Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for granting me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review! Unfortunately, as this book has already been published, I will not share my review on Netgalley at this time.

Bright Ruined Things is a mash up of The Tempest and The Great Gatsby with a splash of Sabrina and its own imagination, but mostly it is a thinly veiled reiteration of the themes and morals from the three stories heretofore mentioned. It outlines the evils of slavery, imperialism, and classicism, in addition to the love triangle of the beautiful, brooding brother versus the quietly loyal and, eventually, sensitive one. It was clear that the author was well-versed in these tales.

Bright Ruined Things follows the story of Mae (a combo of both Miranda, Nick Carraway, and Sabrina) - she is on the fringe, as the daughter of a previous servant, of the illustrious Prosper family who control all the magic that runs the aether for the surrounding islands and the mainland and are the benefactors of all of the wealth that this creates. She is desperate to have magic and to belong among these cruel and callous people to whom she feels indebted, despite how she is treated like a second-class citizen. Enter the annual First Night party - another piece from Sabrina - the guy (Miles) will finally see me, if I wear this pretty dress and attend the fancy party his family throws. But before this can even happen, Mae finds herself caught up in the web of deceit and lies that surround this family.

My thoughts: Our FMC is naive and does not know what to do, and often acts very incongruently to her initially developed character. She is not a very likeable character, nor are any of her fellow characters. I found this to be a dim facsimile of a few other stories and it did nothing to broaden my perspective. It was a bit imaginative, in the few original pieces, but overall, I did not care what happened to any of the characters. The prose were reasonably well-written but it did little for me. This could just be me, due to my familiarity with the stories it pulled from, however, I am not sure who I would recommend this to. As what appeared to be a romantic triangle fizzled and was left with no real resolution, there's little to no history, and the fantasy piece didn't do much for me (as a very devoted fantasy reader). This one was a well-written but poorly executed story for me.

I thought I would enjoy this book because of the 1920s vibes, but it was kind of boring. It wasn't remarkable or rememberable at all. I felt it was very lackluster.

I have not read The Tempest, so I can't speak to it as an adaptation or even loose retelling. Overall, the story was interesting and the author does a good job immersing you in the setting.

I was unable to finish this story. The premise of the book was interesting, but the execution was not for me.

This is a standalone historical fiction/fantasy retelling of Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest,’ – but don’t worry, I don’t know The Tempest at all and I still enjoyed this one immensely. I’m definitely feeling standalones these days – less commitment. And this entire story is told over the course of one day – there’s something about that fast pace that entices me.

Mae is the daughter of a steward on the island owned by the wealthy Prosper family. They control the magic of the island and the spirits who inhabit it. Her father had died and Mae recently turned eighteen, meaning she would have to be married off soon and leave the island, once anyone remembered she was eighteen, that is. This takes place on First Night, when all the members of the Prosper family return home and bring their aristocratic friends to show off their wealth and distribute aether – a magical fuel source that can only be produced on the island. But that morning Mae has noticed the spirits have started dying – they should never die or become sick, so she knows something is wrong.

This book is incredible fast paced, it has to be since its less than 24 hours of time in the world. We start with Mae’s morning and end with the fireworks at night celebrating First Night.

We get introduced to all the Prosper family members and it felt like a lot of people at first, but it was easy enough to keep track since Mae is really only friends with the grandchildren; her best friend Coco, her crush Miles, and the mysterious Ivo, the only one of the grandchildren who wanted to learn magic from his grandfather.

If you like intense world building and super deep character development, this isn’t for you, but I pictured it all as Great Gastby-esque – that was the world in my mind and it worked for me. Only the basics of the magic system are touched upon, but it was also enough for me. I enjoyed learning about the different spirits on the island and what they did and how they helped the island thrive.

Mae knew she was on the island on borrowed time, so she always did whatever the Prosper family asked of her, but she didn’t always like it and she formulates a plan to fight back and reject what they’re expecting of her. She’s a little morally gray towards the middle and end of the story and I really liked that about her. Mae isn’t so “mousey” as everyone always called her.

