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chasinggrace's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I think my biggest gripe is that the writing is very literal, the themes & lessons translated in a very heavy-handed way. And while I think that the FMC’s naïveté and density were purposeful and symbolic, that did not make her any less frustrating. Anyone with half an awareness of modern racial/colonialist issues will find the politics of this world extremely transparent, and while skin color was never explicitly mentioned, the FMC was obviously meant to represent a White Woman.
It felt like Wang was trying to make a statement about every single conceivable kind of oppression that’s ever existed, when it would have been more impactful with a slightly tighter focus. Obviously, the White Man™️ is the sole catalyst for all suffering - this point was beaten & emphasized over and over and over again. Let me be clear - I AGREE! But the writing lacked eloquent prose and graceful exploration of this. For example,
ASLO, I am desperately begging authors to stop writing FMC’s whose first instincts are to either cry or vomit. Why do I have to read about you sputtering and spewing chunks??
I guess I was holding out for creative prose and the je ne sais quois that I felt in SoK. Unfortunately, BOBH left me feeling like I had read “The Impacts of White Colonialism 101.”
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, and Classism
tinybluepixel's review
- 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
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gun violence, Infertility, Religious bigotry, and Abandonment
ktkeps's review
- 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
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Bullying and Death of parent
Minor: Infertility and Cannibalism
dani_reis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Sexual assault and Abandonment
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Rape, Suicide, Torture, Cannibalism, and Pregnancy
seasidess's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
ddnreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
It's illegal for a book to be this good 😭 the book finished me fr....
This is a book about female rage, a sort of coming of age (?), on how the so called "civilized" people built their power upon the taking, salvaging, emptying indigenous land.
This is a reflection of how our "modernity" works. And to take that literally....
A critic of academic world of how mostly they don't live up with the truth nor knowledge...
So neatly written, so atmospheric, I can see the red. When ML WANG wrote Blood Over Bright Haven she meant it. Mother is mothering 🧎🏾♀️🧎🏾♀️🧎🏾♀️🧎🏾♀️
Of you're into high fantasy, dark academia, toppling down tyrannical government, while dealing with hope and internal conflict of your feelings.... READ THIS BOOK.
Thanks so much Del Rey Pub for the arc through Netgalley in exchange for honest review.
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Colonisation
Moderate: Infertility, Miscarriage, Rape, Slavery, and Police brutality
cbressler80's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, and Classism
jadorelecafe's review against another edition
- 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 was such an incredible read. It’s a story of hope and loss and grief and faith and intention.
There is so much packed into this book it’s hard to know where to even start. There’s questions of morality, is intention what counts most? Or is the result what counts most? Just because you intend to do something good, doesn’t always make it a good action.
There’s so much grief and loss piled onto each other here and it’s heart wrenching but it also shows how every action, every person, every decision makes such a big impact on the world around us.
Hope is a fickle thing too. We can hope for the best but we also need to plan for the worst. We have to be able to find that balance and not lose hope for what is right and good in the world because it’s worth hoping for.
It was so interesting to see Sciona’s character arc evolve throughout the story. In the end she had to learn to live with and work with her flaws to do the right thing and do good for the world and others. Sciona is a character that meant well, her intent was not to cause harm or hurt, but she was selfish to a fault. She struggled to get out of her own head enough to see how much her ideas and decisions and actions would truly impact the world around her.
I really loved the conversation about morality in this story too. It really hits hard. Is intention to do good all that matters? Or is the outcome of your actions all that matter? Or is it somewhere between?
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
chantellimus's review against another edition
4.75
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
cryptofauna's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
the worldbuilding is super cool and i do like their magic system a lot. it felt a teensy bit high and mighty at some points regarding both feminism and the racism, but i think it got away with it 90% of the time. i appreciated siconia's character growth and the way they handled mental illness (although she wasn't really manic? unclear if that was a hysteria thing or if the author didn't really get what that word meant). the plot was fast paced and i was really excited to learn more and more as it was revealed, i think i read 70% of this book at school during classes. and the ending was definitely unexpected (jn a good way!)
thomil was amazing and i loved him so much. i think its extremely funny to be like no my native people aren't like real life native people!! they have red hair!!!! so its obviously different lol.
generally i got hooked on it once i got a little further in, but it took a little more than i would have preferred to get going!
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Blood, Grief, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Xenophobia