Review: Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang

Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.  In full transparency, I had previously purchased the kindle version prior to  this book being acquired by Del Rey and republished, but I hadn't read it yet.

This was fantastic.  I had heard great things from the book community about how awesome ML Wang was, and I'm so glad I finally got to experience it for myself.  This follows Sciona, a talented mage, where women are not permitted to rise past certain stations.  Her mentor sees her abilities and has petitioned the council to allow her to become the first female highmage.  Her acceptance as highmage is not well received, despite her talent, but she is determined to show her peers and elders what she can do.  Saddled with an inferior assistant on her first day, she begins working on a revolutionary spell that expand magic use and cement her place as a mage.

Thomil is a janitor, and now Sciona's assistant.  He is a refugee from land outside of the "barrier".  His people have come to Tiran to escape the blight and are looked at as less than human.  He is the last of his family and the last of his tribe.  He has done what was needed to survive since crossing the barrier, but as he works with Sciona they uncover the secrets of the barriers and the cost of the magic.

This is really hard to review without spoiling.  This was so engaging.  It had wonderful world building and character development.  Sciona was such a great character.  She was stubborn and focused.  When faced with information that was devastating or contrary to her expectations or beliefs, she raged then as any good scientist would she investigated and confronted that information.  She learns and grows, and she has emotions not like a woman but like a human.  I appreciated that she had sounding boards in her aunt and cousin and in Thomil.  They didn't hesitate to call her out when she was being ridiculous.  Thomil also has to learn and grow, but he has to hide his true nature to survive in a place that hates his existence.  There is alot of great social commentary in this book and I thought it was really well done and balanced by the fantasy elements.  We get a good explanation of how the magic system works, and I really thought it was very creative.  We also get to understand how it effects those outside of the barrier and the moral implications of magic use.  It was kind of brilliant on the author's part.

I appreciated that this is a standalone instead of a drawn out series.  It is a bit on the long side but I never felt like the pace dragged.  I was invested for the entirety of the book.  I don't mind a long book when the pacing and plot keep me invested, which this did.  I thought this book was incredibly well balanced, and I was always trying to find a moment to get back to it around life's other responsibilities.  I absolutely loved this book!

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