Holy crap. Where do I start? I'm still wiping the bittersweet tears. What drew me into this story was the complexity of the world created by M. L. Wang. The details she put into this unique blend of magic and technology made me wonder if she had training in computer science. In most magic systems, magic is simply that, magic. However, our FMC Sciona composed algorithms to perform magic using if/then statements.

Once again, Wang succeeded in drawing the rawest emotions from her characters onto the pages. She introduced the oppression experienced by different people in the story. First, Sciona fought to succeed in a male-dominated magic world. A lot of us are familiar with the struggles experienced by women in STEM in our world. Then, we were introduced to the working class dominated by the Kwens, the so-called uncivilized heathen. We already know from many stories (like Pocahontas), that these "savages" have different wealth of knowledge to share. When the truth about the magic source in this world was finally revealed, we had to ask ourselves whether the ends truly justify the means. What would you have done if you were in Sciona's shoes?

If you had read <i>Sword of Kaigen</i>, you would not be surprised at how this book ends. It was no happily ever after but there was still hope on the horizon.

Posted on Goodreads, Storygraph, and Amazon

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When I saw this on Netgalley, I snatched up an eARC the literal second I could, because holy shit have I heard a ton about this book. I’ve never read anything by this author before (I’ll be buying The Sword of Kaigan though, trust me), and I barely skimmed the summary, so I went in pretty much blind. I didn’t watch any tiktoks about it in the days leading up to reading and didn’t look up reviews; I wanted to be 100% surprised.

Did you ever watch or read Fullmetal Alchemist? Do you like hard magic systems, critiques on colonialism, unlikable protagonists that decide that they are the villain and will do anything in their power to fix the damage they’ve done, and nuanced looks on how the people who have treated you nicely can so easily turn around and show a much darker side to those they consider beneath them? Then this is the book for you.

This book is messed up, and I mean that in the best way. I wouldn’t call it surprising though; I guessed most of the plot within the first 50 pages. But that’s not a bad thing! It was predictable, but the writing was so good that the predictability didn’t take away from the story.

My only gripe is that I wish they’d kept the original self-published cover. The new one looks a bit messy.

4.5 stars and my thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the eARC.

I loved the magic system, I loved that it didn't have a happy ending and that it left it more ambiguous. I'm usually not a fan of that, but for this, there was no way any of the main characters could have a happily ever after. It wasn't that type of book.

I really enjoyed this book, but it took a bit at the beginning for me to get into it. Once I got into it, I was sucked into the fantasy world that M.L. Wang writes. The magic system and Otherrealm was a unique take that I really enjoyed learning about in this dark academia. This fantasy causes the reader to reflect on topics such as sexism and oppression without them seeming like the heavy societal issues they are.
"You bought your success - and by extension mine - at the cost of cost of women's lives, their health, their ability to have children. How could you do that?"
Thank you NetGalley for the eARC, all opinions are my own.

reviewed on Goodreads

Mark my words: THE BEST FANTASY NOVEL OF 2024. Blood Over Bright Haven was gut wrenching, brutal, beautiful, and so well written. M. L. Wang truly outdid themselves. The perspective of humanity in this book actually churned my stomach. I finished this book and could not stop thinking about it for days. This is a tragic story set in a dark academia setting. It’s full of tragedy, vengeance, sacrifice and love.

This standalone fantasy pulls from dark academia, science, philosophy, and magic to create a beautiful novel that will have you FEELING. Sciona has worked her entire life to learning magic and becoming the best at it with the goal of becoming the first female mage at the University of Magics and Industry. She must fight to be seen as equal among her male peers, but an unlikely pairing sparks a partnership she can work with. Through this partnership, Sciona learns some dark secrets and creates new ideas that could change the way magic is used and abused.

I really loved Sciona as a character! She is stubborn and some might think her unlikable, but she is just a woman trying to make her voice heard in a male-dominated field. Her development throughout the story made me like her even more. The writing was beautifully done and I would definitely recommend this book!

