Well now old sport, I daresay I've found myself a new favourite read.

Firstly, thank you to Wednesday Books for providing me with an audio copy. Imani Jade Powers has such a dreamy voice, and she was the absolute perfect choice to narrate this 1920's inspired fantasy retelling. I'm not sure if I would have enjoyed this less if I'd read it, but I'm so glad I chose to listen because she injected so much light and life into such a fascinating story.

This is a tightly-plotted novel that takes place over a single day, specifically First Night, the anniversary of the time the Prosper family tamed the spirits of the island and learned how to wield magic. I understand that this is a retelling of The Tempest. However, as I've never read that, I cannot tell you how clever or unique a retelling it is. That said, I did find it terribly clever and unique on its own. A family full of secrets and incredible wealth, viewed by someone just on the outside who is desperate to join in, this book was an intriguing mystery and an exploration into power, control, and sacrifice.

While set in the 1920s on an island likely off the English coast, not a lot of attention was given over to detail. Knowing the era it was meant to portray beforehand settled me into the correct imagery, but that wasn't the star of the show. The cast of characters is truly what made this book.

Mae is a young woman stuck in a loop of longing and dread; longing to properly become one of the Prospers and learn the magic kept shrouded in secret, and dread that the Prospers will realize she is now eighteen and they no longer need to let her stay with them. Mae's late father was once the caretaker of the island the Prospers call home, and the family patriarch allowed her to stay out of respect to her father. Mae knows nothing but the island, the Prospers that come and go at the slightest frivolous whim, and the biggest party of the year where the elite descend upon the island for one single night. You can't help but feel sorry for Mae. Her best friend is a Prosper granddaughter who most certainly doesn't feel the same about Mae, and she's in love with another Prosper who barely gives her the time of day. But there is an underlying fierceness and conniving personality that suits Mae well and keeps her as a strong main character I couldn't help but like.

There are a lot of secondary characters, with the entire Prosper family descending upon the island for the exclusive First Night party, but I found them pretty easy to differentiate from each other and really enjoyed the colour they added to the story. For one, they are all terrible snobs, some more so than others. Apolonia, for instance, is a nasty girl who has probably never been told no in her life. Coco is the family daredevil, arriving in a plane she barely knows how to fly. Allistair is a lazy player who thinks he can get anything and everything with a kiss. Miles thinks he's better than all the rest because he believes he can unravel the mysteries around his family. They're all such a zany group of people who are at times terribly selfish and yet you can't tell what it is they want.

I wasn't quite sold on Cohoe's debut. Something seemed to be missing to really bring things home well, and I think she overcame that for me with her sophomore novel. As crushing as the ending was, I was really satisfied with it! I think the right choices were made for each character, highlighting their strengths and flaws, and offering room for redemption and grief. Definitely looking forward to Cohoe's next book!

A loose retelling of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Bright Ruined Things by Samantha Cohoe takes place over the course of one day, following Mae and her role in the Prosper family. I have never read The Tempest so I personally cannot compare the two. What I can say is that I enjoyed Cohoe’s melding of 1920s culture and magic. It made for a compelling read.

Mae herself is an okay character. I didn’t hate her, but I also didn’t love her. She’s an unreliable narrator as a lot of what happens is shown from her POV with her own emotions and feelings skewing the action. As an orphan of a former servant of the family, Mae keeps to herself, hoping the Prosper family will allow her to continue to live in her father’s cottage. But on the eve of her 18th birthday, it’s announced that Mae will marry Ivo, the heir apparent, much to her dismay.

Ivo I liked. He’s a quirky character whom we don’t really get to know in great detail. Mae is attracted to him and also scared of him. He is a magician, fueling the magic that feeds the island and gives the Prosper’s their fortune. Yet he is hiding a lot of secrets, the burden weighing heavy on his shoulders. The heaviest weight of all is what he has done to Mae without her own knowledge.

