Well, I just read the best book of this year…

[@danielaweberdani]

I really love that optional spoiler zone - your reviews make me too curious not to want more details. 💡

[@orkosubmarine]

I love how you don't waste anyone's time in your videos, you just dive in and I'm heeeeeere for it

[@OverlyAverageBen]

That opening chapter definitely made me cry 💚 this book is exceptional and I'm so glad you loved it just as much!

[@Chckechain]

Unrelated to the video itself, but I never watch KZbin much these days and your videos have been my prime source of background entertainment while I draw. Like, you're probably one of the only channels i've been going on. I hope you're having a wonderful day❤

[@lexileemoney6205]

I was waiting on the edge of my seat for you to review this book. I saw that you were reading it and since I saw that and finished it myself, I have been so excited to hear your thoughts. Thanks as always for your wonderful content Willow!

[@DangerMoo]

You had me at its vital for readers of RF Kuang Babel

[@Megan.eco-Instinct]

Fabulous review! This novel has been on my TBR for a little while now and it is now going *right* to the top of the pile. Sounds *marvelous* !!!

[@jamiestark80]

I didn't know if I could continue after the first chapter, but I'm so glad I pushed through. It made me feel so many emotions and I was wrecked. I finished the book yesterday and just can't stop thinking about it. I had to read the first few lines of ten different books because I wasn't sure I would be able to read anything else so soon after finishing this book. You hit the nail on the head with this review!

[@roma-teclea]

This is the kind of books I want to hear about! Omg adding to my tbr.

[@badfaith4u]

What a thoughtful and descriptive book review.

[@Stitchcraft_by_Gillian]

I'm so glad I found your channel, you have such great recommendations and I love your enthusiasm for books ❤ I read The Sword of Kaigen recently and loved it, so I cant wait to read this!

[@mariareadsssf]

I am so happy for you Willow. I have not stoped thinking about "Blood Over Bright Haven" since I read the self published eARC from M. L. Wang. Looking forward to do a reread one day using the traditionaly published edition as I understand it got one more round of editing.

[@Kringlebert]

I *just* picked this up after hearing praise from so many people I tend to align with and I'm very excited to read it. I don't know when that'll happen, but I'm looking forward to it!

[@nodoubtmisa]

I am really happy more people are reading Blood over Brighthaven finally, the book is soo good and I did cry by the end as well. So well written, I basically had no complaints, other than it breaking my heart. xD

[@barbaraferguson3932]

Convinced. Put it on hold at the library.

[@jonessamendoza]

I was still debating/deciding whether to finally read this or put it off and then your review came out SO I GUESS THIS IS A SIGN hahahaha! Thank you, Willow. A lot of your reviews have heavily influenced the trajectory of my TBR lmao :))

[@anangryscorpion5838]

I read this when it first came out and I was immediately blown away by that first chapter, absolutely harrowing and had me wanting to keep turning the pages more than any book I've read in a long long time. About halfway through reading it I remember thinking to myself "wow, this might just be the best book I've read in years".

[@tirarosaurioreads]

If I have never read dark academia nor fantasy novels, how do you make this one look so appealing? :O

[@WillowTalksBooks]

😇

[@tirarosaurioreads]

@@WillowTalksBooks Oooops turns out I bought it. I guess this is how I start reading genres that are new to me.

[@bellybottyboop]

God that ending was so beautifully tragic

[@colonelweird]

Just started reading this on your recommendation - it's great so far. I bought the U.S. hardcover, which thankfully has a printing quality much higher than the norm. It's not as nice as Everyman Library hardcovers, but it's close. Most American hardcovers are very badly produced, so I avoid them. This is the rare exception. Also, I'm fascinated by the magic in this book, which owes a lot to the logic of computer programming. I hope the book digs deep into the background of this strange magic.

[@cyndie88]

This is a sign for me to just buy the book and not wait several months for it to be available on libby lol (ty for no spoilers! ❤)

[@RogieVixen]

This books sounds incredibly relevant especially for right now, I'm definitely going to read it.

[@LIsAlwaysSleepy]

4 minutes in and im already sold! The amazing way you describe books is truly a gift

[@izabelakujawska5245]

I agree with your every word!

[@floydwilliams497]

I read it last year, and it is everything you say it is. M.L. Wang is a force to be reckoned with in the world of fantasy and literature.

[@David-sg1yi]

Just ordered this.

[@cappyroo]

Just put it on my kindle. Thank you for the recommendation!

[@rachelny5209]

I loved this book! I think about it all the time

[@wifeunderthesea]

paused this at the 10 min mark and am starting the book now. i’m sold.

[@NorelleLee8]

Usually i watch spoilers. Specially if those spoilers are not about finale but some other things. This is one of the rare times, when i skipped that part, because now i want to read this book myself. And i want to discover what happens. Thank you for this video. I'm really desperate to find a book which would be a wow book, a ''book of the year'' for me. This maybe could be that. Excited to read this.

[@katiejlumsden]

This sounds amazing!

[@katesherrod3498]

So I just read this and it's 100% because of Willow that I did and am I ever glad. I may need a therapy appointment now though.

