Blood Over Bright Haven is a fantasy novel about the first female highmage, who uses her intellect and an unlikely ally to uncover the dark side of her city’s magic.

Sciona is the first woman in her protected, domed city to achieve the title of highmage. When her adversaries within the elite “boys’ club” of mages assign her a Kwen janitor, Thomil, as an assistant, she’s forced to confront her own religious prejudices against the refugee group used as cheap labor. Under the pressure of a looming deadline, Sciona grows closer to Thomil and learns about his tribe, who endured a deadly “blight” that ravaged their bodies as they sought refuge in the protected city of Tiran. With Thomil’s help, Sciona uncovers the source of Tiran’s prosperity, a truth that could tear apart both the mage community and the city itself.

This is a dark, twisted fantasy about what greed and power can drive people to do. Themes of misogyny, prejudice against outsiders, and religious intolerance parallel issues we face in today’s world, making the story even more relatable. Sciona is desperate to make a name for herself, but despite her lifelong ambitions, she cannot ignore the monstrous behavior of mages past and present. Blood Over Bright Haven features a flawed yet authentic main character, along with a unique magic system and world-building. I found it smart and compelling, and I recommend it to fantasy readers looking for a darker standalone novel with a bold and unconventional main character.

Review copy (eARC) provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Between the premise of this novel plus the high praise from Petrik Leo for M.L. Wang, this was a must-read for me, and I'm glad I did.

The story is an intense, dark academia read in the vein (please tell me that's the proper spelling in this context) of Babel by R.F. Kuang.

A solid four stars. Will definitely read more stories by this author.

This book was incredible! A wonderful commentary on politics, the patriarchy, colonization, sexism - this one will really have you thinking. This book will stick with you long after you read it and it will have you asking questions about your own society. I loved it!

This was my first M.L. Wang book and it won't be my last!
The writing is superb and flows in a way that completely immerses you into the world. Before you know it, you've read half the book and gotten absolutely NOTHING done all day!
Blood Over Bright Haven is a great representation of dark academia with ALOT of thought provoking themes!
Be prepared to not want to put this down until you're done!

I really struggled with this book. Nothing happened until 40% in and then the ending was just so disappointing. Sciona felt like a very inconsistent character. She’s so used to being the only woman amongst men but seems to balk whenever something happens. For someone who has faced adversity in her own career, her own prejudices are disappointing. I can see what was trying to happen here but it didn’t work for me . Unfortunately I don’t think I can recommend this book.

This book leaves me at a loss for words. It is very emotional. It will make you cry. If you like Babel, you would love this. Its that but better.

This was definitely one of the best books I've read this year, and I'm going to be thinking about it for a long time to come. There was so much about it, and especially reading it right before the US election...

This book is nothing short of intense. Initially, the main character is unlikable, but that’s crucial; she embodies the mindset of the Tiranish men around her. As she grapples with her struggles and prejudices, she undergoes significant growth, though she doesn’t reach the depth of characters like Thomil and Carra.

What struck me most was how connected I felt to the characters, making their survival deeply important to me. The emotional weight of the story hit hard, leading to tears by the end. Although it didn’t resolve in the way I hoped, it remained true to its dark themes. This book serves as a poignant reminder of harsh realities, which can be a necessary wake-up call.

Blood Over Bright Haven is a dark academia fantasy novel that explores the pursuit of truth in a city that offers citizens comfort and industrialization within a magical barrier. A blind eye is turned on the treatment of refugees from the outside. The sacrifice of human and animal life is ignored, while the mages in power refuse to relinquish their comfort for those they consider lesser.
M.L. Wang packs a powerful statement in this stand-alone fantasy through intricate world building, substantial character developmental and an intriguing magic system. I highlighted line after line and contemplated the depths of my own existence while following the main character, Sciona.
Sciona claws her way up in ranks to be admitted as the first female highmage. She alters a code of spells and discovers an ancient secret. She must decide to follow her peers in ignorance or defy the expectations of her colleagues, family, and the rest of Tiran.
Sciona is accompanied on her pursuit of the trust by a former nomadic hunter from beyond Tiran’s magical barrier. Thomil was assigned as her assistant as a way for her colleagues to express that she was unwelcome as a female. Their relationship leads a more traditional path (little to no romance by the rules of Tiran) but the effect they have on one another’s role in society will carry on for generations.
The politics in Blood Over Bright Haven felt so real I nearly forgot I was reading about a fantastical world. The sacrifice that Sciona made to benefit future generations was profound, especially as we uncover that she remained ignorant and desired the same as her peers: supremacy. In the interest of not revealing too much, I might be in the minority by saying the real main character was Thomil, but I’ll let the readers draw their own conclusions by reading his parts of the plot.
Blood Over Bright Haven was brutally honest and true to itself through the entire story. I recommend this to all lovers of dark fantasy. M.L. Wang is an exceptional dark academia fantasy writer.
Thank you Del Ray and NetGalley for this ARC of Blood Over Bright Haven in exchange for an honest review.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars--

Blood Over Bright Haven is the best book I've read in a long time--definitely my favorite read this year! Dark, unflinching, critical, un-put-down-able. Wang uses the fantasy genre to put a spotlight on the violence and evil of colonialism. I'm so, so happy this book found a publisher, as I doubt I would have ever found it in its original self-published version.

The magical kingdom of Tiran is a fortress of sorts that has flourishes while the world outside its walls has been torn apart by a mysterious disease called Blight. Tiran credits its relative good fortune to their advanced magic system, which keeps them safe and powers the comfortable lifestyles of Tiranese citizens (notably to the exclusion of a marginalized population of refugees from Blighted territories who cross into Tiran as a last resort). Tiran is also pretty patriarchal though and all of its leading magicians are men. Until now. Sciona is an ambitious young woman mage who defies all odds and significant efforts at exclusion, to reach the highest order of mages in Tiran. While her male peers have assistants to do their grunt work, as a joke, Sciona is appointed the building's custodian as her assistant--a refugee from outside Tiran with no formal magical schooling. Scionia's new assistant, Thomil, nonetheless proves to be more helpful than she could have ever expected.

Tasked with developing more accurate and effective methods for siphoning magic, she unwittingly uncovers a terrible secret about Tiran's magic. A terrible secret that is unfathomable to her, but altogether unsurprising to Thomil, who has real experience with Tiranese oppression.

I loved the big moral questions this book deals with through Sciona's story. I also enjoyed how Sciona has to grapple with how her positionality affects her desire for friendship and possible romance with Thomil--raising questions for the reader about how domination shows up in romantic relationships between two people from different positions of social privilege and marginality. It adds a lot more meaning to the typical "enemies to lovers" trope.

I urge anyone interested in fantasy that has something to say about society at large, in particular histories of oppression, to pick this one up.

Many thanks to Del Rey and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Shocked, stunned, bawled my eyes out. This story covers so many aspects racism, classism, elitism, supremacy. Usually for fantasy I need multiple books to grasp the entirety of the world building, but with this storyline everything was so well done that I was entranced from the very beginning.

Once in a decade, a book comes across my lap that I am simply unable to put down. I mean, the wake up at 4 am because I need to go back to the world that M.L. Wang has created and see what happens next type of book. From the first chapter, I know that this is a book that is going to stay with me for a very long time. It is going to be a book that I will recommend over and over again to family, friends, strangers online, and strangers in the bookstore.

Perhaps it is the world building which is absolutely impeccable with a logic-based magic system that delights the nerd in me, perhaps it is the characters that not only jump out of the page, but into our hearts as well, or perhaps it is the themes of oppression, colonialism, racism, and sexism that are currently so pervasive in today's society that it offers a glimmer of hope to those of us living in darker times. Whatever it is, Blood Over Bright Haven is a masterclass standalone in Dark Academia Fantasy/Dystopian fiction that shows that you do not need a duology or a trilogy to tell a compelling and exquisite story. The talent that M.L. Wang has as an author is unparalleled, and I will be first in line to read whatever she publishes next. I simply cannot give this book enough stars.

For fans of Babel, The Hunger Games, and anyone who has ever been told what they can or cannot achieve because of their race, origin, ethnicity, or sex.

Thank you to NetGalley, M.L. Wang, and Del Rey for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

This took me a bit of time to get into and a while to finish, but overall I liked this!

The best way I can describe it: a very nuanced read, complex characters, reminiscent of a higher fantasy version of Babel in its overall tone. The pacing didn't necessarily have me hooked the entire time ( a lot of explanation and time developing the magic system), but it really picked up around the 50% mark.

Thank you to Del Rey and NetGalley for the arc! :)

4.75 ⭐️

I have heard so many amazing things about M.L. Wang before going into this book. So I had high hopes. I’m so happy to report my hopes were exceeded with this book. The magic system in this world was one of the most unique I’ve read and I loved the heavy topics and themes it discussion. This book was written with excellent care and had me gripped from the start.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for an early arc!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC!

3.5 stars

Content warnings: sexual harrassment, detailed attempted sexual assault, misogyny, racism

I am afraid that this book is simply not for me.

Good things first, I LOVE the magic system! The way it operates similarly to computer programming is so unique, and is something I have never come across before. I already know coding so it was easy enough to follow along, but I think the author explains it well enough for non-coders to understand. I also appreciate the handbook at the back of the book that explains all the different roles that mages have, although I wish I knew it was there before I started reading so I could refer to it. The world-building is pretty straightforward and easy to grasp, while leaving potential for more to be explored beyond the city the book is set in.

Where this falls off for me is the main character. I have seen reviews comparing this book to Babel by R. F. Kuang, and I definitely agree, if Babel was from the perspective of Letty. Sciona is a white feminist through and through, with her constant complaining about the patriarchy and misogyny, but only because it affects her, while not caring about her fellow women or non-white-coded characters. She does undergo a character arc, where she realises and learns that systemic racism is a thing, but it takes her FOREVER to get there. I suppose that might be a realistic portrayal, but it was beyond grating to read. I do appreciate the narrative about her having to work extra hard to prove herself academically, but I wish the author had chosen to focus on either that or Thomil's story. This book deals with themes of racism and misogyny, but I wish the book had chosen to only tackle one of them, because it fails to fully address or explore either. If you want a compelling narrative that explores colonisation and systemic racism in academia, that is NOT from the point of view of a white saviour, just stick to Babel.

