Rules for Ruin

Happy release day to one of my most anticipated books this year, Rules for Ruin by Mimi Matthews. This is the seventh book of hers that I’ve read, and dare I say, possibly my favorite yet!

The first of her new Crinoline Academy series, Rules for Ruin introduces Effie Flite, a woman raised at an orphanage and now sent on a daring mission to secure her independence. She must find irrefutable evidence of the wrongdoing a powerful man once committed, thereby not only ruining him, but also paving the way to passing an important law that would benefit married women. But Effie comes up against Gabriel, a man intent on reforming the slums through any means possible.

Compared to previous Mimi Matthews books I’ve read, this one leans more into daring and subterfuge, while also retaining all the key components that mark her works.

What I Liked:

• Guileful exploits. Effie may parade herself like a well-bred young women during the London season, but she’s actually quite sly, resourceful, and fearless. She’ll sneak into libraries, pick pockets, send secret messages, and fight off a man with ease, should the needs arise. When she first meets Gabriel, a betting shop owner using blackmail to reform the slums he grew up in, she’s found someone all too similar to her. Similar enough to repel… or to attract?
• Their chemistry is excellent! I have to say, I loved watching these conniving people work with and against each other as the novel progressed. Effie and Gabriel are so well matched and sparks fly every time they are in a scene together. They are now among my favorite couples of all the romances I’ve read.
• A biracial main character. Effie is often questioned on her heritage. Is she half Spanish? Half Italian? While she doesn’t know her own parentage, she’s on a mission to find out. I shan’t reveal it here, but suffice to say that she’s biracial. Happily for her, she doesn’t face overt racism, and if anything, seems to draw positive attention for her striking looks. I’m always happy to see more diversity in historical romances and liked learning about Effie’s past (even if much of it is rather tragic).
• Shining a light on the working class and poverty… and galvanizing policy reform to help the poor. I always appreciate books that show lower classes instead of just rich, titled characters. Gabriel not only comes from the slums, he’s passionate about helping the people there through housing and improved cleanliness. Uphill battle though it is, I applaud his efforts!
• Women’s rights. Effie’s purpose is a reform to the married women’s property act and gaining rights for married women. This is a subject I’ve read about in several historical romances (especially those by Evie Dunmore), and as ever, I appreciate learning more about this and seeing characters push for positive change. There is also much here about fighting back against pompous men stealing from women, keeping women ignorant, and forcing women to need men. Down with the patriarchy! I love what Miss Corvus has done for her girls and Effie’s strength.
• Subverting societal norms. Speaking of Effie’s strength, she is always ready to go against the grain and use rules of the day to her advantage. One of her favorite tricks is dressing as a widow to gain more mobility about town. She also uses women’s fashion of the time—the crinoline—to hide any manner of items used for snooping and stealing. Clever, indeed!
• Franc. A perfect poodle; I want a Franc of my own!

Final Thoughts

Rules for Ruin offers up all that I’ve come to love about Mimi Matthews’s books, from progressive characters and fights for women’s rights, to a love of animals, to the lush descriptions on every page. I fell in love with Effie and Gabriel (and Franc!) and enjoyed every second of this novel. This may be my favorite Mimi Matthews book so far, and I can’t wait to read the next installment in the Crinoline Academy series. Luckily, it’s only six months away: The Marriage Method, starring Nell Trewlove and Miles Quincey, will be out on November 25, 2025.

Special thanks to the publicists at Penguin Random House, Berkley, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Get the Book

You can buy Rules for Ruin here – it’s available as a hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook.

Rules for Ruin by Mimi Matthews
Series	The Crinoline Academy (#1)
Audience	Adult
Genre	Historical Romance
Setting	England
Number of Pages	400
Format I Read	Ebook (NetGalley ARC)
Original Publication Date	May 20, 2025
Publisher	Berkley

Official Summary

A Most Anticipated Romance for Paste Magazine · The Nerd Daily · BookBub · Marie Claire · Book Riot · Bookish · Fangirlish

No one betrays the Academy. But now Euphemia must decide: break the rules for her enemy, or let the rules break her heart.

On the outskirts of London sits a seemingly innocuous institution with a secretive aim—train young women to distract, disrupt, and discredit the patriarchy. Outraged by a powerful lord’s systematic attack on women’s rights in Parliament, the Academy summons its brightest—and most bitter—pupil to infiltrate the odious man’s inner circle. A deal is struck: bring down the viscount, and Miss Euphemia Flite will finally earn her freedom.

But betting shop owner Gabriel Royce has other plans. The viscount is the perfect pawn to insulate Gabriel’s underworld empire from government interference. He’s not about to let some crinoline-clad miss destroy his carefully constructed enterprise—no matter how captivating he finds her threats.