While I loved Ivo, the setting, and even the concept of the story itself, it was poorly executed. There are large plot holes, which can be written off as a part of Mae’s unreliable narration. But they were distracting to me. I kept thinking I was missing a page or skipped a scene when I didn’t. I also didn’t pick up that the entire book took place in one day. There are parts that truly drag out, making it seem like it is happening over a week instead of 24 hours. There is also a love triangle that is eye roll inducing and implodes as part of the main plot.

Overall, I thought this one was an okay read. I enjoyed the magical realism and 1920s setting. I also enjoyed all of Mae’s and Ivo’s interactions and wouldn’t be opposed to reading more about the Prosper family and their island. Mae’s narration adds to the mystery/thriller element of the book which is one of the reasons I’d say this is a compelling read as you need to find out what happens next. Bright Ruined Things is a Gatsby-esque thrill complete with magic, romance, and fireworks.

Bright Ruined Things is an interesting story about a family that found magic and learned to use it to their advantage and the secrets that they keep. I really enjoyed the start of the story. It caught my attention and drew me in quickly. I like the character of Mae. She is adventurous but also wants to be able to access the island she grew up on and the home she grew up in. By agreeing to a life set out for her, she will be able to have that chance. But this also means forfeiting marrying for love.

As the story continued it started to feel like there were too many plot ideas for it to all have happened in a single day. This really made the book a little less enjoyable. While it’s fiction and fantasy it’s still set against real 24 hour timeline. I was really disappointed by this because I was really enjoying this story until this started to happen.

Overall I enjoyed the idea behind the story and most of the characters. It’s an interesting story for the most part.

This was another anticipated 2021 books--I was sold by the comp titles alone--and it really paid off. So happy to see such strong writing and imagery by a new writer!

Bright Ruined Things keeps you guessing for what comes next and has one of the most magical settings--meaning that magic is so tangible that it informs the setting and the characters and interacts with them. It's really one of those books that are in love with the magic and its secrets, magic is a living and breathing theme that takes you to places.

It's a great family novel from another sense too and the Gatsby vibes are there too. I've seen others who didn't enjoy the ending because it felt like it didn't wrap up everything nicely, but I quite liked it to be honest. I think that not all endings should be about closure and character-endings are always my favourite.

So, 5 stars for this one! Thanks for granting me an ARC!

The plot was very slow moving and character development was very dry. It felt like I had to wait the entire book before I understood what the purpose of the Magic system was.

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Bright Ruined Things

Author: Samantha Cohoe

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 2/5

Diversity: 1 queer side character

Recommended For...: young adult readers, fantasy, mystery, The Tempest retelling… kind of, set in the 1920s

Publication Date: February 15, 2022

Genre: YA Fantasy Mystery

Age Relevance: 15+ (Parental Death, Abelism, Violence, Animal Violence and Death, Parental Abandonment, Sexism, Drug Abuse, Death, Classism, Sexual Content, Coercion, Romance, Homophobia, Outing, Suicide, Suicidal Ideation)

Explanation of Above: There is parental death mentioned and parental abandonment is shown very slightly. There is one scene where an abelist comment is said in regards to mental health. There is one moment where the MC questions about an animal death and how they died, but it’s very brief. There is some sexism in the book, some homophobia and a case of outing, and classism is sprinkled throughout. There is drug abuse mentioned very briefly and, because it’s in historical terms, you wouldn’t know it’s talking about drugs unless you knew the terms. There is death shown in the book. There is some sexual content in regards to talk about sleeping together, but nothing is shown, and there are some characters who try to use coercion/sexual advances as manipulation. There is also some romance scenes with kissing and feelings. There is also some mention of suicide and suicidal ideation in the book by a character. There is also a bit of violence in the book, including fighting, guns mentioned and seen, airplane crash land (non-graphic), fire being set, slaps, and imprisonment.

