If I’ve learned anything from perpetually reading, it’s this: don’t ever trust anyone on an island. Case in point, “Lord of the Flies,” “The Great Gatsby,” “The Tempest”–need I say more? To add to this list, Samantha Cohoe’s YA October release “Bright Ruined Things” cements my opinion that characters placed islands are untrustworthy to a T.

Living on an island controlled by the family patriarch, Mae is just a step above the spirit slaves Lord Prosper conquered decades ago in the island hierarchy. Mae longs to have a magic of her own and a place amongst the wealthy Prospers. On First Night, a celebration of Lord Prosper’s conquering, the web of lies Mae has believed her entire life starts to unravel as secrets are revealed about herself, the island, and the Prospers’ magic.

“Bright Ruined Things” is meant to be a retelling of Shakespeare’s classic play “The Tempest”–the only similarities being a few shared names, the infamous island, and the Prosper patriarch acquiring magic like Shakespeare’s Prospero. Although an immersive read, knowing that “Bright Ruined Things” is meant to retell Shakespeare’s play seems to be a half-hearted attempt to reimagining the iconic play.

If anything, “Bright Ruined Things” exudes West Egg from “The Great Gatsby” vibes–the grand, family home, extravagant wealth, and 1920s atmosphere aligning almost perfectly with F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic.

The characters start off mildly likable; Mae, Miles, Coco, and Ivo are made out to be pawns in a game they have little control over and have ambitions outside of the island’s legacy. Yet, as the story progresses and secrets are revealed, it’s evident that the youngest Prospers are not the reluctant and ambitious characters they’re originally made out to be. By the end of “Bright Ruined Things,” you’ll surely hate every character for a wide range of reasons, not limited to selfishness, greed, and overall dick-ish antics.

Yes, Mae is meek at times and a little unlikeable, but that’s the whole point of her character growth. Not every character seeks the morally good choices that readers wish for–many (just like real people) are self-serving and genuinely unlikable. Although the climax pressures Mae to act in selflessness rather than her own self-interest, I always love a character who doesn’t follow the usual heroics and martyrdom of many YA heroines.

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to fully agree or love a character to like them. Suppose readers can love the morally gray murderer in other YA novels. Why can’t I like the loathsome protagonist that makes me want to constantly throw the book across the room?

By the time the climax came around, the edge-of-your-seat tension Cohoe had laid the groundwork for in the first half fall flat and leave you wondering, “Where did all that pent-up tension go?” If not for the events following the catastrophic event on Prosper island, there’s little reason to read past the climax, in all honesty.
Moments of misogyny and elitism from the Prosper family make for decisive commentary throughout the novel and divulge the reader in the pretty illusion the Prospers have created for Mae and the outside world–not unlike the real elites of our world.

I still hold that characters placed on islands are the most untrusty of all–the bubbles they have created only stifling their own freedom. “Bright Ruined Things,” although mildly anti-climactic, makes for an immersive and imaginative read that will pull you in for a wild ride.

Mae has only ever known the island. Though she wishes to go to the mainland, Mae holds true love for the island and all it holds. Yet, she feels like she doesn't have what she wants most -- magic. And it is the greed and ambition that can guide us towards this one desire that Samantha Cohoes impressively explores in her sophomore novel.

This book is set in the 1920’s which is my favorite era so I had really high expectations for this book. It started out interesting with the spirits and the magic system but just fell kind of flat for me. With it being set in the 1920’s I was excited to be immersed in the glamour and atmosphere that comes with that but it didn’t happen. All in all this wasn’t my absolute favorite read but I will be checking out the authors other works.

Initial Thoughts
I loved A Golden Fury by Samantha Cohoe and basically begged Wednesday Books for an ARC of Samantha's next book.

Some Things I Liked
Great Gatsby vibes. I loved the 1920s glamour and the nods to France. The setting was so opulent and mysterious and I loved every second of it.
The Tempest. I've literally been saying forever that I wish someone would write a YA retelling of The Tempest and BOOM, Samantha Cohoe for the win. Loved it.
Morally grey characters. Everybody, and I mean everybody, was morally grey in some way and I lived for it.

