Jaclyn’s Review: The Rule of All by Ashley Saunders and Leslie Saunders

The Rule of All (The Rule of One #3)
written by Ashley Saunders and Leslie Saunders
published by Skyscape, 2020

find it here: (affiliate links) Amazon, Book Depository, Goodreads

Did I enjoy this book? I have been waiting for this book FOREVER! This is the final installment in The Rule of One trilogy. Going into this book, it is important to remember a few things. The first book introduces a bunch of characters, and then kills a bunch of them off. The second book introduces more characters, and I couldn’t remember most of them or determine their actual importance to the plot. So knowing that, I started reading book 3 expecting to recognize character names but not their function or importance, and that is exactly what happened. The first book took place in Texas and then the greater United States, culminating in an escape to Canada. The second book has the twins escaping from Canada to get back to Texas. Inexplicably, the third book has us sneaking into Mexico and dealing with “water cartels.” This wouldn’t be bad, except this idea was never discussed in either of the first two books. It very much seemed like the authors had a great general idea but didn’t really know how to turn it into a trilogy. This would have been a fantastic single book. I could even see how this would have been great as a two-part series . . . I mean, it’s about TWINS. The third book was needed to resolve the conflict, but I really think this could have been achieved in 1 or 2 books, not 3. Furthermore, this book only had one main conflict. So it was an entire book filled with travel to Mexico, then a chapter of conflict, then a chapter of resolution back in Texas. The travel to Mexico was really not that interesting.

Would I recommend it? If you have read the first two books, you absolutely need to read this to complete the series. If I were to rate the entire series instead of just this book, I don’t know that I would recommend the whole series. Or maybe just read the first book, knowing that it ends in a cliffhanger, and pretend that that is simply the end.
 

 
About the book – from Goodreads: As America’s twenty-first-century revolution reaches its endgame, twin sisters must outrun, and outlive, the Common enemy.

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 mission: hunt the man down.

The once-mighty Governor Roth has fled Dallas. Holding a hostage beloved by Ava and Mira, Roth has a mission, too: 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.

 

 
 

* This post contains affiliate links.

** This post first appeared on Every Free Chance Books (everyfreechance.com) on January 18, 2021.