I've been putting off this review because I'm pretty sure I will not be able to do this book justice.

Quite simply, it's one of the best books I've ever read.

I'm going to start with the things that would normally make me not like a book:
- the magic system is fairly complex and discussed in detail for long passages
- there are really strong religious themes
- it felt more sci-fi than fantasy to me

For whatever reason, not only was I fine with those things here, I actually found them important and part of why I enjoyed it so much.

I started this book prepared for a fun, thoughtful story about magic and academia. I had no idea what I was in for.

Somehow this story tackled feminism, theology, the nature of good vs evil, impact vs intent, racism, colonialism, privilege, white woman tears, environmentalism, parenthood, and more — all while staying completely entertaining and compelling. I was hooked from the first chapter, and it never once lost its grip on me. I fell in love with these characters, despite (and maybe because of) their flaws and egos and mistakes. M.L. Wang is truly gifted at writing deep emotion with nuance and depth, and there are some truly gut-wrenching moments here. I cried multiple times, which is rare for me with a book.


I found myself thinking of George Orwell as I read this, because this captures the same intense mix of hopefulness and helplessness that I felt when reading his work. I truly believe this will be a classic in the same vein as Orwell's.

There is so much depth to this book, I will carry it with me for a very long time. I can't recommend it highly enough, even if the themes I mention above don't normally draw you in. The story itself is so engaging, so entertaining, and you'll find yourself not wanting to put it down.

Do NOT sleep on this book, you'll miss out on a truly incredible experience.

I'll be posting my review on TikTok at a later date, and will come back and add the link to it then,

I received an ARC from netgalley/the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a great standalone fantasy novel. I feel like it has recently become a trend for SFF authors to label their book “dark academia” simply just based off vibes and with no consideration for the elements that actually make a book dark academia, such as criticism of the way institutions of higher education uphold and perpetuate inequality (cough cough an education in malice by ST Gibson). This book is not that and blows other books in the “dark academia” genre out of the water. Sciona’s growth was incredible to read over the course of the book, and I thoroughly enjoyed the interactions between her and our other main character, Thomel. Similar to the Sword of Kaigen, Wang has crafted and emotional and thoughtful story.

4.5/5
Feels a bit like a magical Hunger Games. The story is a powerful telling of a woman seeking the truth and a man seeking his destiny. Would highly recommend.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was insane and will be one of my top reads this year. I recommend going in blind, but if you want something more here it is:

Sciona is the first woman admitted into a prestigious mage order in an Industrial Age, 19th century-esque city. Here she endures hardship and isolation as the academic institution she dearly values attempts to crush her brilliance under its archaic traditions. But this story isn’t just that; Sciona is a deeply flawed character, deplorable, privileged, and fractured all at once, both a victim of an oppressive system and a propagator of the corrupt system itself. It is an honest dissection of the spectrum of privilege/oppression, of racism, of white feminism, and most importantly, refuses to depict tidy moral binaries in favor of nuanced characters you view with both fury and tenderness. And such a needed discussion on weighing good intentions vs. impact. Also, it’s a disservice I center this mostly around Sciona, but I have to leave some surprises.

This book has drawn natural comparisons to R.F. Kuang’s Babel; both are dark academia, fantasy novels that explore racially oppressive systems, insulated in their lofty ivoried towers looming over the disenfranchised below. Babel is an immensely important work to the genre, but was missing thematic nuance and deeper character work to ballast its messaging. Blood Over Bright Haven is intrinsically more character-driven, tackling less explored discomforts of oppression and the ways it festers across society. To be clear, although I have a favorite, both are worth reading.

Starting in the indie-published space, Blood Over Bright Haven has since been bought by a traditional publisher and will release on October 29, 2024. I know Hardcovers are expensive, but I highly recommend you pick up a copy. This is an important work that I hope is received with the attention it deserves.

One of the best books I have read in 2024!!

So disturbing dark it’s beautiful. What a roller coaster story line.

Powerful story and not super long. Must read!!

I don't have words to explain how amazing this book is. If I could, I would give this book 10/5 stars and my friends will never hear the end of me raving about this book. After I finish this review, I am going to preorder the physical book as well because I love it that much.

