More review catch up from two years ago. Enjoy!
About the Books
The Rule of One trilogy
by Ashley Saunders and Leslie Saunders
Book 1
Title: The Rule of One
Pages: 271
Dates Read: August 7-9, 2023
Blurb: In the near-future United States, a one-child policy is ruthlessly enforced. Everyone follows the Rule of One. But Ava Goodwin, daughter of the head of the Texas Family Planning Division, has a secret—one her mother died to keep and her father has helped to hide for her entire life. She has an identical twin sister, Mira. For eighteen years Ava and Mira have lived as one, trading places day after day, maintaining an interchangeable existence down to the most telling detail. But when their charade is exposed, their worst nightmare begins. Now they must leave behind the father they love and fight for their lives. Branded as traitors, hunted as fugitives, and pushed to discover just how far they’ll go in order to stay alive, Ava and Mira rush headlong into a terrifying unknown.
Book 2
Title: The Rule of Many
Pages: 344
Dates Read: August 10-24, 2023
Blurb: Twins Ava and Mira Goodwin defy the Rule of One simply by existing. The single-child law, ruthlessly enforced by Texas’s Governor Roth, has made the sisters famous fugitives and inspirations for the resurgent rebellion known as the Common. But the relentless governor and his implacable Texas State Guard threaten that fragile hope, as Roth consolidates his power in a bid for ultimate authority. As Ava and Mira relinquish the relative safety of their Canadian haven to stand against Roth, new allies arise: Owen, a gifted young programmer, impulsively abandons his comfortable life in a moment of compassion, while Zee, an abused labor camp escapee, finds new purpose in resistance. The four will converge on Dallas for a reckoning with Roth, with nothing less than their destinies—and the promise of a future free from oppression—on the line. Disobedience means death. But a life worth living demands rebellion.
Book 3
Title: The Rule of All
Pages: 338
Dates Read: August 25-31, 2023
Blurb: Outlaw twin sisters Ava and Mira Goodwin were born to defy Texas’s tyrannical and oppressive Governor Roth. They inspired millions across the country to liberate themselves and fight to live free under the new Common rule. But an enemy still endangers their fragile vision for the future. Ava and Mira’s hunt the man down. The once-mighty Governor Roth has fled Dallas. Holding a hostage beloved by Ava and Mira, Roth has a mission, regroup his Loyalists, wreak vengeance, and reclaim his power. With the help of a savvy programmer turned rebel warrior, Ava and Mira brave a journey more uncertain than they’ve ever attempted before. As they forge southward into foreign territory—against a ruthless cartel, Roth’s aggressive Texas Guard, and a formidable new foe—courage, alliances, and trust will be tested. Now, in the most unlikely and treacherous of places, the sisters must finish what they started. Before they—and the Common—are erased from history forever.
Review
You guys know that I do love a good dystopian tale. For a while, I was looking for those exclusively and, I have to admit, they do tend to get a bit repetitive after a while. Main character(s) are oppressed by some huge and powerful regime. Something happens to disrupt the status quo. Main character(s) are on the run. Main character(s) meet up with a group of rebels/resistance/freedom fighters. They are extremely outnumbered, but somehow, with grit, determination and a sense of right on their side, they finally overthrow the big bad and start the process of rebuilding society.
Sound familiar?
These books would have been about the same, if not for the twin angle. The idea of one twin being in hiding and one going out into the world to maintain the fiction that there’s only one daughter is a really cool idea (also cool is the fact that these identical twins were written by . . . a pair of identical twins). I think that’s why I enjoyed the first book more than the later two. Once the charade was up and the twins were out in the open, it got less interesting to me and more into a regular formulaic dystopian story.
Not that it was bad! It just fell into more of a formulaic dystopian story at that point, one where the pacing started dragging a bit. I almost wonder if the story could have been told in two books instead of three. I did still enjoy the books. Ashley and Leslie Saunders are very good writers and I would be interested to check out their other series, which is a duology, I believe. But while this one was good, it was just good, not great.
GoodReads rating: 4 stars for Book 1, 3 stars for Books 2 and 3
Categories: Books I've Read
Life With No Plot 
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