I’ve never read “The Tempest” and thought this sounded interesting. Unfortunately I didn’t enjoy the author’s writing style and wasn’t a fan of the characters either. I ended up giving up on this one. I’m sure others will love this book but it just wasn’t for me.

Samantha Cohoe’s Bright Ruined Things is a YA retelling of The Tempest set in the 1920s, but you definitely don’t need to have read the play to enjoy this fabulous novel. (I read the play last in college, a looong time ago, and I actually think trying to remember the connections did more harm than good to my impressions of this novel.)

In the book, the main character Mae lives on an island ruled by the Prosper family. The patriarch Lord Prosper found the island with her father and discovered the magic that has made the Prospers wealthy beyond imagining. Ever since, Lord Prosper and his descendants have ruled the island, compounding their wealth with the aid of the spirits who serve them.

Mae’s father died along the way, and Lord Prosper promised to care for her. But now, she’s 18, and her position is less than certain. Though she loves her best friend Coco (Lord Prosper’s granddaughter), Mae feels invisible to the rest of the Prosper family, who make up her whole world. Never having left the island, Mae is desperate. She’s desperate to stay. She’s desperate to learn magic. And she’s desperate for Lord Prosper’s illegitimate grandson, Miles.

Unfortunately, it’s Ivo, another grandson and the heir to Lord Prosper’s magic, who the family has in mind for Mae.

This situation sets off the rest of the journey, as Mae wrestles with how to deal with her arranged engagement to Ivo, her feelings for Coco and Miles, and her intense desire to gain some power of her identity.

There’s so much to love about this book. Initially, I thought that this was going to be a predictable fantasy novel with a love triangle at its center, but it takes turn after turn. Mae is a fascinating character: having been sheltered for her whole life, she doesn’t understand her own strengths or the realities of the world outside the island. The journey of this character is unexpected, and I so appreciated the way that Cohoe built both the world and these characters. Though this is a distinctly fantasy world, there’s commentary here on gender, class, and colonization, and all of the social commentary is centered on this extremely nuanced protagonist.

As I neared the end of my egalley, I kept checking how much of the book was left because I didn’t think Cohoe could wrap up everything—would there be a sequel?! And yet, somehow, the novel’s ending is completely satisfying. In short, I loved Samantha Cohoe’s Bright Ruined Things (and not remembering much about The Tempest didn’t matter at all!).

This was an enjoyable book. This book is about Mae who lives with a wealthy family on an island where magic exists but spirits are dying which holds the answers to Mae's past. I got vibes of The Inheritance Games and Harry Potter (good alternative) from this book. I remember checking out the artist's debut book but wasn't interested in it as much as I was for this one. I was honestly hooked from the first page as the writing was flowy and captured the reader's attention. The pacing was fast but it was perfect for this book. I also loved the world building which I thought was simple and unique for this standalone novel.

This book is written in Mae's pov. I enjoyed her character as she had so much to learn about the world and has been stuck on the island for a long time. She had a great character development in the book and I enjoyed reading her journey. There are also many side characters in this book who have their own secrets that are revealed throughout the book. I loved finding out who was the villain and who was the friend in this story. There is romance in this book which I didn't really enjoy but it was okay. The romance has a love triangle trope with a 0.5/5 level of steaminess.

The ending wasn't the best in my opinion. I was honestly disappointed with it as most of the book from the beginning to the middle was so good. I think some might love the ending but it just wasn't for me. I won't spoil it or anything as I would like for you to find out. Overall the book was really great until the ending and I was a tiny bit sad with the romance. I recommend this book if you are a fan of The Inheritance Games and are looking for a Harry Potter alternative with the Chosen One kind of theme.