This book does an amazing job of paralleling Tiran with the real world with its sexism and racism that runs rampant throughout our world.
The character development of Sciona finding her feet and breaking out of the mold that she didn't realize she was a part of was done so elegantly and never felt forced. Thomil's character development of finding hope and how he did not fail his people had me in actual tears towards the end of the book. The pacing and natural progression that M. L. Wang wove into her book made me question if I should call out of work just so I could finish this book in one sitting because it was just that good.
M. L. Wang's ability to capture the microaggressions and the extremely blatant sexism and racism within her dialog that we can see on a day-to-day basis was insane. The characters and even side characters in this book encapsulated and demonstrated the complexity that we face in a first-world country and how many people deal with the knowledge that everything we have is usually built upon the blood, sweat, and tears of someone we consider below us, whether that be in race, status, or gender.

First and foremost thank you to Random House Publishing Group for giving me an early copy to read!
"Blood Over Bright Haven" by M.L. Wang is an amazing standalone that pulls you in from the very first page!
The story kicks off with a very intense start! From there, we're introduced to an intriguing magic system, and a test that gave me Full Metal Alchemist flashbacks in the best possible way.
Admittedly, the first few chapters can be a bit challenging to get through due to the complexity of the magic system.
However, once you grasp the intricacies and the first big reveal occurs, the story begins to flow seamlessly!
As a mood reader, I found myself grappling with the heavy subjects addressed in the story: xenophobia, sexism, sexual violence, and suicidal thoughts to name a few. While I don't shy away from sad or challenging topics "Blood Over Bright Haven" delves into some of the hardest subjects to read about. Yet, M.L. Wang's skillful storytelling keeps you hooked, eagerly anticipating how it will all unfold.
Overall "Blood Over Bright Haven" is a thought-provoking and engaging read that, while difficult at times, showcases Wang's talent for crafting compelling narratives. If you're looking for dark academia (and I mean DARK) while keeping you on the edge of your seat, this is it!

Blood Over Bright Haven stands out as a stand-alone fantasy that hits all the marks. Sciona is the first woman to be admitted to the High Magistry after years of studying and working under other mages. She hopes to make even more history with her attempts at expanding the barrier that surrounds their city - to be the one out of all the men around her to succeed. Once Sciona begins working within the Magistry she faces sexism from her male colleagues, whispers behind her back implying she did not earn her spot through merit or that her rank was done to appease politicians. They assign her the floor's janitor to be her assistant instead of a traditional assistant who is studied in magic - through this Sciona meets Thomil, a member of the Kwen who made the dangerous journey through the Blight into the city. She is exposed to more of the classism that exists in her city and learns about the dark secrets that have allowed the Magistry to rule for so long.

This is my first time reading M.L. Wang but after this I want to read everything they put out. The story that we get in just under 350 pages is outstanding and touches on many themes including classism, sexism, faith, violence, family, anger and vengeance. As the story moves towards it's climax Sciona must look at her entire belief system and learn of the consequences of years of action - if while reading at the beginning Sciona's academic mind may be a bit frustrating give her a chance. This story will make you experience so many emotions but for me it was anger in the last third of the book.

This book was nothing short of extraordinary. The magic system was intricately crafted, and the world-building was unparalleled. The characters were multifaceted and relatable, facing real-world struggles that are all too familiar to women or persons of color. The story was a powerful blend of hope and heartache. However, I must warn readers that the ending may leave them emotionally gutted. While some may find satisfaction in it, I am personally quite sad that I picked up this book and had to experience such bittersweet emotions. I don't regret it, though.

Wooh.. this is some story. So many layers here.

The victors get to rewrite history. Slavery. Misogyny. Violence. Destruction of homelands. Governments acting shady.

But mostly: what are your convictions? Do you value truth over comfort or are you willing to let things lie so you can have your life the way it is and never acknowledge who sacrifices for it? Do you truly believe in fairness? To me that's the crux of the book and the uncomfortable realities that generally things fall apart when you threaten someone's belief system - both faith and their feeling of where they belong/what they are owed.. Sciona is rare in that, and she's both infuriating and impressive in equal measure. Great book.

