The Rule of One is set in future America were climate change and overpopulation has changed everything. Water is in short supply, all food is 3D printed or otherwise lab grown, each citizen has a microchip in their wrist in which all information about them is stored. There are cameras everywhere and the government is in complete control of its citizens, including their reproductive rights. Each family is only allowed one child. 18-year-old Ava Goodwin’s father is head of Texas’ Family Planning Department, which gives them certain luxuries that others do not have. They live in a nicer part of town and Ava is able to attend a prestigious college where she has earned top ranks.

The only thing is, Ava has an identical twin sister named Mira. Mira and Ava have been pretending to be the one person for years. They have a secret area under their house where one twin spends her day while the other is above ground being Ava by going to college and living her life. At the end of each day, they spend the evening together, sharing everything that happened that day and working on homework, preparing for the next day. There is no room for mistakes in their life and their father has raised them to perfectly pull off this charade of a one-child family.

Even as flawlessly as they have convinced everyone Ava is an only child, Mira cannot stay hidden forever. Their secret is revealed and in the chaos that ensues, their father gives them a box and tells them to get out of the city. He has prepared a kit for them to escape to safety. But nowhere is safe anymore and Ava and Mira must travel as fugitives trying to stay alive while their father is punished for the crime.

This book was super fast paced with the first few chapters showing Mira and Ava in their everyday routine, but things quickly change and we are thrown into their life on the run. They encounter lots of interesting characters along the way and situations that leave you on the edge of your seat. The descriptions of everything are incredibly vivid and make you feel as if you are running for your life right alongside Ava and Mira.

The story is told in alternating chapter perspectives. It is interesting to see how even though these girls have been raised so closely and to act as one person, they are complete individuals. They each react to situations differently and eventually have very different ideas about the world and how they will continue to survive. We get to be inside each girls mind and learn the resentments they ultimately have toward each other and the life they lead.

Another thing to note, the authors of The Rule of One are identical twin sisters, Ashley and Leslie Saunders. I think this brings such an interesting perspective to the entire story as we get an authentic look into how close twins really are with each other as well as how painful it can be when the closeness fades.

Overall, this story was completely compelling. I think one of the reasons dystopian novels appeal to readers now is because of things happening in the world today. These types of situations don’t seem that far off from where we are; we can see a future where things like The Rule of One are possible. It’s terrifying because it hits so close to home.

The Rule of One is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.

Will you be checking out The Rule of One? Have you already? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis | Goodreads

In their world, telling the truth has become the most dangerous crime of all.

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.

The post Review: The Rule of One by Ashley & Leslie Saunders appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

In fantasy is more your speed, Destiny Soria will delight with Beneath The Citadel, you’ll find a combination of mafia and magic in The Brilliant Death, or perhaps a new tale of Ichabod Crane and Sleepy Hollow will intrigue you with The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel.

Read on to discover our favourites and tell us in the comments below which one you are most excited for!

Red Moon by Kim Stanley Robinson
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

American Fred Fredericks is making his first trip, his purpose to install a communications system for China’s Lunar Science Foundation. But hours after his arrival he witnesses a murder and is forced into hiding. It is also the first visit for celebrity travel reporter Ta Shu. He has contacts and influence, but he too will find that the moon can be a perilous place for any traveler. Finally, there is Chan Qi. She is the daughter of the Minister of Finance, and without doubt a person of interest to those in power. She is on the moon for reasons of her own, but when she attempts to return to China, in secret, the events that unfold will change everything – on the moon, and on Earth.

Beneath The Citadel by Destiny Soria
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

In the city of Eldra, people are ruled by ancient prophecies. After the last infallible prophecy came to pass, growing unrest led to murders and an eventual rebellion that raged for more than a decade. In the present day, Cassa, the orphaned daughter of rebels, is determined to fight back against the high council, which governs Eldra from behind the walls of the citadel. Her only allies are no-nonsense Alys, easygoing Evander, and perpetually underestimated Newt, and Cassa struggles to come to terms with the legacy of rebellion her dead parents have left her — and the fear that she may be inadequate to shoulder the burden. But by the time Cassa and her friends uncover the mystery of the final infallible prophecy, it may be too late to save the city — or themselves.

Damsel by Elana K. Arnold
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

The rite has existed for as long as anyone can remember: when the prince-who-will-be-king comes of age, he must slay a fierce dragon, and rescue a damsel to be his bride. When Ama wakes in the arms of Prince Emory, however, she knows none of this. She has no memory of what came before she was captured and knows only this handsome prince. Ama comes with Emory back to the kingdom of Harding, however, as soon as her first night falls, she begins to realise that not all is as it seems, that there is more to the legends of the dragons and the damsels than anyone knows.

Street Freaks by Terry Brooks
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

“Go into the Red Zone. Go to Street Freaks.” his father directs Ashton Collins before the vid feed goes suddenly silent. The Red Zone is the dangerous heart of the mega-city of Los Angeles; it is a world Ash is forbidden from and one he knows little about. But if he can find Street Freaks, the strangest of aid awaits—human and barely human alike. As Ash is hunted, he must unravel the mystery left behind by his father and discover his role in this new world.

In The Night Wood by Dale Bailey
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

American Charles Hayden came to England to forget the past. Failed father, failed husband, and failed scholar, Charles hopes to put his life back together with a biography of Caedmon Hollow, the long-dead author of a legendary Victorian children’s book, In the Night Wood. But soon after settling into Hollow’s remote Yorkshire home, Charles learns that the past isn’t dead. In the primeval forest surrounding Caedmon Hollow’s ancestral home, an ancient power is stirring. The horned figure of a long-forgotten king haunts Charles Hayden’s dreams. And every morning the fringe of darkling trees presses closer.

Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

One thousand years ago, the great Kami Dragon was summoned to grant a single terrible wish. Now, for whoever holds the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers, a new wish will be granted. Raised by monks in the isolated Silent Winds temple, Yumeko has trained all her life to hide her yokai nature. Half kitsune, half human, her skill with illusion is matched only by her penchant for mischief. Until the day her home is burned to the ground, her adoptive family is brutally slain and she is forced to flee for her life with the temple’s greatest treasure—one part of the ancient scroll.

Priest of Bones by Peter McLean
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

The war is over, and army priest Tomas Piety finally heads home with Lieutenant Bloody Anne at his side. When he arrives in the Stink, Tomas finds that his empire of crime has been stolen from him while at war. With his gang of Pious Men, Tomas will do whatever it takes to reclaim his businesses. But when he finds himself dragged into a web of political intrigue once again, and is forced to work in secret for the sinister Queen’s Men, everything gets more complicated.

An Easy Death by Charlaine Harris
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Set in a fractured United States, in the southwestern country now known as Texoma, this is a world where magic is acknowledged but mistrusted. Battered by a run across the border to Mexico, gunslinger Lizbeth Rose takes a job offer from a pair of Russian wizards. The Dark Tower meets True Blood in this gritty and wildly entertaining tale of Gunnie Rose. A woman fighting unimaginable odds to keep her people alive after the disintegration of America, this is a surefire hit for fans of The Walking Dead or Westworld.

Light Years by Kass Morgan
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Reeling from the latest attack by a mysterious enemy, the Quatra Fleet Academy is finally admitting students from every planet in the solar system after centuries of exclusivity. Hotshot pilot Vesper, an ambitious Tridian citizen, dreams of becoming a captain – but when she loses her spot to a brilliant, wisecracking boy from the wrong side of the asteroid belt, it makes her question everything she thought she knew. Growing up on the toxic planet Deva, Cormak will take any chance he can get to escape his dead-end life and join the Academy – even if he has to steal someone’s identity to do it.

A Conspiracy of Truths by Alexandra Rowland
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

In a bleak, far-northern land, a wandering storyteller is arrested on charges of witchcraft. Though Chant protests his innocence, he is condemned not only as a witch, but a spy. His only chance to save himself rests with the skills he has honed for decades – tell a good story, catch and hold their attention, or die. But the attention he catches is that of the five elected rulers of the country, and Chant finds himself caught in a tangled, corrupt political game which began long before he ever arrived here. As he’s snatched from one Queen’s grasp to another’s, he realizes that he could either be a pawn for one of them… or a player in his own right.

Finding Baba Yaga: A Short Novel In Verse by Jane Yolen
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A harsh, controlling father. A quiescent mother. A house that feels like anything but a home. Natasha gathers the strength to leave, and comes upon a little house in the wood: A house that walks about on chicken feet and is inhabited by a fairy tale witch. In finding Baba Yaga, Natasha finds her voice, her power, herself….

The Rule of One by Ashley Saunders and Leslie Saunders
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

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.

Kill The Queen by Jennifer Estep
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Gladiator meets Game of Thrones: a royal woman becomes a skilled warrior to destroy her murderous cousin, avenge her family, and save her kingdom in this first entry in a dazzling fantasy epic from the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Elemental Assassin series—an enthralling tale that combines magic, murder, intrigue, adventure, and a hint of romance.

The Brilliant Death by Amy Rose Capetta
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

For Teodora DiSangro, a mafia don’s daughter, family is fate. All her life, Teodora has hidden the fact that she secretly turns her family’s enemies into decorative objects. After all, everyone in Vinalia knows that stregas—wielders of magic—are figures out of fairytales. Then the Capo, the land’s new ruler, sends poisoned letters to the heads of the Five Families that have long controlled Vinalia. Enter Cielo, a strega who can switch back and forth between male and female as effortlessly as turning a page in a book. Teo and Cielo journey together to the capital, and Teo struggles to master her powers and to keep her growing feelings for Cielo locked in her heart.

Thin Air by Richard K. Morgan
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

On a Mars where ruthless corporate interests violently collide with a homegrown independence movement as Earth-based overlords battle for profits and power, Hakan Veil is an ex–professional enforcer equipped with military-grade body tech that’s made him a human killing machine. But he’s had enough of the turbulent red planet, and all he wants is a ticket back home—which is just what he’s offered by the Earth Oversight organization, in exchange for being the bodyguard for an EO investigator. It’s a beyond-easy gig for a heavy hitter like Veil . . . until it isn’t.

The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel: A Story of Sleepy Hollow by Alyssa Palombo
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

When Ichabod Crane arrives in the spooky little village of Sleepy Hollow as the new schoolmaster, Katrina Van Tassel is instantly drawn to him. When romance gives way to passion, Ichabod and Katrina embark on a secret love affair – all while praying they do not catch sight of Sleepy Hollow’s legendary Headless Horseman. That is, until All Hallows’s Eve, when Ichabod suddenly disappears, leaving Katrina alone and in a perilous position. Enlisting the help of her friend – and rumored witch – Charlotte Jansen, Katrina seeks the truth of Ichabod Crane’s disappearance, investigating the forest around Sleepy Hollow using unconventional – often magical – means.

Check out what else is coming out this month on our Goodreads list!

What book are you most excited for? Tell us in the comments below!

The post October Book Releases: Fantasy + Sci-Fi appeared first on The Nerd Daily.