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Pages: 352

Synopsis: The only life Mae has ever known is on the island, living on the charity of the wealthy Prosper family who control the magic on the island and the spirits who inhabit it. Mae longs for magic of her own and to have a place among the Prosper family, where her best friend, Coco, will see her as an equal, and her crush, Miles, will finally see her. Now that she’s eighteen, Mae knows her time with the Prospers may soon come to an end.

But tonight is First Night, when the Prospers and their high-society friends return to the island to celebrate the night Lord Prosper first harnessed the island’s magic and started producing aether – a magical fuel source that has revolutionized the world. With everyone returning to the island, Mae finally has the chance to go after what she’s always wanted.

When the spirits start inexplicably dying, Mae starts to realize that things aren’t what they seem. And Ivo, the reclusive, mysterious heir to the Prosper magic, may hold all the answers – including a secret about Mae’s past that she doesn’t remember. As Mae and her friends begin to unravel the mysteries of the island, and the Prospers’ magic, Mae starts to question the truth of what her world was built on.

Review: This was a so-so book. The book had an interesting premise with the arranged marriage, set in the 1920s, and I was really intrigued with the spirits and how they worked. I also liked the mystery/fantasy element and how the book was set over the course of one day. The book is also The Tempest inspired, but it’s very slight.

However, I really did not like this book. There’s not a lot of backstory to this book and I was confused throughout the text on what was going on and how we got to where we were. To my *not* surprise, when I was writing this review I discovered that most of the backstory is in the synopsis, which I absolutely hate in books. Books and synopses should stand alone and one shouldn’t depend on the reader having read the other for it to make sense. The beginning of the book was so cluttered and confusing I almost DNFed at 13% and sometimes I wish I did just go ahead and DNF it. There was a bit of flowery language, so maybe that’s what the cause was, but I also felt that the magic was just too unexplained and that things happened but weren’t explained. The book didn’t really explain why the story was set where it was either and there was some sort of weird love quadrilateral thing and then it went to a triangle and then to a regular romance, but it was like the author didn’t know where to go with the book for most of it. I never got a sense of who the main character was as there was no character development beyond “all of these kids are horrible and say horrible homophobic or sexist things or try to do sexual coercion, and their parents are either dead, not there, or addicted to drugs”.

Verdict: Overall, this book was not for me but you might have better luck.

Bright Ruined Things is a new YA standalone full of secrets, forbidden magic, and set in the glitz and glamour of the 1920s. The story follows Mae who lives on an island owned by the Prosper family who take care of her until she is 18 as a promise to her parents who died when she was young. Mae only wishes for magic of her own, and for her crush, Miles, to finally notice her. On First Night, a night of celebration on the island, Lady Vivian requests a visit from Mae and tells her that she was hoping that Mae would a agree to a marriage to the reclusive, Ivo. Amidst the ongoing romantic life of Mae there is also something more sinister going on and it’s up to Mae and her friends to find out what it is and uncover the secrets the Island has.

I really enjoyed the idea of this book, and the execution was wonderful. It was quick read with unique characters and an interesting plot line. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

After loving Cohoe's A Golden Fury in 2020, I was looking forward to getting my hands on Bright Ruined Things and this book did not disappoint. It was a super comfy fantasy YA full of magic and eccentric characters that grew on me despite their despicable behavior toward main character Mae. Mae has been living on this magical island without having powers herself. She has been in love with handsome Miles. Coco is her best friend. She is told that she is to marry Ivo. All three of those characters are Prospers, members of the most powerful family of the island. Will she abide? Or will she rebel? Will she gain magical powers or will always be considered as less that all the Prospers? A really cool character build-up and the ending was just what I wanted, even though I read other reviews who were not satisfied with the way it ended. This was exactly how it was supposed to end: a story of blood magic, family secrets, revenge, coming of age,.. my favorite part is the story line about love: what we think love means when just entering adulthood and what it really means once experience hits us with a massive hammer in the heart.

