"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!!

This is a dark dystopian story that covers some deep social topics. I wasn't in love with Sciona, but her characters' quirks are explained by her backstory. The world building and magic system were in depth and unique enough to keep my interest. However, as involved as the story is, it had a hard time keeping my interest at places. Overall, it was an enjoyable read.

Tis is my first book by this author, and it will not be my last. This is a dark academia setting with a magic system (my favorite). It's an emotional rollercoaster, characters have great depth, and well written twists. The ending was great! An over all great. Page turning read!

It feels illegal to rate this any lower than 4 stars…but I am. Let’s get into it!

Wow, this book is loved. A ton of reviewers I follow rated it 5 stars. It came as no surprise, seeing as her previous book is also VERY loved. I have yet to read Sword of Kaigen, and I look forward to it later this year! I happened to see this book on NetGalley, an ARC for the new cover, and I got approved! I couldn’t wait to see what the hype was about.

Well, it’s just okay. I loved Thomil and Carra, but I didn’t care much for Sciona. The magic system was cool, but the setting left a lot to be desired. I predicted the plot twist quite early on, so the climax had less of an impact for me. I also struggled with the pacing, but that seems to be a me thing, rather than a writing issue.

I think sexism is a very important topic to discuss, and it adds a lot when added to fictional stories. It brings opportunities for perspective and change in their world and ours. In this book, I don’t think it was executed right. Maybe it’s the shallow representation of its effects, or Sciona’s insistence on bringing it up to the audience often, almost obsessively, but I got annoyed rather than inspired. It’s a shame, really.

Overall, I wanted more. I wish Thomil and Carra were the main character, I was much more invested in their story. Give it a try, I am clearly in the minority. So many people love this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for this ARC.

Absolutely outstanding in every way. Raw and emotionally intense, this is an exquisite allegory for contemporary American social justice issues. I've rarely read a book with such a naked and clear message that was also a tour de force of characterization and plot. The worldbuilding is outstanding, the characters are compelling. It delivered consistent gut punches from beginning to end with incredible pacing and beautiful prose. I finished it in a day, I could not put it down even when I'd figured out what was coming and where the story was going. One of the best books I've ready in a long time.

-A couple note:s
-my library has Sword of Kaigen, and it circulates quite often, so we're likely to purchase this one as well.
-This would probably fall under dark academia, not because of the aesthetic, but because that subgenre is supposed to be a critique of academic society. In this case, how innovation just leads to new ways of putting lives in the meat grinder.
-The prose is good. The main character twists in her morals and egotism, which can slow the pace at times, but I wouldn't necessarily call that a bad thing.

The FMC is the first female mage which is actually a research position. and it’s got politics, arguments about religion, cultural appropriation and assimilation. It is SO good. When I tell you putting this book down was the hardest thing I did all week, please understand that I’m a doctoral student in finals week.
<spoiler> I generally prefer a solid HEA where the FMC and MMC end up together so the fact that I loved this book is a testament to how good this book is. </spoiler>

I was excited to read this book based off the great reviews and summary. At first it was not that enthralling or relatable. I found myself getting bored with the magic system explanations. After there was a breakthrough on knowledge of the Blight I thought okay, here we go. But then I only managed to read until 51%. I’m not one to not finish a book, but I’ll give this story a break and might come back to it at a later date.

I don't know whether to thank you or blame you for this emotional damage I just received. This book devastated me, enchanted me, and broke my heart. I don't know how to recover, and I don't know what to do with myself now. What can I possibly read after this? 😭

This book was so beautifully written and the magic is very unique! I will not give any spoilers but this novel will rip your heart out! Another amazing stand alone from M.L. Wang!

I’m very indifferent about this book. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great. It just… was.
Simultaneously, I feel like I didn’t read enough but I also read too much? There was so much detail about the wrong things and not enough detail for what was important.

I still recommend this book. The plot was still interesting, despite the poor execution.

I was going to wait a while and sit on my thoughts for this book. But as I’ve sat here in my tears, I realized I know exactly how I feel about this book.

I was kindly given an ARC for this book through Netgalley, and I could not be more grateful.

There are few words I have in mind to describe this story. I think “powerful” is the only one I have right now. This story did not go at all how I thought it would. I could not put this story down to save my life, it was captivating from the very beginning. Not just because of the characters, but the world building, while complicated, was never too hard for me to understand.

I genuinely do not know how some authors can make up a fictional world, that everything just intrinsically makes sense, down to the last molecule. This world was incredibly well thought out, and echoed a huge part of today’s world.

The overarching plots were extremely hard to convey and handle correctly. But, somehow, this author just knocked it out of the park! We tackled sexism, living in the patriarchy as a part of a marginalized group, and xenophobia. It was all done with such care, and truth. I cannot express the love and appreciation I have for this beautiful, but heartbreaking story based on new beginnings for those who deserve/need it.

I loved these characters as if they were my real, living breathing friends. I felt their emotions, high and low. I grieved with them, I loved with them, I laughed with them. I am a better person after reading this novel because of our two main characters.

If you enjoy high fantasy, a lot of world building, magic system plotting, and politics- this is the book for you. I loved this book so much. 5 stars. An absolutely beautiful novel.

This book has such a unique magic system that kept me highly engaged. The book addresses the prejudices of people and the hope a community has when they come together. This was a beautiful story of two people with very different backgrounds that worked together to see the world in a different light.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.