This is the first book I'm reading by Samantha Cohoe (A Golden Fury is angrily staring at me from my TBR shelf right now lol) and I really enjoyed it! Got off to a bit of a slow start, but then, kind of like a snowball rolling down a hill, it picked up speed right until the end. At first I wasn't sure if I loved how the book ended, given that it's a standalone but honestly, the more I think about it, the more I think the ending was absolutely perfect for the story.

So our main female lead is Mae, who is living on an island that has magic controlled by the Prosper family. Her father helped the Prospers gain control of the magic and take over the island, which is why Mae is allowed to live there until she comes of age. Mae has some pretty good character growth in this book - she starts out pretty meek and subservient but develops into a more confident, driven individual. I liked the person she became by the end. Miles was ok... kind of annoying at times but overall a nice addition to the story. I wasn't sure how I felt about Ivo at first, but I ended up loving him by the end - honestly I wish he had been more present in the book lol, I would have liked to read about him more than Miles or Coco! But it was all pretty well done;.

Given that I am a HUGE romance fan, I was a little but disappointed at the lack of an epic love story but I am also aware that it wasn't meant to be that kind of story. It worked well the way it was written and I ended up being satisfied! I also really enjoyed the writing style! Overall, this book surprised me with how much I ended up enjoying it. I will be moving A Golden Fury up on my TBR pile and keeping an eye out for this author's next projects!

The Tempest is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays so this retelling had a lot to live up to, but Cohoe takes it into wholly original territory that makes it entirely her own and a completely standalone piece that pulled me in and didn't let go even after I turned the last page.
Mae is a total doormat at the beginning, letting the Prosper family push her around and decide things for her, but it's easily understandable when you realize that all she's known is to be completely dependent on their largesse for survival. And the Prospers are awful, even the ones that are supposed to be good have very unpleasant character traits, which works in their favor because it makes them more human and empathetic. And Mae does come into her own as the plot moves things into a madcap rush of events that change everyone's lives forever.
The slow beginning might make one think that it's going to be a slow book, but I'd compare it to the first climb of a roller coaster, the calm before the wild ride full of twists and turns. Give it a chance to get some speed and you won't be able to put it down.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the great early read!

Samantha Cohoe’s latest novel takes readers to a magical island, where the Prosper family has subdued the spirits and used their power to produce a fuel source that has granted them unimaginable wealth and influence. Mae, the orphan daughter of a loyal servant, longs to be taught magic, and to find a place within the family she has learned to love and envy from afar. As First Night approaches, however, the night when the Prospers flaunt their riches to the world through an extravagant party, Mae begins to question the facts her life has been based on. The Prospers, it turns out, have secrets–and some of them could be deadly. This imaginative, high-stakes thriller takes inspiration from William Shakespeare’s The Tempest to present a historical fantasy that feels wholly and wonderfully original.

Bright Ruined Things is an engrossing mystery about the lies people will tell and the lives they will ruin in order to climb to the top. Its strongest points where its plot, world building, and character development! Thank you so much for a copy of this one!

I thoroughly enjoyed the storytelling and the world building but I found the characters a bit underdeveloped and this made the novel less entertaining and gripping.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

BRIGHT RUINED THINGS had such a good mix of mystery and romance! This is the 1920s cozy mystery/fantasy blend you've been looking for. It's like Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries with magic!

Thank you to the publisher, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Mae has lived on the Prosper family’s island all her life and has never seen the world beyond it. But with her 18th birthday approaching, her future is uncertain and all she wants is to stay, and above all, have some magic of her own, magic which has been closely guarded and controlled by the Prospers for generations, making them extremely wealthy. Most of the family lives away from the island, returning only for First Night, when they host an extravagant party, and Mae looks forward to seeing her best friend Coco and her longtime crush Miles each year. This year is different however, when the spirits, who are key to the island’s magic, start dying mysteriously. Mae sets out to unravel the mystery with her friends, but the island holds more secrets than any of them suspect, and this First Night will bring to light the dark truth about the Prosper’s magic.

I really enjoyed this author’s previous book, A Golden Fury, last year, so I was really curious to check out this book. This is technically supposed to be a retelling of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, but you don’t need to have read it to understand this story. The setting of the island, the spirits, the magic and the overall eerie feel it lent the narrative was my favourite part about this book. The magic system was an interesting one, if a little vague at times. The plot was intriguing and did not lack for twists, making this an engaging read, and with each reveal, I was more and more curious to see how it would all tie together.

