'I was utterly captivated by the world Samantha Cohoe conjured on this mysterious island, where magic and power rule hand-in-hand with intrigue and desire. Cohoe writes with a magic that dazzles and cuts right to the core.'Ĭhloe Gong, #1 New York Times bestselling author of THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS 'A deftly-plotted tale about ambition and belonging, BRIGHT RUINED THINGS takes Shakespeare’s The Tempest and brilliantly reimagines its themes of family and love. Cohoe ably combines a postcolonial reading of The Tempest with the literary tradition of edgy, electric aristocrats and outsiders in London’s 1920s social scene.'īulletin of the Center for Children's Books 'Mae isn’t a plucky heroine but a hungry young woman realizing that, exploited though she is, she benefits from a system of colonial oppression. 'Cohoe’s sophomore novel.is filled with magic, romance, secrets, and lies.' I’ll take some Gatsby with my Shakespeare any day, as long as Cohoe is the one doing the writing.' 'Samantha Cohoe’s intriguing mashup of Shakespeare’s The Tempest and Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby makes for a thoroughly immersive readBRIGHT RUINED THINGS is a more insightful novel than readers might expect, while also devoting a fair amount of its pages to considering what it means to be a person of integrity who chooses to stand up to the ugliness of power at all costs. ' smashing Shakespearean historical fantasy.' 'Epiphanies come fast and furious-the main action unfolds in 24 hours via Mae’s melodramatic, self-serious narration-in a novel whose sumptuous setting alongside the careless, magical rich proffers undeniable pleasures.'

A strong choice for libraries serving teens.'

'This dizzying struggle over power, magic, and dreams will sink readers into this fantasy's web of ambition and family tension. 'Fans of Shakespeare’s The Tempest will find much to enjoy, as will readers eager for a luxurious-but not escapist-1920s period piece.An intriguing story about the rot that lies beneath splendor.'

Bright ruined things samantha cohoe