I really do love reading "modern day" versions of Shakespeare's work which is always a big draw-in for me when starting off with Bright Ruined Things. While the characters didn't always feel fully fleshed out—some of the Prosper family members felt more like caricatures, and Mae’s sheltered perspective occasionally frustrated me—I appreciated the twists and the exploration of morality within the story. The romance element was less impactful for me, but the overarching drama and revelations more than made up for it.

I know nothing about The Tempest so I admittedly have no idea how Bright Ruined Things holds up to the original as a reimagining but I do know that this wasn't for me. The premise (and to be honest, the cover too) was what drew me to this book but the story just wasn't engaging enough for me (the pacing was also very slow and doesn't really pick up as it reached the climax... was there a climax?). This book was set in the 1920s but it didn't feel like it was, people were talking in modern slang and everything felt almost contemporary so it was also hard for me to truly immerse myself in the environment Cohoe was trying to set up. Unlike Mae, who spent majority of the book being indecisive and having no solid opinions of her own, I can decisively say that this book just was not for me.

In BRIGHT RUINED THINGS, Samantha Cohoe has taken Shakespeare's The Tempest, set it in the 1920's and mixed in some of the best night time soap opera plots. If you have read The Tempest, this story is a fun read. If not, you may get a little lost in sections but overall, the characters manage to bring down the ruling class along with their wealth and sense of privilege. The magic flows throughout the story as the strong become weak and lose their hold on the lives of everyone they considered beneath them. This is an excellent book to introduce "teen" readers to Shakespeare.

A twist on Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Bright Ruined Things takes one night and turns into a fight for survival against magic and schemes.

I didn’t know what to expect when I started Bright Ruined Things, but I was impressed by the end.

Storytelling

Sometimes, when people hear, “Oh, it’s a spin/retelling of Shakespeare,” they want nothing to do with the book. I’ve learned that saying that isn’t exactly a huge selling point. That’s partly because we imagine Shakespeare as stuffy literature and associate it with schoolwork.

So, it’s understandable.

It’s funny; for me, it’s the opposite. The Tempest was the first work of Shakespeare I read back in 7th grade. My mom bought me one of those books, classics for kids, and this was the story I gravitated towards.

It has been a while since I read Shakespearean The Tempest, so I read the sparks notes (more like skimmed) for a quick refresher.

I’m going to be honest, I think that’s what everyone should do. It made me love Bright Ruined Things even more because Cohoe did a fantastic job of taking the elements of The Tempest and spinning out her unique story.

We follow Mae, who wants nothing more than to be magic, to be able to hold the magic of the island that has been her home, and to carve out a place with the Prosper family.

But she soon discovers nothing is as it seems. Taking place in a single day, Mae discovers so much more than she bargained for, especially with spirits suddenly dying.

The story keeps the reader guessing, but we get to see Mae grow more than that. She goes from a meek “mouse,” as they call her, always eager to please, to a woman who stands up, fights, and puts people in their places.

I loved that about her, how her story unfolded, how she grew into herself and literally flipped the islands on its head. I love how she puts people in their places and finally stands up for herself! It was refreshing, and it made me grin just reading it.

Final Thoughts
Bright Ruined Things starts off slow, making Mae a bit of a stiff character. However, the plot develops in a way that keeps the reader on their toes and keeps them guessing while allowing for some fantastic character growth.

So I have a few thoughts on this book, and I will say that I haven’t read the Temptest and so I have no idea how this retelling compares to that. There were a few things I loved and I didn’t love, along with things were a bit meh for me as well and some things didn’t help the story. I will also mention that I read a previous book by Cohoe, and I liked that one a lot and I do recommend checking her books out, but this one just didn’t vibe with me so I didn’t enjoy it as much. So overall, I felt like this was a let down for me. I liked her other book, I think it’s called Golden Fury or something but I loved that book! So I highly recommend checking that out, but this one just didn’t do it for me.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Recieved Free copy in exchange for an honest review.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

DNF @ 8%

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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