Several years ago, I read the first version of <i>Ruined</i> as part of a Fresh Romance anthology and immediately, was hooked. However, this version is a little bit different from the original and seems to have taken some inspiration from Bridgerton as far as the ensemble cast and other added elements. It was an enjoyable read, but wish it had focused more on the romance and angst between Catherine and Andrew. It also seemed like there was a lot going on for a title with only one planned volume.

A quick, fun read!

I've never read a historical romance in graphic novel form and I think the story was great in this format!

I don't think the story itself (a "ruined" woman in Regency London marrying for convenience to a man with house/home but desperately in need of her dowry because his predecessor squandered/stole money) was necessarily that unique, but I found the story itself compulsively readable.

It was a little steamy, a lot sweet, and if I'm reading it correctly I think there's another story to be told in our hero's younger sister, maybe.

I will say if I had a single criticism it's that the art had a couple of characters look REALLY similarly and it was hard to tell them apart.

I also loved the LGBT+ relationship - I've definitely NEVER seen that in a historical romance.

I want more of this. I need more of this. I was a little out off by the art at first (they seemed like children but that was on me) the art and story became so charming and intriguing that I read it in one go. I need more of this and less P&P remakes

A historical romance as a graphic novel? You know I pounced on it. I adore graphic novels and this is probably what I’ve been missing in my life.

Sure, the art wasn’t a favorite and I would have loved for the secondary storylines to have had their own book (maybe they will and this is just the start?). And yes, it’s harder to fall in love with characters when you have less time to get to know them, but for me, this book was a treat.

I can’t say “if you like Netflix’s Bridgerton, you’ll like this one”, because I haven’t seen the series. But if you like historical romances where not everyone is white and straight and the ton isn’t posh bastards, you might like this one. It feels modern and classic all at once, with its marriage of convenience and falling in love with your own spouse but also mutual respect and older and younger women who can be friends (amongst other things).

/ Denise

3.5 stars

This is a beautiful graphic novel, based in the Regency-era.

The graphics so perfectly portray the different times and the language.

The story itself is beautiful following an arranged marriage of two that have ‘hindered’ themselves for marriage prior. As the two have an understanding and are there for each other a deeper connection forms, though neither are willinng to accept.

I did find Catherines actions to be quite selfish in a sense, as she cant even out right admit she loves Andrew. It takes men a little longer to realize their feelings sometimes.

Special thanks to Netgalley and First Second Books for providing me an advanced readers copy of this novel.

This was an enjoyable read but I don't think any part of the story was fully developed. Obviously, this is a graphic novel and can only be so long, but I felt very unsatisfied with so many aspects of this book. Most importantly, the relationship did not have what felt like a natural progression in any way. They started out by walking down the aisle without knowing a single thing about each other (that's fine - this is an arranged marriage anyway) but as soon as they get home the MMC could not care less about her (insert stereotypical historical romance trope where he is closed off and only ever works in his office and is only married out of necessity). They establish very quickly that they do not need to have an intimate relationship and as soon as he takes care of business matters he will move into a different residence. A little bit later, they decide that they should have an intimate relationship because why not ig, but the FMC wants to feel loved and the MMC is incapable of loving her. This is eventually what causes their third act break up, but it happened completely out of the blue, with none of her actions leading up to this matching her behavior. She leaves, he's depressed and *oh my god!* he realizes he actually does love her. He sends her a flower and she comes home and they live happily ever after. None of this made any sense to me. I feel like they shouldn't have had such a cold relationship where one party was completely averse to the idea of love, and then within a very short period of time he realizes he's in love with her. This was my main issue. I have other smaller issues with side plots that didn't feel necessary or fully developed. Firstly, I am always excited to see sapphic characters, but the sapphic relationship that developed between the FMC's sister (I think? maybe she was her friend I'm not sure) and her friend was not relevant to the plot and didn't flow with the story. If the book was longer there might have have been time to explore that plot line but I think it would've been better as hints of a romance that led to a companion graphic novel about those two. Next, the MMC's sister is agoraphobic, and as someone who has experienced varying degrees of agoraphobia for my entire life I didn't think this plot line was well developed either. Also, apparently the MMC's entire family (except for his sister and aunt) are dead and this is just another plot line that was not explained or developed at all. The MMC's older brother put them in severe debt and is only talked about in the past tense but I'm almost entirely certain he's not dead, so where is he? Now, focusing on the FMC's life, the entire plot of this book is that she was caught in a compromising position with a man and lost her virtue so she was shunned from society and only married this guy because it was her only option left. You'd think that since the title of this book is literally "Ruined" they would go a little bit more in depth about what she faced from society and how it affected her life, but they literally mention it like four times. Also, going a little bit off track, the FMC's tryst with this guy makes no sense. She knew he was engaged (so girlie is a homewrecker) and then said that she was the one who initiated their hookup? Maybe she was manipulated by that guy so her perspective isn't reliable, but why would an unmarried regency era lady 1.) know enough to initiate a hookup with this guy and 2.) think this was anything but the worst idea possible? It just didn't make sense. Overall, I think this book was enjoyable enough but I wouldn't recommend it.

