A review by aksmith92
Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

5.0

"The worthwhile run is never the short one."

Wow, this book absolutely crushed me. I usually don't like books that end this way (no spoilers, don't worry!), but M.L Wang did this book beautifully that I could not help but give it five shining stars.

The book follows Sciona Freynan, the first woman of Bright Haven, her society, to reach the prestigious highmage rank - someone who can siphon magic from a place called the Otherrealm. We watch as she gets into the High Magistry, awkwardly receives an assistant, and the proceeding story of how they uncover an ancient secret hidden in plain sight. Thomil, Sciona's assistant, is known as a Kwen who emigrated to Bright Haven due to absolute necessity (and literal carnage known as the Blight). First a janitor, now a highmage assistant, Thomil finds himself in the thick of explaining a treacherous society to Sciona. Together, they uncover something they never thought they would find in their respective communities within Bright Haven.

This book swept me away. While some of the beginning was a bit tough to immerse yourself into because M.L Wang does an incredible job at describing the magical system (it's complex!), but overall, the prose and writing style were impeccable. Wang made this story believable - we have a society founded on men's claims that they heard from God about what to do with Bright Haven, and therefore created a power shift over communities who had likely been in the area thousands of years. It is also an incredibly patriarchal society that thinks women are too emotional to be part of the High Magistry - those who can "do" magic and help create all the incredible technology for Bright Haven that prevents the Blight from capturing them all. Sciona is determined to rewrite the story for those who are of the same gender, and we watch as she battles awful sexism and misogyny. However, on top of that, we also see her go through her revolution about the Kwen people and how they also have been historically marginalized. While it was hard to see Thomil explain so many apparent things to Sciona about her unequal and inequitable world, this book was beyond necessary and relatable to many of our world conflicts today. I just loved how Wang incorporated a magical component, socioeconomic factors, and colonialism into one book. There was also a dash of a love story that I found so beautiful.

While this may have been slightly predictable, I enjoyed every second, even when some tears were present. Wang is a phenomenal writer and can't wait to read more of her works!
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