Can I say WOW!? This fantasy novel follows the determined Sciona as she navigates the challenges of being the first woman admitted to the High Magistry at the University of Magics and Industry. Her ambitiousness and hard work allowed her to break the gender barrier of the school. Other students criticized her, treated her with hostility, and thought she was admitted for sympathy or due to seduction; either way, she would never be of the same caliber as her male colleagues. Sciona is given a janitor, Thomil, as a lab assistant, who she initially treats dismissively. As they interact more, Sciona realizes that his people were driven from their homeland for a secret, and a possible new practice of magic could destroy the powerful elite of society.

I loved Sciona immediately. She is fierce, brilliant, and a revolutionary force. She knows the other students, and the school will test everything she has. It is a true testament to her resilience and her resolve. This determination is also accurate with Thomil's character. He has a tragic backstory and is willing to learn anything to help his people. The relationship between the two is beautiful. He causes Sciona to shift her focus and see more. Together, they are driven by a deep desire to understand the forces that shape their world.

The story explores themes of prejudice, the importance of challenging prejudice, and the transformative power of knowledge. The novel's pacing is well-balanced, with moments of intense action. The climax is mind-blowing. This book appeals to readers of fantasy and stories of personal triumph. If Goodreads would let me give it more than 5 stars, I would still be adding stars.

I received an Advanced Readers Copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group, Ballantine, Del Rey.

M. L. Wang is out here AGAIN showing everyone that not everything has to be a series!

This was so interesting, I loved the pacing, I loved the story, I loved how addicting it was to read & how twisted it was.
Like movies, I say that no book is perfect, but I truly believe that Blood Over Bright Haven may have just changed my mind.
5,000,000,000 stars.

‘The first woman ever admitted to a prestigious order of mages unravels a secret conspiracy that could change the practice of magic forever, in this standalone dark fantasy from the author of The Sword of Kaigen.’

Blood Over Bright Haven was my first read by ML Wang. And while there was clearly no shortage of imagination, talent & creativity that went into writing this book, I still felt like I was wading through mud trying to reach the end.

Even with such a unique story of magic, with mapping zones, spellwebs, siphoning spells, mapping coils, and many more intricacies, I was struggling to grasp any emotion possible. But I had none. For the 450 page duration, I felt nothing. No excitement, anger, thrill, wonder, anticipation….nada. It all just read very stiff and monotone to me and heavy-handed on the sexism. I also found the FMC, Sciona, to be completely insufferable.

Would I read more work from this author? Absolutely. Sadly, this one just didn’t quite do it for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine | Del Rey for this arc in exchange for review. I am always grateful.

It's not often that you read a world building fantasy that draws you in so completely to a world which sounds familiar (especially to those today who are well off) and also horrifies you about what we are doing to our world. The world in this book is not Earth but the people seem to treat their land much the same way. The Tiranish are the owners of a city/land which has wonderful living conditions -- at least for those who are Tiranish, especially high level Tiranish. The magicians (Archmages, highmages) who create the power that runs this land have created a utopia for the haves but of course someone has to be the have nots; in this world it is the Kwen. The Kwen come from outside the area controlled by the mages, and they are allowed to exist by offering their labor and the only reason they come is because their land has been destroyed as well as many of their people.
Sciona, a woman who has studied magic for years in hopes of becoming a highmage (an ambition that is almost hopeless due to the lack of women mages or even opportunities to become so). and has become the protegee of an Archmage. She is given the opportunity to test for the position of highmage and unbelievably succeeds due to the fact that her magic is excellent. Once she achieves this long-sought ambition, she finds out that she is still an outcast to her fellow mages. Hazing starts as soon as she is given an office and as a joke, she is given a Kwen janitor, Thomil, as her assistant. Sciona makes the best of it since in reality she doesn't really count on anyone. She has been self-directed all her life and someone who does not care about anyone other than herself and her hope to become a highmage.
Becoming thrown together has a good effect on both Sciona and Thomil -- each has much to teach the other and as Sciona learns so much more about her world and what the mages are doing to it, the more human she becomes. This book keeps you reading and thinking.

M. L. Wang writing is just so raw. The good, bad and ugly of what it means to be human stares right back at you throughout Blood Over Bright Haven.

We meet Sciona, the first woman to ever be admitted to High Magistry and follow along as she uncovers exactly what it entails to hold the title she coveted for so long. I've never disliked, yet still rooted for a character as much as I did with Sciona. I'd go from feeling for her and the discrimination she faced to being baffled at her own ignorance and prejeduce.

The magic system? Insane and captivating to learn about.

Like I said I'll read M. L. Wang’s grocery list at this point. Pairing this book and The Sword of Kaigen? M. L. Wang is an auto-read author for me 100%.