In Bright Ruined Things, an homage to Shakespeare's The Tempest, Lord Prosper's island teams with a magical substance know as aether that keeps the island's spirits his captives and provides a glamourous life for his descendants. Mae, an outsider who is the orphan of Prosper's steward, worries about being exiled from the island on her 18th birthday. She schemes to find a way to stay and has many prospects. Lady Vivian wants her to marry their sullen eccentric grandson Ivo, who is a powerful magician and heir to Lord Prosper's realm. Granddaughter Coco, Mae's best friend, wants her to leave the island and forge a new life together. Grandson Miles, Mae's secret crush, leads her on in hopes of finding out what Ivo did to his mother, who is now a hopeless addict. First Night, the legendary once-a-year party hosted by the Prosper family, is coming up at which cousin Apolonia's engagement to Rex, magician and son of a rival family, and Mae's engagement to Ivo are to be announced. But all does not go as planned. Mae discovers family secrets and waffles between allegiances to various family members and even Rex, as she desperately tries to find a way to learn magic and secure a place in the family.

I loved this book! It’s such a beautifully tragic story that will leave a lasting impression. Bright Ruined Things is a retelling of The Tempest and follows Mae and her journey of discovery on First Night. First Night is a celebration of when Lord Prosper first controlled the spirits and the magic of the island. It’s a night when the entire Prosper family returns to the island. This year Mae plans to use this opportunity to get what she’s always wanted, to get Lord Prosper to agree to teach her to use magic. However, Mae soon learns that there are a lot of things she doesn’t know about the Prosper family and the island she calls home. Once she finally learns the cost of magic, Mae will have to make the decision of if she’s willing to pay that price.
Bright Ruined Things is a fantastic book, that is full of magic, mystery and intrigue. You really feel for Mae who has lived with this family all these years, yet they don’t consider her a part of it. I still can’t get over all the feelings from this one. I’ll be thinking about this book for a while.

To reimagine Shakespeare’s the Tempest is both ambitious and bold. Here the author has succeeded. Providing the modern in place of the hard to decipher,we are treated to a Tempest many high schoolers have longed to read.

This story started out pretty good but sadly as the story wen along it just got super boring and I just wasn't enjoying it at all. Overall, it wasn't as good as it could have been. The characters got annoying as the story went on and the story/plot just wasn't enough to keep me going.

Promoted as a retelling of The Tempest with a 1920s setting (either of which would have likely been enough to draw me in), I came to this book primarily for the magic, the intrigue, and a castoff getting what she's due. And while I got some of that, most of what I got was ambivalence on the horrors of slavery and admissions that if the oppressors did not have to be made aware of what extraordinary torment they were inflicting on the spirits, they would have easily chosen to allow it to continue (but that's ok because they feel bad that that is who they are). I can't get behind this one.

The instant Mae turns 18, she is flooded with anxiety that the Prospers will cut her loose from the pact they made to care for her after she was orphaned in her adolescence. After all, her father had been a very loyal servant, but in the end, he was nothing more than that to them. Instead, she finds they have been planning something even less enticing -- marrying her off to their least favorite grandson, Ivo.

Sullen, awkward, and often aggressive, Ivo is yet everything Mae wishes she could be. Chosen to be the heir only after his cousin Alasdair abdicated his rightful place, Ivo has been fully trained in all of the secrets of the Prosper magic that has gifted them all such incredible affluence. Mae has never wanted anything more but a slice of that power herself -- desperate to EARN her place among these barons and to never again face the prospect of having to leave it all behind. While Ivo is offering a great deal more than she could ever hope to find with anyone else, the fact remains that he will never allow her to learn magic of her own, will never see her as an equal. And that Mae can just never abide. When she is offered the chance to have it all for herself, will she decide it's worth the price?

While I was consistently annoyed by the juvenile sneaking around and listening in and wild speculating that litter this book, as well as confusing plot points that are all but abandoned later on, my problem with it runs much, much deeper. I can't get into it without some spoilers, but I will suffice to say for now that the depiction of slavery and its morality is irresponsible at best.

My great appreciation to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for the review.

I was really anticipating this book (The Tempest is my favorite Shakespeare!) but, unfortunately, I am DNFing at the 25% mark. I can think of several friends I would recommend this book to, but the writing style just isn’t to my personal taste.

I can say, though, that the atmosphere is really well done and the island setting is super intriguing! I do find Mae to be quite an irritating main character without a lot of depth, but the book definitely has enough atmosphere and setting to make up for it.