There was some small romance in this book, but I wouldn’t really call this a romance book – if you’re here looking for love, don’t bother. It’s more arranged marriage and some infatuation than actual love and its passed over rather quickly.

Overall, this book was a pleasant surprise for me and I highly recommend it if you’re a fan of historical fiction and magic!

This was a dark, twisty, semi-retelling of the Tempest (although as far as I could tell there was a Prosper and some magic and ... that's about it). It felt a little convoluted at times but the characters were sharp and the world building was very intricate and well-done.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for giving me a free eARC of this book to read in exchange for my review!

Recieved Free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wonderful premise and good execution. I love the connection to The Tempest though I don’t love the characters. Some parts seem to drag on - the slow pace drops this down a star because I felt that it didn’t have the same payoff I would expect for a slow build.

Look, I can always get behind a young adult retelling of any Shakespeare play but a retelling of the tempest? Excellent! Love this thought it was fascinating, you wish it had garnered more readers

"The last girl he'd gone with, whoever she was, surely hadn't stopped breathing every time he touched her."

Thank you Netgalley and Wednesday Books for a copy of this book for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I originally requested this book because the cover intrigued me and I enjoy both historical fiction and fantasy books! This book is a retelling of a Shakespeare play (The Tempest?) which I have never read, so I cannot speak to the accuracy or any interesting or uninteresting twists.

Bright Ruined Things follows Mae, a girl who lives on a magical island because her father was the steward to a rich family. Her father died recently but had an agreement with the lord of the island that they would allow his daughter to stay until she turned eighteen. The book starts with Mae, freshly eighteen and eager to find a way to stay on an island that is all she's ever known. Will that involve getting her longtime crush (the lord's grandson) to notice her? Or perhaps giving into a romance with his strange cousin? Or will she find a way of her own to the island's magic?

I knew at around I think 30% that I wanted to DNF this book, but I blamed my road trip and not having a physical copy, so I kept trying after my move with my library copy and still disliked it at 50%. I looked up the summary of The Tempest and thought "Hmmm there must be a lot of intrigue and betrayal about to happen" and I wonder about the winning love interest, so I read the rest, but it was not worth it.

There are many family members in this book, but I couldn't tell you more than one thing about any of them. Apollonia was the only vaguely interesting character. The main character Mae mostly lets things happen to her the entire book, and when she does at last decide to make her own decisions, changes her mind so frequently that I got whiplash. There were many twists, but none of them made me feel anything because there wasn't enough buildup to care about the characters or the island. We learn very little about the world other and are more.... told that there is an atmospheric manor and parties and magic instead of ever really seeing any of it.

I, unfortunately, would not recommend this one and would probably not try another book by this author in the future.

I liked the gender-bent Shakespeare retelling. I loved the historical setting. I am a sucker for the roaring 20s so I enjoyed that. The story and the setting were so interesting and I really enjoyed the writing style.

DNF @ 8%

I really wanted to love this Tempest retelling, but I just couldn’t get into the narrative. I found myself skimming early in through descriptions of every thought running through the character’s head and realized I didn’t care enough about the plot to continue.

I was given this book by the publish through Netgalley in return for an honest review, thank you.

Like a magical historical fiction vibe with glowing mute house elves then this books for you.

Set somewhere with a 1920's feel we have this story. About a ridiculously rich family that controls glowing mute servants that cater to their every need. Not only that but they product a power sold to the masses that is the product of their financial success.

We have our main character that is all to eager to please and completely sheltered having never left the island in her life. Willing to do anything to feel accepted and loved by this family that is caring for her after her father's death. We watch her develop get back bone and start realizing all the ways she's being used and controlled by individuals that care very little for her.

We get to know the family and how even blood matters very little to those it should.

