A review by isitcake
The Ruler by Elin Peer

fast-paced

3.5

Really enjoyed seeing these 2 logical people together - Khan and Pearl. The first ~30% is a repeat of book 1 events but then it diverges. We see Khan and Pearl increasingly respect each other while handling the conflicts that pop up. We see a lot of Khan's troubled past relationship with his father and later Pearl's relationship with her mother Isobel, an important council chairwoman. 

I really liked some of the quotes in here about loving relationships.

Feel within your heart and ask yourself what we have. ... Connection, trust, love, attraction, respect, desire...

After Magni kidnaps Athena, Pearl offers herself in exchange. Initially she's terrified of Magni and Khan but for the most part keeps calm. Pearl is a great character in how logical and calm she is. We learn she was selected as a councilwoman as a child due to her traits, empathy being a big one. Khan wants to brainwash her but ends up falling for her instead. He nonstop pressures her to have sex and she eventually gives in but they have a slight falling out afterwards.

Khan struggles a lot with his internal demons. He wasn't as good of a fighter as his brother Magni, and his father constantly belittled him. He has tons of bad memories of their interactions.

There's a few encounters where Khan brings Pearl along as he puts down a possible uprising against him. Everyone is impressed with how Pearl talks to the room and stops a huge fight from happening. Later Khan takes her to see the poorest town in the Northlands and a rich man nearby, Zobel, who rather than leaving his wealth upon his death to either of his 2 daughters (daughters don't inherit of course /eyeroll) he's leaving it to Khan and Magni. Pearl convinces him that he could use his wealth now to help rebuild the poor town and in return he would leave behind a legacy.

Pearl eventually returns to the Motherlands but she loves Khan and wants to go back. Her mother Isobel has her committed to a peaceful rehabilitation center. After a week Pearl is pulled out because of a video Boulder, Christina and others filmed of their success implementing the mixed school (see my book 3 review). Pearl gets the council to agree to send her back because of the positive influence she's having on Khan.

She goes back but Khan has become very depressed while she was away and he doesn't think he deserves her. Pearl keeps a level head and loves him anyway. Khan remembers a time where his dad came to him for strategy advice and respected him for mind. This unlocks other positive memories and he realizes he's not a fraud, he's fit to be the ruler. He and Pearl get married.