This book was amazing! It caught my attention when I read that it had ZA & Draco Malfoy vibes - it did not disappoint. This book was SOOO good. And dragons? I need all the dragons now. I need book two ASAP.

Tropes

- [ ] Dark fantasy romance
- [ ] Academy setting
- [ ] Gore
- [ ] Vampires & dragons
- [ ] Trials & games
- [ ] Bullying
- [ ] Touch her and die

Medra was a freaking awesome character. She was bada$$. And I love a fiery redhead!

- Pendragon was the most stunning woman in the room.

And Blake - oh boy I need more of that man ASAP. I was hoping for more spice but hopefully we get that in book two!

“I thought I told you to keep your f$cking hands off her,” Blake snarled. “You are not to taste her. She is mine.”

Andddddd he gives her a nickname!

- “You’re so beautiful, little dragon,” he whispered.

I also really loved Theo - i neeeeed more Theo/Vaughn immediately kthnxxxx!

Thank you so much to NetGalley & to the author for sending me a copy to review.

I will definitely be purchasing this book in paperback when it is available for a shelf trophy! Can’t wait for book two!

Briar Boleyn does a fantastic job in writing this book, it had that story-line that I was looking for. It was a strong start to the Bloodwing Academy series, it left me wanting to read more in this series and from the author. It had that great character development and worked in this world. I'm glad I got to read this and how it worked in this genre.

Briar Boleyn is the queen of romantasy! Her books always sweep you away into a magical world full of wonderfully complex characters and an intense plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

I was immediately sold when I heard the MMC had Draco Malfoy vibes but as a vampire and Briar did👏 not👏 disappoint👏 I am once again obsessed with a fictional character and couldn’t get enough of him.

Honestly though, Medra completely stole the show. I loved how she stood up for her beliefs and didn’t let bullies intimidate her, even if her life was in danger. She grew so much from where she started out in the Blood of a Fae series and it made me so happy she was finally finding a place she felt like she belonged.

Of course the ending has a cliffhanger and I absolutely cannot wait for book 2!!😩

On Wings of Blood follows Medra from the Blood of a Fae series. If you plan on reading that series, you should do that first because SPOILERS! If you don't plan to read that, I think OWoB can stand on its own.

Briar promised vampire Draco vibes and we definitely got that. I liked the idea of a vampire academy and all the disparities that emerge when they have to interact with non-vamps. Medra must figure out how she fits in with all of this going forward. I loved that it becomes dual POV after a time. I'm okay with characters not knowing what's going on, but I'd certainly like to. I'm very curious to how this story will move forward because a whole lot happened at the end!

Thanks to Briar, Starwater Press, NetGalley, and Booksprout for an eARC of this book for an honest review.

✨Magic School✨
✨Arranged Marriage✨
✨Dramione Vibes✨
✨Dragons✨
✨Dual POV✨
✨Bully Romance✨
✨Vampires ✨

Thank you to Briar Boleyn and Victoria Publishing for the review copy!

Medra Pendragon wakes up and has no idea where she is. She also seems to be surrounded by vampires. One vampire in particular instantly becomes a big part of her life without her permission.

Blake Drakharrow is a prince and is well known within Bloodwing Academy. He is betrothed by his uncle to a strange new girl. She is placed at his school which means they’re constantly running into each other.

Oh my god I loved this book so much!
First thing I want to say is that yes this book is linked to the Blood of the Fae series but there is enough information given to catch you up on Medra’s past that I don’t feel you need to read them first. But I highly recommend them as they were also amazing!
I loved Medra so much. She takes no shit from anyone especially Ragen. And her and Blake interacting my lord you just know that when the spice is dialled up it’s gonna be 🥵🌶️

I liked that the book was split into parts for each of the seasons. It helped to show the time passing without it feeling like the start of the school year is busy then slows down and the everything kicks off at the end which you do find with some books. Here there was plenty happening spread throughout the full school year!

