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I knew it was a story about deep seated chauvinism and its impact on the society and even the greatest minds when those are raised with such beliefs.
I knew that it was an introspection on privilege — Siona who is treated badly by her male colleagues is treating Tommen equally bad if not worse. How easy it is to forget that other people have it worse when you are focused on your own issues. It doesn’t make your issues less; it just puts things into perspective.
I knew that it was about choice — whether you are willing to question your ideals even if they actively benefit you. How eager people are to ease their burdens at the expense of other people. And how hard it might be to even comprehend the evil around you and inside of you.
But I still wasn’t ready for where the plot of blood over bright haven took me. I wasn’t expecting it to be that clear on the mission of getting to the point. I feel like I walked this road with Siona and cried with her and raged with her. I love how the story is not sparing us any suffering along the way. It had to be done like this, like a mirror that she created, that opens right in front of your face and shows you the truth how uncomfortable it really is.
I have a feeling I will be thinking about this book for a long time
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment
Minor: Child abuse, Child death
I loved this standalone dark academia fantasy. The magic system was so complex, detailed and well-thought out. The worldbuilding was amazing, built brick by brick with societal issues that cut deep - the negative effects of patriarchy, greed, ego, misogyny, sexism, classism, racism. So many topics to unpack with a dash of magic that just added another high-stake power in this book's dynamic.
We follow two main characters, Sciona and Thomil. My favorite character from the beginning was Thomil. I loved his grit, his love of culture, him as a whole. Sciona had a lot of character development and by the end of the book, I was sobbing because of everything she was able to accomplish.
I feel like this story was exactly what I needed at this time. With the way the world has been lately, I toast to the same thing as Sciona and Thomil at the end, "To hope."
This book was very heavy on my heart and should be given a proper amount of time to fully absorb and go through in order to savor reading it for the first time. So many aspects of hard to stomach moments, including abuse, murder, and sexual harrasment, but overall, I'm glad I was able to bear witness to this story.
I loved how this story felt really full circle, whenever an author alludes back to moments that happened in the beginning of the book at the end, as well, I always feel so much nostalgia. Like the crossing, the toasts that Sciona and Thomil had made, so many details that tugged on my heartstrings as I watched the characters I love go through so much hardship.
Such a good book I highly recommend this. This story also reminded me of Shingeki no Kyojin and Those Who Walk Away from Omelas.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Rape, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Pregnancy
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Death, Genocide, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Deportation
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Classism
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Hate crime, Infertility, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide
Minor: Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury
𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘨𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘭.
𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦.
What a reading experience this was. Coming off my love for Sword of Kaigen, I jumped into this one with very high expectations. Chapter 1 had me totally invested, but then the pacing and the plot was a bit slow. I kept setting it aside for other books. It wasn't until around the 40% mark, that the story completely captured me and wouldn't let go until the final word.
Looking back, I now appreciate that the initial slow pace served such a crucial purpose. Those early chapters meticulously constructed the magic system, established the deep-rooted tensions between the people of Tiran and the Kwens, and laid out the intricate mechanics of siphoning. All of this background was absolutely necessary—without it, the emotional gut punches and complex conflicts of the latter half wouldn't have hit me with such force. Switching to the audiobook was a game-changer, too. Moira Quirk's narration was spectacular, giving voice and emotion to all the frustrating twists and turns.
Sciona's character arc was so well done. My initial dislike of her feels intentional in retrospect—her self-centeredness made her difficult to root for. But witnessing her worldview shatter transformed her completely. As the first female mage, Sciona constantly battled against the expectations and judgements from her male colleagues, forever having to prove her worth in a system designed against her. This pressure sadly manifested in her early treatment of Thomil—her biases against Kwens reflecting the same prejudice she herself faced. Her journey from privileged ignorance to painful awakening makes her growth all the more powerful.
𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯: 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘩𝘢𝘮 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘛𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦. 𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙃𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚.
Blood Over Bright Haven is everything I wanted in a standalone fantasy. This was such a timely, rage-inducing, heart-crushing read that deserves all the praise it's gotten and more. Please if this book isn't on your radar, go pick it up!
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Classism
Blood Over Bright Haven by M. L. Wang is a third person-POV dark academia fantasy that asks how far a society is willing to go for progress and convenience. Orphan and mage Sciona has spent her entire life planning on becoming the first woman admitted to the High Magistry and continuing her magical studies. She achieves her goal only to eventually learn the price for the magic she has dedicated her life to and it’s not worth it.
There are a lot of references to real world conversations in the social justice movement and to what has been done and continues to be done to so many all over the world. One of the more obvious ones was when Carra, a Kwen, calls Sciona out for crying when Sciona is confronted with the part she played in a genocide she didn’t know was going on. This mirrored conversations I’ve seen around white tears and takes a nuanced approach because it is from Sciona’s point of view and validates her emotional response but at no point does it detract from what Carra is saying or the fact that Sciona has to get over herself and start to do the right thing.
I really liked how M. L. Wang handled all of these conversations and this very difficult but important topic because there is so much compassion for the Kwen and their plight while also showing an unflinching look at how truly inhumane oppression and prejudice are. I can tell that Wang did research into topics like forced sterilization and how truly unfair the system and how it works to keep those at the bottom of the ladder at the bottom for generations. At no point did I feel preached at; instead, I felt like I was watching someone in real time come to terms with how they are part of something they would never have been part of if they had known. Not everyone is looking for books about people unlearning, but I would still recommend this book to those readers because Sciona isn’t only unlearning—she is choosing to do something about it even if it costs her everything.
The magic system is both cool and horrifying. Typewriter-esque spellographs are used to help cast spells and there’s a very scientific quality to spells with a category of casting involving spellwebs. I would happily read another book set in either this world or a different world but with a similar magic system from this author because I’ve never seen something quite like a spellograph before. The horrifying part comes at the midway point and it is impossible to separate the cost of magic from the plot, the character arcs, and the grander worldbuilding, which is exactly how I like my magic systems being integrated.
Content warning for mentions of forced sterilization and abuse and depictions of sexual assault and genocide
I would recommend this to fans of secondary worlds that are roughly 1930’s, readers of dark academia who want a dark fantasy, and those looking for a fantasy with very strong social justice themes
Moderate: Genocide, Sexual assault
Minor: Child abuse
This was such an incredible read. It’s a story of hope and loss and grief and faith and intention.
There is so much packed into this book it’s hard to know where to even start. There’s questions of morality, is intention what counts most? Or is the result what counts most? Just because you intend to do something good, doesn’t always make it a good action.
There’s so much grief and loss piled onto each other here and it’s heart wrenching but it also shows how every action, every person, every decision makes such a big impact on the world around us.
Hope is a fickle thing too. We can hope for the best but we also need to plan for the worst. We have to be able to find that balance and not lose hope for what is right and good in the world because it’s worth hoping for.
It was so interesting to see Sciona’s character arc evolve throughout the story. In the end she had to learn to live with and work with her flaws to do the right thing and do good for the world and others. Sciona is a character that meant well, her intent was not to cause harm or hurt, but she was selfish to a fault. She struggled to get out of her own head enough to see how much her ideas and decisions and actions would truly impact the world around her.
I really loved the conversation about morality in this story too. It really hits hard. Is intention to do good all that matters? Or is the outcome of your actions all that matter? Or is it somewhere between?
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism