Rise

By: Ellen Goodlett

Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan, Bahni Turpin, Soneela Nankani

Dark pasts and forbidden romances haunt three ambitious sisters as they fight to inherit the throne in this sequel to Rule, which New York Times best-selling author Elly Blake called "dazzling" and "pulse-pounding".

Sisters Akeylah, Ren, and Zofi are all a step closer to their dying father's throne, a step closer to the crown that will allow one of them to rule over Kolonya. But the sisters' pasts continue to haunt them. Each hides a secret marked with blood and betrayal, and now their blackmailer is holding nothing back. When King Andros discovers the sisters' traitorous pasts, the consequences will shake the entire kingdom to its core.

As Kolonya's greatest threat stalks closer and closer, weaving a web of fear and deceit around Ren, Zofi, and Akeylah, even the people they love are under suspicion. If the sisters are going to survive, they'll have to learn to trust each other above all else and work together, not only to save themselves, but to protect everyone and everything they hold dear.

With shocking reveals and suspenseful storytelling, this breathtaking sequel to Rule will keep you guessing until the very last minute.

©2019 Ellen Goodlett (P)2019 Little, Brown Young Readers

Critic reviews

"An epic fantasy adventure...[with] death threats, political intrigue, and just the right amount of romance. A great purchase for libraries with strong readers and fantasy lovers." (SLJ)

"Rule is an exhilarating, fresh fantasy full of complicated and authentic female characters navigating court politics, blackmail, forbidden romance, and their own dark pasts. With breakneck pacing and a toe-curlingly good queer romance, Rule is sure to satisfy." (Lindsay Smith, author of Sekret and Web of Frost)

"The fast-paced plot makes for an engaging read.... Refreshing." (Kirkus Reviews)

Dynamic and entertaining

The various voices made this read incredible! The symbolism is quite timely and the adventure is well paced.

A great sequel

I loved this book almost as much as the first one. It was so good! Lots of twists and turns and whoa what the heck just happened moments! The performers are amazing and I thought they did an awesome job.

What a story!

Hahaha, love the dramatic music at the end! Finished both books in a week. What a story!

Potential not quite reached

I was not sure I would read this book after feeling lukewarm about the first novel. As with the first, I think the story had potential but didn't quite fulfill it. The characters of Zofi, Akeylah, and Ren did show additional development in this story. I found Zofi's storyline to be my favorite of the bunch. Author came up with a nice choice for the antagonist. I had hit on it before the revelation, but the backstory for the character was well crafted. Nice touch on developing some burial rituals for the world. It was also nice to get back to some of the outer territories in the reaches and the social and political issues that contributed to the unrest in the kingdom. Over all I think this book was better than the first and I think both the writer and this world show great potential.

While it was interesting to have 3 different narrators for the POV chapters, I found it took me out of the flow of the story a bit when they were voicing each other's characters.

I must admit though - this book has killer cover art!