This was heartbreakingly incredible. The author did a truly phenomenal job putting you in the head of both of these characters. She puts you in the head of Sciona and so many times I wanted to hate her because she sounded like such a bigot and the way she thinks of the Kwen is so WRONG, but at the same time you can understand her because the author does an incredible job of giving the impression of how Sciona grew up, what she was taught and what her side of the culture is like. Throughout the whole story you get to see her absolutely crushed and devastated, but she picks herself up and chooses to change and make change.
On the flip said of this you're seeing Thomil and the horribly difficult choices he has to make to just survive and slowly be crushed by this oppressive culture. He loses everything over and over again, but you see him continue on so that the small sliver of his own culture can continue.
All of this and I haven't even touched on the incredible and innovative magic system. From page one this gave me some new age Harry Potter vibes and I just friggin ate it up. I hope there's more to come from this world because this was absolutely incredible in all the ways.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing - Ballantine- for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m irritated with myself that I didn’t finish this one before the publish date, but I’m so incredibly thankful I got to read this. I haven’t been this moved and into a straight fantasy book in quite some time. The world building is absolutely stunning with classic fantasy elements woven into more steampunk type elements layered with a complex world with its own racial hierarchy, religious foundations, myths and legends… world building at its finest and yet not in a way that dragged the pace as it can sometimes do. The characters were gruff but lovable. Maybe reading a book focused on the political elements of misogyny, racism, and the myriad ways a government and a people suppress those without power wasn’t a GREAT choice for me right now (it is the week after the US 2024 elections as I write this), but isn’t that what good art is for? A new way to look at an old system, an old way to look at a new system, combined to make entertainment mean education.

Anyways, I loved it. I was so pleased this was a standalone so no suffering cliffhangers, but I also wouldn’t mind living in this universe for another book or two.

4.5 stars.

Truth over delusion. Growth over comfort. I loved so much of this! From the discussions on morality, cultural differences, religion, and right and wrong to the discussions about women's roles in society and the parallels with our own society. It's very accurate to what we experience today especially in male dominated work places. The main female character has her own prejudices too so she's not just a perfect woman fighting against the patriarchy which I enjoyed. I love it when something you grew up believing to be good is actually completely challenged. The realization that the main character's heroes were actually villains was amazing. And it was realistic that she didn't accept that all her beliefs were biased or wrong at first. It makes for such interesting conversations. People aren't all good or all bad. There's shades of gray in everyone. The ending was brutal in the best way. My only complaint is that the magic system had a lot of rules (I did like how unique it was) but I like more whimsy in my magic systems.

"'Women are always told to be kind, be forgiving, be nurturing.' Sciona glared down the walk ahead. 'As far as I know, it's never gotten them anywhere. The men of Tiran, who have the real power, won't return the favor when it matters.'"

This book was a bit slow for me to get into just because the coding-like magic system was so complex to explain and understand, and it took a lot of page time to really get past that. But, once I did, holy cow. The twists, the forbidden, caste-crossing romance, the chilling social commentary that grabbed you by the throat and pulled absolutely no punches--I got so hooked after a point. It was definitely a dark and not very happy story, all things told, but so well done. I'd definitely recommend.

This book is nothing short of a masterpiece. As a standalone fantasy, the world building exceeded all expectations! The magic system created felt new, but also reminiscent of shows and books I grew up with (Full Metal Alchemist), and the characters all felt real and fleshed out.

The most powerful thing about this book was the reactions felt REAL. There were real human reactions that do not normally make their way into books. There are ugly thoughts and words spoken to characters, and brutal reactions to people who they deem different. And in the end, there was no pretending like people learned lessons in a snap. There is still hatred and ugliness, and all we can do is hope for the next generation to learn from past mistakes.

This was my first ML Wang book. This is not my last.

Big THANKS to NetGalley and Del Ray for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I feel like I may not do this book justice with this review. Blood Over Bright Haven is beautifully written, the pacing of the story is perfect, and it’s easy to read despite the heavy content this book contains. This is a story about love, loss, someone in power desperately trying to right some wrongs, and a magic system that is more complicated and sinister than it seems. I loved this book from start to finish.

Blood Over Bright Haven was the first book by M.L. Wang that I’ve ventured into and I was not disappointed. This is a dark fantasy so be sure to read any warnings from the author but that said I really enjoyed it. It was a bit slow to pull me in but once it did, I was stuck and could turn the pages fast enough. The world building was great and the magic system unique. The characters were flawed and engaging. Sciona, though linear in her magic and thinking was able to overcome the system and beliefs that brought her up in Tiran when faced with the truth of her world. Thomil was a true bright spot for those in his life and was the perfect balance for Sciona. The ending got me a little but was beautifully done.

