Dark Academia at its finest!!

Who doesn't love a magic school where everyone is out to kill you?

This story follows Medra Pendragon, a half-fae, who finds herself reeling after she awakens in another world. She is immediately taken prisoner by the infuriatingly handsome Blake Drakharrow, a highblood vampire, and all around dick. She is brought before the highblood leaders and forced into a blood ritual betrothal to, you guessed it, Blake. They have claimed her as the last dragon rider. Regardless of the fact that dragons are extinct. This makes her unique, desired, and the perfect political pawn. Medra is now trying to navigate this new world, ideally not be killed, while trying to get out of this betrothal. Too bad Blake has laid claim to Medra, and isn’t letting her go that easy.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the story, the characters. I especially loved the vibe. Plus there were a few HP references that had me giggling. I am so pumped that the second book is out, because I am not ready to leave this world!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you, NetGalley.

I am going to be honest: after chapter 1, I was nervous because I thought I would hate this book. I was so wrong! I binge-read it over 2 days.
Some elements were unnecessary, like the namedrop of King Arthur or Medra's mother. They did not add anything to the story.
I liked most of the characters, especially Florence (and Neville!).. However, I had a bit more difficulty understanding Medra's motives. Did she want to go back to her world, break the vampire's hold on mortals, or write her essay on dragons? I also found her incredibly rude to her mother. The relationships between the characters were interesting, and I found myself rooting for these people to be happy.
I loved Blake's POVs. For once, the love interest's inner monologue was not complete dark-broody-self-flagellation. I found both main characters to have quite a bit of agency within their circumstances.
Overall, this was a fun read and I will be picking up book 2.

Absolutely love coming back to this world to see the next generation! Great and exciting, and I can't wait for more.

Thank you NetGalley and Starwater Press for the ARC copy of this book. I loved every minute of reading this book. I didn’t even finish reading the description of the book before I picked it. I got to “what do you get if you mix Harry Potter with Fourth Wing, Zodiac Academy” and it did not disappoint! I am looking forward to reading the second book. And finding out more about the dragons and how Medra and Blake move forward. I also am surprised that this book has not blown up on “BookTok” yet, but I am sure it will!

Slow burn enemies to lovers with lots of tension and suspense.

The worldbuilding was incredible, a blend of fourth wing and harry potter but a lot darker. The plot was also suspenseful and intriguing.

I will say there is a lot going on in this book. But after a chapter or so, the pieces all clicked and I was hooked. For fans of Fourth Wing and Vampire Academy, On the Wings of Blood will be your new obsession. I found myself pulled back into the world and I am so excited to see where the story goes next.

I do be eating up a supernatural academy setting. King of scratches that Vampire Academy itch. Keen to see what's in store next

Woah. I don’t even know what to say about this book. I was fully locked in while reading it. Like a tornado could have been outside my window and I would have been too distracted by Blake to even know!

The world building was easy enough to follow but still really interesting. This was definitely like Zodiac Academy meets Fourth Wing but stands on its own. Fae, Vampires, and Dragons! I mean, come on!! How amazing. I loved it.

Blake is the morally grey MMC I’ve been waiting for. He una!iv3d a few people in this book 😂 he’s somehow kind of scary and adorable all at once. He loves his little Neville and he blushes but then he throws guys in fire pits. He’s great.
Medea, my girl. I love her. I love that she doesn’t back down even when she’s at a disadvantage. I’m curious to learn more about her world and what she did there.

The side characters were all great. I don’t know if it’s just me and my trust issues but I feel like there’s something going on with Florence. 👀 I guess we shall see.

Overall, I loved this book. It was everything I wanted it to be and I can’t wait to continue the series!
I’m really happy book two is out already because I’m going to go open it up now. ✌️

i absolutely LOVED this book!!!! think about if you took the best elements of harry potter, fourth wing, and the serpent and the wings of night and smashed it into one book--this would be the result. if you love dark academia, vampires, dragons, morally gray characters, enemies to lovers/bully romance, found family, a strong and resilient FMC, and games and trials, you need to give this one a go. it was a bit of a slow start with the world building and character development aspect (necessarily so), but at around 40-45% in i could not put this book down i was obsessed.

first of all, briar's writing style is so immersive it really helps you feel like you are living alongside these characters and experiencing their triumphs and pains with them. the world building is succinct and descriptive, which really helps you picture the scene the characters are experiencing as they experience it. it was also easily digestible without being overtly basic/simplistic or overusing modern language and phrases, which is something i really tend to enjoy out of fantasy romance. sometimes authors get stuck in the land of tik tok language and it really pulls me out of it, but briar uses modern language in a way that makes the story still feels fantastical.