Received an eArc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Blood Over Bright Haven is a standalone fantasy from M.L. Wang, author of Sword of Kaigen, a great standalone fantasy. When I saw she had another standalone coming out, and that it had been picked up by a traditional publisher, I was really excited to try it out. And then on top of that, there was so much hype from those who had already read it. Unfortunately it did not live up to the hype for me.

The book follows Sciona and Thomil, the former the first female high mage in Tiran, a city protected from the winter and Blight by the mages, and the latter a Kwen, a savage from beyond the protected city, whose whole tribe except for him and his niece died in the attempt to face the winter and Blight to get to Tiran.

The magic system was interesting, a type of magical coding. The messages that M.L. Wang wants the reader to take away are really straightforward and laid out repeatedly in the novel. While there were portions of the novel that I liked, the heavy gore descriptions, the lack of subtlety in much of the novel, and the open ending made this book just an okay novel, which really disappointed me. Should you read it? I guess? It wasn’t awful, but I would not go out of my way to recommend it to anyone. Overall, a 2.5-3 star book.

5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Blood over Bright Haven is a phenomenal, compelling story.

The world building is intricate and the depth of the characters are well developed.
Bright Haven of Tiran was built by man in order to protect it from winter and blight. Eternal spring. The Otherrealm is quite the opposite.
After her mother passed away Sciona’s own father denied her having his last name. He sent her away to live with her Aunt. Now she denies him her glory. All of Sciona’s life she has wanted and she’s also worked hard on becoming a Highmage of Tiran. Magic and men run the city. The government needs those who possess the necessary skills of magic to come up through the ranks and keep the city running smoothly.
Sciona wants to break barriers for women. Move past the good old boy network and become a highmage. There is so much working against women in advancing their career. Being a highmage is nowhere for a woman to be they say. This is a man’s profession they say.
Sciona says - hold my beer, I’ll show you hellfire.

I felt such empathy for Sciona and Thomil for being treated poorly. One, because she’s a woman highmage typically reserved for men, and Thomil, for being in a lower societal class called Kwen. Further in the story a friendship between Thomil and Sciona develops, making them a team.

✅Thought provoking darkness.
✅Social disparity.
✅Absence of morals.
✅Intense strong magic.
✅Emotional.
✅Complex.
✅Brilliantly told legacy.
✅Strong FMC

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing this ARC.
To M.L. Wang, thank you for telling such an impressive tale.

There is a lot to unpack in this story of a trail blazing woman in academia. The beginning of the story moves a little slowly, focusing on the magic system, which reads like a magical love letter to science. The world building is unique and tragic. The love the author put into each and every heavy subject matter that was addressed, some of which include racism, sexism, genocide, corrupt politicians, class discrimination, child labor, and more. This was a heavy read but worth it.

I mean absolutely wow, I am amazed by the magic system that was created! The characters were written so well! The emotional roller coaster that they take us on was beautiful !

As soon as i started this book I knew I’d love it. And I immediately started talking about it to all the people around me. I think there could have been deeper exploration of it but I enjoyed the themes of the exploitative nature of academia, the creation of the other and the subsequent dehumanization but reliance on labor and women who want more but how to do so within exploitative systems.

5⭐️ Blood over bright haven is an exceptional magical dark academia story which explores a patriarchal system set up on a base of colonialism, gender inequality and historical lies.

As a reader who much prefers character driven books Blood over bright haven showed me how intoxicating an incredibly detailed magic system which leads the plot can be. I didn’t need to take a deep dive into likeable characters to thoroughly enjoy this story.

It has been a long time since a fantasy book has stimulated so much deep thought, feeling like I’ve switched my brain into another gear. I was captivated by the story at the same time as feeling like a student of the university, learning the intricacies of the magic system and considering the impact on all those affected by it, not just those who enjoy its benefits.

What an amazing reading experience this was! Blood over bright haven will be one of those books which stays with me forever.

One of my top rated books(if not THE top rated book) is Sword of Kaigen, which I read shortly after it's release years back, and which I read again this year. It transported me to a different world, and I lived, laughed, and cried with those characters over the span of reading it. This book is at the same level as SoK, and has catapulted ML Wang as an insta buy author for me, and made them one of my favourite authors. I had originally read this book when it was self published, but it is currently being prepared to be released as a traditionally published book with allll the bells and whistles, so just a PSA get out there and preorder the special edition because you won't regret it!!!!!

