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Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang

20 reviews

meganpbell's review

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adventurous dark informative inspiring 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

A unique magic system and excellent world-building undergird this dark academia fantasy about colonialism and complicity that follows the first female highmage of Tiran and the Kwen janitor her peers assign her as an assistant as the two uncover the shocking truth behind magic. As brilliant as I found Blood Over Bright Haven, it was also predictable at times and very heavy-handed. I came to think of it as Babel Jr.—a less subtle little sibling to one of my favorite books. I hope older teens will find it!
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razalicious's review against another edition

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

4.5

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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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celina246's review against another edition

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

4.25

I judge a good book to me personally if it entertains me, teaches me something and/or makes me feel something significant - and this book made me feel ALOT. 

I was NOT expecting it to be this dark or the characters to be so flawed, but it was an excellent read.  although the themes were a tad on the nose and in your face.  
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soapsoapsoap's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

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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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experfectionist's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful 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

 
How far would you go to discover, and honor the truth, even if it meant upending everything you know about history and god, and what is right and wrong? 
 
Although light on detailed intricate world-building (eg., The Fifth Season Game of Thrones, etc.), everything else about this dark academia fantasy from Sword of Kaigen author M.L. Wang is top notch and is a 5-star book for me. Character development and depth, dialog and banter, unique magic system and depth, plot and story pacing and writing are all excellent. It was a page-turner for me, addictive and fast-paced despite the length. 
 
The story follows a talented and ambitious young female aspiring mage named Sciona as she becomes the first woman ever to be admitted into the High Magistry in an industrial utopia called Titan protected and fueled by a unique magic system similar to coding and programming. Facing challenges and bullying from most of her new male colleagues, she does as she has always had to do - work twice as hard to get half the recognition and overcome their assumptions about whether a woman is even fit or capable of being a High Mage. 
 
Along the way she is assigned a janitor as her assistant as part of their cruelty, a man who escaped the harsh winterlands and vicious Blight that killed everyone he knew in their trek to find refuge in the magic-protected city of Titan. 
 
As they work together on a special project to expand the magical bounds of the city, they start to uncover an ancient secret that could change things forever, if it doesn’t drive them mad or get them killed in the process. 
 
I think opinions will be mixed on how "happy" or "hopeful" the ending is, but just like in real life, I think some things can be both happy and sad, hopeful and tragic, redemptive and heartbreaking and thought-provoking, all at the same time. The truth of the past, the truth about history, is rarely golden and blemish-free, and uncovering the truth about the past can often be uncomfortable. It's what we do with that knowledge that matters, if we accept the status quo, or choose to do something with the knowledge, that makes us who we are. 
 
 
 
Notes about content and themes: 
There is some graphic depictions of violence that are central to the plot and the overall core of the world and struggle between the protected civilization under the dome and the people they exploit for resources, with strong themes of patriarchy and misogyny, genocide, exploitation, racism and xenophobia, classism, religious supremacy and intolerance, and hints and allusions to imperialism, colonization, that are reminiscent of the dark past of western history. Romantic elements are not overt -- there are feelings and inklings of love between several key characters in a doomed forbidden romance, but no spice.  
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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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ambar1337's review against another edition

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

4.75

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e_len's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book wrecked me.
It took me a long while to finish it, because I kept picking it up and immediately putting it down, not in the mood for something so heavy, so infuriating, so painful.
M.L. Wang knows like no other how to invoke emotions.
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