This is probably the first time I’m ever saying this about a book, but it was the characters that ruined this book for me. They started out okay and Mae turning out to be an unreliable narrator was a good twist, but as the story went on and everyone’s motivations started to make sense, they all turned out to be either very unlikeable or extremely frustrating. None of them were as fleshed out as they could have been and it was really hard for me to connect to any of the characters, and the romance too, felt rather forced. Despite this, Mae’s growth from the sheltered girl terrified at the prospect of having to leave the only home she has ever known to being more independent and motivated as the story progresses was a great arc and a well written one.

I think much of this can be attributed to two things: a very short timeline and uneven pacing. This entire book takes place over the course of a day, which in an of itself is not bad – I’ve seen some amazing stories set over a short timespan – but for a story like this, it would have been great if it had taken place over more time, setting the scene better and building up the characters. The story felt too slow in the beginning and then too fast, with what I felt was a rather chaotic ending. This erratic pacing meant that I didn’t really get caught up in the story and felt like I was just watching from the outside, waiting for things to finally start moving.

I liked the concept behind this book and it definitely had potential, but the execution could have been handled better. I’m not entirely sure what to think of the ending, but it did have the shock factor. The epilogue was a nice touch as it showed how far Mae has come and how much she has learned. Overall, it turned out to be a decent reading experience, and I’m looking forward to seeing what this author writes next.

I received an ARC from the publisher and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
Bright Ruined Things is pitched as a 1920s-esque YA fantasy retelling of The Tempest. I haven’t read or seen a performance of that particular play, so I can’t speak to how faithful of a retelling it is. But I also don’t feel that’s necessary to enjoy this book.
Having read Samantha Cohoe’s prior book, one of the things I love about her work is the way she selects her concepts and really builds on them, allowing the reader to become immersed in the worlds she creates. This is perhaps even more apparent in this book, where the bright decadence of the 1920s-esque setting comes through, truly embodying the theme conveyed in the title of “bright ruined things.” The environs of the island the characters are trapped on are well-realized, creating a perfect atmosphere for the lying and scheming among an ambitious family.
Mae is an interesting character to see all the schemes filtered through, as while she’s been welcomed into the fold, she isn’t really one of them, and exists on their charity. She does yearn to belong, so her perspective is not entirely objective, but it still makes for a much more sympathetic perspective to read about, as opposed to one of the “insiders. She is a bit spineless at first, but I still felt sympathy for her in her situation. She also does grow eventually, becoming a bit more confident in herself.
Most of the supporting cast is rather unlikable, which is not surprising, given that the family is made up of schemers. There are a couple who have some depth to them, but overall, this clearly isn’t a story with a ton of character development.
The plot is pretty engaging, especially as the point is the unraveling of the façade of the family unit to see the rot and ruin within. I did feel a bit let down by the ending, so I am hoping against hope there could be some sort of companion novel, but this book was otherwise pretty effective in the narrative department.
This is an engaging second book from Samantha Cohoe, and I would recommend this to someone interested in fantasy with 1920s aesthetics and/or somewhat “unlikable” casts of characters.

I was really excited for this one since The Tempest is my favorite Shakespeare play, but it fell short for me.

This is one that struggled to maintain its quality, for me. I was drawn to this book primarily because of it being a Shakespeare reimagining, and while I can see how that was an inspiration, I feel like this book didn’t quite take all of the opportunities that it could have. The magical aspect was relatively well executed, but again, I would have liked to have seen a bit more from it. I find myself feeling very middle of the road, unfortunately.

I really enjoyed this 1920s-inspired take on The Tempest. Mae is such a relatable character, it's easy to root for her and feel her pain. Her relationship with Ivo gave me Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein vibes in a good way. The writing, pacing, and plotting were all seamless. Great read!

Let me start off by saying that Bright Ruined Things by Samantha Cohoe is not a genre I read (like, ever) and it was a total cover read for me. However, I thought the story was interesting and even though there were a few times I felt like putting it down in favour of something else, it kept me interested enough to keep going.

There was a large cast of characters, and the majority of them weren’t very likeable, but our protagonist, Mae was so chaotic I couldn’t wait to see what she was going to do next. Everyone had some interesting secrets, and it was fun to see them all come to light.

I have some mixed feelings on the ending, but I did like the character growth from Mae from beginning to end!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced digital copy in exchange for review.