I'm a sucker for fantasy, and usually not someone who actively looks for dark academia books but this book has changed that as well for me, because the characters were slaying, the vibes were vibing, and the plot was killing it so hard that I binged the whole book in a single day(which I've been known to do from time to time, but y'all, I had to force myself to take breaks to eat and even then i was devouring these pages harder than my dinner). If anyone reads my review, all I can say is pick up anything this author writes, because it'll take you on a journey of epic epic proportions and you 100% will be sorry if you decide to pass up on this book because nothing, I promise nothing will prepare you for what these books have to offer.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. Everything in this review is my own opinion and has in no way been influenced by the writer, publisher, or Netgalley.

A huge thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for gifting me a copy of this book for my honest review. Blood Over Bright Haven is a steampunk fantasy novel with magic, and a dash of romance by M. L Wang, the author of The SWORD of KAIGEN. I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!! I honestly don't know how to talk about it. I started crying when I tried to tell my daughter about. Literally started bawling my eyes out.

It follows Sciona who becomes the first woman High mage in Tiran. She is excited and thinks it will be the greatest achievement of her life to be in an institution that celebrates knowledge and truth above all. Unfortunately that is not what happens. Her males colleagues are against having a woman on board and as a cruel joke assigns her the janitor for her assistant.

Thomil is a Kwen refugee living under the brutal prejudices of the Tiranish people. He is also the last of his tribe and lives everyday with the trauma of the crossing. When he is assigned to the Tiranish woman high mage, he doesn't expect her to keep him, and is surprised when she not only keeps him, but is determined to teach him as well.

Their friendship changes everything...

To say more would give spoilers and I would never take that away from a fellow book lover. BUT this book had me on the floor crying at the end. It the most beautiful book I've read this year. The last book to hurt me like this was BABEL. This book tackles, imperialism, colonization, racism, sexism, all the isms but does it in such a beautiful way that even a flawed character like Sciona can find redemption. It redefined strength for me and what constitutes family. I don't know how else to say it except I will be purchasing a physical copy because I need it in my house. I highly, highly recommend this book and M. L Wang is now one of my faves. I'd give it more stars if I could.

(I received an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review) Wow, this is the first book I've read this year that felt really really good. I literally got home and sat down reading until I finished it. It had got dark when I looked up and I sat there for a while, lingering in the book hangover. Basically, in terms of emotional punch and drive, five stars. The magic system was really interesting and though I guessed a certain amount of what was going on, the full truth did hit very well. In terms of the overall book, I do have to say 4.5 stars, because I feel like as much as I love a knock at white feminism, it's less good to be doing it primarily from the white feminist perspective? I wish that the other characters didn't have to spend so much of their time breaking it down for our main character. I do think that it's a well done rendition of how she has to get reminded again and again that people will buy into systems of power that serve them. I just think that it sucks up a lot of air of the story. Also I could have done without the love story. I will for sure be reading anything else this author does though. Finally some good fucking food.

I wanted to love this book. I tried multiple times to read and get through this, unfortunately this a DNF at just over the 25% mark. I absolutely LOVE the writing style and I enjoyed the magic alot. My hold up is simple, 1. The ham fisted messaging with sexism. I have absolutely no issues with it being a theme, it's part of what drew me to the book, however, in my personal opinion it's just to in my face. It was as if it had to be a part of every single page to make sure the point got across, and it really pulled me out of the rest. And 2. I just really don't like Sciona. Maybe that's the point, and maybe if I kept going I would change my mind, but I just have no desire to find out right now. In all honesty I'm wondering if it's just not the right time for this book for me. I don't see myself picking it back up anytime soon, but it's definitely one I will try again in the future. I am leaving a 2 star rating because I can not submit without a rating, and as I said I did enjoy the writing.

M L Wang has done it again! Fantastic read! This book, about a female mage, the first of her rank, will have you cheering and crying for the main character as she learns about the world she lives in. This book addresses feminism, sexism, prejudice, classism, and entitlement as the main character moves through her story to the conclusion. Wang effortlessly moves the reader through the story along with the character and when it's done you want more; it's just never enough. Wang's writing is so good, you just want her to keep going, and going. This is a story that everyone should read.

Loved this good. Incredible allegory of the world today in a fictional setting. The magic system is unlike anything I have read and the pacing was perfect

Thank you to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for the arc. While the story was interesting. The writing style wasn’t my favorite. I believe this will be popular regardless and as thankful for the opportunity to have early access to the novel,

A well written and interesting story. Enough twists to keep your attention although not exactly unpredictable.

What kept this from being really really good was the characters' reactions and evolutions; Sciona continues to ignore Thomil's point of view until the point where she transitions all the way over to it without any gradation. The antagonists are almost cartoonish in their devotion to their point of view and justifiy it circularly (which may the part of the point, but a more nuanced motivation/self-justification would have been more interesting IMO)

I’ve heard so many great things about this book. I tried to give it a chance but ultimately decided to DNF at 32%. I was just bored.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced eARC.