Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang

168 reviews


The magic discussions were way too detailed, the themes were obvious and I guessed the first big downturn two chapters before it was revealed. Interest level outweighed by book remaining.

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dark emotional hopeful medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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dark reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Incredibly impressive how flushed out this book is for a standalone high fantasy! 

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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adventurous challenging dark hopeful inspiring reflective tense fast-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: Complicated

This was spectacular.
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 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I feel like the author decided to try and explore many different real social issues in a fantasy setting, but since it's a standalone and so many issues were involved, none were really explored well.
Cool magic system? Yes. Entertaining? Sure. 
a good commentary on the patriarchy/colonialism/industrialism/etc? Hell no

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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