“She was going to show Tiran something they have never seen before. She was going to show them Hellfire.”

M.L. Wang’s The Sword of Kaigen is one of the books I loved so I just had to pick up Blood Over Bright Haven. Sadly, I didn’t love this one as I did TSoK but it is still a good book. Blood Over Bright Haven discusses racism, classism, feminism, and religious bigotry.

Thomil’s POV started the book and it set my expectations higher. It was so dark and intense that I was literally on the edge of my seat as I read on. Unfortunately, the pacing after that felt slow for me, especially during the first half of the book. 

Sciona grew up in a very religious society that is deeply misogynistic and racist. As much as Sciona cries misogyny, it doesn’t change the fact that as a Tiranishwoman she has more privilege than the Kwen—especially the Kwen women. Even though I dislike Sciona, I still couldn’t help but root for her. The Tiranishmen are a hundred times worse, I wanted to squash them all especially Cleon Renthorn, that man is my enemy I don’t care if he’s fictional.

I felt like the talks about feminism and racism were only discussed through the experiences of Sciona and Thomil. I am in no way dismissing their experiences or belittling them but I would’ve loved this more if Sciona interacted with women outside her family but she’s not like other girls. With Thomil, I felt like his character only revolved around Sciona. I wish we were shown more of the Kwen community in Tiran. Also, the romance??? That was a weird addition and felt unnecessary to the story.

I understand why people gave this five stars, but it sadly didn’t work for me.

blood over bright haven is a powerful book that meditates on important and relevant themes of truth, power and survival through a magic system that makes physically literal the horrors of societal development at the price of human lives.

through her opposing tiranish and kwen characters, wang masterfully explores the warped logic the powerful uses to justify the exploitation of the powerless, and the toxic dynamic between them. it is nuanced and fully fleshed out, satisfying in its truth and takedown of the hypocrisy of it all, as are her main characters, esp sciona. all this is further propped up by the strong writing and distinct worldbuilding. 

the novel could be a bit shorter, however, and some of the plot points are surprisingly predictable for me, thus lessening the impact of their reveals overall. this book also makes me realize that dark academia isnt for me - this being my second time reading one - as i find the incessant loop of studying and research dull for the most part. in capable hands like wang's, though, this book is a must read regardless of genre preferences.

Mind blowing dark fantasy. 
The prologue was very intense, heartbreaking and gory, introducing us to the Blight - a lightning kind of death magic that falls from the sky and thorns skin from muscle, muscle from bone, until only a puddle of blood remains, and to Thomil and the remains of his tribe as they make the crossing to the only place safe from the Blight, the magically protected city of Tiran. 
Then the first chapter, which we assume is a few years later, introduces us to the MC, Sciona, a very stubborn, very intelligent, very interesting and determined young woman who wants to be the first highmage.
She eventually achieves it but her male, mostly misogynistic, colleagues don’t want her to succeed and in a prank style have a janitor become her assistant in the project that is supposed to increase the size of the city by finding more magic in the Otherworld to siphon. That janitor is none other than Thomil, as the tribes people can only have low jobs and bow to their masters and protectors. 
This book is filled with relevant themes and complex events and decisions. From colonialism, misogyny, racism and exploitation. And, it doesn’t shy way from the gore, violence, and abuse that these themes encompass. But, it also shows how an intelligent person faced with the real facts can understand the errors in their conditioned reasoning and change their whole view of things, it also portrays the ways in which love can save a person, and how a culture can survive even when all try to bury it.
I was only somewhat bored with the complex magical system, that is until I understood it completely, until the realisation broke through and my mind exploded, not only at the brilliant idea of it but also at the fantasy-reality correlation. It was again, mind blowing.
The end was terrific, heartbreaking, and hopeful. 
Brilliant writing, brilliant exploration of the chosen themes, and a great imagination, plot, and characters in this not that big standalone. 
Anyone who loves fantasy, particularly the heavy lifting kind, needs to read this indie author, and this book. I can’t wait to have a minute to get into her debut The Sword of Kaigen. I mean, just see the reviews. Golden! Definitely a new author to follow!

I went into this book with the very little knowledge of what it was about besides having a dark academia setting, and I appreciate that as it afforded me the opportunity to experience it at firsthand.

My favorite thing about M. L. Wang’s works however shall always be her unique ability to seize the most specific, unsettling, and devastating emotions and bring them to life through her words. Before I had any inkling of what the plot could be about, I cared about the characters she introduced me to and what would happen next. Unfortunately except towards the beginning, while I was interested in the events that would happen next I rarely found myself genuinely invested in the stakes. Perhaps, it’s easier for me to feel emotionally connected to smaller-scale, more personal conflict. Luckily, despite not relating to the main character, Sciona, much at all, I found her perspective and thoughts to be captivating, her boldness and willingness (stubbornness) to stand by her values admirable. The great character work really did a lot of heavy lifting in this book.

While I do think the messaging about sexism and colonialism was a little heavy handed, I don’t think that it’s any less enjoyable or important. I think her depictions of the truths and emotions that underly these things were realistic and necessary for to get the purpose of this particular book across. To compare it to Sword of Kaigen would be doing a disservice to both novels because they are fundamentally different in what they are trying to accomplish. 

