ARC was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

M.L. Wang has done it again! My attention was captured from the first page of the book but once we hit the 40% mark, this is where things really start to happen and I did not want to put the book down. 

Blood Over Bright Haven has some heavy-hitting themes like imperialism, colonialism, exploitation, racism, bigotry, ambition, and social status and they are all done well and in a thought-provoking manner. 

The character development and growth throughout the book is one of M.L. Wang’s strong suits. As a character-driven reader, I really appreciated how she grew and developed each of the characters (positive or negative). The mystery, intrigue, and magic were there but what I really loved about Blood Over Bright Haven is the character's growth and development, challenging the status quo and long-held beliefs. Not being afraid to ask questions or change your mind about something, to look at facts and believe them instead of putting your own spin on them so you don’t become uncomfortable. 

The main characters Sciona and Thomil were so real and I felt like I really knew them and I wondered what I would have done in their position. Every character in this book draws about strong feelings, the love you feel from Sciona’s cousin and Aunt, the raw pain from the Kwen, the disgust for those in power, and so much more. Learning that not only are others that we love flawed but we are as well. 

I felt like I was immersed in the atmosphere and the world the characters are living in. The magic system is so clearly described without making you feel like you are reading a textbook. The descriptions are so clear that you easily know how it is used. You cannot create something from nothing, you have to get the energy from somewhere. Yes, you can spell a wand or other object to use for casting, but the main source of magic is used by mapping and siphoning through a spellograph. Overall it is a very complex magic system but the concept of it is fairly easy to understand. Spells have two main components, the action, and the source, basically what you want it to do and where the energy will come from. This is where the mapping and siphoning come in. It gets easier to understand the further into the book you get. Mathematics and intuition are a huge part of the sourcing aspect of the magic system.  The ending almost had me tearing up, chef's kiss!

Every word on the page was well-thought-out and used purposefully to tell the story and create the atmosphere of the world. The plot and storyline were built piece by piece to create a cohesive story that flowed so well on the page and came together to make it feel like it was really happening.  This is Dark Academia done right! If you like Babel or Full Metal Alchemist, you will enjoy Blood Over Bright Haven. It ticks all the Dark Academia boxes. 

Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang You can find this and the rest of my reviews on my Booktube channel