As much as I love Blake can I just say I’m very interested by Kage? I feel like he’s going to have a major part to play going forward 👀

But Ms. Boleyn. I should have learned by now but that ending? Come on! When you say early 2025 how early? Come January 1st I’ll be checking for updates on book 2!

3.5⭐️

🐉 Dark Fantasy Romance
♥️ Vampires/Humans
🐉 Mythical creatures
♥️ Enemies to Lovers?
🐉 Arranged Marriage
♥️ Forced Proximity
🐉 Found Family
♥️ Spice 🌶️

I enjoyed the premise of the story, the characters, and the overall plot. The series has potential, but I struggled with the language differences between the FMC and the others— she used a modern dialect (ex: vomity), while everyone else spoke in an older, more refined manner. Additionally, I found it difficult to determine the FMC's age; she mentioned aging faster than others of her kind and seemed to have a lot of history, however her personality came off as extremely immature. I was also frustrated by her harsh judgments of the vampires, ignoring the clear signs that not all of them were bad.

Despite these issues, I plan to continue the series because I believe it has potential, and I want to see how the relationships evolve, especially between Medra and Blake.

I really enjoyed this book! It was a very interesting mesh of a number of books and genres I liked. There was Arthurian/Camelot, vampires, dragons, academy, and Dramione vibes. At times it felt like there were almost too many things going on, but overall it was very interesting. I’m definitely looking forward to the next book!

This book may have just taken the number one spot for my 2024 reads

Dragons, vampires, enemies to lovers, dark academia, trials......ahhhh it's so good y'all

Read this in one sitting, just flew through it. Fast paced and completely enthralling, I was hooked at the very start and the plot was just incredible.

Having to wait for book two may actually make me ill, This is going to be a must read series for romantasy readers!!

ARC:

My rating: 4.5 stars

I really enjoyed this read and I couldn’t put it down. I’ve never read any of Briar Boleyn’s other works, but the blurb for this one hooked me pretty instantly so I gave it a shot.

I’m a huge fan of enemies to lovers. It was pretty refreshing that it didn’t switch to an instant love sort like some of the enemies to lovers do. Pendragon and Darkharrow still have an edge to them at the end of book one, so the enemies to lovers can continue, unlike most other series where it disappears during the first book. So, I’m interested to see where there relationship goes next.

I felt the world building was good. Although sometimes it did become an exposition dump that I could have went without. (In particular one of the early chapters that describe the school.) It likely would have been better to have a little chart at the beginning, because honestly I forgot most of the house names other than darkharrow while reading.

I will say that there were quite a few similarities between this and fourth wing. Which I thought might bother me more, as I loved fourth wing and didn’t want to read a carbon copy of it. On Wings of Blood was different enough that I enjoyed it. But I did still feel myself comparing the two novels while reading.

Lastly, Neville the Fluffin was the real MVP.

Thank you so much to Briar Boleyn for ARC!

A dark academia romantasy with a morally grey vampire MMC and a dragon riding badass FMC - is there a better combination?!

High stakes, suspense filled, and nail biting, this book has it all, it’s unputdownable, the kind of book you need to devour as you just can’t leave it at any point!

⭐️ 4/5
🌶 2/5

This felt like a mix of Fourth Wing, Harry Potter, and Immortal Dark.

🩸 Bully Vampire MMC
🩸 Dragon Rider FMC
🩸 Dark Academia
🩸 Forced Bond
🩸 Dragons
🩸 Deadly Games

This was a good but odd read. I absolutely LOVE Briar's work, but I felt like this book had some parts that felt forced and jarring - some scenes and topics felt like they were randomly thrown in there.

Other than that, I really love Blake. Kind of feel sorry for him in the end.

ENDS OF A CLIFFHANGER. Which was seriously unexpected.

If you like vampires, dragons, enemies-to-lovers, and academy books…this one is for YOU. The plot was incredibly enticing and definitely had a lot of angst. The main character Medra was such a badass.