Thank you to the author and Net galley for early access to this graphic novel in exchange for my honest review !!
I had a fun time with Ruined, a Bridgeton style graphic novel , where our two main characters are placed into an arranged marriage after out female loses her virtue to one she believed loved her and our male faces every sort of family tragedy you could think of. I expected this story to be a bit deeper in its writings and messages however if you are just looking for a short fun time this would eb a great read to pick up!

What a lovely discovery! Thank you Net Galley for the ARC, I loved it!

As a fan of Jane Austen and historical romances I had a great time with this graphic novel.

I loved:
- the art style and color palette. I admit I have a weakness for black hair hero like Andrew so I swooned more than once ^^
- the main love story that develops slowly between husband and wife
- the secondary love stories and characters
- the fact that we get some POC and queer rep

A romance that I recommend if you love to get lost in graphic novel. I’ll probably get it as gift for my friend when it comes out!

I didn't know that this is an illustrated graphic novel. The romance was typical but I liked the main characters Andrew & Catherine. Then the side charcters were given so much focus and I lost interest. The beginning was very confusing and not much context was given on how Andrew & Catherine decided to marry each other and their past was just brushed off. Overall this was nothing extraordinary. The book was short, cliche and predictable.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review

A little bit of drama, a little bit of romance and set in the Regency Era, Catherine Bensen finds herself in a marriage of convenience with Andrew Davener. Perfect for fans of Bridgerton or period romances!

The cover is absolutely beautiful and that is definitely what drew me in. I really enjoyed the dynamic between the two main characters, plus the great representation in the side characters (who we got to spend a decent amount of time with too).

I would love a full length novel of this story, as I feel like it was a long story to tell in the constraints of the genre.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

There’s concepts in this book I enjoy, like a husband and wife falling in love during a marriage of convenience, but I don’t feel like I knew these characters enough to root for or believe in their love. There were some side plots/side characters that I thought were interesting, but they were so off to the side that their moments felt random and out of the blue, to be honest. I would have loved to read more about Gemma’s character because she had potential to be compelling. I wasn’t a fan of the art style either, unfortunately, so not a lot in this book was for me.

This was a good graphic novel for fans of Bridgerton. There’s a little bit of drama and a little bit of romance. I did find the story to not be fully actualized. This is partly to do with the format; there’s a lot of focus on side characters and the main love story suffers because of it.

Overall, I loved the art and fashions in the book and found it to be a fun quick read!

Ruined by Sarah Vaughn is a regency romance graphic novel about a "ruined" woman of means named Catherine Benson who finds herself in a marriage of convenience with Andrew Davener.

I was immediately drawn to the cover on this one, the close up of the two lovers, the premise, as well as that tagline on the cover: "Could falling in love with her husband tear her marriage apart?"

