Reviews with content warning for Infertility - Blood Over Bright Haven

If I had to describe this book in a sentence, “ Which characters are heroes and which are villains? Yes”
Lol
For real though this book made me hate to love it and maybe least likeable MC in the most amazing book ever! How dare Wang make me obsessed with this book and pick it back up every time I through it across the room in frustration with the protagonist. I could hardly stay in my seat by the climax of the book, it was a whirlwind. The magic is exceptional and unique.

The book has ruined me so much for other books that I wonder if I ever want to like another MC again?

Thomil and carra forever. Love them sooo much

This was my first ML wang book and I’m already on my second!

Content Warnings

charleewalton's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-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

Here's my spewed thoughts in my notes app:

A real insight into the injustices women face on a day to day basis. Most relevant. Most relatable to me.
Importance of female friendships and female family members and how close a bond you form. That you can't with a male figure. How they build you up with love rather than expectations.
Started with them fleeing to safety in tiran and ended with them fleeing to safety from tiran.
So reflective of the age we live and how people are segregated so men in power can continue to be powerful by using and killing the minority communities. How they're seen as inhuman and nothing. Their lives are worthless so they don't feel so bad about what they do. Killing and hurting innocent people to stay at the top. It's literally what happens.
Saying women are hysterical and have to follow the men above them and the menal in their lives. And even when they say they're doing things for us, to help us succeed, it's only for their own gain and their own ego. We must be compliant and quiet and demure and never become powerful. But that's not us.
And explaining that all of the negative emotions we feel aren't wrong, they don't make us weak. If we wallow and allow those feelings to define us they will. Or we can think of those feelings as energy and allow them to be used for good and propel us foward.
Had a huge impact on me and genuinely think it will change the way I act day to day and how I view the world. It proves that one person really can change the world.
I will probably think about this book for the rest of my life.

Content Warnings

ashley_mrose530's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense 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

This book deserves every bit of hype that it has gotten.
To start off, Wang's writing is so poetic and detailed, it left me in awe in the very first chapter. She had a way of making me feel for these characters that I didn't even know yet as I watched them all die, in the first chapter! The imagery was beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time in that chapter and it just kept on going from there. The world building was also fascinating. The magic system was set up almost like a computer animation programming system which was so interesting and inventive. I loved learning more about it as I read.
The character arc that Sciona goes through is phenomenal honestly. She starts the book of completely driven and focused on one thing to the point that she ignores everything else including her family and even her own self - her emotions as well as her well-being. But as she gets closer to Thomil, she develops more empathy for those around her and starts paying attention to the structures her society has in place and how they affect people who are different from them and that changes how she sees everything. Her arc is just perfect.
I also really loved the book ends and full-circle feel we had at the end.

At the beginning we had Thomil and his tribe running toward Tiran under a barrage of blight killing them. It was chaotic, tense, and heartbreaking, but Thomil and Kara made it so there was a little bit of hope there too. And at the end we have a very similar scene where Thomil and Kara are running with their tribe, but this time they are running away from Tiran and the guards that are trying to stop them and it's still chaotic, but it's much more hopeful as you wish for them to be able to start a new life without the plague of blight and all the harm the Tiranish had caused.

It was really poignant and beautiful to have those two scenes match and book end the story.
In short, Wang's writing and storyline kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time and I loved every minute of it.

Content Warnings

drinaiscold's review against another edition

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challenging dark hopeful inspiring tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

saeransblush's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective tense fast-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

This book killed me and brought me back to life only to kill me again. Ironic, all things considered. 10/10 everyone should read it

Content Warnings

cassidy_rain's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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

4.5

“Whatever happened next, whether it led to Hell or Heaven, she was going to have a hand in directing it. Sick or sound, good or evil, she was still Sciona Freynan. And Sciona Freynan didn't slow down.
Sciona Freynan would be remembered.”

WOW! What an incredible and thought-provoking story. Blood Over Bright Haven is a dark academia high fantasy. It takes place in a unique world where mages siphon magic to help power the city. It follows FMC, Sciona, who is the city’s first ever woman admitted as Highmage at the University of Magics and Industry. In her work there she accidentally uncovers a terrible secret that unravels the world as she knows it…

This story is frustrating and moving and devastating and beautiful all at once. I have a love/hate relationship with the main character, Sciona. She’s egotistical and selfish. The way she thinks and speaks about Thomil and the Kwen is hard to read at times. (I understand that she is a product of the world around her and I do think she had good intentions). On the other hand, she’s a strong woman doing the best she can to thrive in a world that’s not ready for her intelligence. She couldn’t have gotten to the highest level if she wasn’t a bit arrogant and tough. She’s constantly knocked down by her colleagues, but continues to pull herself back up. Her character growth and journey towards the truth is both realistic and admirable. I love the way the author wrote this emotional journey for her.

Thomil and Carra are an absolute delight; I would die for them. They are both such raw and complex characters. The world building was a little intense in the first chapter, but it does come together really smoothly after that. The magic system is really unique and fleshed out. So much so that some of the parts about spells and webs felt a little bit textbooky and dry. Some parts in the middle were a little slow, but overall the writing is wonderful. The ENDING!!! Just wow. The society is highly flawed and this book is a great discussion on patriarchy, corruption, morality, racism, classism, immigration, and religion.

I’m not always huge into dark academia, but I absolutely loved this one. Highly recommend!

"Except that I'm not anyone's wife," Sciona said, "nor am I anyone's daughter, really, and I've never been very good at pleasing. The things I have to offer are greater than that."

“Truth over delusion. Growth over comfort. God over all.”

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