Thank you so much Wednesday for yet another smashing YA novel and thank you for allowing me to read this e-ARC in exchange of my honest review. My thanks also go out to Net Galley.

Bright Ruined Things (Young Adult Fantasy)
Rating: 3.5⭐

Thank you to Netgalley & Wednesday books for the gifted digital advanced copy- all opinions are my own. Full review on bookstagram to come.

I've seen blurbs that this book is a 1920s YA retelling of The Tempest. I'm not familiar with that classic, so I can't speak to that, but gosh, the plot was fun in this one. This is definitely "approachable fantasy" meaning no notes need to be taken and you can dive right into the new world. That being said, I still would've liked to see a a bit more world building and character development. While the supporting cast was fun, they weren't particular likeable, and Mae, the main character, was pretty naive and mostly without a backbone for much of the book. Because she is so naive, Mae can't put some of the happenings in the island together, so we're told things more than shown them. I think my favorite part was the spirits, and I would've loved more descriptions of the spirit music, which was a really unique idea.

This book reminded me a bit of a book I recently enjoyed - Little Black Bird - another YA fantasy with LGBTQIA rep, with main characters finding themselves and coming of age.

I wanted to love this book - the premise sounded really interesting - but unfortunately it fell a little flat for me. I didn't dislike it or anything, but I was expecting something a little more and it didn't deliver.

Apparently this book is supposed to be a retelling of The Tempest, which I did not realize when I picked it up, but I also have never read The Tempest, so I can't speak at all to how good of a retelling it is. But this story is about a girl name Mae and her learning to fight what she wants while tangled up in the messy business of the wealthy family who owns the island where she lives, and they also control the only source of magic known to the world.

Initially, I was pretty interested in reading more and getting to understand more of what was going on, but about a third of the way in, the pacing started to fall a little flat, and while I still wanted to see where the story was going, I started to struggle a little more with reading. I think part of this was that the entire story (except for the epilogue) took place in one day. Additionally, the characters were pretty flat, and the only ones who had a little depth to them were still not very well developed, in the sense that their actions kind of seemed to be a little all over the place without really any believability to it. The Prosper family in general were all terrible people - not just the ones who obviously were, but even the ones that I think were supposed to be more likeable.

I didn't really have too much of an issue with the world building - there could have been more explanation on the magic, but I did like how the magic was weaved into the story, and I honestly am not really sure when this was supposed to take place (since it is historical fantasy (which I normally dislike but this one I think was ok because there really wasn't much of the actual world mixed in) and I thought it was supposed to take place in the 20s, but I honestly can't tell you based on the reading if that's accurate), but I don't feel like it distracted too much from the story.

Overall, I didn't mind this, and I am glad that I finished it and saw how it all ended, but I wish there were elements that were stronger.

I found it difficult to get a sense of when this book is set, just by reading it. All of the things Mae experiences, living on the island, could just be because she is isolated on a small island, not because it’s the 1920s. Everything in this book happens over the course of a day and night, except the epilogue. It is very slow going, at times, even with the shortened time period.

The lack of a detailed setting dampened my enjoyment of this book, for sure. I was hoping for more details about the clothing, about the very important party that was to happen. I didn’t enjoy the romance options. None of them felt right for Mae, and I felt like they muddled the story of the magic. I would have liked to have more background on everything, potentially by spreading events out over several days or weeks, leading up to the party, instead of just the day of the party itself. Mae’s character growth didn’t feel like true growth because of the shortened timeline. She went from being super meek to being confident and confrontational within hours. Nothing felt high stakes enough, either, which might be tied to my confusion about how the magic functioned in this universe. I liked the epilogue, and ended up liking the side characters more than I did initially, and definitely more than I liked Mae.

3 STARS

It's Mae's last chance to learn magic.