I’m really disappointed this one wasn’t for me, but I would definitely recommend giving it a go.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an e-ARC of this book, however all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I've been putting off writing this review for like six months now primarily because I wanted to find a way to soften what I'm about to say next, but I really just... I hate Mae. She's weak willed, gullible, annoying and unfortunately our POV protagonist. If I hadn't been reading this on my dearly beloved kindle I would have lobbed this half-way to Timbuktu any number of times. She somehow managed to give me an instant migraine every time I sat down to read. She kept making stupid decisions that only served to drive the plot forward (a very lacking plot at that). I also sort of thought we were passed the part of Y.A. where the girl has to be boy obsessed.

Also, all of the relationships in the book are so dang toxic. The love interest, the friendships.. everything. Ivo is borderline abusive, Coco is toxic... it's just all so... frustrating. Pairing this with our main character lacking a backbone, it is a recipe for some problematic scenes. However, I do have to feel for Coco as her being a lesbian was only so she could be outed as a plot point, which is really just lazy writing.

Another thing that irked me was that this was supposed to be set in the 1920s and I had no idea aside from the synopsis. It didn't feel like the 1920s. The world-building was sorely lacking there. I wanted the glitz and glamour of the 20s and I got... well an island somewhere.

Overall, I'm not really sure who I would recommend this to. Someone who likes questionable relationships, but in Y.A.? *squints* That sounds very problematic.

I have really mixed feelings about this book. Most of the book was a three star read for me, interesting enough to finish but not standing out. However, I absolutely loved the ending, so I’ve rounded this up to three and a half stars.

Overall, this book had some strong aspects—a magical mystery, atmospheric setting, and a compelling concepts.

However, I personally struggled with the main character for a few reasons. First, she sorely lacked competence. To clarify, I am not frustrated because she wasn’t a Katniss type character. Not all female characters need that type of competence. But Mae didn’t really know how to do anything—except run fast and wait for her terrible friends to come for the summer. I honestly have no idea what she has been doing for 18 years to have picked up literally no useful skill.

I realize given her situation that some of this was understandable, but I still didn’t enjoy reading a whole novel through her eyes. This lack of competence was exacerbated by her accepting emotional and verbal rejection, mocking, and abuse from a very toxic and entitled family. In addition, she was extremely indecisive—wavering between love interests, plans, and intense emotions within almost every chapter. While I felt for her, these aspects made her internal monologue extremely frustrating and slogged down the story. I think this would have been much stronger as 3rd person POV to combat this issue. Everyone connects to characters different, so I am sure there are readers out there who will love Mae, I just didn’t connect to her the way I would have liked to.

I did love Ivo as a character, and, by the epilogue, Mae became a character I enjoyed reading about. I just wish the journey hadn’t taken so long to get there.

If you are look for a magical jazz age book about family secrets and characters trying to find a place where they belong, than I think you will enjoy this!

The book it definitely slow paced, but I did end up getting hooked in, curious to unravel the family secrets. I liked Mae as main character and found the world really interesting.

Overall, I enjoyed this and would recommend checking it out!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Loved the characters and imagery of this book however the title basically tells you how this book will play out. What starts are bright things become ruined things and I was kind of left with the feeling of what was the point...? But I still enjoyed the journey it took me on which seemed to be enough for me to finish it. Definitely recommend for my fellow YA readers!

This was an okay book. The plot started out good, but the main character, Mae, came off as whiny and naïve in the worst possible way. None of the characters grew beyond one-dimensional and they didn't stand out in any way. The romance felt forced and lacked any real spark. The best part of this book was the island itself and the spirits, with the magical elements- those were cool and exciting; unfortunately, the author didn't really focus on them so much as the character drama that was lackluster at best.

These were the inner ramblings of an almost 18 year old that seemed very naive due to her upbringing and her so called friends. I’ve never read Shakespeare’s the Tempest, but even after reading the plot and a bit about its characters, I can’t really see a connection of the story line or characters.

A lot was happening that confused Mae (and me tbh) and instead of talking to people, she accused and made rather rash decisions. I guess when it came to her age, it’s understandable, but Coco and Miles were supposedly older and weren’t any better.

Ivo was a complete Mystery to me. His knowledge about what was going on and the magic he was able to wield made me like him though. I was kind of rooting for him from the beginning.