Overall, I really enjoyed this one and read it in one or two sittings. I was pleasantly surprised by the mildly mature content, thrilled by the LGBTQ+ representation, as well as the diverse cast of characters, but overall wanted a little more from the main story.

Things I loved:
-Catherine/Andrew. I found them to both be sympathetic characters that reminded me a little bit of Anne/Captain Wentworth in Persuasion in their understanding of their situations and their hesitation to move the needle in one direction or the other to keep from upsetting the balance of things. I wish there had been a bit more of that level of pining though (more on that later).
-I loved the idea of a marriage of convenience between a practical man trying hard to save what others before had squandered. It delivered on the premise as well as allowing him to keep himself at a distance to Catherine romantically.
-I thought everything moved nicely, the panels were used well in flashback to capture what happened to Catherine to help us understand her mental state and the unfortunate reason she was forced into the marriage.
-I enjoyed the artwork, although at times Catherine and her sister were indistinguishable.
-The love story was sweet, and I enjoyed that it grew from their mutual respect for each other, but amped up with their physical passion. It was fun and an unexpected turn that did feel more in the vein of one of the comps (Bridgeton) that was listed.
-Side characters! For the size of the story, it gave me just enough of them to appreciate their happiness and cheer for them! I love that some of them took baby steps and others big leaps.

Okay, things I wanted more of:
-I think it's possible that most of this will come down to keeping this to an appropriate length for the genre, but overall, although I liked the small time jump once they are married, I wish their had been a bit more conflict here to show where the two came to a better understanding, because in general, there really was no conflict at all, other than Andrew's disinterest in "romance", and even that felt a bit forced and condensed too late in the story.
-It doesn't deliver on the tagline. Okay, hear me out. It does, but it doesn't due to the nature of it not being heightened quite enough. And maybe I'm being too hard on this story, but it goes right up to that place in many ways, so I just wanted to see more of the drama of their hesitation and decisions. I wanted more of them processing those thoughts, but I felt that this time was given to other side characters that I was less invested in than the main story. So. Again. It may have been the length that kept that from happening, but I wanted way more pining.
-It felt like it relied on the introduction of the "grumpy/sunshine" device and then fell flat on its delivery, which part of me was fine with since I feel like that's saturated the market, without any real understanding of the delivery of that trope. Catherine's sister is wrong about Andrew being stern and scowling alone, but then he's still portrayed this way later when they meet up again, when he just seems like a quiet person in a tough situation, so maybe we could have just said that instead of forcing the "scowling". It made him seem like a flat character, instead of one with just as much depth as Catherine.

I really enjoyed reading this. It was a sweet, hopeful regency romance with a cinematic feel, and I would recommend it to anyone that was looking to cross over into more graphic novels from the regency space.

Thank you to First Second Books and Netgalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

*****5 Stars!

“My love, at long last.”

First I would like to thank First Second Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read an arc of this wonderful book! I am honored to be given the chance to read it and give it an honest review.

I absolutely adored this graphic novel! It was a very sweet and cozy read with a very interesting plot and equally interesting characters! The art was absolutely beautiful and really brought the story to life. I enjoyed every single character and found them all to be very interesting in their own ways, especially Gemma. I also enjoyed the slow-burn romance, I thought it was done very well and I enjoyed seeing both Andrew and Catherine slowly come together when they thought all hope was lost.

There are other characters such as Constance and Mary as well as Helen and John that I would love to know more about as well. Overall I found this novel to be very charming and extremely fun to read! It gave me such Pride and Prejudice meets Bridgerton vibes, which I absolutely adored!

If you’re looking for an adorable, swoony, cozy slow-burn romance then I would highly recommend this lovely graphic novel! I very much look forward to reading more about these characters!

This was interesting but too short with a story that didn't feel new or fresh and left a lot of holes to figure out. Also was not expecting the graphic novel to be so graphic! It's a fun quper fast read for anyone who likes historical romantic and the art was interesting and the format was enjoyable, but overall not as fun and interesting as I wanted it to be.