I received this free ARC from NetGalley, the review reflected below is my opinion.

I personally did not enjoy this book. The characters were lacking depth and I could not connect with them.

This book was not for me, however I think there are others who will like it.

This was such a unique and new storyline. The story opens and focuses on Mae a young woman who lives on an island full of magic owned and managed by the Prosper family. Mae’s biggest dream is to be able to do magic herself, but the more she seeks it the more she realizes something is not right on the island after all. The story takes place over the course of a single day, and wow I can’t even begin to say how exhausted she must be after it’s all over! This out of the box fantasy kept me enthralled and needing to know more the whole time.

Will be posted on instagram @literarylu_ on 2/12

This book started off strong for me then I lost interest about 50% in. Mae and Ivo would frustrate me at times but I think that's what I liked about them.

There are some content warnings. Substance abuse and also coercion. :(

Thank you, Netgalley for the ARC in return for my honest opinion.

thank you netgalley and st martins press for the chance to read this stunning book in exchange of an honest review

this book surprised me, i absolutely adored it, and im not the biggest fan of historical fantasy, but i loved this.

cover and synopsis- the cover of this is what really got me hooked, and the synopsis made it even better

characters- i feel the characters each had their little thing about them, not all of them were lovable, but then again, i liked them just as much, cause they were all different

plot- i think overall the plot had a nice steady touch to it, although there were certain parts that did drag, i feel as if the author did a good job getting out of this bits

setting- the little island with all its spirits, and aeris (the best spirit) i think the author definitely was able to wrap around this little island as if was in it myself

what i liked- i loved the main character most of the time, and i liked that she was able to put certain positive thoughts to her situation, i also loved coco, but coco is coco

what i disliked- i didn't like that there was a mini love triangle that wasn't really a love triangle.

overall Samantha Cohoe immerses you in this lovely world, and doesn't let you go.

4 stars

link to goodreads review- https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4021739113?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

link to instagram review- https://www.instagram.com/p/CZo7IHkLaua/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

It's definitely not a retelling of The Tempest. If anything, it's a book lightly inspired by The Tempest. It's an okay read, nothing more, nothing less. I didn't really connect to any of the characters nor was I especially engaged by the plot. If you like The Tempest and the 1920s, you can give it a try.

I have not read Shakespeare's The Tempest so I cannot comment on how successful this was as a reimagining, but the plot itself works with no knowledge of the play.

I have really mixed feelings about this book. For one, I hated all of the characters. Mae was passive and gullible, her lurking was annoying, and I could not buy into her being in love with Miles when she had barely seen let alone spoke to him at all in the last 8 years, and every member of the Prosper family was the worst kind of entitled rich snob though they went about it differently. That being said, given the circumstances of their lives their irritating personalities did make sense and was well done even if they were all toxic humans.

I also think that because this book takes place of the course of one day, I struggled with believing the character relationships and motivations. I think it also created some pacing issues in regards to world building and plot conveniences. This could very well be a personal preference thing though as I don't typically read this kind of novel. That being said, the timeline of the book I think did add to the atmosphere which I thought was the highlight of the book. From the beginning you really get a feel for the isolation of the island and a sense of foreboding as you know something big is going to happen that night.

DNF at 43%

This is entirely my fault. If I had realized this book was written by the same author as A Golden Fury, I would not have picked it up. I had DNF'd that book at about approximately the same point as well.

There's nothing wrong with the author's prose or style, the same problems in her previous book are the same for me in this one. I had difficulty connecting with the characters and the world building wasn't clearly formulated for me to imagine or enjoy. The idea of earth spirits is cool as I liked that as well as the island setting but there was already some sort of family and relationship drama being set up and I was not into that.

Other reviews had stated some plot spoilers that I am not keen on so I figure it's best to stop here.

Bright Ruined Things had an original plot. While I read through it pretty quickly, I didn't love it overall. I enjoyed the overall plot but didn't really care for the main character. I felt like there was a lot of annoying bickering and she kept immediately telling Miles and Coco any little secret that came up. Instead of solving anything for herself. I felt bad for Ivo and still wish there was more to it. Most of the characters were not likable and Ivo was the only one who saw her. This is one of the books that I enjoyed reading at the time but don't think I'll ever think about it ever again.

Apparently this is a reimagining of the tempest. I am not totally sure it succeed in this respect. Also the time period was not as rich as I expected it to be. It was so disappointing because I had been looking forward to reading this book for so long.