That last 19 sentences were pure torture and I think Mrs. Cohoe knew that!

Alive. Smiling. Finally free.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Actual Rating 3.5: In Bright Ruined Things, the focus and surrounding plot is the mysterious discovery by Mae regarding the house spirits who seem to be dying. She’s been manipulated to be engaged to one of the Prosper grandsons, when she in fact is in love with another. Those two elements drive our main character in the decisions she makes. Mae takes steps throughout the story to balance her own feelings as well as the high society context that the Prosper family inhabits, and those elements of the plot are very engaging.

The mood and the aesthetic of this book was really fun, I enjoyed the mysterious elements and how the 1920s backdrop weaved itself perfectly into Shakespearean tropes. As a Young Adult novel, this book kept my interest throughout and I believe that those who enjoy young adult novels with some mystery elements will also enjoy this book!

A big thank you to St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books, and Netgalley for a free copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Full review to come on armedwithabingo.com on Feb 2

I wanted to love this book, but it wasn’t what I thought it would be. I was hoping it would be Diviners-esque but it wasn’t.
I’m not really sure what this book was to be fair.
Nothing was really explained, the world wasn’t built well and I had no idea what was going on or why or what it meant.
Mae’s character changed dramatically over the course of the book, the majority of which was held over a day. She goes from sweet, to selfish, then evil, then cold and uncaring. In 24 hours.
The other characters were slightly confusing.
Sebastian was the only one I wanted to know more of and he was a bit part player.
Overall, this wasn’t really a great book. I’d pass.

I was intrigued by a re-telling of the Tempest set in the 1920's and excited to check this out. I expected more elements from The Tempest, but this book is definitely geared for YA readers, many of whom won't have read that play before. I don't think the intended audience will be missing those elements.

This will be a great read for YA fans who like magic and drama!

Content Warnings: death, slavery, grief, drug use/abuse, alcohol, addiction, gaslighting, bullying, murder, sexism, sexual harassment, confinement, abandonment, death of a parent

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In this 1920s-infused take on Shakespeare’s The Tempest, we follow Mae as she navigates the politics and power of the family-ruled island she calls home. The cutthroat Prosper family has everything Mae has always wanted - magic, power, a sense of belonging. All of that changes in one night when Mae finds out that the family patriarch is keeping secrets and not everything is as it seems.

What I loved:
• The world-building and magic system were wonderful. Well thought out and beautifully executed. It was interesting, especially the spirits and their music.
• Although there were times that I disliked Mae, I loved her character growth. She is quiet and a bit of a pushover because she’s desperate to fit in with the Prosper family. When she finally stops doing that, and calls her so-called friends out, it was just perfect.
• Of course, my favourite character was Ivo. I always go for the sad, reclusive, mysterious men. Especially if they’re powerful and self-deprecating.

What I wish were different:
• I wish there had been more. Not just because I wanted to keep reading but because I felt like the ending was a bit rushed and like it isn’t finished yet. Perhaps the author ending things like this for a sequel if they wished to.

Overall, Bright Ruined Things by Samantha Cohoe was a great read and I would definitely recommend it. It was a well-paced and incredibly intriguing YA fantasy about forbidden magic, ambition, and family secrets.

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this novel. 3/5 stars.

I wanted to like this a lot, but I really just....felt meh about it. Honestly, it probably is 3/5 instead of 2/5 just because of the gilded age vibes...everything else was just...meh. The premise seemed really cool, and I'll admit that I've never read the Tempest...but I don't know what the point of half of the plot was?

Mae was the most indecisive, helpless protagonist. It was very much "oh no, pity me, no one likes me, let me change my mind and my intentions 600000 times." She could never be in the wrong!! Coco and Miles were also equally obnoxious.

Every time the plot had narrowed down from all of the branches it was going on, it exploded into more branches. It's like...the plot was as indecisive as Mae was. Also, the ending? Was abrupt? And didn't really resolve anything?

Oh, and yeah, there's 'magic' with the spirits. and an ounce of colonialism and classism. oh, and since it's the gilded age...we get some good patriarchal crap about women.