Blood Over Bright Haven is the story of Sciona, the first woman to earn the rank of High Mage in the domed city of Bright Haven, as she discovers the dark secret at the core of Bright Haven and grapples with what that means for her and the city as a whole.

Where Blood Over Bright Haven excels is the character work done with the main character, Sciona. Mostly told from her point of view, we get to see her character change as she achieves her lifelong goal and then almost immediately all fall apart as she discovers the dark secret at the center of Bright Haven and deal with the internalized beliefs instilled in her from birth. Her growth and development as a character kept me invested and reading through the book despite some of my issues with other aspects of the book.

At the core of this story are themes of sexism, racism, classism. This is handled with the subtlety of a brick to the head. Most of the Bright Haven native characters are over the top bigoted whenever they appear. The world building is thin and what is there exists to hammer home the themes of the work. This leaves the world feeling more like a set the story is playing out in than an actual lived in world.

Having read and enjoyed the author’s previous title, Sword of Kaigen, this shows a lot of growth as an author and I’m excited to see what she puts out in the future. If the concept sounds interested or you liked the author’s previous work, I recommend you try it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing me an ARC of this story.

Blood Over Bright Haven is the type of story that I think will really stick with me. The first chapter is incredibly engaging, but also sets the tone for the story. By introducing us immediately to Thomil and the plight of the Kwen people, the reader is immediately aware of the decimation of the Kwen people, as well as the bizarre “Blight” that plagues the people outside of Tiran. It is heartbreaking and violent in a way that immediately lets the readers know what is at stake in this world while demonstrating the power imbalance and racism that is prevalent in Tiranish society.

Sciona is a wonderful main character. She is an incredibly driven egomaniac that is also fundamentally motivated with societal good in mind. She is so focused that she routinely forgets about anything (or anyone) outside of her work, but she also has a strong sense ethics that she uses to navigate the world. Once Thomil is reintroduced into the story alongside Sciona, it is Thomil’s intelligence and honesty that pushes Sciona beyond her boundaries to the pursuit of truth and knowledge. The characters individually are excellent, but seeing them push and change each other is really powerful.

The story asks interesting questions: what role does theology play in science? Who decides what is true and what gets to be forgotten in both theology and history? How do we define when something is protected from people that don’t have the ability to preserve that knowledge versus what is stolen? Will “good” people stand up for what is morally right when their comfort is at risk? Have you earned what is yours if you had to step on someone’s neck to get it?

I went into this story blind, which I would recommend doing for anyone interested in reading this story. I had a vague idea of the plot and read that this was for fans of Fullmetal Alchemist, which is one of my most favorite series of all time. If you appreciated the themes and ethics present in Fullmetal Alchemist, I think you will also appreciate Blood Over Bright Haven. I highly recommend both.

I'll give the author points for the creativity of the magic system—I don't think I've ever read anything like it, and I've read a lot of fantasy books—but my goodness, this was overwritten. I think a good quarter of it, if not more, could have been cut. It was just so wordy!

I also wasn't a huge fan of the preaching and moralizing. I get exactly what the author's point is in this, loud and clear, because as you read it, you're beaten over the head with these points. Said points include: men are bad, any technological progress a society has must have come from exploiting an oppressed people, and other such drivel.

All in all, I can't say I'd recommend this one. From what I can tell, this book was originally self-published before a major publisher picked it up. All I have to say about that is: why?

This book surprised me. I found it difficult in the beginning to understand the magic and not lose myself in the details. However, further into the story I started to appreciate the dynamics of this story more. I love that the FMC was written in a way that didn’t automatically make her this perfect likeable character, she had some bad in her too. I think this story was very unique and overall a solid read. At times it lacked a bit of excitement and clarity but that could change with a solid edit! I’m happy the ending genuinly surprised me. #netgalley #bloodoverbrighthaven

This was my first introduction to M.L. Wang and it was a good one. The book is very "Mage Magic" heavy so may not appeal to everyone but it reminded me of a cross between the Alex Versus novels By Benedict Jacka and the Shadow and Bone series. The world-building is strong, with a heavy emphasis on women generally being second-class citizens, but still above settlers from another part of the country. I enjoyed that there was a serious cost that came with magic, and I don't think anyone will be prepared for what that cost ends up being. Overall a solid 4 stars, because I felt some of the characters weren't quite as developed as I wanted them to be, and the mage magic was a little heavy on the theory side at times even for me.

I was immediately pulled in with that first chapter. I thought to myself dang starting off strong. But that’s about where it stopped for me too.

