3.75 ⭐️

This story is a White Lotus-esque drama featuring an affluent Black family who are billionaires and seem to hate each other. Their wealth was gained relatively recently, and throughout the book, we discover the many secrets associated with how they acquired and kept their fortune. As the patriarch's 70th birthday draws near, the secrets slowly unravel and threaten their way of life. Almost all the characters are unlikeable and have little empathy, but there's one character, Kennedy, who has a vague moral compass that you can root for. The story deals with themes of race, power, wealth, and the compromises made to get what you want.

The author included the theme of curated identity throughout the book, which I found fascinating. Jaqueline, the matriarch of the Carter family, and her two adult kids, Kennedy and Asher, used a lot of language in their internal monologues surrounding what they should do or how they were playing a part. Over the years, they had manufactured and morphed their identities because that's what was expected of them by their husband/father, William. I think this added to their unlikability but made the characters interesting. As I was reading, I wondered whose character development would lead them away from this and whose would keep them trapped.

While the book started out gripping, and I read fast, around halfway, it slowed down, and the chapters felt dragged out. The storyline was a bit predictable, and the climax didn't seem all that extreme - it was solved fairly easily. I also had difficulty keeping the timeline straight because the characters, dates, and locations changed every chapter and jumped back and forth in time.

2.5 stars rounded down.

This book actually started interesting. I was immediately engaged in the first chapter and then it went steadily downhill.

The word I would use to describe this is dull. There was no real story. Lots of words that eventually amounted to nothing actually happening. There was an attempt at a buildup to what was supposed to be a huge reveal that just fell flat. When I was finished reading I actually thought to myself "that's it?"

I only plowed through to the end because it was a book club book - otherwise I would have set this one aside.

The characters are all awful and quite flat. Not one redeeming person in the story.

I am always drawn to family dramas that span generations so the description of The Rules of Fortune by Danielle Prescod appealed to me. I really enjoyed this book! The Rules of Fortune tells the story of the Carter family, a Black family whose father grew from humble beginnings to serving as the billionaire head of the family’s global corporation and whose children are slowly learning more about the family business, including some secrets that their parents preferred to keep hidden. This book is a page turner while also touching on themes of race and class. Who deserves wealth? Do the ends justifies the means? Prescod gives the reader a lot to think about while also telling an interesting story. Thank you to Netgalley and Mindy’s book studio for the arc! I look forward to reading more from this author.

The Carter family is coming together to celebrate the billionaire patriarch, but when he dies the family is thrown into a whirlwind. HIs daughter, Kennedy, struggles with the Carter legacy and promise of wealth and the secrets she finds buried within the family.

This was a quick read that helped fill the gap Succession left for me. I love an alternating timeline, but the flashbacks started to become a little too much at times and slowed down the pacing of the story. The ending was a bit predictable, but it did not take away from the story for me.

Thank you NetGalley for an arc of this book for exchange of my honest review.

Danielle Prescod's The Rules of Fortune had me excited to read a book full of family drama and exciting secrets. Unfortunately, I found most of the book to be slow and predicable.

The child of a billionaire experiences ethical struggles when she starts to dig into her father's past.

Overall it was underwhelming.

Thank you NetGalley for my copy of this work in exchange for my honest review.

The Carter family’s big 70th birthday celebration takes a dark turn when their patriarch suddenly dies, throwing his billion-dollar legacy into chaos. Meanwhile, a surprise Kennedy planned for her father ends up exposing deep family secrets—ones no one wanted uncovered. Determined to find the truth, she puts her family at risk, but she just can’t let it go.

This book takes a brutally realistic approach—don’t expect justice or feel-good moments. It dives deep into the ugly side of wealth and power, where money covers up secrets rather than solving them.

Some characters were really well-developed, but I wanted more closure on Kennedy and Asher’s futures. The ending fit the story’s tone, but it left me feeling a little cold. If you’re in the mood for something dark and unsettling, this one’s worth picking up!