The plot is fast paced lasting a day and having a small reflection a year later. It's enjoyable and engaging and you seem to either love the characters or you don't. Middle ground is hard to find. There's a slight mystery factor as you delve into the families deep dark secrets and what they have to do to maintain their power and prestige. But is it worth it?!

I wish there was a little more origin story to our little balls of fury but they're seen at face value for most of the story and told from a specific point of view.

And at the end we get a specific scent (you'll understand when you read it) but no official confirmation so I guess your let your mind assume what you will.

Overall it's a good book and worth the read. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thanks to the publisher for giving me an opportunity to see this book. I had high hopes coming into this one, the concept is delightful and fresh. Unfortunately, the execution f this book felt very middle of the road. There's nothing I can point to that made me dislike it, but it also didn't propel me to the end.

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Despite me loving Shakespeare’s works, I have never read The Tempest. I knew that this book was based on it in some way but I hoped that it wouldn’t disadvantage me.

Bright Ruined Things follows Mae, a young girl who lives on an island in the care of the Prosper family, a family of which uses the magic of the island and turns it into clean energy to propel the outside world. Mae has never been on the mainland before and wishes to learn how to convert the magic from the island. She knows this will be impossible as Lord Prosper only teaches his kin however, that doesn't stop her from trying to learn as much as possible. Soon she starts questioning the very foundations of the world around her as she realises the cause of the Prosper's fortune is far more sinister than first thought.

Let's start with the positives, or the things I enjoyed. This book was very atmospheric and lushly written with this mysterious, intriguing and haunting quality to it especially in relation to the island, its magic and spirits. I really liked this quality as it made the Prosper's island seem magical in the dangerous sense. I also liked the overall theme and discussion surrounding capitalism and greed and the extremes people go for money and reputation.

I think my main negatives stems from wanting more from the story, the characters and the plot. I found the pacing quite slow as the main action happens towards the end of the book. Despite liking the world, I felt bored because nothing really happened in the first half apart from the main character pining for Miles while being proposed to by Ivo and also desperately wanting to learn magic. While I didn't mind Mae (she was an okay character but I didn't really connect with her), I did get a bit annoyed by the side characters (namely the Prosper's). I found them shallow and at times, annoying to read about. I couldn't connect to Miles' and Mae's relationship because I didn't really feel the chemistry between them.

At times, I shipped Ivo and Mae more than the main pairing. There were times I thought they had a great relationship and other times I would be proven wrong. At the end, as much as it hurts for me to say, I was sitting back, awaiting the book to finish because I felt disconnected from the story, plot and characters. That being said, I'm happy I read this book but I don't think I'd be reading this again.

ACTUAL RATING: 3.2 STARS

3.5 stars
This was an interesting book, I thought the concept was cool but executed a little eh. I know this is based on The Tempest which I did suffer through, but honestly I felt this book was a loose interpretation of that.

Well this book turned out not to be my thing. I can enjoy the plot and characters behind it. I just didn’t connect to any character and found myself wanting to just read to get it over with. The writing was good and I can see why people would love it. I did love the magical aspect and the island spirits. Mae wasn’t born on the island but she feels connected to it and doesn’t want to leave. But when a spirit lends up sick and her too, she tries to figure out what is going on.

The concept sounded amazing and the setting was so atmospheric but I just could not connect with the main character and after picking it up and abandoning it a couple of times, I've decided to DNF it after all.

Very disappointed that this one just wasn't for me.

BRIGHT RUINED THINGS was a fast-paced story set on a mysterious island that was beautifully developed. I really liked Mae and Ivo, and even felt sad for Miles, but I think the romance angle could've hit harder if we'd been able to see the development of that rather than rely on Mae narrating where things stand with both men. (I have not read THE TEMPEST, so I'm not sure if there is some backstory that's supposed to be understood from familiarity with the play?) I do think, though, that the pacing and the mystery surrounding what is going on with the island's magic and its spirits could appeal to students who might feel intimidated by some of the fantasy series that are currently popular.

Thank you to Wednesday Books for providing a review copy.