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A review by shelves_by_sim
Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang
challenging
dark
mysterious
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? It's complicated
5.0
This book, hands-down, deserves absolutely all the hype that it gets because... Wow, just wow. From the writing style to the worldbuilding to such a unique and fantastically-built magic system, this book was magnificent. I think the plot was so well done, from the first sentence of the prologue and all the way throughout the entirity of the story! I love that Wang depicted such discriminatory values that play a huge role in society even today, her use of sexism, classism and racism was somewhat uncomfortable and therefore, absolutely brilliant.
While the world had some complicated aspects, I did not find it hard to understand. In fact, I found that her writing style gave me light fantasy feels even when dealing with such heavy topics. I am literally in awe of the magic in this world, I love the mapping system used, how magic needs to be harnessed and instructed to create a reaction that will hopefully provide the hypothesised results, it was just so cool!
I loved the depth of Sciona's characters, that she was neither good nor bad. Her character felt authentic and relatable and this was a big theme throughout, the fact that someone can be good and bad at the same time, can be moral but be the cause of great suffering. She was so well written and I loved her. I also really loved Thomil - not just as a possible love interest, but also because of how he is "lower class" but was still able to challenge Sciona and speak his truth. I loved how real Sciona's reaction to Tiran's truth was, how she went from denial to anger to grief to action and everything in between. The ending broke me, it is not at all what I wanted but it was so needed, it was so perfect for the story!
While the world had some complicated aspects, I did not find it hard to understand. In fact, I found that her writing style gave me light fantasy feels even when dealing with such heavy topics. I am literally in awe of the magic in this world, I love the mapping system used, how magic needs to be harnessed and instructed to create a reaction that will hopefully provide the hypothesised results, it was just so cool!
I loved the depth of Sciona's characters, that she was neither good nor bad. Her character felt authentic and relatable and this was a big theme throughout, the fact that someone can be good and bad at the same time, can be moral but be the cause of great suffering. She was so well written and I loved her. I also really loved Thomil - not just as a possible love interest, but also because of how he is "lower class" but was still able to challenge Sciona and speak his truth. I loved how real Sciona's reaction to Tiran's truth was, how she went from denial to anger to grief to action and everything in between. The ending broke me, it is not at all what I wanted but it was so needed, it was so perfect for the story!