5-Star Read! I loved this book and was pleasantly surprised by it and how much I enjoyed it. After reading this book, I realized I've read Samantha Cohoe before with Golden Fury and that book was amazing also and got me a bit creeped out, but this book was just as good maybe even better. There was swoon-worthy romance, family/friends, a different magic setup than I've seen before which was great and intriguing. I'm hoping that there will be another book where I can maybe learn more about the magic with the spirits on the island. This is about Mae who's only ever lived on the island with the Prosper family and wants to figure out a way to learn and have the magic of her own. It's also about Mae deciding who she is, what she wants, and what she wants to do to get it. This is about how the magic and the system of things with the spirits on the island for years basically fall apart and chaos breaks loose and they're all left to figure out what to do. I'm so glad that I got to read this book and can't wait for the next one hopefully there's a continuation and a next book because the way the end was left I am going crazy to know what happens next. This is a fantastic read, go get it, you won't be disappointed.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for the chance to read and review this amazing story. All thoughts and opinions are my own. ( )

This book took me a bit to get into but halfway in I was hooked. Mae has lived on the island her entire life, never going to the mainland. She lives on the charity of the Prosper family after both her mother and father pass away. But when weird things start happening to the spirits on the island, she knows there’s more to the story. When Ivo, the grandson of the Prosper family and the one to inherit everything, let’s Mae in on a secret of her past, things start to unravel fast. As Mae and her friends start to investigate the mysterious happens, more secrets are uncovered and things go downhill fast. This was a book that kept me on the edge of my seat. By the way the author finished it, I wouldn’t be surprised there is a sequel in the works. If you like family drama and wonderful magic, this book is for you! ( )

An interesting story that had more potential. I like fantasy and the creativity it brings. This was a story that could have had more depth. There are multiple characters and you don't ever get a chance to really understand their motivations for their choices. I felt the story theme was one that was done a hundreds times: power taken from others and then the origin suppressed and covered up. It was slow in the first half and tried to build a romance into but failed. I'm not sure I would be excited to recommend this book but for most they would find the story platable. ( )

Bright ruined things pulled me in instantly upon seeing the cover, which reminded me somehow of The Great Gatsby and all the lovely things from the 1920's after stopping to read the synopsis I was really excited for this one. Bright Ruined Things aspires to be seen as a retelling of Tempest , which is one of the last and underrated, unknown plays of Shakespeare. When paired together I was prepared for something amazing between these pages. Unfortunately I was slightly disappointed.

Mae lives full time on the only island left where The Prosper family has all the glitz and glamour and magic is still very much alive.. But their wealth comes from the labor of spirits. Spirits produce the fuel from the wells, maintain the properties and even provide music that's constantly on the air.. Mae's desperation to be accepted by the infamous Prosper family is in turns pitiful and brave, suggests that the reader will be quickly turning these pages to find what happens next.

The characters started off as easily identifiable and somewhat likeable however I found myself becoming impatient and frustrated, especially when a line or two of amazing prose is stumbled upon and I'd think it was finally taking a turn for the better, only to find out that amazing line led to a dead end.

The concept is something I would love seeing reworked as I think so many elements of Bright Ruined Things have potential that just was not realized in this draft. With some work it could be turned in to one of the years must reads. As it stands now its just average.

Thank you to netgalley for providing an advanced e-copy for me to read and leave my honest opinion. I really do hope that this concept will be reworked to live up to the obvious potential buried underneath the averageness of this attempt. ( )

First of all, if you don't like unresolved/"you have to infer what happened" endings, then you will have difficulty with this book.. That is why I couldn't give this 5 stars. I came out of this kind of like, are you serious??? I guess you can 'infer' what happened, and pray it's who/what you hope it is, but I want to KNOW! I'm very type A and I cant have things just left unknown or unsaid.

Anyways, I thought that this was a great book. I was very excited to read it and for the most part, it didn't disappoint. I could have gone without the 12,000 reminders that the Prosper family was super rich and the 800 times Mae said 'Oh,' but those are mild complaints compared to some books that have come out recently.

It has been likened to 'The Tempest' which I have never read before, but looking at Cliff's Notes, I would say there are definite themes; some end up using magic for good, some for evil, there is a mom who has gone mad who represents the horrors of the island just like the mom in 'The Tempest' represented the bad times people were having in England at the time. So I'm assuming if you like 'The Tempest' you would like this.

I don't like putting spoilers in my reviews so all I'm going to put here is that I feel like Ivo was very under appreciated, he needed more page time, and if he was real I would have given him a hug, lol. ( )