Blood Over Bright Haven is the first book that I have read from M. L. Wang. It was way over-hyped on the Tik Toks, and that should have been my first clue.
The book opens with a strong, attention grabbing, visceral first chapter. The next few chapters introduce us to the city that is the Bright Haven in a wintery world.
Unfortunately, after those first few chapters, I lost interest. There is a big plot twist about half way through the book, but I had guessed in the first few chapters. There is so much time spent thinking about and theorizing about that plot twist, that felt wasted because I had already guessed the outcome.
The book tries to say a lot about sexism, and racism and maybe capitalism. There is also some random SA thrown in just to really cement that the bad people are bad. I think it was totally unnecessary and added nothing to the story.
All that being said, I actually enjoyed the last few chapters. They leave the characters and the reader with hope for a brighter future even in bleak circumstances.
At some point I will check out Sword of Kaigen which is the same author as this book, and similarly hyped, so we shall see…
Rating: 3/5