From the rookeries of St. Giles to the ballrooms of Mayfair, Euphemia and Gabriel engage in a battle of wits and wills that’s complicated by a blossoming desire. Soon Euphemia realizes it’s not the broken promises to her Academy sisters she should fear. . . . It’s the danger to her heart.

Excerpt from Rules for Ruin

Lord Compton bowed to the two late arrivals. “Lady Belwood. Miss Flite.” His eyes lingered on the younger lady’s face for a moment before he grudgingly acknowledged the necessity of introducing Gabriel. “Allow me to present Mr. Royce, an acquaintance of mine. We’ve been discussing a charitable endeavor, but all is settled now. I’ve invited him to join us. Mr. Royce? My wife, Lady Compton. And this is our near neighbor, Lady Belwood, and her companion, Miss Flite.”

Masking his growing impatience, Gabriel bowed to the three ladies as civilly as if he were a gentleman himself. “Lady Compton. Lady Belwood. Miss Flite.”

As he straightened, he held Miss Flite’s gaze a fraction longer than was proper. Her eyes were the deepest blue he’d ever seen. More akin to a deep midnight purple in the gaslight.

“Miss Flite has just returned from finishing school in Paris,” Lady Belwood said, with a flutter of her ostrich feather fan. “She’s staying with me in Brook Street for the season.”

“A relation of yours?” Compton asked. “I seem to remember one of your second cousins married an Italian. Or was it a Spaniard?”

Lady Belwood wafted her fan with increased vigor. “Miss Flite is not a blood relation. I was, ah, acquainted with her guardian when I was a girl. I promised, when the time came, I would introduce Miss Flite into society. It is the least I can do for her.”

“I’m amazed I’ve not encountered you before, Miss Flite,” Lady Compton said. “Is this your first visit to London?”

“It is, my lady,” Miss Flite replied. A faceted glass hairpin in the shape of a dragonfly was nestled in her hair. It sparkled as she moved.

Lady Compton flicked a dubious glance over Miss Flite’s elegant face and figure. “You don’t strike me as a country girl. But if you’ve been finished in Paris—”

“Finishing schools accomplish marvelous things these days,” Lady Belwood interjected. “The girls they turn out have remarkable polish. One can take them anywhere.”

Gabriel directed a cold glare at Compton. It was bad enough to have his time wasted by old country squires and frivolous, fan-fluttering ladies, but now he must affect an interest in finishing schools? Until Gabriel had intervened, the children of the Rookery had had no school at all. Boys and girls of five had already been working. The alternative was starvation.

Compton pretended not to notice Gabriel’s ire. He kept his attention fixed on his wife—and on Miss Flite.

“You must bring her with you to the musicale next week,” Lady Compton said. “My daughter, Carena, will be back from Hampshire. She’s to perform an aria for us from Lucrezia Borgia. There will be a dinner to start.” She touched Lady Belwood’s arm. “You are still planning to attend?”

Miss Flite exchanged a wordless glance with Lady Belwood.

Lady Belwood appeared distinctly uncomfortable. “Err, yes. That is, I had thought—”

“Oh, but you must,” Lady Compton insisted. “We see too little of you. And Miss Flite will certainly wish to make the acquaintance of other young people.”

Lady Belwood smiled thinly. “If you insist, then naturally I shall bring her.”

The two older ladies lapsed into a short discussion about the dinner, and about the many events to come before the season’s end. Compton was included by virtue of his wife who sought his opinion on every subject.

Miss Flite and Gabriel were temporarily left outside the conversation. They stood silent across from each other—Miss Flite attending to what the others were saying, and Gabriel poised to make his exit.

He hadn’t come here to engage in polite small talk about dinner parties and musicales. His time would be better spent in conversation with one of those aged country squires. At least then there would be a hope in hell of gaining influence for the people of the Rookery. Here there was nothing.

A civil word or two to Miss Flite and then he would take his leave.

Their eyes met briefly.

“A finishing school in Paris, was it?” Gabriel inquired.

“That’s correct.” Miss Flite returned her attention to the others.

“And were you?” he asked.

She glanced back at him again, distracted. “Was I what, sir?”

“Finished?”

Her mouth curved into a slow, feline smile. “On the contrary,” she said. “I’m just getting started.”

Gabriel smiled fleetingly in return, mildly amused by what he perceived as ladylike flirtation. He was about to reply, when he realized Miss Flite hadn’t been looking at him when she’d spoken.

She’d been looking at Compton.

Excerpted from Rules for Ruin by Mimi Matthews Copyright © 2025 by Mimi Matthews. Excerpted by permission of Berkley. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.