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.

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.