She's not a Prosper, not truly part of the family that made a fortune by controlling the aether only the island can provide. In fact, she only calls the island her home because the Prospers promised her late father they would raise her until she came of age. Any day now, they're bound to realize she's turned eighteen and no longer has a place on the island.

But First Night is coming. A night to celebrate the discovery and control of aether under Lord Prosper, anything could happen. Mae will have her best friend Coco at her side, and maybe this time, her crush Miles will see her, really see her, at long last. That is, of course, if she can figure out why spirits seem to be withering across the island.

With the help of unlikely allies, and with a dangerous secret dangling overhead, Mae must find her place on the island before First Night is over. Otherwise, she stands to lose it all, and maybe still more.


Bright Ruined Things is a reimaging of Shakespeare's The Tempest.

I wish I'd read The Tempest in full rather than just certain scenes before starting, because I suspect it adds quite a bit to the book. The connections I made between the two works were mostly a name here, a concept there, since my familiarity level is so low. A more Shakespeare-savvy reader, though, might spot deeper connections.

That said, I still enjoyed the concept. Mysterious magic, controlled by a single family? One girl, desperate to have a place among the magic using elite because otherwise, she faces a little too mundane to bear? And all that sprinkled with some 1920s aesthetic choices? As far as the set-up goes, it's like candy to me. How was I supposed to resist making an ARC request?

Historical fantasy is my underdog favorite genre. It's so delightful done right, and there's something so captivating about glitz and glamor with a splash of magic!


This book needed a stronger foundation, though.

Like I said, people who've read The Tempest might get more out of Bright Ruined Things than I did. But coming into it with my limited knowledge meant I also left a little underwhelmed. For all the glittery, enticing reasons to read this book, I found the characters to be somewhat two dimensional and uninteresting. Mae, subject as she is to a curious bout of magic that limits her agency, only becomes interesting as she's free to make her own choices. Supporting characters like Ivo, Miles, and Coco, though, remain rather flat.

Worse still, many of the character relationships rely on avoiding communication. This is far and away one of my biggest pet peeves in fiction, because there's so many more interesting ways to generate tension than "he almost tells her the big secret, but instead shuts his mouth and walks away, prolonging the story for another 200 pages."

(I will freely admit the lack of communication is used once in this book to devastating effect. In the least spoilery way possible, let me simply say that Mae learns how one of the supporting characters truly feels about her by eavesdropping, and it's genuinely crushing. Doubly so if you've ever experienced something similar.)

I suppose I just wish overall that the characters had more oomph to them, more facets. Without full background knowledge of The Tempest, I can't tell if I'm missing details that would round them out more fully by virtue of connecting to the source material, or if it's that they're really just that...unengaging to begin with.


This one is a bit of a toss-up in terms of recommendation.

Bright Ruined Things might be amazing for any Shakespeare buffs out there! Provided you like retellings, of course. Like I've said, someone with more familiarity with The Tempest might experience Bright Ruined Things in a more complete way. And, if you're like me and enjoy historical fantasy, it might be worth your time just to experience another way to blend magic into the past!

At the same time, though, if you want a rich, complex story, you aren't going to see much of that until the final burst of pages, and it can be slow going leading up to that point. The finale is a heady rush of fireworks and emotional explosives, but the time it takes to get there can be discouraging.

If you decide to give Bright Ruined Things a go, though, it's out on shelves now! 🎆


CW: violence (including gun violence), suicide, loss of a loved one, drug use, addiction, smoking, sexual harassment


[This review will go live on Hail & Well Read at 12pm EST on 2/25/22.]

Bright Ruined Things is, above all, a mystery, full of intrigue and betrayal. Set, more or less, in the 1920s, this novel skims steampunk but never quite dips into it; there are machines powered by aether - magic produced by spirits - but they are never described clearly, and are, for all intents and purposes, incidental to the story.

