"It Ends With Us. A Court of Thorns and Roses. Fourth Wing. Funny Story. At least once a year (and if we’re lucky, more), a book takes the world by storm. It’s impossible to find them at the library, they’re seemingly sold out on Amazon, and they dominate BookTok and Bookstagram. They also, inevitably, become divisive; large swaths of readers would lay down their lives for their favorite book while others simply cannot wrap their heads around why that same book is so popular. I’ve seen it time and again, and I’m ready to start the next great debate because I’ve found my favorite book of 2024.
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Blood Over Bright Haven is the second novel by M.L. Wang, the author of the award-winning Sword of Kaigen, which is one of the most-raved books on BookTok (I seriously see a video talking about it every single day). After devouring it in a single week, I predict Blood Over Bright Haven is going to follow suit as the book world’s next fantasy darling. Here’s why:
A standalone dark academia brimming with mystery, tragedy, and the damning echoes of the past. For fans of Leigh Bardugo, V. E. Schwab, and Fullmetal Alchemist.
What is Blood Over Bright Haven about?
Sciona Freynan has a lot to prove. An orphan from one of Tiran’s working-class districts, and a woman to boot, has no place among the male-dominated brigade of mages whose spells literally run the city. Early on, however, it’s evident Sciona not only deserves a place in the High Magistry, the highest order of mages in Tiran, but that they would be lucky to have her—she’s that good. But still, her place in the order isn’t a given, and it takes Sciona creating insane feats of magic to force the Archmages into making her a Highmage, but she does, and that’s when the real story begins.
Fresh off the greatest success of her career so far, Sciona’s days only get harder, beginning with her colleagues giving her a janitor instead of a properly qualified assistant. What her colleagues don’t realize, however, is that before he was a janitor, Thomil was a hunter whose entire tribe was decimated during their final crossing into Tiran 10 years earlier. Now, with Sciona at his side, he might finally uncover what really happened on that fateful day.
Together, Sciona and Thomil challenge each other’s entire worldview in the name of innovation and truth—and their work is going to have massive consequences for the industrial utopia they call home.
My review of Blood Over Bright Haven
Fourteen percent of the way into Blood Over Bright Haven I set my Kindle down, turned to my husband, and said, “This book is going to be a five-star read.” Each chapter upped the ante just enough that I felt compelled to keep going, unable to bear the thought of putting the book down and not knowing what would happen next. It’s rare that a book has this kind of impact, and I think Blood Over Bright Haven’s success boils down to three main elements:
The main characters challenge each other on every single page
I have to start by saying I don’t like Sciona Freynan. She is arrogant, judgmental, and has spent so much of her life drinking the government’s Kool-Aid that she constantly upholds the very principles she fights against. Tiran is built on the backs of the poor, working class, of which she and Thomil are both a part of. However, Sciona, because of her immense talent, views herself as better than the rest and constantly works to prove that worth to her peers. Throughout the novel, Sciona displays built-in prejudices toward Thomil and his people (outsiders known as the Kwen). It was simultaneously hard to read and unputdownable.
For his part, Thomil harbors extreme prejudice towards Sciona and the rest of the mages. And for good reason. Tiran views the Kwen as the lowest of the low and only begrudgingly allows them into their beloved city if they can make a deadly crossing. Even then, they perform hard labor in order to earn their stay.
Throughout their time working together, Sciona and Thomil constantly challenge each other’s worldviews, spiritual beliefs, and long-held prejudices. Those tense interactions serve to slowly humanize the other throughout the story. With each passing day, Sciona and Thomil reveal more of themselves to each other, and those passionate intellectual sparring matches slowly turn into mutual admiration and respect, and eventually, into love.
I must be clear: There are romantic undertones to their relationship, but this is far from a happily-ever-after romance story. Rather, it’s tragic, almost Shakespearean. Their relationship is the primary driving force of the story, and M.L. Wang does an excellent job centering how much impact two people can have when they put their minds together.
The fantasy world has eerie parallels to our own
I read fantasy, primarily, to escape the often overwhelming weight of… existing… in the real world. Whenever life becomes simply too much, I can grab a book and slip away into a world where magic is real and a warrior prince would let the world burn for his heroine. Blood Over Bright Haven isn’t that kind of story. Instead, it asks, what if magic was real, but it was the ultimate source of evil? Honestly, if you’re feeling at all existential, I’d recommend picking this book up another time.
Tiran is an industrial megahorse. Unlike our world, though, spells power everything. You can think of those spells as coding. A mage drafts their spell on a typewriter-like device, and when they hit enter, that spell activates. It’s a totally inventive and unique magic system, and throughout the book, we see just how big a part of Tiran’s infrastructure this magic plays. Everything, from the lights to the trains to making a cup of tea, is powered by this magic. What’s hidden, however, is the true cost of that magic.
While reading, I couldn’t help but think about how much our own technology impacts our world, for better or worse. Especially in the age of AI-everything, where we’re only just beginning to understand how that technology impacts the environment, the world Wang created is especially poignant. I finished this book weeks ago, and I’m still thinking about this question.
The plot unfolds like a trainwreck you can’t look away from
If you’re paying attention, it’s clear from the beginning of Blood Over Bright Haven that this book will not end well for anyone involved. Maybe I was delusional, but I chose to think it was the masterful way the story was written that had me holding onto hope until the very, very end. Even when the writing was on the wall, I couldn’t tear my eyes from the page because… what if? What if it all worked out? What if everyone chooses to do the right thing?
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on the way you look at it), as the tension ratchets up, so do the stakes, and things for our main characters go from bad to worse to even worse before, at the very end, we’re given a glimmer of hope. If you’ll allow me to be painfully millennial and slip in a niche, perhaps cringe reference, reading this book elicits the same feelings as that episode of Doctor Who, where the Doctor takes Rose to watch the end of the world. It’s horrifying, and yet you can’t look away.
Should you read Blood Over Bright Haven?
It’s safe to say I wholeheartedly recommend Blood Over Bright Haven. Sciona and Thomil ensnare you from page one and force you to pay attention to their story. This is, in short, a book I will remember and recommend for the rest of my life. However, I cannot say it’s for everyone. This is a dark academia story—emphasis on the dark. So if you read to escape the heaviness of the world (and I can’t blame you), this might be a book to skip. However, if you’re in the mood to get a little existential, and specifically, loved R.F. Kuang’s Babel, then this should absolutely be the next book you pick up.
As for me, I’ve already sung Blood Over Bright Haven’s praises to anyone who would listen, and am asking all of my friends if they’ve read it yet every time I see them.
A standalone dark academia brimming with mystery, tragedy, and the damning echoes of the past. For fans of Leigh Bardugo, V. E. Schwab, and Fullmetal Alchemist.
Garri Chaverst, Senior Managing Editor
As Senior Managing Editor of The Everygirl, Garri oversees the pitching, planning, and creation of all content. Garri has experience writing and researching across many different niches, including news, beauty, fashion, history, sports, and pop culture. Garri has been writing about fantasy books on The Everygirl since 2021.