A big than you to NetGalley and Mindy's Book Studio for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Danielle Prescod’s The Rules of Fortune is a riveting family drama that delves deep into the complexities of power, wealth, and moral dilemmas. The narrative is centered around the Carter family, whose billionaire patriarch's sudden death triggers a succession crisis, leaving the family's multi-industry conglomerate and legacy hanging in the balance. The story’s premise of a wealthy family's internal strife amidst a succession crisis is compelling and full of suspense. Kennedy, the protagonist, is a standout character. Her quest to uncover the truth about her father's past while grappling with her own identity as a thoughtful outlier in a guarded dynasty is deeply engaging. The book does a fantastic job of exploring the moral conflicts faced by Kennedy as she uncovers a twisted history and weighs the importance of maintaining the Carter legacy against exposing the shocking truths. The author skillfully weaves in themes of family loyalty, ambition, and the price of wealth, adding significant emotional depth to the story. However, at times, the pacing felt uneven, with certain sections moving slower than others. While the primary characters are well-developed, some of the supporting characters could have been given more depth to add further layers to the narrative. Overall, it is a thought-provoking and emotionally charged read. Danielle's writing is engaging, and she masterfully unravels the complexities of a powerful family caught in a web of secrets and ambitions. If you enjoy stories that delve into the intricacies of family dynamics and the consequences of wealth, this book is definitely worth a read.

The Rules of Fortune is a fun, feel-good read. The characters are relatable, and the story does a great job of mixing love, ambition, and self-discovery. The pacing’s solid—keeps you interested without feeling too fast or too slow. Some parts are a bit predictable, but the emotional moments and solid writing more than make up for it. It’s a great pick if you’re into contemporary fiction and want something uplifting. Definitely recommend it!

Danielle gets a solid 4 out of 5 stars for this masterpiece. I was engaged from beginning to end, an excellent first novel. I cant wait to read more from her in the future.

This novel is a gripping family drama filled with secrets, power struggles, and the price of wealth. William Carter Jr., a self-made billionaire, dies unexpectedly during his birthday weekend, forcing his family to navigate a messy succession crisis. His daughter, Kennedy, starts uncovering shocking truths about how their fortune was built, leading to moral dilemmas and conflicts.
The book explores themes of greed, ambition, and redemption. While I struggled to connect with most characters, Kennedy and her mother, Jacqueline, showed growth and potential for change. Asher, on the other hand, was frustrating and clueless. The multiple viewpoints made the story engaging, slowly revealing the family's dark past. Though some parts felt unnecessary and the ending was a bit anticlimactic, it was a compelling read. If you enjoy dramas like Greenleafor Nollywood films, you’ll likely enjoy this book.
Read now title from Netgalley

3.5 stars

William Carter Jr., a "self-made" billionaire is at Martha's Vineyard with his immediate family for his 70th birthday weekend. Friends, coworkers, media, they're all expected to arrive the next day but unfortunately a hurricane waylays those plans. Carter then dies unexpectedly and leaves the family reeling while they desperately try to pull things together, consolidate power and close ranks. Leading up to the party, Carter's daughter had been in the midst of putting together a video reel to play for everyone, an introspective look at who her father really was. But the more she pulled at little snags she found in his backstory, the more things started to unravel and make no sense.

I really wanted to like this book more than I did. It wasn't for a lack of storytelling or style; both were done quite well. I simply could not connect with any of the characters. (I think Kennedy's best friend Tashia is supposed to be a character that provides sympathetic background for the family, but it didn't really hit for me.) The flashbacks to earlier moments in Carter's life both in the USA and Ghana were interesting because they put his life and empire in context, but that context is still ultimately one of selfishness and self-righteousness, becoming rich at the expense of everyone else. It doesn't matter how many charities you donate to, how many schools you build, if you determine your corporate practices are to be built on price gouging the less fortunate and keeping them down, while only looking at the profitable bottom line, then you are not a good person and your wealth is blood money. It doesn't matter that he's a Black man who's scraped his way to the top to create an enormous international empire, making his family elite among the elite - he got to where he was off the backs of the poor and I think that is reprehensible no matter your skin colour.

By the end, I felt like there was possible redemption for his wife and daughter, Jacqueline and Kennedy, who both never seemed quite comfortable inhabiting the rarified space they did, and eventually took steps to rectify things both corporately and within their personal lives. But his son Asher was absolutely a lost cause, never working hard for anything, only seeing relationships as transactional, and definitely not the brightest crayon in the box; nothing changed for him once his father passed and you know that given the chance he would run that company right into the ground within five years due to corporate mismanagement. He was cringey through and through, one of the biggest issues in the story came about because of his terrible lack of awareness and empathy for others, and at the bitter end he never got any better, just took the same steps to throw money at problems to try and make them go away. Ugh.

Overall, I'm glad I read the book - while it was near impossible to like any of the characters or get into anyone's mindset, it was an educational look at what can happen once you've sacrificed your morals on the pathway to profit. Greed may not have been the starting point but it certainly was seething just below the surface of everything by the end.

Thanks to NetGalley, author Danielle Prescod, and Mindy's Book Studio for giving me access to a free digital ARC of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own and are provided here voluntarily.

