16. A graphic novel: Ruined by Sarah Vaughn

List Progress: 2/30

There’s nothing that quite scratches an itch like a high drama romance. Big swooping emotions, sexual tensions waiting to burst forth, more genre conventions than a reader knows what to do with: when the mood strikes, there’s nothing like it. The 2023 graphic novel Ruined, written by Sarah Vaughn and illustrated by Sarah Winifred Searle and Niki Smith, rejoices in this genre and these tropes, while adding some fresh twists to the formula. The end result is not the most tightly-written romance, but what works really works.

The story begins with heiress Catherine marrying virtual stranger Andrew, the second son of a dignified but impoverished family who was thrust into becoming the patriarch when his older brother died. In this stage of the Regency era, more and more people are marrying for love, but Catherine has run out of options as rumors spread that she lost her virginity to a passing fling. Andrew is open about the fact that he needs her money to restore the family seat, so they go into their arrangement hoping to make a functional working relationship, nothing more. But living together and building a life brings them closer, until they have to decide whether there is something more than familiarity sparking in their marriage. 

The novel is set in a sort of Bridgerton-inspired alternate history, where there is far more racial diversity in English high society and acceptance of queer identities. This is refreshing in some ways, but does somewhat undercut the core situation; there’s no indication that Catherine absolutely has to get married in the first place, that her complete lack of options in life is pushing her into this loveless marriage. She has no brothers, but the question of her family’s lineage is never brought up, and Andrew needing an heir is sort of a passing concern. Vaughn wants to sand down some of the rough edges of the era, but those rough edges are what lend tension to the stories. Andrew is always very mindful of consent in their sex scenes, but there’s never the real suggestion that Catherine may have to spend the rest of her life lying back and thinking of England. Fluff is absolutely lovely, but sometimes you need something harder to serve as a structure.

Ruined is a solid high-drama romance, with expressive art to carry the story along and some memorable side characters to fill out the world. It doesn’t feel like it will be many people’s absolute favorite work, it doesn’t take enough risks for that. But for something you sit down with and finish in an afternoon, it absolutely does what it needs to do and gives you the jolt of emotion that any good romance should.

Would I Recommend It: Yes, for romance fans.