Mae Wilson is, not quite a poor relation, but certainly poor, the daughter of Lord Prosper's deceased caretaker, who had been his friend. Like the Prosper family, Mae lives on the never-named island, where the family produces, in some mysterious and exclusive fashion, aether, the raw stuff of magic, which they then sell, thus creating their great wealth and power. Mae, as an orphan of no particular family, spends her life on the island, but always on the outside, looking in, and wishing to be a part of something: the family or the magic; either would be sufficient. But there is something odd going on, something to do with the family and how it produces magic, a secret Lord Prosper wants, and needs, to keep, to maintain his position as the only source of aether. Intrigue abounds as the family - some of whom know the secret and some of whom don't - attempt to manipulate each other for their own benefit.

If you enjoy mystery and intrigue, you will enjoy this novel, as that is the focus of the plot. Secrets abound in the Prosper family, and even those who think they know the truth are, largely, wrong; there are secrets within secrets within yet more secrets. Recommended for high school and adult readers, as the intricacies that make the plot so engaging may be difficult for younger readers.

I am providing this review in return for being given a preview copy of the novel by NetGalley.

This was a really interesting reading experience. I was ready to give up on it really fast because it *seemed* to be setting up a very very typical YA love triangle with a villain-who's-actually-good and a bad-boy-who's-really-bad. I kept reading though, because I felt for Mae, who has spent her whole life on an island sort of on the outside of this very rich family. And it's very well-written, which helped.

And then... everything flipped. And flipped again. I spent most of the book trying to figure out who is actually the good guy. My thoughts were like "Is he the good guy? Is *he* the good guy? *Is* there a good guy? You know what, these are all terrible people, why does Mae want anything to do with them? Oh ho, now Mae is a terrible people, what? Is... is there anyone on this island with even the tiniest redeeming quality?"

I couldn't look away from the scheming and the backstabbing and the betrayals and the lies. It was like the Great Gatsby in that way. They're all rich and terrible but you can't look away.

And even after that, after all the darkness and lies, a whole new level of darkness and lies is reached. It was impressive, actually, that my opinion of these people could sink any lower. There is a tiny hint of redemption for *some* of them at the end, which is good because otherwise I would have come away with a very bitter taste in my mouth and might not have liked this book very much at all. As it is, yeah. You know, I really did enjoy it.

Also. That ending! That is a gutsy place to end a book, especially one that seems to be a standalone. And it's also absolutely the right choice, because I've thought about it way more than I would have if the scene had gone on another few seconds and I think I like it more than I would have otherwise.

I have not read the Tempest, which I know this is a re-imagining of, but I don't think that really impacted my enjoyment of this story. It definitely has Great Gatsby vibes, but again, I don't think you need to be familiar with that story to read it. Just don't write it off early on, because it does a great job of twisting that love triangle trope.

The audiobook performance was excellent. The narrator did a great job giving all the characters believable voices and acting out the story. I read a portion of the story and listened to a portion of it and I definitely enjoyed the listening experience more because it was so well done. It was like a movie playing out in my mind, seamless and totally immersive. I would definitely recommend getting the audio for the best reading experience.

*Thanks to NetGalley, Wednesday Books, and MacMillan Audio for providing an e-arc and audio arc for review.

The family dynamics of Knives Out meets The Great Gatsby if it contained magic and a whole bunch of ghosts.

Bright Ruined Things is a retelling/inspired by Shakespeare’s The Tempest; although I haven’t read The Tempest yet, this book definitely has some Shakespeare vibes going on. Like the play, there’s magic on an island and the whole sequence of events in the novel takes place within twenty-four hours. Mae, our protagonist, has lived her whole life on the island, trying to be in the good graces of the wealthy Prosper family so she won’t be kicked off the island come her eighteenth birthday. Bright Ruined Things details the events of First Night, an annual celebration held on the island to commemorate when the magician Lord Prosper tamed the ghosts of the island and began producing aether, an otherworldly energy alternative that’s made his family fabulously rich. Mae’s always wanted to be like him and study magic, and has had a crush on one of the Prospers, Miles, for years, and this First Night is when she plans to make a move to get what she wants. Only things aren’t necessarily what they seem on the island…

