Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang

10 reviews

darreck's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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ohennui's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0


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jadehusdanhicks's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.25

A complex tale this story takes place under a dome made by the founding mages which protects those in the city from the Blight. 

The blight kills without shame and destroys anything with life that it touches from trees and plants to unravelling a human infront of your eyes. 

We see our main character develop a lot throughout this book, as an academic she questions everything and despite Kwen being frowned upon in their city when she is mocked by her all male peers for being the first female archmage ever she takes the Kwen janitor under her wing as her assistant. 

Its narrative addresses issues such as genocide/ seeing certain groups as lesser beings as well as colonisation in the form of
ignoring the harms of magic and the destruction they reap on the Kwans native land , despite being a product of stolen texts taken from the original female witches under the Kwan who only aimed to help people.


Overall despite being deep and at sometimes saddening I truly loved this book and could not put it down. It’s unique from its magic system, to how it addresses social issues and I think is a vital addition to diversifying the worlds of sci fi and fantasy. 

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kaylamullarkey's review against another edition

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3.5


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christine_s's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark fast-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

4.75

Started a bit slow but it ramped up quick! Interesting world-building and magic.

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roseleebooks's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book was incredible. It introduces a fantasy world where Bright Haven, a city protected by magic, is a refuge from blight. It's founders created a place in which magic and industry thrive, but at what cost? 

The characters in this book are incredibly well written. From the beginning Sciona and Thomil are real people, with depth to their characterizations that is incredible. The reader can understand their points of view, can recognize the danger of Sciona's ego and the anger in Thomil's silence and still empathize with them. Their different views on morality and what makes a person "good" were so well written. I'm still thinking about one of their verbal debates.

The pacing of the story is tense and quick but never feels rushed. The way it unfolds makes sense but I was also unable to directly predict what was going to happen. And the ending is impossible to stop thinking about, even now over a day after finishing it.

This is my favorite book of the year so far.

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mmiamuse's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book grabbed me by the lapels and held on TIGHT! While reading this, I was consumed by it. I could not stop thinking about this at work, while driving...while existing lol. The writing is phenomenal, the character development is flawless. You will be emotionally scarred after reading this. This is a solid dark academia/fantasy stand alone. The MC is a woman in her mid 20's and I LOVED that. It made the character more relatable to me because I am the same age as Sciona (the main character). This is definitely added to the list as one of my favorite books ever...along with The Sword of Kaigen. I think I have a new favorite author.

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abzbooks75's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark hopeful informative inspiring sad tense 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

5.0

Wow! What a book to start 2024. I loved this so much, the way the story started and ended was beautiful! I loved every single character. I think whatever way I write this review will do injustice to the beauty of this story. It was amazingly well written and I felt like I was there. I might update this when I have clarity.

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atalea's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad 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

4.25


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marinapaso11's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

5.0


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