stage of " You know you are pretty cool, maybe i can see myself liking you," type phase first??

Anyway the book was nice and quick read, although totally predictable. Its a fun YA fantasy for someone beginning the genre but probably wouldn't satisfy any die-hard YA fantasy fans.
3/5 stars for being quick and entertaining. Not sure if i'll be continuing this series when the next book comes out though.

This is the great start to a new series.
The Bourb intrigued me and I felt like reading something different. The story is diverse and refreshing.

I received a copy of RULE on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the publisher and author.

5 stars and here's why:

I love strong women and this is the first book in a series of three women brought up in different cultures but they have one thing in common: they’re the daughter of a king. So, the half-sisters will have to compete for the crown to be the ruler. It’s a fast-paced YA fantasy series that kept me riveted to my kindle app. I simply couldn’t put it down. If you love savvy and sassy characters then this book is for you. Highly recommend! Can’t wait for the next book!!

This promising start to a young adult fantasy series features three teenaged girls who are summoned to the ailing King of Kolonya only to discover they are his illegitimate daughters, one of whom will be chosen as his heir. Zofi is part of the Travelers, a gypsy-like band of wanderers who are regarded with suspicion by Kolonyans. Florencia iis a maid at the Kolonyan palace, familiar with the ways of the court. Akeylah is from the Eastern Reaches, abused by her own family. Each girl has a dark secret and is being blackmailed by an unknown enemy in an attempt to disqualify them as heirs to the throne. Goodlett's world building includes blood magic, wars and political intrigue, a bit confusing at first but clearer as the story progresses. The cliffhanger ending will leave fantasy fans eagerly awaiting the next book in the series. #Rule #NetGalley

4/5 stars

I must begin by saying that when I first heard of Rule I was extremely skeptical and it was hard not to roll my eyes when I read the synopsis. Three girls competing for a throne? Isn’t that the premise of Three Dark Crowns? I am, however, really glad I did pick this book up as it’s really something different.

Rule is a story of three half sisters, all raised apart, who are reunited when their biological father, the King, begins to fall ill and needs to select an heir. Now at this point - a typical YA novel would have made the rest of the book about competitions. However, Rule does not do this. Yes they are in court and trying to prove their worth to be the next queen, but they do not perform in competitions or quests. Instead, this is a more political book, about scandals, secrets and sabotages. Each of the girls knows a secret which can compromise her eligibility to be the next queen, and each one is being black mailed.

Another REALLY refreshing aspect of the novel was that Goodlett made the girls work together instead of trying to undercut one another. There are so many YA books out there where the female on female hate is so toxic and prevalent that this was very refreshing. It put me in mind of Uprooted and Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik - where women chose one another, despite everything.

Furthermore, the book is extremely diverse, there are many POC and gay relationships are completely accepted. Its so refreshing when authors normalize gay relationships, instead of making them outliers. Additionally, Goodlett really did her research on the world and the world building and magic systems are extremely flashed out and well developed. The first few pages were info dump-y a bit - but really it wasn’t overwhelming. I will warn readers that there is domestic violence in the book and blood letting and so if you are squeamish be forewarned.

The novel ends on a HUGE cliffhanger which I honestly did not see coming. I will eagerly await book 2 of this series.