The first thing I have to say about Bright Ruined Things is that the last third of the book is incredible. There’s steady and exciting action, decisions and consequences, development in relationships, and more. For me, the stretch of book from the climax to the end was one of the better climax-endings I’ve read. I couldn’t put the book down because I wanted to know so badly what happened; however, the first two-thirds of the book were not as easy to get through (as I mention later below). Another one of the more interesting, and maybe refreshing, aspects of the book is the fact that the majority of the characters are unlikeable. It’s not often that there’s a cast of characters that are pretty unlikeable and yet still make a book fun to read.

However, there were a few things that really pulled me down from loving this book to thinking it was just okay. While I already mentioned that the characters were unlikeable, I didn’t mind it so much except for the protagonist— there are multiple times where it feels like her only purpose is to narrate the interesting things that other characters are doing and saying, and it was hard to relate to a character that felt so lacking and one-dimensional for a good portion of the book. This book also lacked the atmosphere of the 1920s that I was promised— there was nothing except for someone wearing a dress occasionally that cemented the setting in the 1920s, and if I didn’t know from the cover and description that it was meant to be set in the 1920s, I never would have known. The last thing that really made this book feel a little off-kilter to me was the variance of pacing; there were times when everything happened at once and there were times when one small, normal event took several chapters to get through. I found it hard to focus on reading until the last third of the book, where this book really took off. It made me wish that there had been some more consistent pacing to interest me from the beginning and throughout.

i was really excited about this but found it boring and too focused on boys/relationship so i quickly lost interest.

The Great Gatsby but make it much more magical and the characters more interesting (sorry, not sorry) in this Shakespeare-inspired novel!

**Possibly a few trigger warnings to be observed before reading Bright Ruined Things, but nothing that is seemingly overexplicit.

Mae was orphaned when she was younger, but has been allowed to remain island belonging to the Prosper family thanks to the promise made between her father and Lord Prosper. But now that she is eighteen, Mae knows her time on the island is coming to an end. So when presented with an opportunity to stay by marrying Ivo, the Prosper reclusive heir, she cannot bring herself to refuse. However on the day of First Night, when the Prosper family and their friends gather to celebrate the island's magic and source of their wealth, the spirits of the island begin mysteriously dying and Mae is certain that Ivo is behind these deaths and so much more.

About 50% through and I'm truly enjoying this reimagining of Shakespeare's The Tempest! This is definitely a fun read and has a killer Roaring 20's and Great Gatsby vibe. Cannot wait to finish and see exactly how Cohoe decides to let it play out! Full review will be uploaded to Goodreads upon completion.

***Thank you to NetGalley for providing this eARC for review!

In this YA fantasy, Samantha Cohoe mixes magic and an atmospheric historical setting into a fantastically immersive world. Set over the course of a day, a girl realizes her life on a glittering, magical island isn’t what it seems in a 1920s-set fantasy, inspired by The Tempest. The only life Mae Wilson has ever known is on the island where her father, a loyal servant of Lord Prosper, passed away 6 years ago. Mae has been living on the charity of the wealthy Prosper family who control the magic on the island and the spirits who inhabit it as well as the incredibly valuable aether.

She's never been off the island. She is neither family or a servant, she’s merely a charity case that can live on the island until she is 18. Now that she's turning 18, she's terrified that she won't be allowed to stay. This is an island where spirits of all kind roam freely, and one in particular, Aeris, loves to taunt and tease Mousy Mae. The spirits are also used as servants in a variety of ways. Mae wants nothing more than to learn magic with Miles, the unofficial Prosper that she’s been in-love with since childhood.

