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?
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.
(Content warnings for gore, sexual assault, and suicidal ideation)
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“Truth over delusion. Growth over comfort. God over all.”
I saw this book circling in the book community and a lot of people raved about it. I didn't give it another thought until Dylan Joseph from Instagram posted about it. I don't exactly recall what he had said but he DNF'ed the book and got a lot of backlash from it. That's what made me pick this up. I didn't know what Blood over Bright Haven was about and I had to read its synopsis because chapter 1 traumatized me. I kid you not. The first chapter reeled me in. My heart raced and ached, and had my full attention. I was invested since.
“The brightest meadows grew from dead things.”
After the tragic chapter 1, I was then introduced to a young woman mage and the world's magic system. The book had good pacing and I really liked the world-building. We get to see this utopia that nurtures brilliant minds to become the mages who power up the city's conveniences. We follow Sciona and her struggles to become the city's first woman high mage. Then we get to know the nitty-gritty stuff. When the plot twist was revealed, it became difficult for me to continue. It was an exhausting journey reading about Sciona's hypocrisy, self-righteousness, and denial that I had to stop every chapter to calm myself down because I was becoming so angry and frustrated. It had been so long since a book made me feel this much emotion and oh my gosh, there was even more.
“Nobody was going to care what I did just because I did it. I had to make them care.”
I wasn't prepared for the sexism and bigotry in this book. I was repulsed and disgusted. I wanted to strangle this Renthorn guy every time he opens his mouth.
“Credit was a thing a woman could want out of a sense of justice, which is arguably virtuous. But a woman who wanted glory...that was a woman who had something really wrong with her.”
The parallels this book has to the current world left a bitter taste in my mouth. I had been a Thomil, and at times, I had been a Sciona. This book brought so many complex thoughts that I was overwhelmed by everything it has. This is a very significant book for today and I am glad I picked it up. I'd love to get a physical copy of it.
Blood over Bright Haven - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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