Rule: Volume 1

2.5 Stars- rounded I should know better than to get my hopes up from simple buzz around a book- since that usually never plays well for me - and the buzz for this one was strong. But, I did hope that there would be moments that were really well done, and with the understanding that this is a debut - I dove in. Told in three alternating POV’s this is the story of three girls who, are the illegitimate children of King Andros. King Andros is dying and he needs an heir to rule Kolonya. Two of the girls, Zofi and Akeylah, come from different regions, while Florencia (Ren) already lives in the palace as a maid. Once the sisters learn about their lineage, they are told that only one will be chosen to rule. Thus, they begin lessons on combat, politics, and honing special powers known as tithes. Intriguing - yes? And that is where the intrigue fell flat for me - underdeveloped characters who are best thought of as near-interchangeable, without any real feeling of the voice matching the character or feeling very appropriate to the 'traits' they are said to possess. And, you can't seem to spit at a YA title without finding a romance thrown in there - yes, 3 romances, equally uninspired because apparently - learning you could be in line for the throne, have special powers and have to learn to function in a society that you never would have been exposed to in your life - we must have a boy. PLEASE someone allow a strong female character without adding a boy into the mix - allow them to grow and find themselves in hugely new situations first. Suffice it to say, if the flat characters didn't frustrate me, the corresponding lack of development of the world, and the many elements untouched regarding the 'magic system" had me wanting to just walk away- it was bad enough that I didn't care at all about the what next. Goodlett has the potential to be better with work on her craft and some serious effort spent on building worlds and characters - it just didn't come together for me and I'm not intrigued enough to continue with the series. I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility. --