Name: Blood Over Bright Haven
Series: Stand-Alone
Author: M.L. Wang
Publisher: Del Ray
Format: Hardback
Genres: Adult, Sci-Fan (Science-Fantasy), Dark Fantasy
Noted Tropes: Dark Academia Setting
Rating: (actual rating 6 stars!)
Synopsis: Goodreads
Magic has made the city of Tiran an industrial utopia, but magic has a cost—and the collectors have come calling.
An orphan since the age of four, Sciona has always had more to prove than her fellow students. For twenty years, she has devoted every waking moment to the study of magic, fueled by a mad desire to achieve the impossible: to be the first woman ever admitted to the High Magistry. When she finally claws her way up the ranks to become a highmage, however, she finds that her challenges have just begun. Her new colleagues will stop at nothing to let her know she is unwelcome, beginning with giving her a janitor instead of a qualified lab assistant.
What neither Sciona nor her peers realize is that her taciturn assistant was once more than a janitor; before he mopped floors for the mages, Thomil was a nomadic hunter from beyond Tiran’s magical barrier. Ten years have passed since he survived the perilous crossing that killed his family. But working for a highmage, he sees the opportunity to finally understand the forces that decimated his tribe, drove him from his homeland, and keep the Tiranish in power.
Through their fractious relationship, mage and outsider uncover an ancient secret that could change the course of magic forever—if it doesn’t get them killed first. Sciona has defined her life by the pursuit of truth, but how much is one truth worth with the fate of civilization in the balance?
Review:
In a world where women just don’t become High Mages, Sciona has made it her mission to do exactly that. Sciona goes on a journey of self discovery through her pursuit of truth in Blood Over Bright Haven and it’s not a pleasent journey. And Thomil is just trying to survive and give his sisters daughter a chance at a life… Blood Over Bright Haven was not something I thought I’d be picking up, but when M.L. Wang’s name started popping up everywhere I thought I just had to give her a chance… I regret nothing.
For fans of Leigh Bardugo, V. E. Schwab, and Fullmetal Alchemist.
Whilst I can’t comment on the author element of that statement, I can comment on Fullmetal Alchemist. FMA (Brotherhood) is one of, if not my favourite, anime that I have watched – and has been since I watched it for the first time. and so I was immediately interested by this comparison. We didn’t get more than 3 pages in before I had my first comparison to Fullmetal Alchemist. A comparison that had my jaw on the damn ground, where it stayed for most of the book.
We follow Thomil initally as he and his clan are trying to reach Bright Haven where they’re protected from the Blight. The Blight is a horrible death that strikes with seemingly no reasoning and no warning – it can jump from one person, animal or plant to another if they’re in close proximity, and it does not take you silently. It’s bloody horrible and I can’t blame his clan for trying to escape it.
Then we join Sciona inside Bright Haven as she’s preparing for her test to become the first woman appointed High Mage in history. As expected, in a world where women are deemed too emotional and set for certain jobs in life, Sciona’s test is harder than the High Mage applicants before her… we’re shown right off the bat just how this society treats women who are stepping out of line. Her determination to not let that stop her is, at least initially, a benefit to her.
The two end up working together, and together they discover a secret that changes everything… And when I made the connection moments before it was revealed to us, that was the end for me. I could not stop reading, I dedicated the rest of my morning to finishing Blood Over Bright Haven. It was simply not an option to put it down and walk away from it again.
This book had me confused, intrigued, playing guessing games and at one point crying (though at many points I was reading through tears in my eyes)… I went through a wide range of emotions whilst reading this stand-alone. It’s so impressive that this whole story is wrapped up in less than 500 pages (barely over 400!) because at no point did I think the story was being rushed or anything was happening out of convience for the shorter book…
I was so impressed, and I loved this book so much my immediate thought was it has to be a 6 star read! I did not, however, award the 6 star rating to Blood Over Bright Haven. Rather selfishly, I wasn’t able to do that because I found myself having to re-read sections of the book multiple times to try and understand what was happening. The magic system was quite unique, and after reading a passage to my partner, it seems like it has quite the connection to programming (something else that is confusing!) which explains why I was confused over how it worked more often than not…
Despite that, because once I read it a few times I either came tor ealise I understood what happeend enough that I could continue reading. For me, having to reread an explanation again on multiple occassions did not take away any love I had for this book. I’d say this is probably a soft introduction to Sci-Fiction – which is why I labelled it as Science-Fantasy as opposed to Science-Fiction as it does have some Sci-Fi elements, I think it leans heavily on the Fantasy elements.
Definitely a 5 star read, I could not award it any less than that. It was brilliant and I honestly may re-read this one in the future! Question now, is am I brave enough to read The Sword of Kaigen?
Edited to update Blood Over Bright Haven to 6 Stars! It’s a travesty that I’m only just allowing myself to do this (amend ratings once they’ve been live) because I should have never rated it any less than 6 stars to begin with.
“Be cold, be hard, and don’t give them an inch, you understand? No matter what they say of you.”
Reading With Tyler 
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