One Thing I Wasn't Crazy About
The romance. I wish the romance was tied up a little more. I really wasn't into Milo as a love interest and I loved Ivo and wanted so much more of him.

Series Value
I'd definitely love to read more about this world and these characters. However, I think that the mystery would be a ruined a bit by sequels. The story ends on a perfectly mysterious note and another installment would demolish that ambiguity.

Final Thoughts
This was the retelling of The Tempest that I always wanted. I am definitely going to keep reading Samantha Cohoe's books.

While Bright Ruined Things features gorgeous writing, it let me down because it simply couldn't keep my attention. I really wanted to love this one, but it was just a miss across the board.

I love The Tempest and was looking forward to this book a lot. However, despite it being beautifully written, it simply was too tedious to read. Which is a bummer because I was really looking forward to enjoying this read.

Bright Ruined Things is a kind of soft introduction to magical realism. It is unpredictable, satisfying, and perfect for teens and adults alike. This book allows an escape from the real world while maintaining enough reality to feel familiar. And the ending, well, let's just say I did not see it coming but I could not be happier.

This book is about the search to belong. But also about how, when this search is tainted by greed and ambition, beauty and wonder are killed.

I loved reading this book from Mae's perspective and first seeing the island, her home and the only place she has ever known, through her eyes. There's an innocence and purity that is slowly lost as the reality of what lays behind the power of the Prosper family is divulged.

I recommend this book if you enjoy a well-written book. But mostly, if you are open to books about imperfect characters who are full of layers, some of which you might not like. Yet, they are written thoughtfully and truthfully. There is grief and darkness. But also more... all that culminates in the perfect and bittersweet epilogue!

I have to say it, wish there had been more scenes with Ivo <3

~ READ THIS IF YOU LOVE:
➦ Broody love triangles

➦ Dark family secrets

➦ YA Magical Realism

➦ Coming of Age stories

𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:
This was a decent read for me. There were definitely times when I found myself extremely annoyed with the main character but overall I enjoyed the book. It was an interesting take on magic and the balance and cost of it. There were a few events that I had hoped would play out differently but I was happy with the ending and it left me wanting more.

This is a YA magical realism book. Mae has spent her life longing for magic and to belong on the island the way the Prospers do. As she gets closer to this goal, she begins to realize that most of who the Prospers are is just an illusion and that their lives are not as great as they seem. Mae has to learn to embrace who she is and to stop trying to be what she thinks people want her to be. She begins to see that it will take all of who she really is to find the life she wants and that people-pleasing brings her nothing but regrets and unhappiness.

Bright ruined things by Samantha Cohoe is amazing! I loved the atmosphere and the story. The writing was also very beautiful.

A 1920s retelling of The Tempest, Bright Ruined Things follows Mae. She is a teenager that desperately wants to fit in with the Prospers, the magical family that lives on her island. Always an outsider, she feels ( no, knows) that everything in her life will be better if she could only have magic like the Prosper patriarch. Following the themes of unrequited love, self-esteem and belonging Bright Ruined Things is a fun, magical read that left me waiting for a sequel.

I loved this book! The description drew me in, and I'm glad I gave it a chance. There were twists and turns, many surprises which kept me hanging on. I loved the underlying theme involving magic, something I am not typically drawn to.

I enjoyed the story and the pacing of how it was told. The characters were interesting and their relationships were well crafted. It was hard for me to place the story in the time it was supposed to take place in. There were also holes in character development that were hard to overlook. What happened to Mae’s parents besides that they were dead? I have it 3 stars because it felt like there could have been one more draft written.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me access to the ARC of this novel, a reimagining of Shakespeare's The Tempest. The worldbuilding was stellar in this novel, and the characters are richly realized and dynamic. I don't want to give away the plot too much, but there is magic, intrigue, and romance to be found. If you've read the original play, you will enjoy this very much; even without that background knowledge, it is still a book I will recommend to my high school students who like fantasy.

