Thanks to the magic and generosity of Netgalley and Wednesday Books in gifting me an ARC I’m able to time travel and give you a sneak peek of an upcoming release hitting shelves In February of 2022. Bright Ruined Things is an inventive YA fantasy that takes inspiration from Shakespeare’s Tempest to craft a magical world where the Prosper family controls aether, a magical fuel source, in 1920s England.

Our heroine, Mae, was raised under the charity of the Prospers on their island, populated by spirits under control of Lord Prosper, the family patriarch. Mae is desperate to harness magic and prove herself to the elegantly cruel yet alluring Prosper family, but when spirits start turning up dead she’s forced to confront the dark underbelly of her beloved island and the secrets of her own past.

You say classic retelling and I am 100% in. Adding a 20s setting was the cherry on top of this story pitch and I applaud the author for creating such a fun mashup. This is not a direct retelling of Shakespeare but plays with its themes and characters within a classic YA format. Alas, I wish the story had been a bit more inventive as I predicted 99% of the plot after only a few chapters. It also takes quite a while to get going and grasp Mae’s situation or tell the Prosper family members apart.

While perhaps failing its ultimate potential, I did enjoy this book. It has intriguing magic, great characters, and a rich setting. It’s imperfect but good fun for my fellow fantasy fans. Keep your eye out for its release in 2022!

I am not familiar with Shakespeare's The Tempest so I couldn't relate to this novel being a retelling of that previous story. However, as a standalone novel, I enjoyed this book. It wasn't too heavy, the characters were interesting and it held my attention enough that I finished it in one day. It took me out of my daily routine and I was immersed in it's world. The ending was spot on.

I've never read Shakespeare's ‘The Tempest,’ so I can't comment on how this stands as a reimagining. But as a standalone fantasy novel, this is pretty good.

To start, the title is perfect. This story starts off bright with mysterious islands filled with magic and spirits, a historic family, and a glamorous night no one will forget. But then, as the night goes on, things begin to fall to ruin. The wonderful magic has its secrets exposed and the close-knit family shows its scars. The world-building isn't the strongest and the characters aren't the deepest, but everything happening is intriguing enough that I could overlook these things.

I'm also a little on the fence about the ending. As I said, and as the title implies, everything is ruined. Its suits the tone and overall vibe of the story, but I can't help but wonder, ‘well, what was the point of everything, then?’ I suppose one could argue character growth, but the plot still feels a bit unfulfilling.

But I still enjoyed the Gatsby-esque family, world, and magic. A fine sophomore novel for SC.

YA historic fantasy novel (one of my favorite genres!) 1920's Era, with a great magic system. Main character lives with a rich family as a foster child situation, so there are some trigger Warnings to be aware of. All together a fun read!

Bright Ruined Things is a YA retelling of Shakespeare's The Tempest and had such an incredible premise that I was excited when I got it and dove into it.

The story premise is let down by weak characters and a plot that is easy to see coming.

Our main character, Mae is a weak willed, gullible girl is who is living with and off the generosity of the Prosper family. She knows that her way of life, for what it is, is at risk when the story starts because she's come of age.

Lord Prosper promised her father Mae would be taken care of until she came of age and now she's hoping no one notices she has since they don't take much notice of her as it is.

The Prospers' wealth comes from aether. Magic only exists in the archipelago where the family lives and only the Prospers seem to be able to really control it. And only the males of the family.

And every member of the family is coming for First Night.

Instead of human servants, there are spirits and they're all bound. They don't speak and just do as they're told. Then Mae sees a spirit that looks like it's dead which is impossible.

Spirits can't die.

From there we're thrown into the story when Mae's best friend Coco shows up along with Miles, the boy she loves and one of Coco's cousins.

This story was not very strong. None of the characters really stood out and our main character is so weak and gullible, I didn't root for her. Why when she wouldn't live up to it?

And she knows she's weak too. It was honestly infuriating.

The romance was weak and felt rushed. Honestly the entire story felt weak and I was uninterested the entire time. As the story went on my enjoyment waned. At the end, I simply didn't care any longer.

No to mention, the writing, while enjoyable, didn't always hold my interest.

This book gets two (2) stars from me. I wanted more and there's potential so I'm not writing the author off yet.

More diversity however, would be nice. Just a thought.

I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really didn't like this book. The characters felt under-developed and the plot felt too simple. The main character was also super annoying.

This book started off with promise. A loose retelling of The Tempest with a unique setting and interesting characters. The plot; however, quickly turned into a immature mystery. The main character was super gullible and unlikeable, and the twist was obvious.

i don't know what to think of the book really. the concept is cool, i liked the pacing, the mysterious vibes were nice to read about but i really wished there was more the island setting which sounded beautiful. the characters fell super flat for me which was why i couldn't be as invested in the plot as much as i wanted to. i didn't care about them at all(though ivo intrigued me) and they were lowkey annoying. didn't care about the romance either. so, no thoughts head empty, an ambitious concept but could've been better.e even though I guessed some of the plot points.