The next chapter we are introduced to the FMC Sciona a candidate for becoming the first female high mage. She has to overcome being a woman in a man’s world. A concept that is overdone. I didn’t connect with Sciona at all and her character fell flat to me. The MMC Thomil has so much potential especially after that first chapter, and his willingness to stand behind his beliefs but he also fell flat for me. The parts I did enjoy was the relationship between Thomil and Sciona it’s complicated and each interaction had be asking what’s going to happen next.

This book touched on a lot on sexism, classism and hate for a singular group of people. I’m not sure it was executed in the best way. Some parts just irritated me. The world building left me wanting more, especially where the magic system is concerned.

Over all I’d give it a 2.5/5 it wasn’t great but it wasn’t the worst I’ve read either.

Thank you NetGalley, Random House Publishing and M.L. wang for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is likely the best book I have read this year and easily top three of my favorite books of all time. I cared deeply about the main characters and adored them for all their right and their wrongs. One of strongest character developments and arcs I’ve enjoyed. Highly recommend

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!
Wow, this book is excellent, full stop.
I am so impressed by how the author weaved into this story in a fantastical setting such an interesting look at intersectionality and privilege and oppression. And how the author wrote us characters that really grow and struggle and change. Magnificent.

Format: 📖
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wow. Just wow. I am blown away by this book. The ending left me shaken, and jaw dropped.
In a society where only men can become high mages, Sciona’s life goal is to become the first woman ever admitted to the High Magistry. She is brilliant, passionate, and obsessive over her magic. Even as a High Mage she deals with sexism, so they taunt her by giving her a “lowly” outsider assistant, Thomil. Amidst the challenges they become close and may discover some dark secrets about their society.
This book is heavy and deals with major themes of racism, colonialism, elitism, prejudice, and faith. I was thinking about this book for days and days after.
Thank you, @mlwang for writing this truly thought provoking book.

“It’s much easier to tell yourself you’re a good person than it is to actually be one.”

Full warning: you are going to be mildly traumatized by the opening of this book and what happens to the Secondary Protagonist, a hunter named Thomil and his niece, who are the only survivors of their people. The reason why they're the last is because of a mysterious supernatural event known only as "the blight," which is a bright light that unravels anything it touches when it appears. The remnants of the tribe are attempting to reach a city state named Tiran, that is said to be free of the blight.

Then you are possibly going to seethe in a combo of rage and anxiety while being Extremely Annoyed with the Protagonist. They you're going to get increasingly horrified and worried for the Secondary Protagonist because we don't meet up with him again for several chapters, and we don't find out about what happened to the secondary protagonist's niece until several more chapters. Or at least, that is what happened while reading this book.

The Protagonist is a young woman named Sciona who has a lot of drive and ambition to become the first woman "highmage." Tiranish society is extremely sexist and hold to a belief that women are naturally intellectually inferior. She wants to prove them wrong.

The society is also extremely racist toward the "Kwen," peoples from outside the city-state's borders. The Kwen are believed to be barely human and are used as cheap labor. Kwen refugees are often thrown back through the barrier to get eaten by the blight if they aren't able to work. (Sciona's lack of *empathy, ignorance and absolute focus on one aspect of oppression is going to make you want to slap her a lot.)
The themes of this novel are about various kind of oppression and privilege. It's about the way kinds of oppression interact and the way two equally oppressed individuals can be oppressed in different ways while still having "privilege." Sciona is oppressed by an extremely sexist society that feels her intelligence is "unwomanly." She is faithful to her religion, which teaches that the Kwen refugees are not actually full people.

Thomil is a Kwen refugee who is working as a janitor at the High Magistry where Sciona is to work. He's assigned as her lab assistant as a "joke." Through Thomil, she learns about how the Kwen are treated (horrifically) but doesn't want to believe it, because she initially clings to the idea that the rules of her society are just and fair. (They are not.)

This was excellently handled throughout the course of the story, and the use of unreliable narrator to let you know how a) how extremely oblivious someone who believes racist rhetoric can be and b) how really terrible life is for the poor and for the Kwen.
The writer manages not to do this in a heavy handed manner, and avoids the pitfalls with attempting to write a story about prejudice. (White Savior characters who inspire rebellions or magically fix prejudice and so on.) The pace is slow, and I was extremely impatient to find out what happened to Thomil and his niece however.

Together, our protagonists discover various horrifying things about where the energy that powers Tiranish magic comes from. This leads to Sciona repeatedly trying to reveal the truth, which leads to more horrifying revelations and events. Meanwhile, Thomil keeps patiently trying to explain why Sciona's ideas to appeal to the morality or reason of the highmages and archmages of Tiran isn't going to work, and that she's probably going to get killed. (It takes her a while to understand that the other mages absolutely don't care about the Horrifying Revelations, because they either know already, don't care, or have an equally horrifying obsession.)

