Reviews with content warning for Violence - Blood Over Bright Haven

Today is November 7th, 2024. And I am sick reading this book. I had to skim read the final ten pages for how much I wanted to scream and cry and throw up. This was not the thrill of Maeve Fly throw up, but rather the raw, hopeless, pulling out your hair kind.

M.L. Wang– you are a genius. You have delivered us a beautiful book about imperialism, racism, capitalism, classism, sexism; and you’ve done so in such a realistic way I almost want to refuse to review this book.

While the opening chapters were a touch slow and difficult to get through, the climax seemed to last half the book. I was sickened reading things I’ve seen on social media in wake of police brutiality and recently with the election. I don’t believe I can give this gorgeous book justice with my words.

“The path to God wasn’t laid for women like her. It was laid on their backs.”

Blood Over Bright Haven is bleak. It’s horrible. It shows the cruelties of men in power, language of war and conflict that negate human life, dangerous ideas that men in power in my country tote in our helpless faces. This book is violent and disgusting. This book is a raw, horrifying, nauseating truth.

This book is so important. I cannot recommend it enough.

However-- the characters are one kind of dimensional, and I feel like at times Sciona was very much white feminism-ing her way through some of the book. The end was... i dont know. On one hand, how else would it end, on another, it's so bleak and a bit white savior-y. I'm undecided. Maybe this book is actually horrible. I don't know. It's. Wow.

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eusteph's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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

I expected nothing less than a five star book from M.L. Wang, and she delivered.

Was this as devastatingly brilliant as The Sword of Kaigen? No, and I frankly don't think I will read a book that does to me what that book did. Still, this was action packed to the brim and beautifully written.

Connecting to the characters was easy as was putting myself in their shoes when they dealt with tragedy and moral questions.

I found the ending extremely satisfying (yay for stand-alone books) and it left me longing for another book of Wang's.

It may be time to give Girl Squad Volta a try.

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antonya's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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asims723's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Blood Over Bright Haven is a remarkable, complex, dark, and utterly original novel. I was captivated from the first page where it immediately was apparent the stakes were high and death likely. From the very beginning, we are told things are going to be very, very bad, and yet still I found myself searching for hope through the depths of this complicated political, magical, deeply religious story. The racism, the feminism, the morality of recognizing life existing outside the self! This tragic story echoes and magnifies issues reminiscent of "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" by Ursula Le Guin. I loved this novel.
Incredibly grateful for the previous reviewers who encouraged me to pick this one up, NetGalley for providing a copy, and Del Rey for approving my request for this ARC!

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redrin's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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dani_reis's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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linguistique's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang is a dark, bloody, challenging novel perfect for fans of Babel by R.F. Kuang and the Scholomance series by Naomi Novik.

Sciona Freynan is a mage, and the first woman to ever pass the test to be admitted to the High Magistry of the city of Tiran. When she finally does become a highmage, however, she is confronted by sexism, harassment, and a conspiracy to hide what powers the industry and magic of the city. Together with her Kwen assistant Thomil, she works first to uncover and then to reveal the ancient secret of magic.

It’s true that this novel is dark academia, but unlike many of this genre where the narrative follows the lives of students, here we follow those in the very highest positions of the University of Magics and Industry. The magic system is extremely interesting, with spell writing reminiscent of writing computer code.

I appreciate that the novel does not shy away from the horrors of exploitation and imperialism. You watch, instead, as the protagonist has her naivete shattered over and over again. It makes Sciona seem much more real, and the character development much more high stakes. Although, I do empathize with Thomil’s frustration when things go the way he predicts.

The author did a great job of leaving hints and breadcrumbs for the reader so I could piece together what was happening just before the characters did. This made it a very engaging and engrossing read, and all the more satisfying when what I suspected was happening was right.

I do wish we had gotten more of Thomil’s POV. Ironically, like the powerful Tiranish often overlook the Kwen living alongside them, it felt as if the narrative forgot about Thomil until it was absolutely necessary to have his perspective.

This quickly became one of my top reads of 2024, and I can’t wait to pick up Wang’s other work, especially Sword of Kaigen. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine / Del Rey for sending me this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Moods: dark, tense, mysterious, emotional
CW: racism, misogyny, violence, death, sexual assault, suicidal thoughts

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