I really enjoyed these characters and their naughty behavior. I would’ve loved a follow up further in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mindy's Book Studio for a digital ARC in exchange for a honest review. This was a fun, quick read for fans of Succession or other family sagas, but it could have been better executed! I did not feel very invested in the characters and felt like the author was hitting me over the head with the messages instead of letting the characters and plot speak to them. This could be a good beach read if you want something with a little more depth or are not typically a family saga reader who wants to dip your toe into the genre as the concept was good and the plot was well-paced, but the execution could have used work.

“Everyone knew it wasn’t about being deserving. People don’t get rich because they deserve to. They get rich because they seize it.”

To be rich or never be poor again was William Carter Jr, was the only perorgative he had since his attendance of Galston School. Dirty business deals, family drama, secrets and lies. Poor Kennedy discovering the origins of how her family became one the elite and wealthiest families. Sudden deaths and rekindle relationships. Asher was an ass and cant wait until he has rude awakening, didnt like him. If you like Nollywood movies or tv shows like Greenleaf, this book will be a nice one for you. I gave it four stars because of there was a portion that seemed unnecessary and didnt contribute to the backstory or current position in the story. I loved this book and could not put it down. I had the audiobook and digital copy through NetGalley and Amazon First Reads.

I enjoyed this book. It was a quick read hitting on topics like exclusion, racism, drive, greed, and redemption. The story telling from multiple view points allowed you to piece the story together bit by bit. The ending was a bit anticlimactic, but I honestly felt it an appropriate way to close the book (literally) on the main character’s life and impact.

Behind every fortune, there is a great crime.—Honoré de Balzac

I absolutely DEVOURED this book! Spanning nearly 60-ish years, this book told the story of William Carter Jr’s life, family, and the multi-billion dollar dynasty he created. There are no moral billionaires, so…this was a wild ride!

I don’t want to give away any spoilers, so I won’t go into too much detail, but I hated pretty much every character at one point or another and really appreciated that despite their father being extremely intelligent, his kids were kind of dumb/naive—it didn’t turn into a Nancy Drew type novel, which I liked.

Full 5 stars for me! I hope this author continues to write more fiction novels!

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC!

I really enjoy intense family secret books. This one just didn't land quite right for me. The end was somewhat predictable.

I'm really at a 3.5 for this book. The characters are interesting and fully fleshed out, but as far as the "rich family has secrets that could destroy the family" vibe, it follows the trope.

I went into this book it would read like a beach book, but I was happily proven wrong. Reminding me of Gloria Naylor's Linden Hills, this book is all about the enduring questions & the tight real you can't look away discussion of the Black American Experience. William Carter Jr.'s story was so compelling, watching as he left 1950s Boston for Prep Schools & then Harvard to climbing the heights of Real Estate Development in the 80s & 90s this was a story of success, choice and conviction in these turbulent times to fight for acceptance in NYC and the Billionaire Club while what needs to be done to stay there. The a Rules of Fortune highlights the risks & gambles, the plotting & planning, and fears & sacrifices that have to be made to play The Game. But, what one generation does values creates is the weight the next generation must live under. This is the moment that we enter the book where the heir is struggling to live up to the legacy he has been gifted and where his sister Kennedy seeks to gift a retrospective of their father's struggle and accomplishments. But, history and legacy can be a Pandora's Box as information long kept secret unwittingly is revealed.

Filled with mystery, tension, sibling rivalry, and family drama this is a story that will leave you questioning your own world. Beautifully paced and engagingly plotted, I found myself waking up early to get some extra reading time in because these characters and their struggles were just that real. I enjoyed the depth of the narrative and the symbolism included that took this from pop fiction to something I could easily see on a reading list for a Black Women Writers course and owning its place there with books that make you think, acknowledge the past, and wonder about the future of success for those still fighting to main. My only want at the end, was more book to read because I wanted to know more of the lives of all these characters.

"The Rules of Fortune" is a gripping novel full of family drama, secrets, and lies. This book was utterly addictive, and I had a difficult time putting it down. I just couldn't wait to find out what happened next. The story is told in alternating timelines from the perspectives of William Carter Jr., his wife, Jacqueline, and their two children, Asher and Kennedy. The main characters were well-developed and complex. I didn't necessarily find them lovable, but they each had their own struggles, which made them a tad more relatable. I really enjoyed the mystery and diving into all of the secrets the characters were hiding. An intriguing story exploring themes of wealth and privilege.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mindy’s Book Studio for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.