This book was pretty good, I would definitely recommend

~This was given by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

M. L. Wang has created a world that immediately sucks you in. This book pulled me out of a reading slump, and I just couldn't put it down. The magic system is new and refreshing. The characters have you sitting on the edge of your seat as they unravel the mystery at the heart of this tale. Their internal conflict felt so realistic and more human than you normally see in the fantasy genre. This is a Dark Academia story that deals with religious prejudice, misogyny, and racial persecution. These topics are handled masterfully and are written in a way that does not feel heavy-handed. Wang had already proved their writing talent with their popular work The Sword of Kaigen. Blood Over Bright Haven just shows they are here to stay as a heavy hitter in the fantasy world. So far this is the best book I have read in 2024.

This book was a brilliant dark academy story, and it is a standalone!

I really enjoyed the magic system in this and the characters were amazing!

This is such a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ star rating!!!

What a book to kick off with for my first M. L. Wang read! This book was easily 4.5/5 stars for me (rounding up to 5).

The world-building for me was a bit slow in the beginning as it throws you right into one world and drops you into another space without time to grapple with the knowledge it had dropped. However, once the dust settles within the first few chapters, I found the rest of the book to be well-paced!

Sciona’s story of being the first woman admitted to the high mages and grappling with the societal standards set of women, including dealing with rampant sexism, was infuriating, real, yet also captivating. When she’s thrust with an unlikely janitor her world flips upside down.

The dialogue between characters felt so natural; you could feel the emotions bubble up as these characters explore themes of racism, sexism, colonialism, and power. The unique and interestingly built magic system really offers a unique way to highlight and explore where the characters fit within these themes.

This book was heart-wrenching, yet managed to offer the tiniest sliver of hope. I found myself wanting more and look forward to exploring other M.L. Wang books after this read.

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

Thanks to Ballantine for the eARC, provided in exchange for an honest review.

Blood Over Bright Haven made me angry. It made me think. It broke my heart.

Sciona dreams of changing the world through her magic, of breaking the glass ceiling by becoming the first female highmage. She wants her work to mean something, but not even she could have dreamed about her ultimate impact. Thomil, a Kwen who escaped the Blight, is foisted upon her as an assistant -- and that pairing will change both of them, and their world, forever.

For all the oppression that Sciona is up against, I found it so interesting -- and at times infuriating! -- to have her also be responsible for oppression, sometimes unwittingly. Thomil takes her bias and brings it into the light, and I think most of us can relate to how painful it is to have someone point out that we've been wrong. Sciona's struggle to accept what she learns about herself and everything she believed to be true is a powerful one.

The end of the book will stay with me. The theme of sacrifice and taking action to change the world seems especially timely. This is a book I'll thrust at my friends and say: "READ THIS. You'll be furious."

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for the chance to read Blood Over Bright Haven as an ARC! I know BOBH was self-published last year, but I didn't get around to reading it until now- so this seemed like a good opportunity to do so. Unfortunately, this book just did not do it for me like I'd hoped. The concept and introduction of world building/magic system was really interesting (and DEFINITELY for my STEM girlies out there), but the characterization progressively threw me off throughout the storyline. Our FMC Sciona and MMC Thomil in particular lacked the consistency and integrity I hoped to see to make this storyline more enjoyable for me. I can definitely see why people enjoy this book, and I think it would still be worth checking out, but at the end of the day I think this one just missed the mark for me! I will certainly look into M.L. Wang's future novels, but I don't think I will be keeping a copy of Blood Over Bright Haven on my shelves; I'm giving this a 2.5 star rating, rounding up to 3 for Netgalley/Goodreads purposes.

Wow, I have heard that this book is great but I didn't expect it to grip me as much as it did. I would have read it in one sitting except for an interruption! I was slightly caught off guard because I thought it was magic school dark academia, but it's actually like "real job in magic" and the main character is excellent and innovative. Paired with the magic system and its implications on aspects of society, and some of the topics the books discusses, it's very chewy and yet with great characters. High recommend.

3 ⭐️

Sciona had devoted her life to academia and is the first ever woman to be admitted into prestigious order of mages to become a highmage. With this comes both prestige and a large dose of misogyny. On her first day, rather than receiving a proper assistant she is given a janitor. She finds out her janitor used to be a nomadic hunter who journeyed with his tribe to the city years before. Working together they uncover a secret that will change both their lives.