our FMC medra is so strong and feisty and she never loses her sense of self even through all the challenges bloodwing academy and its students throw at her. every character whether main or side has crazy depth to them, and as you go along you really realize that things are not as they seemed in the beginning AT ALL. pretty much all of our characters are morally gray or questioning, and i loved how real that made them all feel.

also the romance was so believable--the tension and chemistry between our FMC and MMC was so palpable that when it finally all came to fruition i was absolutely gasping and swooning. i cannot wait to see what happens between them and how their relationship develops (even after an awe inducing ending😢😭). that one scene (you know what im talking about 👀) was sooooooo hot and if that's what book two is promising, holy hell am i ready to read book two!!

this was also a duel POV book, and i felt like it was really well done with the change over only happening when a reveal was absolutely necessary. duel POV definitely can be overdone, but you still felt like medra was the main character with supplementary view points from blake only when it really suited the storyline to do so.

in all, i think i liked this one better than fourth wing which is absolutely insane to say. don't have this on your TBR? add it. already on your TBR? stop what you're doing and read it now. it's seriously that good.

3.75 stars

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC for an exchange of my honest opinion!

Dragons, vampires, dark academy in a Harry Potter style? This books is this. I was having high hopes for this book and it definitely meet most of my expectations.

The only problem for me is that some plotlines were longer than it should’ve been. This book could’ve been shorter and still have the same value to the reader.

I’ll definitely be reading the rest of the series!

On Wings of Blood by Briar Boleyn was such a good book if you love the feels of Harry Potter, while getting dragons and vampires added to the mix! I really enjoyed reading this story, courtesy of the publish and NetGalley, in exchange for my honest opinion. This was a great fantasy story, which was the first in the Bloodwing Academy series. The reader was definitely left on a cliffhanger and I can't wait to read the next book!

What a great sequel Bloodwing Academy is to the series Blood of a Fae! I really enjoyed the author’s writing style in the original series, and I’m not disappointed by this follow-up, which retraces Medra’s journey.

If you liked Fourth Wing and are a fan of vampires, I think you’ll enjoy the world of Bloodwing. The story follows Medra as she arrives in a new world governed by the Highbloods, vampires who see her as the reincarnation of a long-extinct race of dragon riders. She must prove herself, survive the challenges of Bloodwing Academy, and figure out where she’s ended up.

The story is told from the perspectives of Medra and Blake, the Highblood who’s responsible for her. There’s action, a mix of toxic yet adorable romance, and plenty of twists to keep you hooked. I really got into it and immediately dove into the second book!

Thanks to NetGalley, Starwater Press and Briar Boleyn for a chance to read this book for free. I’m leaving this review of my own accord.

I love a good slow burn between the FMC and MMC and I have to say the slow burn in “on wings of blood” was delicious!

I throughly enjoyed the story, the world building and the plot! Excited to keep up with this series !

Thank you to Victory Editing Net- Galley co-op for allowing me to read and review On Wings of Blood. This was an enjoyable read. It was well-paced, had a slight enemy to lovers theme with a slow burn spicy romance. The spice was delicious and left me wanting more. Not gonna lie, I felt like I was promised more than what was delivered though; I was promised Harry Potter meets Fourth Wing. Buuuuut….there was not a lot of magic and not a lot of dragons. However, false promises aside, it was enjoyable and I will definitely continue the series, as well as, recommend them to fellow readers.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher & the author for providing me with an e-ARC in return for my honest review: What a ride! This book was high-paced chaos (in the best way), and I couldn’t put it down. So much was happening that it felt like I was constantly catching my breath, but I was totally here for it.

Let’s talk characters: Medra is such a vivid FMC, and I adored her. She’s fierce, relatable, and just the right amount of messy. The sisterhood between Medra and Florence? Absolutely heartwarming—those two are the dream team I didn’t know I needed. Meanwhile, the rivalry between Kage and Blake? HOT! Give me more of those boys snarking at each other, please 🙏🏻

The setting threw me for a loop at first—dropping into an academic vibe took a hot minute to adjust to—but once I got into it, I loved it! It gave me Vampire Academy energy, complete with an evil mean girl, Regan, who was perfectly hateable.

