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Reviews tagging 'Infertility'

Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang

61 reviews

daydreamsofareader's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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zypeee's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

3.75

I don’t even know what or how to write this review. A well written very compelling story, but a terribly horrific subject matter. It’s hard to like something so terrible. Read with caution. See trigger warnings. 

A very driven young lady, rejects the crushing male dominance of her society to prove herself amongst the top magic wielders. Only to find out that the magic she has loved above all else comes with a deadly cost. Good does not always win. Books don’t always have happy endings. Some are just sad tales of what could easily become our realities, and in someways were and still are. 

Phew. 



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salewis224's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book was so tremendously innovative. It turned out to be an entirely different experience than I thought it would be, in a great way.  While I never ended up “liking” or relating well to any of the characters, I was fully invested in their fates. The author does an incredible job mashing genres together, which led to a magical, but thought provoking story.

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addythebookbat's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes

5.0


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allthefelicia's review against another edition

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5.0


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coltonchase's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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boba_nbooks's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Starting off the year with a 5-star read feels SO good. Truly, this book is probably a rare 6-star read for me. It's just that good.

The city of Tiran is considered a utopia--a place where people can live freely and enjoy the conveniences of modern living thanks to the magic provided by the High Magistry. Sciona is the first woman accepted into the High Magistry. With a sizable ego and a strong drive to prove herself, Sciona sets out to become one of the best mages Tiran has ever seen. However, fitting in the boy's club is more difficult than she thought, and she ends up getting stuck with an assistant who doesn't know anything--a Kwen immigrant, originally a janitor in the building, who is at the bottom of the totem pole. As time goes on, Sciona realizes that this indigenous Kwen, Thomil, who used to live in the land beyond Tiran, is more than her peers have made him out to be--he's highly intelligent and asks questions that keep Sciona on her toes. It turns out that his previous experience as a hunter beyond Tiran's barrier, and as a Kwen, is invaluable to Sciona's research and leads her to discover something no mage before her ever has. This secret could change the world for the better... or make it even more volatile than it already is. Sciona and Thomil have to decide if the truth is worth the risk.

Blood Over Bright Haven is one of the most thought-provoking books I've read (its intellect and subject matter comparable to Babel by R.F. Kuang). Not only does it provide insight into the human psyche and how far we're willing to go for our own egos and absolution, it also pulls back the curtain on the true climate of our current reality. If I've learned anything from this book, it's the fact that our actions have consequences, and we need to be aware of what kind of impact they have on our environment and our fellow human beings.

The female main character, Sciona, gives a great character study into a modern white woman who goes through life unaware of what kind of effect their behavior has on others. Her journey was a difficult one to watch as it was all too real to me, but I'm glad I sat in that discomfort and took the time to reflect on my own life and the ways I might be causing harm. After her discovery of the true cost of magic in Tiran, I loved watching how she took that guilt and, instead of pushing it on the Kwen who do not benefit from those feelings, used it as energy into making a mark on the world that would not soon be forgotten. A mark that will, hopefully, lead others to question the cost of magic and how they use it.

The male main character, Thomil, is a complex character mirroring an indigenous person in the real world. His struggles of coming to terms with being the last of his people was heartbreaking but a very authentic experience. Thomil could have easily been a one-dimensional character, but he truly did come to love Sciona even though she stood for everything he despised for years. He had to come to terms with the fact that some people can change for the better and that, despite their best efforts, sometimes their solo advocacy is not enough to revolutionize an entire society. Throughout the novel, Thomil stayed true to his people and his ideals. He did have to assimilate into society to an extent, but through his niece, Carra, his people live on.

All in all, read this book. Blood Over Bright Haven is such a radical read that requires rapt attention and self reflection, and it is completely worth it. I hope this novel is read and remembered for years to come and is one that will compel people to action.

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thenoboshow's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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princess_azula's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0


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angh's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Rating: 5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I read The Sword of Kaigen last year and loved it. It was one of my favorite books read in 2024. Now M.L. Wang brings another fantasy standalone book, similar to TSoK in a lot of ways that seem to be her style: the emotional things, compelling storytelling, great characterization and a unique magic system; but at the same time BOBH stands on its own, and in my opinion is an improvement. It covers a lot of social issues like misogyny, racism, elitism, classism, religion, indoctrination, politics, that were well woven into the story.

The magic system is unique and intricate, never seen something like it before. I understand how it can be confusing at first, then I realized it was basically algorithms and coding, and it clicked. The spellagraphs and conduits, the elaborate spells, and the truth behind the magic, everything was so well crafted and played an important part of the story.

Sciona, the FMC, is the perfect example of someone being fed with propaganda to the point where they’re so indoctrinated that they follow it without question, and blindly following a religion is also a main theme of this book, because the High Magistry and the magic in this world is basically treated like religion with its own bible and everything. She starts with the goal of being the first female high mage, and she does (not really a spoiler it happens within the first chapters), but it’s everything that happens after that makes the story and her character interesting. How she deals with the institutional sexism, her relationship with her family, her relationship with her mentor, and her reaction to the “dark secret” behind magic, it made her such an interesting person to follow

Thomil, the MMC, gives you another perspective. While Sciona faces misogyny in an environment dominated by men, he faces racism and classism for being a Kwen, who are treated as less than human by the Tiranish people. He became an integral part of this story and Sciona’s journey. He was the balance to her character, helped her see things in a different way than wasn’t just the Tiranish faith, made her question everything. They clashed very often, but it was precisely this that moved the story and contributed to developing their characters.

The ending was heartbreaking, but also poetic. The perfect balance between chaos and peace, that portrays the idea of “one door closes and another opens.” A tragic ending and a hopeful new beginning.

Would I like a sequel? Of course, I’d wouldn’t mind seeing what happened to this world after the ending.
Is it necessary? I don’t think so. This truly is a standalone with a great, satisfactory ending.

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