This woman-in-STEM approach to the story and world was surprisingly interesting considering I generally prefer more traditional fantasy environments. Still, my heart is set on softer magic systems that bring wonder to my eyes and heal my soul. 
Overall, it was a good experience that I’d recommend.

 [This review can also be found on my BLOG]

**I was provided with a digital copy of the book through the author in exchange for an honest review**

CW: violence, blood, gore, body horror, murder, death, genocide, suicidal ideation, racism, xenophobia, misogyny, sexism, sexual assault, sexual harassment, classism, colonisation
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M.L. Wang has done it again, where do I even begin?

Blood Over Bright Haven, her newest novel is wholly unique but follows in The Sword of Kaigen’s footsteps in that it packs a real punch and will come for your emotions.

The book follows Sciona, a young and conceited woman who has worked hard to climb the ranks of Tiran’s patriarchal society to become a Highmage, a position of the High Magistry never held by a woman before. Her prowess is met with nothing short of mockery by her male colleagues and she is appointed Thomil, a Kwen janitor as an assistant over someone actually qualified to offer her help.
The Kwen hail from nomadic tribes outside the magical wards of the city, a race shunned by the people of Tiran for their beliefs and lifestyles. Underestimated by his superiors, Thomil steps into his new role easily and forms an agreeable working relationship with Sciona that leads them down a dangerous path of discovery that could upset everything they know about their world and its magic forever.

Now I would personally describe the book as more of an gaslamp/urban fantasy with dark academia elements, as though there was a lot centring around the research and study of magic the overarching plot was more along the lines of following the characters as they manoeuvred through the socio-political climate of the world as well as unravelling its history and secrets.

The worldbuilding is absolutely phenomenal. The setting at times reminded me of the Dead Djinn universe with how the workings and technology of the world were imbued with magic however, everything about the magic was so original. The system itself is intricate, involving elements of both intuition and science and though at the start we’re kind of thrown into the mix without much to go on I really enjoyed how the details of the world and its lore and backstory were peeled back and explained the further you got into the book. I especially love it when author’s include scenes where one character catches the other up to speed with all the basics as has been done in this book with Sciona and Thomil, as moments like this being included make everything feel all the more immersive.

The character arcs and relationships are what kept me the most compelled though. I want to avoid giving too many details away as Wang’s characterisations and how she brings emotions to the page are so masterful they deserve to be experienced first-hand. Paired with a narrative heavy on the themes of morality and sacrifice, imperialism and prejudice, Sciona and Thomil are characters that will stick with you for a long while. Their journeys will frustrate and horrify you but also make you hope on the possibility of change.

I’ll admit I was able to guess some of the big reveals that came along but all in all this was a well-rounded standalone that truly showcases the versatility of Wang’s writing. I hope we get more from this world in the future as it’s really interesting and feels like it can definitely be expanded on!
Final Rating – 4.5/5 Stars 

 Thank you so much to author M.L. Wang for the review copy in exchange for an honest review. This does not change my opinion in anyway. 

 

If you think you are picking up a fantasy book with a bit of a darker theme, think again. Blood over Bright Haven is a hard-hitting book that swings back at colonialism, our past and our present. 

While the tag line for this book is 'what if there is a cost to magic?' it boils down to so much more. The city of Tiran has done quite well for itself. Its people and magic thrives and they are proud of that. Outside of their borders and their magical protection lay plains and Kwen. Kwen and its people are barely surviving because of the Blight. A weird phenomenon that kills any life (including plants and animals) in weird lightning strikes. If the blight doesnt outright kill you, the lack of nutrition will. Survivors try to reach Tiran. Some are able to come into the city, but only if they can work. They aren't treated kindly and while they aren't slaves, they are not at all treated kindly. Does that ring any bells? 

The above is not the only theme of course. Ask yourself the question if magic could give you anything you want, if you would give that up because the cost was high? What is too high for a whole society to thrive? What is morally right and acceptable? What if there is no right choice? 

I think what I appreciated the most about the book was that nothing was easy. There was no easy answer to any of the hard hits that our characters had to deal with. You don't discover something, tell everyone and then everything will fall into the right path. You can't change hundred of years of set behaviour by disclosing that one secret. There wasn't one right choice. 

I can't say that I was particulary taken by any of the characters. They weren't unlikeable but I didn't fall for them either. Yet when chapter 23 came around, I felt like crying just as much as the characters did at the start of it. And I think that lies in the strenght of M.L. Wangs writing. How she manages to twist all these difficult topics together and loads it with all these emotions. It's not our world, but it is just close enough to trigger those feelings. Of the things that we see happen around ourselves. About not knowing how to make a stand. 

M. L. Wang has written two of my favorite books of the last year now. The writing itself is not the greatest on a technical level, but it’s more than enough to convey the emotion that she writes raw into her stories. From the first two chapters of desperate running and magic school, I was in on this book. I saw the twist coming pretty early, but seeing how it would be executed and followed through was fascinating. 
I received an eARC of this book and am grateful to the author for the early chance to review this book! 

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