Pros:

-The magic system. The magic system in this story was unlike any I’ve read before and very fleshed out.
-Pacing. The story was interesting and engaging throughout.

Cons:
-Info dumping. There was a lot of telling and not showing with the magic system. It was interesting and new, but a bit much.
-The FMC. I hated our main character. She went from selfish, ignorant, and cruel until about 65% then it was like a character flip. I know it was “character growth” with all the revelations but I don’t think it was done very well. I wanted to slap her across the face so many times.
-The revelation I guessed %20 of the way through and it played out pretty much how you would think from there

Overall I appreciate the writing style and the uniqueness of this story. However, there were no real redeeming characters and it sort of fell flat at the end for me.

Thank you NetGalley, Random House Publishing-Ballantine and M.L. wang for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

M. L. Wang’s ‘Blood Over Bright Haven’ weaves a captivating tale of magic, secrets, and ambition. The intricate world-building and well-developed characters kept me engaged throughout. While some pacing issues occasionally slowed the momentum, the overall experience was enchanting. Sciona’s determination and Thomil’s mysterious past added depth to the narrative, leaving me eager for more adventures in Tiran’s magical realm.”

A dark academic-influenced adventure where the government of magic has been sourcing their energy somewhere with a villainous dark secret. In a story full of morally grey characters that have you questioning your own morals and ethics, what more thought-provoking thematic purpose could you desire from a reading experience? M.L. Wang has written an addictive, frightening, virtuously ambiguous work of fiction that very well reflects the reality of our own world.

Blood Over Bright Haven tackles racism, elitism, immorality, twisted governmental systems and unimaginable crimes executed by idols seen as society’s saviors. Tiran, the city powered by the work of mages (similar to the steampunk system of industrialization) seem to be used for good, however, it’s not very long until Sciona Freynan—a strong, stubbornly confident protagonist—becomes the first woman mage, and discovers that the source of her magic is powered by blood outside Tiran’s barrier. When she takes on a Kwen apprentice, Thomil, who challenges not only Sciona’s worldviews and religion but also the reader’s, she becomes determined to bring justice to the Kwen and tear down the mages and magistrates with too much power to retain an empathetic heart.

Wang challenges the reader to ponder who is right and who is wrong. Is a man’s actions justified or is his intentions? What about evil intentions that transform into good later, or vice versa? Do those actions hold any weight to God or the Heavens? Should a man’s afterlife be determined based off of what he brought or took away from this world? Philosophical debates such as these and more are sprinkled throughout the story, which separates Blood Over Bright Haven from other dark fantasy novels. Not only is the magic system logistical based (very similar to coding) but it’s also something anyone can master and the price that’s paid for said magic is atoned for by helpless victims. Would you cast magic if it meant each time you did so, you’d be hurting another soul? Would you turn a blind eye if that soul did not agree with your worldview and was seen by society as less human than yourself?

As previously said, Wang’s work is essentially a masterpiece of injustice, religion-based governmental consequences, and the damaging effects of imperialism from both the oppressors and the oppressed. Sciona and Thomil’s dynamic was beautifully entwined to achieve such profound themes. While they’re on opposite sides of the spectrum in terms of societal value and education, they fight the same battle: discrimination and inequality. Both of them work mightily to set things right, yet just like magic, there’s a price to pay for rebellion.

One of my favorite moments was when Thomil realized the future was not to be decided by Sciona or himself, but the next generation of tomorrow who would have to suffer the consequences of their own actions today. That, in itself, was one of the most impactful moments throughout the entire story that I’ll always recall. It’s extraordinary to read a refreshing take on morality with debatable arguments and views. I can’t remember the last time I read something that was primarily focused on right versus wrong and where to distinct that when evil has become too rampant. I’m vey joyful to see that Blood Over Bright Haven has been picked up by a traditional publisher so stores around the world can feature this tale that needs to be told.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing an ARC (Advanced Readers Copy). This review is based off of an uncorrected proof. Make sure to look out for this when it hits shelves, you do not want to miss it!