[@max-reads]

I want to read it so I’ll watch the video afterwards. I’m so excited!

[@UnfertigeGedanken]

ill just buy this because you recommended it :) love your videos!

[@jessicamalloy8372]

I'm nearly finished and had to come back to this video so I could listen to the spoilery part.

[@shannonsullivan2051]

I read this book based on your review. Spot on. Now following you.

[@cautionwetfloor2779]

Did anyone can else feel that the white saviourism wasn't checked enough in the end? It wasn't at all balanced with stories and histories of Kwen resistance, which I think was an error. In general I feel that the Kwen were done pretty dirty by the author. Keen to hear others thoughts

[@ShirleyxLandewee]

I add to my ptr list.

[@susan_brehm]

I want to read this book but I am so anxiety ridden atm that I dare not. Maybe in a few years depending on how things go here in the US.😢

[@gamewrit0058]

Yeah. Same. ❤️❤️❤️

[@BooksRebound]

I LOVED this book and genuinely despise Kaigen. I think Kaigen is one of the worst books I've read. But Bright Haven is so damn good. It really surprised me. I love how well it did the liberal white feminism type thing. Like she was so damn frustrating in her thinking. Even just the way Siona referred to Tomal as Quen quite frequently. Thats like someone talking to me and ending their sentences with negro. It was so frustrating and made me so uncomfortable. Im glad I loved this book and I'll be looking forward to future books they write.

[@colonelweird]

Finished it yesterday. I like it a lot, especially the central conceit and the moral/political implications. But I also think the book is flawed, so I don't entirely agree with your assessment. To me, Blood Over Bright Haven seemed like a development of something out of Le Guin -- like, what if The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas was expanded into a novel? So it has something of that quality of being a parable, but it tries to develop it into a "realistic" world. In my opinion, it doesn't quite develop the world enough to be completely credible. Too often, I could not picture the setting: was Tiran supposed to look like a modern hi-tech world, but one where fossil fuels are replaced with magic? Or was it meant to seem more steampunk? I was never sure. It's not until quite near the end that we discover that at least some people use a sort of automobile for transportation - should I have been picturing them all along? This kind of uncertainty seemed to be a problem for many aspects of the setting. Another issue is the book's language, which often sounded too much like American television. I kept finding myself pausing to mentally rewrite sentences. I would have liked a style more like Le Guin's, or maybe Steven Erickson, and less like Dean Koontz. My third problem is with the book's feminism. To me, it did not seem plausible that Sciona could grow up in a world where every message she receives is deeply misogynistic, yet she adopts the kind of feminism that would be taken for granted in the 21st century. I know that even today, women often struggle with internalized misogyny stemming from religion and other sources. Sciona had no culture of feminism to rely on for her own self-understanding, yet she comes up with such a philosophy entirely on her own. As a result, she comes off too much as a modern American woman simply inserted into this exotic fantasy setting. These are minor criticisms, and I'm very glad you recommended the book. I would rate it maybe 4 out of 5 stars. And the ending did leave room for a sequel. That could be fascinating to read.

[@irenes3470]

Dark academia and steampunk? Sign me up

[@laurensjackson7850]

I love your videos and I've been watching them all. I want to start reading fantasy so bad I have so much trouble getting into them. Do you have recommendations for someone who longs to get into fantasy. I'm with you on just about everything else you read especially mystery which is my favorite. Please help so I can relate to fantasy. I've read all of Harry potter, Hungry games, twilight an example of what I understand and can follow I know there is more. Please help

[@StayCalmxd]

Sword of Kaigen is also v good

[@angelaarcher2355]

I loved this book and better than Sword of Kaigen, which I ended up DNF’ing.

[@M.elissa.M]

🖤📚

[@josiethereadingwitch2224]

lol! We have polar opposite tastes! I hated this book and DNFed after 200 pages so bored. Any book you hate I instantly add to my TBR. It’s a fun way to get recs 😂

[@abhbible]

Gross

[@mrlately]

Me with that Jack youtuber

[@JanieK1989]

So basically, you don't like books that make you think lol

[@kevynlevi9894]

I mean every book? I love "how do you live?", and i think this was the only channel to talk about this novel

[@amyl1161]

I'm gonna guess you read a lot of trashy romance novels. lol You lot always turn your nose up at people who read more diversely.

[@FrankOdonnell-ej3hd]

⚛❤

[@zachreads]

Really? I thought it was lame Iron Widow, 3☆ but IW crushed it. [Also the way the magic worked was way too aggressive to be sustainable for as long as it was, so it didn't make any sense.]

[@josiethereadingwitch2224]

I have agree, hated the lengthy magic system pages 🥱

[@JamesA-b8p]

Sounds "political". Was it 'fun'?

[@lexileemoney6205]

Reading is political. It’s all political. If you think otherwise then you are ignorant. And yes, this book was very fun. I flew through it.

[@JamesA-b8p]

My point was referring to Willows posted rant against the political content and her exclamations against those who do. Check it out yourself. Don't bite my head off.. Why? Why? Why?