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

dark emotional 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

4.75

Read this one in a day! I'd heard the hype and it didn't disappoint. I enjoyed the storytelling and writing style. I thought the magic system was super unique and very well thought out! The intricacies of the magic system was probably my favorite part! Additionally, there were a lot of deep issues addressed in this book that felt relavent to both history and present day, and that made the message of this story even more powerful. 

I thought the author did an impressive job of showing how someone reacts to learning about the religious and racial propaganda they have been fed their entire lives. It did remind me of Babel at times, but still was its own story. I also resonated with Sciona a lot when she was optimistic/naive that revealing the source of power would solve the problems of her world, as I feel like that's what I would have thought. It was really eye opening to see how the people responded, and it felt so realistic that it was jarring.
 

Sciona was an interesting character- at times I loved seeing her success as a female in a male dominated field, but other times, she was hard to connect with because of her ego, lack of human connection, religious fervour, and ignorance (of the Kwen plight, particularly). However, I truly enjoyed seeing her growth as a person and a mage as her friendship with Thomil progressed. Her character showed a lot of growth and progressive depth. I really liked Thomil and appreciated having his POV from time to time, as it provided an alternate perspective to the typical Tiran citizen. 

Overall, I waffled with rating this 4.75 vs 5 stars and ultimately went with 4.75 because I didn't always connect with Sciona and also
I liked the ending (it felt fitting) but I kind of wanted more, maybe an epilogue of a more future point? And the romantic in me wanted a little more to have happened with Sciona and Thomil, but I still really enjoyed following their relationship.
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