This is one of those instances when I wish I could give out a combo grade, because deciding between a C+ and a B- was pretty difficult. Everything about Rules for Ruin by Mimi Matthews was fine. Not bad. Not great. Just… fine.

Euphemia – Effie – Flite has been given a mission. Use her charm, beauty, and “training” to infiltrate the inner circle of one Lord Compton and find some non-specified evidence to prove that many years ago, the man stole the fortune of a young woman and broke her heart so thoroughly that he was the end of her (metaphorically speaking). This evidence will cause the demise of Lord Compton’s spotless reputation, his stature in society, and his influence as a politician. As a bonus for the bluestocking Effie, bringing down the misogynistic Lord will increase exponentially the likelihood of Parliament passing a married women’s rights bill that Compton stands firmly against.

Enter Gabriel Royce. The self-proclaimed leader of St. Giles, an impoverished section of London known alternatively as the Rookery, he’s determined to reform the slum and turn it into a respectable neighborhood. Having grown up an orphan on its streets, he knows first hand of the hardships faced by the people of the Rookery. He’s already opened a school and has had a few modern lodging houses built. But what Gabriel needs are wealthy benefactors willing to invest in St. Giles’ improvements, and he believes Lord Compton is the man who can introduce him to such people. 

This is because Lord Compton is the politician in Gabriel’s pocket. Through some happy coincidences, Gabriel came to possess some damning documents that could implicate Lord Compton in fraud and other unsavory dealings, and he’s been using those to blackmail Compton into not only keeping the law away from Gabriel’s betting establishment and questionable means of collection, but also into introducing Gabriel to London’s most influential people. He also expects Compton to use his position in Parliament to pass reforms meant to clean up St. Giles and other slums like it.

Thus Effie and Gabriel find themselves at odds. Effie is determined to bring Lord Compton down while Gabriel needs the man’s reputation to remain unblemished in order to maintain the power of the politician he is blackmailing. The story unfolds with Effie trying to discover what Compton had done and to obtain evidence to prove it, and with Gabriel, who happens to have said evidence, doing his best to thwart Effie’s efforts. All the while, they can’t ignore the attraction growing between them. As two people determined to remain unmarried and unencumbered, this is, indeed, a big problem.

Rules for Ruin is the first in a series involving The Crinoline Academy. When Effie was a young girl, she was plucked out of the gutter of St. Giles and turned over to one Miss Artemisia Corvus, who had just opened Miss Corvus’s Benevolent Academy for the Betterment of Young Ladies, aka The Crinoline Academy. In addition to being taught how to read and write and the strict protocols of correct behaviour in London society, the girls at this particular school learn skills such as lock-picking, self-defense, boxing and fencing. Miss Corvus plans for her students to use these unique skills to bring down the patriarchy.

Effie has a legit purse dog, a black poodle named Franc. Eye roll. But she does come across as something of a badass. I liked the clever ways she uses her wire crinoline not only as a real physical barrier to keep people at a distance but as a clever way to hide objects she might need in her efforts to snoop around Lord Compton’s home. She can hold her own in a fight and is generally fearless except when it comes to heights, for which she has a phobia that is used to good effect.

The motivations given to both Effie and Gabriel are a bit confusing and dubious. Miss Corvus explicitly tells Effie she is free and clear to leave the Academy at any time, but Effie feels that she owes a debt of honor to the woman who gave her literally everything. It’s Miss Corvus’s promise of erasing any financial debt and giving Effie a generous sum of money that convinces her to take on the mission. Then the author throws in the appeal to Effie’s feministic nature as a reason to bring down Compton, as if the debt/money motivation isn’t enough and she needs something more noble than simple economics.

This situation is even more convoluted for Gabriel. He owns a betting shop and believes he will benefit if St. Giles is cleaned up, but I never understood how, as it seems he’s doing a fairly good business as it is. But we are told over and over that he feels for the people of the Rookery and wants to make their lives better. So is he a selfish cad acting in his own self-interest, or is he a champion for the poor? 

Mimi Matthews does an excellent job in setting and historical accuracy. It’s clear she’s done her research, and she weaves details in fairly seamlessly, using real historical events to inform the story. If you are a fan of Victorian period London, this book will be an enjoyable visit.

As far as the romance goes, meh. There is a bit of insta-love stink, in that the very first time Gabriel and Effie meet, thunderbolts and surging pulses abound. The next time they are together, Gabriel becomes literally violent when some cretin suggests Effie may be a whore. They’ve known each other for all of five minutes, yet his protective tendencies are already jacked up to eleven. I mean, for all he knew, Effie could have been a whore. I love a protective hero, but this went too far even for me.

If you don’t mind heroines with modern sensibilities in Victorian England, there is a lot to like about this book. Plus this is the first in a series, so if you do enjoy it, there will be more. As for me, I was never super excited about Rules for Ruin. I finished it more because I needed to than because I wanted to.