I was extremely impressed about the way the writer worked concepts of privilege and oppression into the work as discussions/arguments between two equally oppressed people, who are oppressed in different ways. (That are actually similar, though it takesa while for both characters to see this.) Sciona's journey to understanding the underlying rot of her home leads to an explosive climax that left me in tears. (Sciona makes so many damn mistakes because she desperately wants to believe that the other mages and the citizens of the city are good at heart and will understand that the Thing is Horrible and Want it to Stop. She has apparently never encountered the "I've got mine" trait.)
This review is based on a galley received via NetGalley

*There is a difference between empathy and compassion. Empathy is an inborn ability to understand that other people have emotions, and feel a sympathetic response. Compassion is deliberately learning about feelings and how other people feel. It's based more in thought than emotion. Sciona has almost no ability to relate to others beyond her interests, or on an emotional level, but gains compassion due to her moral code.

My biggest disappointment with this book is that it ended, and there's not more of it for me to read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey publishing for an ARC of Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang in exchange for an honest SPOILER FREE review.

Blood Over Bright Haven follows a young mage named Sciona who is the first female mage to be accepted into the high magistry in history. After being assigned a refugee from a foreign land as an assistant instead of a proper one, she begins to train him in the ways of magic and ultimately develop a friendship. This relationship leads to many of her beliefs being challenged and ultimately many discoveries that will rattle the world to the core if they are ever found out. An awesome story about bettering one self, learning to trust others, and what actually constitutes being a good person.

I absolutely loved this book, while the ending was satisfying and complete I couldn't help but be disappointed that the journey had ended. I want so much more from this world and what it has to offer, here's to really hoping that M.L. Wang decides to revisit it and write a sequel/prequel of sorts. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is a fan of fantasy books, especially if you enjoy fantasy books with some political and religious intrigue. The book is geared to an older audience, prose is fantastic and the world building is incredible with a very industrial revolution type vibe to it. Character arcs were completely and reading the progression of the characters was truly enjoyable. Overall I give this book five stars, once I started it I literally could not put it down until I was finished with it.

"Blood Over Bright Haven" starts with.a horrific bang in its first chapter - a scene of genocide - and never really backs off. Certainly the following chapters seem a lot calmer as they spin a tale of a country's first female mage and her towering ambitions to change history, but once one completes the narrative, one realizes that the peace is a lie: Wang is building to another crescendo of violence with every instant she spends developing the relationship between Sciona, clinical and cold, and Thomil, deadened but intelligent. Their relationship with each other (a will-they-or-won't-they for the ages) comes secondary to the characters' relationship with the truth as to how a magical city sustains itself. Wang is very interested in the question of culpability in this text - how does one's relationship with prejudice relate to permissiveness regarding larger atrocities? And while I found some of the discussion a little too "good versus evil", Wang nonetheless wielded a complicated narrative. I loved this book in part due to Wang's complex heroine, Sciona - she is exactly the sort of self-involved, passionate heroine that alternately enchants and frustrates.

My love for this book knows no bounds. I first encountered this book after experiencing a Sword of Kaigen shaped hole in my heart (yes, it's that good!) and hoped that reading this would heal me. As it would happen, M.L. Wang decided that I needed to suffer even more :')

I absolutely adored the plot, style, setting, etc. if this story, and I felt so wrapped up in it. I managed to read through the entire thing in a single day!

I wholeheartedly recommend M.L. Wang to the entire world, if not the entire galaxy. Please do yourself a favor and give this a read!

As always, all my thanks to both the publisher and Netgalley for giving me a chance to review this ARC.

Wow! What a journey! I really enjoyed this story and everything it stands for. If you like books that test the boundaries of right and wrong and stories that may bring personal beliefs into question, this is a fabulous read. I’m an open minded person and I liked that this book reflected what it is to be close minded but certain POVs coming to light. I also enjoyed the relationship building. It wasn’t rushed at all. However, beware, the ending is a whammy that may make you cry. I highly recommend reading.

When the first ever female mage at a competitive institution learns that her society is hiding a huge secret that changes her entire world view, her core beliefs are completely shattered.

Blood Over Bright Haven is for the dark academia enthusiasts. This is true dark academia genre at its core that isn’t just a weak plot dressed up in an aesthetic.

M. L Wang tactfully handles themes of sexism, colonialism and grief in one stand out story, This book solidifies her place as the queen of fantasy standalones,

M.L. Wang said “you want dark academia, I’ll give you dark academia” and served.

A raw and emotional story that asks its reader this: can good intention absolve your soul of the pain you cause others, or are you just as doomed to Hell as the man who inflicts pain knowingly? When a shocking discovery forces Sciona Freynan, the first female Archmage in Tiran’s history, to confront the dark and bloody truth behind the magic and the history that built the city of Tiran, God’s beautiful Bright Haven, she is forced to grapple with her sense of morality, her religious values, and her hungry pursuit of knowledge and power, and decide whether she is a good person or a monster.

