Blood Over Bright Haven Review: My Favorite Standalone of the Year

I absolutely love a dark academia fantasy novel. Something about the combination of dark mystery and magical schools just resonates with me in a way that other adult fantasy books don’t. And so when I heard that M.L. Wang had written one called Blood Over Bright Haven, I was practically tripping over myself to read it. Having recently finished and loved The Sword of Kaigen, I knew I was in for a fantastic – if emotionally devastating – read.

And I was not disappointed.

That said, this book might not be for everyone. So here is my honest (and spoiler-free) Blood Over Bright Haven review.

Disclaimer: There are affiliate links in this review, which means if you make a purchase after clicking on one, I may earn a commission. Full Disclaimer here.

Book Overview

5 Stars

Fantasy Subgenre: adult fantasy book, dark academia, gaslamp fantasy.

Read if you like

• Dark academia high fantasy

• Strong female lead

• Unique magic system

• One off standalone book

• Books you think about for long after you finish reading them

• Books like Babel by R.F. Kuang

Pass if you don’t like

• Emotionally hard-hitting books (You might cry)

• Heavy, dark themes such as sexism and colonialism

• Some violent scenes

Judge a Book by Its Cover

The Del Rey hardback of this book just came out in October 2024 and I ordered a copy immediately. (I was lucky to get a signed copy, even!)

Can we just talk about how beautiful this book is for a minute? It’s got red and gold foil on the dust jacket, red sprayed edges, and a full color map for the end pages.

Plot

The main protagonist of this book is Sciona, a talented and driven mage who becomes the first female to be inducted into Tiran’s society of highmages. Her first task? Use her unique skills to aid in the expansion project of Tiran’s magical barrier that keeps out the Blight, a horrifying terror that kills plants, animals – and people.

Her highmage peers are less than accommodating to her as the only woman among them, and so instead of giving her a qualified lab assistant, they assign her a janitor – a Kwen man named Thomil, one of the last of his tribe who hails from beyond the barrier.

As the unlikely duo begin working together, they start to unravel an ancient secret that turn their lives upside down.

Wang is an absolutely incredible storyteller – this I already knew from The Sword of Kaigen. But she takes it to the next level in Blood Over Bright Haven.

Normally, when start reading a new book, it takes me a few chapters to hook into the world and characters the author is building. But I was floored from the very first chapter of this book! The opening scene is intense, it played out like a movie in my mind and my heart went out to the characters immediately.

For a relatively small fantasy book, there is a lot of plot packed into it, and the pacing is superb; at no point was I bored or confused. There are several emotional gut punches throughout that had me tearing through the pages, and I essentially read the last half of the book in a single day because I couldn’t stop until I learned how it all played out.

It’s a complete story, leaving no unanswered threads dangling, and it has a satisfying ending. Just how I like my standalones to be!

Themes and Motifs

One of my favorite things about this book is the way it approaches heavy emotional themes. There is a lot that makes you think about sexism and colonialism and the line between what is right and wrong. In that sense, it reminds me very much of many emotional themes of R.F. Kuang’s Babel, which is also an excellent read.

But my favorite theme in this book is the concept of intention vs. result. It asks questions like: Is it enough to have good intentions to be a good person? What if those good intentions end up hurting people?

What about doing good things for reasons that are ultimately egotistical or selfish reasons? It’s the kind of book that makes you think about the nature of morality and the sometimes stark difference between what a person believes is right, and what actually is right.

Other key themes include justice, religion, and social classism. I have heard some readers complain that the themes are a little heavy-handed but I did not find that at all.

World-Building

The world of Blood Over Bright Haven is set in the fantastical city of Tiran, and the entirety of the story focuses on this city and its surrounding area. Wang does a great job painting a picture of this magical industrial city, complete with statues of the founders, magical typewriters known as spellographs, and descriptions of what different parts of the city are like.

This book has one of the more initially complex magic systems; mages draw energy from a place called the Otherreal using spellographs to power everything in their city, from vehicles to plumbing. The way Sciona describes creating spells with the spellograph makes me think of a more magical, steampunk version of computer programming. It’s very scientific and logical sounding, which made it fun to read about.

I like that the magic system isn’t just something the populace is born with, it is essentially a science that one has to go to magic school to learn. It’s a refreshing change from the “chosen one born with magical powers” trope at the centre of so many fantasy books.

Characters

I guess it’s “bull-headed female leads” month for me or something because I’ve been reading about a lot of morally grey, arrogant women characters lately. But you know what? I’m here for it. I like characters that are morally grey and have a few unlikable traits because it makes them more real.

Sciona is one such character. There’s no question this main character is an incredibly driven individual, manic in her pursuit of magic; she has spent every waking moment of her adult life preparing for the trial that will admit her to highmage status. She’s painted as someone who is so singularly focused on her goals that she doesn’t notice or appreciate the people around her, forgetting her neighbour’s name and taking her loving aunt and cousin for granted.

And yet, I still had compassion for Sciona because even though she is self-serving, she isn’t heartless. She has a very satisfying character arc, particularly in the way she develops self-awareness throughout the story.

I also liked Thomil’s character’s story arcs, which are more subtle and somewhat secondary to Sciona’s but poignant all the same. You can really feel his internal conflicts throughout the story which adds such an interesting dynamic to his interactions with Sciona and his niece, Carra.

There are a few other supporting characters like Sciona’s aunt and cousin who are not quite as well developed, but that’s to be expected in a shorter fantasy book.

My only nit-picky quibble is with the villains in this story. I think they did end up falling a little flat and one-dimensional in comparison to the protagonists, although in a way (without spoiling anything) I think that was the point – that their wrongful ways were so ingrained in them that there was nothing beneath the surface of them anymore.

But overall, Wang writes characters who you can really understand and root for, even with their many flaws and shortcomings.

Writing Style

I can always tell when I love an author’s writing style when reading a book because I am twitching to annotate it on almost every page. In fact, I read this on my Kindle, but I preordered the physical copy that comes out in October because I want to highlight my favorite parts and tab them so I can reference them quickly.

I loved how M.L Wang portrayed characters emotions in a subtle way, and the connection that develops between the two main characters is masterfully done.

Like The Sword of Kaigen, Blood Over Bright Haven is a violent novel, with several disturbing scenes. However, it is not written in a gratuitous way and only gives enough detail to have the necessary emotional impact. It’s not always an easy balance to achieve!

Final Thoughts and Rating

This short one-off standalone gets a solid five stars and is must-read standalone novel for anyone who likes dark academia and dang good writing. The powerfully heavy hitting themes, complex magic system, morally grey characters, and many beautifully written passages easily make this one of the most memorable reads of the year. (And that’s saying something – I’ve read 56 fantasy books so far in 2024!)

I hope you enjoyed this honest review and add this to your TBR!

FAQ