The dialogue is also awful. Whenever Sciona is talking, she is either a) explaining to Thomil (or her cousin, or other assorted men) how the patriarchy is oppressing her (while ignoring the fact that she is his higher up who can literally have him executed, and also ignoring the fact that she doesn't care about empowering women either), b) arguing with Thomil about whether or not his people deserve human rights (like the human right to live) or c) in disbelief that people are racist. I do understand why she is that way; it is hard for white people to acknowledge racism, and harder still for white feminists to realise that the world does not revolve around them. However, I do not like it.

Speaking of Thomil, he deserved so much better. I wish this book had been completely from his perspective. While we do get a few chapters from his PoV, we really don't know what he's thinking for most of the book. He is so much more interesting than Sciona, with a much more compelling backstory. In that regard, I appreciate how fleshed out his character is. I wish there was no romance between Thomil and Sciona; they have zero chemistry, and the time spent on Sciona being surprised that Thomil isn't stinky like his race (🙄) could be better spent on like. Literally anything else.

To round out this compliment sandwich, here's two more things I liked!
1. The writing is accessible and engaging. I already sort of said this, but the author is really good at introducing world-building concepts in a way that is easy to understand.
2. The plot is well-paced and exciting. The way the conspiracy is gradually unravelled raises the stakes in a way that feels realistic and makes sense.

I do think this book could be appealing to a different reader. If you found Babel too wordy or slow, or, for white readers, if you want to read a book with a protagonist you can relate to while also supporting an author of colour, this book could be for you.

M. L. Wang does it again. That’s it. That’s the review. But in all seriousness, “Blood Over Bright Haven” is another superb standalone fantasy novel from Wang. This novel will have a permanent place in my dark academia library alongside the likes of “Ninth House,” “Babel,” “Ordinary Monsters,” and “The Secret History.” I loved the blend of the unique yet logical magic system with the powerful underlying message regarding racism and imperialism. In my opinion, the mark of a truly good book is how much it forces the reader to have long moments of introspection, and Wang does just that. As always, thank you to NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine/Del Ray for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Is someone a good person just because they believe they are? And does having good intentions make them good, even if their intentions yields no positive results? Or worse, yields catastrophic ones that harm others? How should one determine if there is goodness in a soul if one's actions has multiple consequences, both good and bad? This is something we're constantly prompted by Wang to reflect on throughout the story, and one that really stuck with me even as I sit here.

M.L. Wang has yet to cease to amaze me with her compelling characters, and the creativity and ingenuity in her storytelling. This masterpiece was worth letting Wang wrench my heart out once again, as she did with Sword of Kaigen.

An auto-buy author for me at this point, I look forward to M.L. Wang's future works and hopefully one of these days she'll leave my heart intact.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for the e-Arc in exchange for my honest review.

Blood Over Bright Haven
By M.L. Wang
Narrated by Moria Quirk
5 ⭐️

Once again, I am captivated by Wang’s writing. Even as I’ve finished, I’m still within its pages. There’s something magically powerful in the way Wang weaves their characters. There’s so much of modern humanity/society embedded in this story. It’s impossible not to reflect on how the flaws in Tiran are mirrored in the US/the patriarch/the “developed” world/and beyond. It’s impossible not think of what you would do in the many situations depicted where it’s easy and expected to continue the status quo. This is a powerful story about passion, dedication, admitting wrongs, and defying all you have ever known with everything you have.

The audiobook is masterful. I’m awed and am a serious fan of Quirk following this read. I cannot recommend this book and audiobook enough. It is a top read of 2024 for me.

I was provided an eARC from Penguin Random House and M. L. Wang via NetGalley. Thank you! I have also purchased personal copies.

I didn’t know what to expect going into the story, except that a lot of my fellow friends found it very emotional. The story involves magic, privilege, sexism and ultimately dictatorship. Both of which the main characters must struggle with. There’s no romance to speak of, but an undertone of what could be if times are different for the main characters. Sciona is the first female high mage, and experiences a lot hatred because of that. And Thomil, whose journey has not been easy. And you’ll learn why from chapter 1. I found the magic system in this book very unique, but pretty to understand. The author took a lot of time to think through all of the small details.

I have been waiting for this book to come out for like a hundred years. This was a fantastic stand alone fantasy novel. This was definitely one of the best fantasy books I've ever read, and absolutely one of the best standalone fantasy books ever. Such great world, descriptions and characters--with ultra compelling plot ideas and pacing. Everything about this was great. The magic system in this was fantastic, the dark academia notes, the themes and messaging woven in, everything was jsut *chef's kiss*. I am floored, and I cannot wait for more from this author. If I could give this 10 stars I would.