This didn't draw me in unfortunately. The writing was a little too dramatic too fast and overall it just felt like it was try to her without the substance to back it up. But its possible the writing just didn't work for me, isn't my style. Which is very sad because the premise/synopsis sounds amazing. Maybe it just needs to go through more editing and I should check out the finished version?

I keep trying to love this author's writing...and I just don't. I always love the premise, it sounds so perfect and exciting! And then the writing moves too quickly, or too slowly, or the writing is just too dramatic, without that addictive quality. Maybe the audiobook would be better for me, but I just don't jive with this author's prose, and if I don't like the prose, how am I supposed to like the story? This didn't work for me unfortunately.

I had quite high expectations for this book, the premise sounded amazing but unfortunately it fell a bit flat for me.

There were definitely some parts I liked, I think the world building was very well executed and I liked how the story was told during one day. Unfortunately, I just didn’t like the characters and therefore struggled to connect with any of them. It’s so hard to get the most out of a book when that connection isn’t there and you just really don’t care what happens to any of the characters.

Overall just an okay read for me. I would read more from this author though.

I’m giving this one 2.5 stars, straight down the middle.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Bright Ruined Things is a retake of Shakespeare's play The Tempest, but set in the 1920's. The Prosper family has everything they could want with all the wealth, glitz and glamor. Mae is the steward's daughter and she desparately wants to be a part of the wealth and magic they possess. It turns out that not everything is as innocent as it seems. I was interested in wanting to see what happened next in the story. The world building and story telling in this novel are absolutely amazing.

Who wouldn’t want to live in a world of magic?
Mae has lived on this magical island and has never left! She is living on the outskirts of the Prosper Family, never really knowing her place. She longs to have magic of her own and has
plans to make that dream a reality with the help of her crush Miles.
All of that changes when Mae begins to see the reality of how the magic is conjured. When the spirits of the island start dying, she realizes that things aren’t always what they seem. Underneath all the enchantment and wonderment lies something sinister and will change the course of so many lives!
A magical story with friendship, love and becoming an individual. Very enjoyable!
Thank you netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

A fascinating reimagining of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, we watch the protagonist make hard choices as she comes into her own.
Once started, you won’t be able to put it down. Deliciously slow to unfold, Cohoe doles out just enough pieces of the puzzle to keep you guessing.

Bright Ruined Things, Samantha Cohoe's second book, is a sparkling, original take on The Tempest, filled with magic and mystery. I love that Bright Ruined Things, unlike so many fantasy novels, was not overburdened with heavy-handed exposition or tediously described details of a magic system, etc., in the name of worldbuilding. Its world comes into being so organically, through the eyes of a protagonist who has been enmeshed in it her whole life, someone for whom the intricacies of wealth and social class distinction are far more alien than the fact that there’s ceaseless spirit music always audible on her island.

Bright Ruined Things is a fast-paced, exciting read, with intriguing characters and an absorbing plot, and one I'm sure many readers will adore!

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the advance review copy.

I will give Samantha Cohoe this: she comes up with wonderful concepts for her books. This is the second time that I've been intrigued by the premise of one of her books—and the second time I've found the story somewhat lacking.

While the writing style is most suited for younger YA audiences, the trade off is that the characters come off underdeveloped. All interactions felt very surface level, so I found myself not truly invested in their objectives. Mae goes through a journey of being meek and naive and intentionally ignorant to the problems around her to taking control of her life herself, but I found it too little too late. All of the Prosper family members are incorrigible in their own rights, which meant I did not find myself truly rooting for anyone.

I also felt this story would have done better without any kind of romantic storyline. The romance subplot sways between two characters: Miles, Mae's forever crush who doesn't know she's alive despite being allegedly friends at one point, and Ivo, her new fiance arranged by the family. Neither of these are good. Miles is clearly using Mae and does not care, so it's frustrating to read her being unable to read the obvious signs and ignoring them entirely.

Ivo, however, is an interesting character. He is probably the only character with actual good intentions and put at a true crossroads of what to do with what he knows. My quibble, however, is that he is posed as a love interest... that's seven years older than Mae. I know the author strives for keeping with historical elements in her work, but this does not translate well to a current audience. Given the teen audience, and likely younger teen audience that would click with her writing style, I don't find it okay to prop up a better love interest that's so much older than the main character, who JUST turned 18. Historically accurate? Yes. But morally acceptable? Not in the present day, where this results in grooming—especially when Ivo is inferred to have watched and liked Mae for far longer.

As for pacing, it fluctuated. The whole of the story is essentially one day, on First Night. I found the pacing made this feel like the longest day ever, but the later half to third of the book flew by for me because interesting things were really kicking in.

