Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang

44 reviews

zypeee's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

amelia_horseman's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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? No

5.0

This was a good fantasy with a strong female lead and excellent plot movement.  Good development of a magic system and the big reveal wasn’t super unexpected but it was still a good one.  A great ending as well.   Heavy on the gender and what could be race, but is actually classism issues, which I found pretty realistic on the gender side being in a male dominated field and experiencing some of these issues. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Rape

addythebookbat's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Genocide, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism

coltonchase's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

unthank's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

4.5

Good 

• Despite the slow start it began to pick up in the second half. The climax and ending of the book was a total page-turner. 
• It presented the brutality of living in a racist and sexist world without feeling like this brutality was included for the sake of being voyeuristically grimdark.
• The story really hit the sweet spot of despair and hope. 
• The magic system of the world is interesting and well thought out. 
• The heroine was given space to be flawed and complex. She was a really good example of how a progressive person living in a racist society will make racist assumptions. The changes in her belief system and world perspective over the course of the novel felt well earned. 
• I enjoyed the chemistry between the two leads. 
• The story was an interesting examination of intersectionality. 

Bad

• Occasionally the dialog felt a little bit too on the nose regarding the themes of the story. 
• The first half of the book was slow.

YMMV

• The book contains an in-depth exploration of themes that some people might find difficult. While I felt like it struck the right balance between despair and hope, it's ultimately not a happy story. 
• The opening scene included one of my biggest first-chapter pet peeves. I appreciate this scene a lot more having read the entire story and seeing where the author ended up going with it, but it definitely almost put me off the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Genocide, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Vomit, and Abandonment

rnbhargava's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

The book has themes of genocide and also has a section of the book with the setting in an ongoing riot status. There is a scene that’s a sexual assault. Complicity in institutional segregation and genocide is the major theme of the book.

gipete's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault

thenoboshow's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

maddielc's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I sped through this book it was so good. A great commentary on our world with a hopeful message at the end. The magic system was so unique (based on coding), it made me want to read page after page.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Rape, Sexism, Vomit, War, and Classism

rebeccakoury's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

First 5 star of 2025. This book blew me away. There are so many important messages interwoven. The magic system was mind blowing to me and my jaw was on the floor multiple times. I often wondered how this story would fit in it's 400 pages but wow, just wow.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death