#thomil

Sciona: don’t worry Thomil, I have a backup suicide plan so I’m more like 99% likely to die 

Thomil: I’m not fucking doing that 

20 out of 10 stars. It's one of the best books I've ever read and I think should be compulsory reading for every fantasy fan out there. Saying it's a dark academia is doing it so much injustice and trivializes how tragic, philosophical, multilayered and relevant this book is. BOBH explores such heavy themes from many unique view points, especially the MC’s!

Sciona can be so egotistical and arrogant and downright unlikeable at times, but she is a good person with good intentions and you end up rooting for her, and crying for her, and believing in her ideals until the very last page. The deuteragonist to her is Thomil, who is a "second-class" citizen (refugee) in the city of Tiran, and holds up a mirror to all her prejudices and ignorance. Sciona is blisteringly intelligent, and that ends up creating this gorgeous perspective of someone who has the earned ego from intelligence warring with a heart she didn't think she wanted to have. The backdrop is lush (I'll get to the fantastical elements in a second) with layers of institutional oppression that is very obvious to Thomil who is a direct victim of it, and is only half obvious to Sciona who has only had to deal with the misogyny aspect and not the systemic theologically driven racism. We are treated to her genuine curiosity, pursuit of truth, and her ego leading her to constantly unravel the things she didn't want to know, unlearn generations of indoctrination, and act on her intuition that what she's a part of is inherently rotten. Her character development is top notch, especially considering where she started as someone who “lacked empathy”.

I've never read a perspective like this - it's like reading Letty's POV in Babel if Letty was actually a good person lol with sprinklings of Robin? (I'm on the I hate Letty squad until I die). Sciona is both a victim and a perpetrator. A damsel and a demon (I'm not being pretentious that's actually one of the chapter titles kjsfghfskjhg). It makes for such an interesting read, sometimes exasperating, sometimes poetically tragic and hopeful and most of the time full of the joy and passion of discovery. Sciona believes at her core she is egotistical and while I do agree, I think her core is curiosity as her fatal flaw. She doesn't shy away from the truth, she invites debate, she loves being challenged and having the opportunity to defend herself but is also quick to embrace when she's wrong and will change her perspective. In that way, I felt really represented by her curiosity, and felt her rage whenever she was told its unwomanly to ask questions and look under rocks and be unapologetic in ENJOYING her work. Even the insinuation that she is just as selfish as the men for wanting a legacy was fascinating because while she is egotistical, Sciona wanting to leave a legacy behind in a society where women are not allowed to have any power or legacy is inherently different than the men around her.

The Thomil POV chapters are just incredible to read. Both of them together really represent that intersectionality between racial oppression and systemic patriarchy because while neither of them are wrong, Sciona enjoys the privilege of her race and therefore it makes her blind to the horrors that Thomil and the other Kwen face in the city. Watching her unlearn all that is fascinating because just like Thomil, it’s obvious to me as a reader why she’s wrong (being a WoC myself) but trying to explain it to someone you care about and know isn’t a bad person is a very uniquely infuriating experience to both be in and to witness. And the way the romance develops between them is so organic, realistic, subtle and fluttery - it actually does a really good job in highlighting the fragility of hope in such a rotten city, and therefore its importance.

Because the setting IS in academia where Sciona is doing research and Thomil is her assistant, it gets given "dark academia" as the genre but in reality it's absolutely riveting because it's full of theological, philosophical, ethical and moral debates between Sciona and Thomil that flow so naturally and don't feel gimmicky or preachy. The worldbuilding is so lush and rich, the magic system is intricate, complex, and rule-based, and the lore is very well thought out where it actually feels like I'm reading about a civilisation in OUR world. The pacing is BLISTERING but it never once feels like it's too fast - Blood over Bright Haven is only 450 pages or so but it feels like I've just read an expansive trilogy which just makes ML Wang a genius.

God guys… I’m only past the first chapter and I’M SO SCARED??? What POSSIBLY HAPPENS IN A BOOK THAT STARTS LIKE THAT. Oh Thomil…