Overall, I did find this to be an improvement of sorts to Cohoe's debut, but despite the interesting concept and plot, the execution fell a bit short for me. In a period where YA authors are exercising their word economy and pacing while still weaving elaborate and deft worlds, I find that Cohoe has a ways to go. Once she does though, I'll be quite excited, as conceptually her works are very interesting. I wish her the best moving forward in her career!

Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an advanced copy for review!

A magical island. A storm that strands a ship's crew. A sorcerer who controls the magic. This YA fantasy novel is based thinly on Shakespeare's play The Tempest -- mostly just with names and a few setting and plot elements.

A mix of magic and drama, the story unfolds as Mae is turning 18. She's an orphan, but her father before his death served the Prospero family. Mae longs to belong and to find her place in the world, but.....it's complicated. It's like a teenage soap opera set on a fantastical, magic island. The drama did get a bit overpowering at times, but overall I enjoyed this book.

The intended audience for this book is definitely YA. It was an enjoyable read for me as well....just a bit heavy on the drama at times.

This is the first book I've read by this author. I look forward to more! The coverart is awesome! Very attractive book!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from St Martin's Press. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of Bright Ruined Things in exchange for an honest review!

I had such high expectations for this book, but it came up a bit short. There were things I both liked and disliked which overall left me with an okay feeling after reading this. I think the world building was extremely well done. I absolutely loved the atmosphere. It had such a magical feel to it, which I really enjoyed. I loved the concept of this magical island and the spirits that lived on it. I also did enjoy how the story was told throughout one day. Sometimes books told like this can seem long, without there really having a break in between key moments, but I think it worked well in this book.

Unfortunately, one aspect of the book that I disliked were the characters. I struggled to connect with any of them. There were times where I liked Mae, the protagonist, but I was often annoyed with her. She lets the Prosper family walk all over her, without defending herself. While I understand her character has never had a chance to leave the island and make a life for herself, I think she should have still been able to stand up for herself. We see her start to grow and change as a person, but this doesn't happen until late in the book.

The romance didn't work for me either. I didn't find myself rooting for Miles and Mae to end up together. He never really gave her the time of day, yet she still wanted to do whatever she could to get him to notice her. He used her to get the information he needed, knowing exactly how she felt about him. I was not a fan of Miles' character at all.

I wish there would have been a bigger focus on Ivo and Mae's friendship/relationship. Ivo was pretty much the only character that I liked. Out of all of the characters to die, I wouldn't have chosen him to be the one, regardless of him being given a hero's death.

While it was not one of my favourites that I've read this year, I did enjoy certain aspects of this book and overall, I did enjoy it.

This is a retelling of Shakespeare's The Tempest (which I have not read), set in the 1920s. There's magic and family drama and it's a lot of fun to read. It dragged for me a little bit in the middle, but once I got over that hump I finished the rest in one setting.
I found this to be enjoyable and would recommend it to others.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press / Wednesday Books for the ARC!

A reimagining of Shakespeare’s Tempest set in the 20s? Color me intrigued! I love The Tempest, so first let me start off with saying, the story has similarities in that the protagonist is the daughter of a servant who works for the sorcerer Prospero’s family (rather than her being his daughter named Miranda) she is named Mae. There are spirit servants, and of course there is Ariel ( but named Aeris( in the book. The original play centers around an island in which there is a dangerous game of power and revenge going on and this story is set on an island too and there are servants who are reluctant spirits, but thats where the similarities ends (which is too bad because that was the main selling point for me). Mae is the orphaned daughter of servants and essentially grows up with Prospero’s children (she has a massive obsessive crush on Prospero’s bastard son Miles, despite barely even interacting with him and him giving her the barest lukewarm signals, dude treats her like shes a visitor). The story is very soap opera like and nobody is likable, especially our protagonist. The only person I could stand was Ivo and even he wasn’t the best. Everyone in this family is self centered, power hungry, and just obnoxious. Coco is suppose to be Mae’s best friend but doesn’t view Mae as such, Miles her supposed crush is a sullen dude who is only suddenly interested in her in order to use her agains Ivo who is the heir to the Prosper family, and Ivo is just dealing with a lot and trying to protect Mae (he is her ex best friend who has a crush on her and they become engaged ) despite Mae being soooo in love with Miles she still goes through with getting engaged to Miles. Mae wants to learn magic and be accepted into the Prosper family, despite them treating her poorly. She literally lets everyone walk over her and I was just happy to have made it to the end. She’s naive and impulsive, but I guess that can be forgiven due to the fact that she’s 18 and lives a super sheltered life on an island. Sadly this book did not meet my expectations but it did wrap up well with rational conclusions for each character’s story. I did also enjoy Sebastian and was happy with the ending he got because yes, he deserves better. Ivo was a nice character but I just couldn’t get over the fact that he is 7 years older than Mae and has had a large crush on her and acts like an idiot sometimes but hes honestly not that bad compared to the rest of the Prosper clan. Overall, it’s an okay read but it just didn’t work for me. Maybe it’ll work out better for you!

*Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for sending me an arc in exchange for a honest review*