Bright Ruined Things (BOOK REVIEW)
Thanks so much to NetGalley for an early copy of this for honest and professional review purposes! This does not sway my rating in the slightest.
Actual rating: 4/5
Story:4/5
This is a retelling of Shakespeare's The Tempest which is one of my favorite Shakespearean stories so I was very interested when I heard about this book.
The story follows Mae, a naive girl navigating a changing world around her as she learns the truth about her life and struggles with her family relationships.
The story was intriguing for the most part although there were some things I had issues with, particularly the romances which felt a little out of place to me. They didn't really feel necessary but it wasn't a major issue.
The relationship between Ivo and Mae made me very uncomfortable due to him being quite a bit older than her and having feelings for her and it wasn't clear if this was supposed to be an uncomfortable part of the story.
And the relationship between Miles and Mae was also very strange and I honestly didn't like it but I could see why it was such an important aspect of this story.
Other than that I found the story enjoyable and the magic and creatures were delightful and heartbreaking at the same time.
Characters 4/5
Mae was an interesting character to follow although I often found myself annoyed at how easily she let people get away with things. I could understand why she was so naive from a story perspective but at the same time it did get a little frustrating. Her development was definitely one of my favorite things about this book- seeing her go from meek to powerful and forceful when she needs to be was really thrilling.
Ivo was strange for me due to my complicated relationship with his crush on Mae but I did like a lot of his moments struggling between duty and beliefs which gave him more depth. Honestly I found Ivo had more depth to his character than Mae at times.
Miles was... a total jerk and garbage for most of the story. In a good way? He had a purpose I suppose even though I could NOT understand why Mae felt anything for him.
Writing 3/5
The writing was really good for the most part other than some issues with the fact that this is very loosely based on "The Tempest" when it was marketed as a re-telling. I was expecting to see more actual scenes retold through this rather intriguing setting but I found it was really lacking in that area.
As for the writing itself I found it beautiful for the majority of the story. I think the characters could have had a little more depth but its not something that REALLY irked me, just something that fell a little flat.
Actual rating: 4/5
Story:4/5
This is a retelling of Shakespeare's The Tempest which is one of my favorite Shakespearean stories so I was very interested when I heard about this book.
The story follows Mae, a naive girl navigating a changing world around her as she learns the truth about her life and struggles with her family relationships.
The story was intriguing for the most part although there were some things I had issues with, particularly the romances which felt a little out of place to me. They didn't really feel necessary but it wasn't a major issue.
The relationship between Ivo and Mae made me very uncomfortable due to him being quite a bit older than her and having feelings for her and it wasn't clear if this was supposed to be an uncomfortable part of the story.
And the relationship between Miles and Mae was also very strange and I honestly didn't like it but I could see why it was such an important aspect of this story.
Other than that I found the story enjoyable and the magic and creatures were delightful and heartbreaking at the same time.
Characters 4/5
Mae was an interesting character to follow although I often found myself annoyed at how easily she let people get away with things. I could understand why she was so naive from a story perspective but at the same time it did get a little frustrating. Her development was definitely one of my favorite things about this book- seeing her go from meek to powerful and forceful when she needs to be was really thrilling.
Ivo was strange for me due to my complicated relationship with his crush on Mae but I did like a lot of his moments struggling between duty and beliefs which gave him more depth. Honestly I found Ivo had more depth to his character than Mae at times.
Miles was... a total jerk and garbage for most of the story. In a good way? He had a purpose I suppose even though I could NOT understand why Mae felt anything for him.
Writing 3/5
The writing was really good for the most part other than some issues with the fact that this is very loosely based on "The Tempest" when it was marketed as a re-telling. I was expecting to see more actual scenes retold through this rather intriguing setting but I found it was really lacking in that area.
As for the writing itself I found it beautiful for the majority of the story. I think the characters could have had a little more depth but its not something that REALLY irked me, just something that fell a little flat.
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