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

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • 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

5.0

A devastatingly emotional read. Loved it, but it’s gonna be tough to convince me to reread cause I don’t know if I can get in all my feels again!

This is a book that speaks about the harm caused by things like religious indoctrination, colonialism, and bigotry, and does it well in my opinion. I loved the conversation about if harm is done, despite good intentions, it’s still harm, and what are the costs associated with enabling the privileged to be so. There is also a good look into the ways the oppressed people can still be bigots, as the main character, a woman in an entirely male environment, is simultaneously put down by her male counterparts, and then turning around to be racist to her new assistant.  

I’m proud of myself for predicting a plot revel shocking early, but I’m glad that this reveal was midway, and they was a lot more book to get through dealing with the implications rather than a rushed ending. 

My only complaint is that the systems were almost too evil, like what do you mean everyone is super chill with the crime they are committing, but in some way sad way, that’s often how the world works, so I can’t fault it too much. No matter how sad it makes me. 


All in all, really enjoyed reading it, but I'm not sure I’ll ever be emotionally strong enough to attempt a reread
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