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awesomeeallyson 's review for:
Blood Over Bright Haven
by M.L. Wang
adventurous
dark
reflective
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:
Yes
I went into Blood Over Bright Haven blind, just knowing that people I trust highly recommended it and that it was solidly in my personal wheelhouse. Overall, this is an incredible book. The themes are evident from the beginning, almost to a fault, but there is a strong character ARC and I felt that the ending while sad was very fitting and ended on a hopeful note without tying everything neatly up in a bow.
ML Wang tackles themes of social class, racism, colonialism, and sexism to name and few and while she handles these topics very well for the most part, there were a few sections where I felt she was forcing it. She was not very subtle in Sciona's thoughts about her peers being believed to be lesser than her, for example, and this got repetitive and felt like I was being force-fed a lesson on how we should treat everyone equally. Which, I do agree with, but also there's something to be said about the ability to show not tell. But Sciona's character arc regarding these messages was incredibly satsifying to watch as the book progresses.
I felt that ML Wang did an impeccable job of explaining the magic system within the story and not making it feel like I was reading a history book. The overall progression of the story was really smooth and it slowly sucked me in. The beginning was a bit slower with all the world building and character introductions, but once I hit a certain book I physically could not put the book down. I fully see why this book has gotten such good reviews and I'm happy to add another one to the pile. ML Wang will now became a staple on my bookshelf.
ML Wang tackles themes of social class, racism, colonialism, and sexism to name and few and while she handles these topics very well for the most part, there were a few sections where I felt she was forcing it. She was not very subtle in Sciona's thoughts about her peers being believed to be lesser than her, for example, and this got repetitive and felt like I was being force-fed a lesson on how we should treat everyone equally. Which, I do agree with, but also there's something to be said about the ability to show not tell. But Sciona's character arc regarding these messages was incredibly satsifying to watch as the book progresses.
I felt that ML Wang did an impeccable job of explaining the magic system within the story and not making it feel like I was reading a history book. The overall progression of the story was really smooth and it slowly sucked me in. The beginning was a bit slower with all the world building and character introductions, but once I hit a certain book I physically could not put the book down. I fully see why this book has gotten such good reviews and I'm happy to add another one to the pile. ML Wang will now became a staple on my bookshelf.