Thanks to Netgalley gor sending me an e-arc of this amazing book. The release date for this is October 26, 2021. I was drawn to this book by this gorgeous cover and it gave me Great Gatsby vibes. Bright Ruined Things is a YA historical fiction fantasy. The historical fiction genre could be loosely interpreted by the items that are mentioned and a notable figure, Bessie Coleman.

We follow a girl named Mae who lives on this mysterious island that has a ton of magic. The family that "founded" the magic is the Prosper family. They are wealthy snobs who control the magic. Lord Prosper is the one who found the island and colonized the spirits who didn't utilize the magic. One day, Mae notices one of the house spirits laying on the ground leaking and dying. It is a shock to her because the spirits can't die. She gets another shock that she is being given to the eldest Prosper grandson and heir to the Prosper magic and money. If she refuses, she will get kicked off the island because she is not family. She is the former caretaker's daughter who requested that Mae stay on the island until she was of age.

The magic system was my favorite part of the whole story. I was intrigued, anxious, annoyed and heartbroken. Mae was annoying with her thoughts and this story was somewhat predictable because it has the obvious snobby rich family who can't think of anything but themselves. The ending was not what I expected and I kind of hope there will be a sequel or a companion because the last line could pave the way for another story.

This story had the most magical and unique setting. If you like 1920s magical island vibes, this story is for you!

The plot was equally as unique, even if the whole mystery was a bit predictable. Even if you knew the direction the story was going, the sequence of events still surprised me along the way and kept me engaged. The pacing was perfect.

I think what was missing for me was the characters. I know the point was that they were all unlikeable, but i couldn’t get behind any of them. Usually, this hurts my enjoyment a bit.

Overall, 3.5 stars!

This was an exciting retelling of the Tempest. When I first started it, I wasn’t quite sure if I would enjoy it, but at about 30% I was dragged in. I think one of the things that struck me the most was that the plot spans over the course of a day. It was amazing how much could happen and how much the characters could change in so short a time.
The secrets and different personalities of the Prosper family definitely kept things interesting. I almost want to say that they were beautifully flawed (some being less beautiful than others). Overall, I think they were well written. Cohoe gave them a fantastical magical sort of aura while still showing their bad sides. The main character, Mae, began as a naive and innocent protagonist but did mature as the story moved along. While I did value this growth, I found the way she allowed others to walk all over was rather annoying. Also, at times she seemed a bit bland and it was difficult to connect with her.
I wish there was more depth into the 1920’s styles and mannerisms, but I did enjoy the way the Prosper’s house was described.

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Full disclaimer, I have never read the Tempest. However, I do know I like Shakespearean retellings, and adding “Gatsby” vibes sold me. The mystery around the family on the island and their magic was truly this book’s actual selling point, and I enjoyed it a lot. However, as with Cohoe’s previous book, getting to the interesting bits was tedious at times. This book focuses more on who Mae is and who the family thinks Mae is. This would be fine if Mae were an enjoyable character to read, but unfortunately, she wasn’t.

There is a great mystery and we only find out the details of it in the last 75%. This was a slow build-up to a quick wrap-up, and I left wanting more. I genuinely wanted to like this book more than I did.

Full review will be published on September 27th, 2021.

DNF. I couldn’t get invested in the story and the characters. Might refer back to it, but shelving it for now!

I originally requested to read this title simply because the cover drew me in, and I was definitely not disappointed. Upon opening this book I was immediately intrigued with the premise. At the beginning I really felt like I knew where this was going to go and with every chapter and reveal I realized no, I really had no idea, but in the best kind of way! This story really takes you on a rollercoaster ride and wow, I just have to emphasize the ending. It really blew me away, I had to do a dramatic sigh when it was all over. I really liked how the author merged the time period with the fantasy aspects as well.