What started off as a seemingly typical academia-based book, albeit with a unique magic system that I had never seen before, quickly became one of the best books I have read in 2024. As soon as the plot twist was revealed, and all of the real work started, I could not put this book down. Blood Over Bright Haven doesn’t shy away from anything. It is brutal and honest and gets into the gritty details of a society that was built on the blood of others.

I will not turn my gaze, though Light burn me.”

Want to see what happens when a woman learns all the secrets the men in power have been keeping from the city? Read this book. You will feel entranced, disgusted, and enraged. And then so deeply satisfied when things start getting set on fire.

Plus, you’ll also get a book with amazing world building, a highly unique magic system that almost feels more mathematical and scientific than fantasy, and a perfect set of characters that balance each other out perfectly. Although the ending will hit you like a punch in the gut, among the death and the darkness, Blood Over Bright Haven leaves you with a feeling of hope.

With her soul in the spiral on its way to Hell, Sciona’s last thought was not of vengeance or legacy. It was of love.”

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a six star read for me. One of the most perfect books I have ever read.

I was always ready to read this book and was sad to have it end. I wanted to spend more time with these characters and in this world. Normally, I would take issue with how this book ended, but it felt very earned here.

This is a book that I will talk about with anyone who will listen.

This was a solid 3.75 for me! This was a little outside my typical fantasy read in the best way. I really enjoyed the overall atmosphere and the unique magic system, although it was very technical and sort of difficult to follow all the moving parts at times. With how in-depth the explanations of the magic went was where I got a little lost and struggled to stay totally engrossed (but that’s mostly a me problem) I also really enjoyed having a sort of, fallible FMC and experiencing her character development. Thank you for giving me access to this arc!

blood over bright haven is m. l. wang’s soon-to-be-traditionally-published dark academia/horrors of empire book and boy is it a fantastic ride!

there are two books that I think are kind of “nearest neighbors” to this one and serve as a good point of comparison: babel and sword of kaigen. I’ll use each book as a jumping off point to discuss aspects of the book: plot and writing, respectively.

If you enjoyed Babel, I think you could definitely enjoy this book, unless you are attached to reading strictly earth-based stories. But even if you didn’t enjoy Babel, I think you could have a good time with this story. I personally enjoyed both, but I think this story has more subtlety in how it conveys its points, and it is able to create surprises that are possible due to its non-historicity (ie, that BOBH is not set in our world).

This book handles questions of oppression, exploitation, the complicit or even forerunning role of academia in these matters, propaganda, resistance, and more. Similarly to Babel, it situated the main characters inside the academy, where they are simultaneously ostracized and oppressed by peers and put into positions of power and privilege. Inclusion within the machine of empire is a double-edged sword- and this position is a precarious one for our characters.

BOBH also handles intersectionality well, and manages to create satisfying conversations between the characters about these nuances. I think it is really well served by having a character who is more “outside the empire and academy” in terms of his thinking and upbringing. There are many characters who stay in shades of gray throughout- we can see them trying and caring in some cases, but unwilling or uncaring to bend in others. The complexity of the characters was a real high point for me: many of them truly, deeply sucked as people, but I could still understand how they reached their state (though not always sympathize).

M. L Wang's writing in this book continues to be excellent, and I think this book has better pacing than Sword of Kaigen (if that was a gripe for you). I really enjoyed the worldbuilding, the slow conveying of puzzle pieces that let me try to figure out the bigger, more awful picture. The characterization was excellent, and I think the secondary characters really helped us understand the MC's better, in terms of their flaws, background, and multiplicity of roles.
Similar to SoK, the characters were just wonderful to inhabit- they would surprise me with their actions, and their relationships were the heart of the plot even as some characters are maybe not great). The magic was fascinating and fun to learn, but was also highly relevant to the plot, making it worthwhile to understand.

Overall, this book has the great triumph of
having very clear themes of anti-colonialism and -imperialism, while feeling like those themes were shown rather than told (though maybe some people will read this and not get the point? idk). I came away with some hope, but also great sadness. Few of the characters came out clean, and some of them I disliked to greater and greater degrees throughout the conclusion, but I feel like the characters who deserved it got some level of redemption, improvement, or hope.

for me, this was a ★★★★★ read. five stars for me doesn’t mean there weren’t any flaws, but that I didn’t have any that were negatively impacting my reading experience, or were extremely present upon reflection.

The writing was beautiful! I find myself thinking about this book and story all the time! It did take me a bit to get into, but the wait was worth it. A refreshing take on the fantasy genre and I hated the men of this city while rooting for the ladies and the minorities!!