But can we talk about Medra’s mom? Every time her voice popped up in Medra’s head, I couldn’t stop hearing the Dead Mom song from Beetlejuice: The Musical. (Seriously, “Hey mom, dead mom. I need a little help here…” on loop.) It was an odd subplot that I wasn’t super sold on, but it didn’t detract too much from the overall story.

Speaking of subplots: the Consort Games. I was hooked, but I wish we’d spent more time there—it was so interesting, and I wanted to savor the drama. Oh, and Teacher Rodriguez? Listen, maybe it’s just me, but by the way he was described, I was 100% expecting Medra to ditch the blonde vampire twink and start something with him instead. There’s definitely more to him than meets the eye, and I’m invested!

Overall, this book was a total whirlwind. I can’t wait for the sequel; I need more tension between houses, more dragons, and more Medra being her sassy self. Team Teacher Rodriguez? Team Blake? Let’s go!

All I can say is AMAZING! If you love fantasy, dark academia, dragons, magic, enemy to lovers, vampires, twists, betrayal, and secrets - this is the book for you!

I am a huge Briar Boleyn fan, and I have been since I read her Blood of a Fae series. I knew I had to read this spin off, and book 1 did not disappoint! It flowed perfect from the last book, "Knight of the Goddess." I love how Medra Pendragon continued her story as Fae in a land of vampires. Medra is such a badass and I love how she doesn't let anyone tell her what to think.
The world building was great! I really felt like there was a lot of detail, but it was easy to follow and I could really picture everything. I like how this book still carried over concepts from the Blood of a Fae series, but had its own direction. You do not need to read any prior books, but Medra's previous life is referenced. Reading the Blood of a Fae series will give you a better insight into who Medra really is and where she came from. I liked the dual POV because we got to see things from Blake Drakharrow's point of view. I definitely have a love-hate relationship with Blake. Just when you think you love him, he does something to twist your feelings. I loved him from the beginning, but so many things made me want to scream, "Why would you do that?!?!"
The enemies to lovers theme is strong and well written. I think I like that Medra doesn't just fall head over heels for Blake, even though everyone else worships him. The slow burn is a SLOW BURN and SOO GOOD! I hope book two keeps up the snarky banter and Blake gets it together, because I NEED more between him and Medra (yes it's a need at this point).
This book moves at a good pace and new situations happened often, usually because Medra could see the discrepancies in the blind following of the highbloods. I love how she empowers those around her and helps them see how poorly the blightborn are treated.
I could not put this book down and am going to start book 2 right away. I must know what happened after that ending....and what was that? I found myself gasping in shock. So much happens at the end, but I don't want to give away any details....you'll just have to read it for yourself.
Overall, highly recommend! I hope you like it as much as I have!

Thank you Briar Boleyn and Starwater Press for allowing me to read and review this book via NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and all opinions are my own.

This book is absolutely spellbinding😍 The writing was excellent and the plot keeps you hooked from the first page. I love dark academia books and that combined with the bully vibes, truly immaculate. Oh and did I mention it had dragons?!🐉 And don’t get me started on the forced betrothal, the sizzling chemistry between the FMC and MMC was hot, even though the romance is a slowburn❤️‍🔥 This truly gave Dramione vibes.

Also, I loved that the FMC was strong, smart and independent and did not let the MMC walk all over her. All characters in this book had their own voice and stayed true to it throughout the book, which was refeshing. The world-building and unique magic system were immersive and unique and kept me engaged wanting to know the next plot twist. Cant wait to read the next one!

On Wings of Blood a heat slow burn romantasy
The plot was easy to get in to and world building was easy follow. I also loved Medra MFC and Blake's MMC slow burn relationship. Can't wait to read the next book.

🐉ARC review🐉
On wings of blood by @briarboleynauthor

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I stayed up way too late last night just to finish this. I couldn’t put it down. I was hooked. For all my #dramione girlies, this one is for you !! Everything about this reminds me of Draco and Hermionie, if Draco was a vampire. There is friendship, love and betrayal! I loved this sooo much and I cannot wait to get into book 2 💥

I adored this book, the main, side and support characters, story and worldbuilding! Its sequel is one of my anticipated reads.

Medra and Blake's connection is hot and dangerous - perfectly written with amazing vibes!
Plus the friendship between Medra and another character is just such a sweetly great thing.

The ending was great as well, loved all the seconds of it and can't wait to continue, diving into their world once more!

Brilliant world, fantastic characters, she improved from her debut books and still kept the skill of her amazing worldbuilding!