Blood over Bright Haven surpassed any expectations I had going in. Throughout the story, I never had any idea where it would go next, and I loved every surprising moment.
This hooked me from the first page when we see Thomas and his tribe trying to escape the blight. His and Scorches' story had me completely immersed in it and had me staying up into the wee hours of the night because I couldn't put it down.
The world building is unique, well thought out, and descriptive without being overwhelming. I loved Thomil and Sciona and how they went from two people from complete opposite ends of the hierarchy to something more.
I will absolutely be reading more by this author.

Omg I was not prepared for this book! There was so much to unpack and it was so brilliantly laid out. This is a book that I will be thinking about for a long time.
Sciona was a selfish (but didn’t see it) character but was brilliant and was the first female highmage. Females were too delicate and couldn’t handle the magic or so they said. There was a highly complex magical system with plotting and mapping. And when the source of the power was discovered by her she would not be silent.
Sciona’s relationship with Thomil, who was a race that was seen as less than and they only stuck her with him to demean her, was more than I expected. Those high born men really did underestimate these two just cause of gender and race. Let’s see how that turned out for them.

The vibe:
““The High Magistry controls the history books, Freynan. You know that. If they don’t want Tiran to remember something, then within a few short generations, it will be buried.”

Omg I want to tell you all about this but it will ruin the fun. Trust the process and see her final word! I promise you won’t regret reading this. Though be prepared it’s chaos at the end and there is no hea for many.

This definitely felt like a hate letter to colonialism and the patriarchy. And I loved every second of it. Lobotomies are not healthcare.

Sciona has had one ambition her whole life - to be a high mage. The only problem is no woman has ever been admitted into these ranks in this history of her city.

With single minded focus, Sciona breezes through the entrance tests, but she isn't exactly welcomed with open arms. Even worse is to come when her brilliant mind delves deeper, more quickly than other mages of her rank and with a push from her unexpected assistant, she discovers the true origins of the power of her city and her world crumbles.

Armed with this terrible knowledge, and the horrific indifference of her mentors and the mage council, she's determined to bring the city down with her.

The themes of this book explore colonialism, racism, misogyny, and the desire to do good in the world even in the face of an unjust system. Honestly this was a book I NEEDED this week. The horrors persist, but so do we.

So... I really thought this would be a new favourite. Even at 51%, I was still convinced that was the course I was on!
And while I quite liked it and it fully held my attention and I think it's a good book... I also don't think I'll ever re-read it, nor will I find it easy to recommend, and part of me simultaneously really hates it? (Also this made me scared to re-read Babel)

Okay. How to figure out how to talk about this book. Let's start with--

How it Compares to Sword of Kaigen:
The things I really truly loved in Kaigen were mostly related to the magic system and the fight scenes. They were beautifully written and so cinematic. This is ML Wang's greatest writing strength. I also enjoyed the themes of characters discovering government propaganda and the balance between becoming informed and jaded vs their pre-existing beliefs and values and how to integrate those essential parts of your core character with the new knowledge, since everything was built on a fraudulent foundation.

What I didn't love was the shoddy world-building and the primary relationship at the heart of the book, as well as the infuriating repeated mentions of the patriarchy and how the main character just sort of gives up and gives in to it and makes herself small.

Magic System:
Blood Over Bright Haven does not have an interesting magic system-- I'm pretty sure the system itself is just programming. I'm also in the weird position where I feel like I really understand how the magic works... but not what the magic is? Or what can be done with it. Because I am given exactly two uses of the magic system and they are both really simple and boring; nothing about this magic system excites my imagination.

Fight Scenes:
As for fight scenes, this is a mostly academic setting so the opportunity to have them is small. The ones that we do get don't excite me in any way either, but they're also primarily perpetrated by bloodthirsty bad actors, so it's harder to get invested anyway.

World-building:
And no, I'm not really sure the world-building improved. Well, maybe it did. What I can say is that the world-building didn't make me constantly question what the fuck 'X' is supposed to mean or why the author made those decisions... so that's an improvement! But I also don't feel like the world was very inspired or detailed. So it's still not good, but it's not as frustrating.

Patriarchy:
The positive is that this character is much less willing to roll over and accept her place in the patriarchy. When she has nothing else, she still always maintains her ego and indignation at being considered lesser for simply being born a woman.

Belief System Reckoning:
I did enjoy several of the conversations where the main characters had to discuss their belief systems and the different ways their societies view morality. The way that characters spiral as they have to rebuild themselves and their purpose once they discover propaganda and how deeply the poisoned well runs.