Mae longs to have a place among the Prosper family, where her best friend, Coco, will see her as an equal. To get to that point, she may have to marry the mysterious Ivo. Mae and Ivo were once close friends, but a secret was exposed by mousy Mae, and he's been distant and reclusive ever since. But tonight is First Night, when the Prospers and their high-society friends return to the island to celebrate the night Lord Prosper first harnessed the island’s magic and started producing aether – a magical fuel source that has revolutionized the world. With everyone returning to the island, Mae finally has the chance to go after what she’s always wanted.

When the spirits start inexplicably dying, Mae starts to realize that things aren’t what they seem. And Ivo, the reclusive, mysterious heir to the Prosper magic, may hold all the answers. As Mae begins to unravel the mysteries of the island, and the Prospers’ magic, Mae starts to question the truth of what her world was built on. Mae can be a frustrating character because she's so meek and fearful in how she interacts with people, even if inside she wants to be different.

Thankfully, Mae finds a backbone. The book takes place almost entirely in a single day, with the exception of the epilogue which takes place off island. I have opinions about certain characters. I felt so badly for Ivo. I thought that he got a really bad deal. I ended up hating both Miles and Coco since they both showed their true colors when it came to how they treated Mae. I would have liked to find out who May meets on the final page. I have my guesses, by I hate taking guesses as to what happens next.

I absolutely devoured this book. It is a refreshing fantasy concept, well-paced and plotted. The Prosper family lives on an island of spirits, previously wild and untamed, until the Patriarch of the family harnessed the island's potential to produce aether and provide its power to the mainland and other neighboring islands. Grandfather Prosper possesses magic that allows him to control the weather around the island, to control the storms and the tides, and to keep the spirits of the island in harmony. Magical teaching is only passed down selectively to the males in the Prosper family. As the family black sheep, Mae lives on the outskirts both physically and metaphorically, dependent on the good will of the family to continue providing for her meager existence now that she is of age. Her only dream has been to learn magic.
The family holds a large party each year for First Night to commemorate the birth of aether power. This year, for Mae, First Night is more of deadline than a party. Family secrets are coming unraveled in the days leading up to First Night, and Mae fears for the safety of her family if she can't solve the mystery before the end of the festivities.
My only qualm is that the book blurb touts this as a 1920s story, but there is little detail (and MANY missed opportunities) in the story to place the reader squarely in that timeline. Descriptions of clothing are kept mostly to color, no style descriptions of typical 20's fashion, there is mention of one of the Prosper grandchildren receiving a gramophone and bobbing her hair, and another papering her room with silent film memorabilia, but that is the extent of any detail to anchor the story anywhere but an anonymous fantasy world lacking modern technology. There's a lot of focus on the "favored" granddaughters having beautiful dresses and accessories, and on the fantastic parties thrown by the family for first night. It just killed me a little that music and fashion are the hallmarks of the 1920s, and absolutely no detail was given to support the reported time period. I still loved the story though!
Content-wise, Mae is naive to the ways of the world. There is some discussion about other characters being womanizers or "sluts" and multiple male characters indicate willingness to engage in affairs with Mae, but there is no sexual content beyond kissing and a character being felt up. Historical fiction fans will find this lacking the detail they crave, however, lovers of fantasy, family drama, and coming of age stories will find much to appreciate.

This was a clever and enjoyable read. I didn't like it because of my love of the characters. No, they were mostly a nasty and ungrateful group. The main character, Mae was finally redeemed in my eyes by the end of the book but I didn't even like her through most of it. However, I thought the book itself was clever, I liked the setting. A magical island in the 1920's. There's a mystery surrounding the magic . There are mysterious men who are hiding their magic and not everyone is trained in the ways of magic. It appears that they are being selfish with it and keeping it to themselves, but maybe there's more to it.

The book started a little slowly, but then it took off and I couldn't read fast enough. I thought it was a compelling and creative read. I liked seeing Mae's character grow and mature due to life's events.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to read and review it and the opinions contained within are my own.