This graphic novel was hilarious and well-drawn, definitely worth the money and the hype, and I hope will be successful!

A really charming slow-burn love story about a Regency-era man and woman who don't know each other at all, but marry for convenience. (She has money he needs, he has the ability to salvage her reputation after a scandal.) And then, a bit to their surprise and frustration, they fall in love. There are certainly some contrived elements here — they've both got a bad case of "Just talk to the other person and everything will be fine" that would feel more natural silly if they weren't already so good at expressing themselves to each other, including about their feelings about the relationship. But that's fine. This is a particular flavor of rom-com where everyone already knows the beats, and those beats are executed well, with handsome art and a Jane Austen-esque dignity and gentle humor.

Add to that the queer love story going on in the background, and the charming side plot about a Black lady's maid using her talents to find her own place in the world, and this book ends up feeling like it's about a lot more than the standard Regency love story. This was a pleasure to read. Note for those who care, whether they consider it a draw or an issue: This book is pretty frank about eroticism, with full-monty sex scenes that are tasteful and sweet, but may surprise regular Regency readers.

Thank you so much @netgalley for sending me an ARC of Ruimed im exchange for an honest review!

This is a cute graphic novel about a Catherine, a 28 year old Victorian woman, who marries Alexander to try to save her reputation and because she believes she's run out of time to fall in love.
Through the novel, Catherine and Alexander learn how to love and how to live their lives despite societies expectations and judgement. Alexander's family had been in a tough financial position and Catherine was judged because she had a lover before she was married. It serves to show how society judges women for having sex before marriage, but doesn't shame the man (Catherine's ex is never discriminated against).
I loved the plot with Gemma, Alexander's sister. She had been ill and was also very traumatised will all the death in the family so she was unable to walk out of the house. But by the end, she regains her courage and walks out to greet Catherine, showing that she can still heal from everything that happened!
The stories of Catherine's lady-in-waiting and her sister are great! The lady gets to become a designer and the sister finds love!
The artstyle is lovely and the plot is quite interesting, so I recommend this for Bridgerton and Pride and Prejudice lovers!

TW:sexual content, discrimination, sexism.

I will just say it first, this is a comic with very adult themes, so I wont be recommending this one to young teens, I know that today kids are exposed to sex and nudity but even so I couldn’t in my right mind say it was for all ages…

I wish the story could be more focused on feelings, I had the feeling things were rushed and the characters “realized” they loved each other in a very abrupt way… the art is a bit random sometimes, the same characters in one page look more thick than in others, but that being said, the story is ok and the book seems shorter than it really is, I did like it.

Thank you NetGalley and First Second Books, for the free ARC and this is my honest opinion.

☽𝔹𝕆𝕆𝕂 ℝ𝔼𝕍𝕀𝔼𝕎☾

Thank you #netegallet for the ARC. (I will post links with a visual post on my Instagram one month before the release as required via email).

3.5/5
2.5/5

I wasn't particularly fond of the art style at first, but as I became more immersed in the plot, I began to appreciate it. I liked the notion of reading a historical romance as a graphic novel. I am certain that if they were made, I would read more of them.

There is representation in that the blurb claims that this graphic novel is ideal for Netflix Bridgerton fans. As a result, there are BIPOC and LGBTQ+ characters. These were secondary figures, yet they appeared to be accepted by society (obviously demonstrating Netflix Bridgertons' influence).

I loved the tropes, and the narrative has a lot of promise, in my view. Nonetheless, it seemed brief. I required additional development pages. Potentially additional conflicts between the primary characters. Perhaps I simply enjoyed it and wanted to read more.
Aside from the primary plot, other minor storylines felt brief. I didn't feel like I had time to comprehend those.

I should also mention that this is an open-door romance, and I was astonished to see some...graphic sequences, and because this is a graphic novel, you can guess what I'm talking about.

Overall, I had a good time with this one. It was a short and enjoyable read, but I longed for more.