It's Like Babel, But Not (Themes, Writing):
You would think I'd be destined to love this given Babel was my favourite book of 2022. This book had a lot in common with Babel in the following ways:
- how the magic system worked
- how the White lady character acted when challenged to believe her non-White friends
- discussions of systems and power and oppression, primarily as it relates to race
- very unsubtle about what it's doing
- general conclusions and ending

But I think my main issues were that it felt very repetitive and that the main character lost a lot of internal consistency.

For example on internal consistency-- as the reader, I'm exposed to the fifteen minutes in her day where she discusses and makes plans with other characters, but not the other 8 hours in between talking and doing where she has more time to think and prepare. And yet, repeatedly, things don't turn out the way that she assumes they will. In fact, each time she's like 'oh, obviously. I should've accounted for 'X' and I can't believe I didn't think about that. and 'Y' totally warned me this would happen, I should've listened to them.' Repeatedly. And that doesn't feel true to the highly logical and mathematical side of the character that's constantly running statistics, nor does it feel true to her constant pledges to actually listen to her companion. It feels more like the author is determined to make a storyline to watch the scene play out for the White lady's bad choices and hubris than she is dedicated to keeping the character consistent.

And that's fine! It's her book to do with as she pleases! It just feels a little sloppier to me, and takes me out of the book. After this happened a few times at the end, I was really starting to consider skimming.

Predictability:
I think I could've enjoyed this more if I didn't predict literally every piece of it. I felt like the book was heavily telegraphing itself at every turn, and didn't really get to have clever moments. It was very single-minded in its focus and purpose, so while it did thoroughly get to tell the story it wanted to, there wasn't a lot of room for creativity or interesting little details and divergences.

Overall:
Man, I do not know what to do with this author's books. Every time I write a review it sounds like I'm totally dragging the book. I have so much more to rant about than gush about, and yet somehow Kaigen feels like nothing but a 5 star read for me, and Bright Haven is a solid 4. But also I think I hate them? I don't know, it's all terribly confusing.

But, uh... maybe you should read this book? And maybe you shouldn't.

Wowza...this book was like a punch in the gut over and over. I literally cried in the first chapter and was hooked from the get go. Definitely some challenging and in your face themes of sexism, classism, racism, and ultimately hope for a better life/world. I was hoping for a different outcome in the end but upon further reflection I can see how it needed to go the way it did. This story will be sticking with me for a long time! Side note - I went back and forth between audio and digital and both were great. The audiobook narrator was excellent!

4.5 ⭐️ MAN. What a book. I'm sad that I read this during a reading slump because I feel like I could've absolutely devoured this if I had been in the right head space for it. The characters, the setting, the plot, the magic system, the writing, it was all soo good and I know I could've loved this even more. This was my first novel by M.L. Wang and it will not be my last.

Sciona is the definition of a strong woman breaking the mold. From the beginning, she is determined to break the ceiling (literally) and become the first female highmage in the history of Tiran. Seeing her succeed and immediately jump into her work to put her mark on history is such an incredibly well written and complex story. Sciona, Thomil, and the other characters in the story are so well written and developed that I felt connected to them throughout the story.

The way M.L. Wang wrote such complex and relevant themes of gender-equality, the struggles of faith, and racism made the story that much more compelling. Instead of Blood Over Bright Haven being just another fantasy novel, it turned into a in-depth, thought-provoking commentary on real issues that are still plaguing the world today more than ever.

I feel like everyone has been raving about M.L. Wang's writing and I absolutely see why. I think everyone who loves a complex story and strong characters need to read this book.

I loved this book. Greatly highlights the daily struggles of every day women trying to break the mold in a world of men. As well as the systemic racism people of other races face every day. It certainly wasn't the story I thought it was going to be. Sciona grapples her moral compass throughout the entire story and learns one thing about herself: she will do anything for glory. To be immortalized forevermore among her peers. However, she struggles with her faith throughout her journey with how far will she go to get that said glory.
She finds that achieving one of her greatest goals, becoming the first female high mage, comes with hard truths. And is introduced to Thomil a Kwen refugee that opens her eyes to how blind she has been in her ambitions. When faced with the truth she is forced to make a hard choice to see what her world really is. A world of greed and power. And though we know this is what our FMC craves. The reader finds out will we find out will Sciona buckle under the pressure of her male mage colleagues or rage against the system?