The plot, pacing, and worldbuilding was excellent. There was some information left out, but that will likely be in the sequel.

A must-read for any romantasy fans!

I challenge anyone to read the first chapter - hell, the first five sentences - and not immediately think a) god, this is so cinematic and b) I can’t wait for these two idiots to fall in love.

Boleyn writes her dark and deadly world evocatively, and gifts us characters who are sharp, interesting and immediately compelling to read about. The banter from the very first chapter hooks you into the story, and predictions of this being my next obsession were easily earned.

Medra is the perfect FMC; she’s smart, deadly, quick on her feet and hilariously sarcastic. Blake is her perfect match despite being brutal, cold and a blood sucking vampire. The cold mask he portrays to the world belies his softer, dreamers heart. I was hooked from the off but when we switched to dual POV at the 30% mark - a genius decision to hold off until then - I struggled to put this down.

On Wings of Blood is out now, and is perfect for fans of The Vampire Diaries x Harry Potter x Fourth Wing.

3.75 I enjoy Briar's writing. This book continues Medra's story from Briar's Blood of a Fae. I feel like the premise of having a dragons and vampires AND fae in a school setting is unique enough. I liked Medra. I feel like Blake is misunderstood. We start to see that towards the end of the book. I do wish they had more banter and tension. I liked that there were trials but I was really confused on why they were held if people weren't competing against each other. They also went by really quickly when there was this build up to them. I do agree with other reviews that said that the beginning was good, and then the middle did kind of drag. It had the potential for a love triangle but that stayed stagnant. It picked up at the end again. Spice was about a 1.5. There was one scene. I enjoyed the world building and the character development. Can't wait to see how this all evolves in the next book.!

In On Wings Of Blood we follow Medra Pendragon, who thought she died saving her family. But instead is dropped into a world of vampires, who rule everything. She is forced into a betrothal, then into a school she doesn't want to be at. She is struggling to deal with the fact that her life and lives of other mortals are not important compared to the vampires. But she is trying to find her way in this new world.

I loved this book! I had a hard time putting it down. It was such an interesting world. It was a good mix of Hogwarts and Basgaith. Briar did a great job with the world building. I first met Medra in the Blood Of A Fae series. I was glad to be able to get to know more about her in this new series. I knew she was feisty, but its great to see more of it in this book. It is not nessacery to read that series first, but it does give backstory to Medra.

I loved several of the side characters. Especially Florence and Naveen. It was nice to see Medra find family to be supportive of her. I loved Theo, even though I wasn't sure about him at first.

And then there is Blake, our MMC. I love him and hate him at the same time. He really is such a jerk with a softer side. But who knows how much of the side we will get to see. Will he turn out to actually be a good guy?

I really enjoyed this book and I can't for book 2! Especially after the ending. Briar knocked it out of the park with this one. Great world building, great plot, and great characters.

Tropes:
Vampires
Dual POV
Arranged marriage
Dragons
Slow burn
Touch her and die
Dark Academia

Wow. Just wow. This is my first time reading this author but it will not be the last. What a twisted and wonderful story about a vampire academy and Pendragon who randomly gets put into the middle of it all. The world building was a chefs kiss and I loved every second of the story. I cannot wait for book

Wow Wow Wow!! I cannot wait to read more of this series!!
I haven't read a Fantasy this intense since Fourth Wing!! This has all the makings of a best seller!
Mysterious Appearance
Dark Academia
Forced Proximity
Magic
Bullies
Suspense (nail-biting)
Drama

I found myself rooting for Medra and her friends, so I cannot wait for their journey to continue! Blake lacks some decorum but what do you expect from a hot vampire royal from another time?

5/5 - What a twisted and wonderful story about a vampire academy and Pendragon who randomly gets put into the middle of it all. The world building was a chefs kiss and I loved every second of the story. I cannot wait for book 2. I love Briar Boleyn and this book was even better than the Blood of a fae series. Highly recommend and I'll be grabbing book 2 the second it hits. On Wings of Blood will be living in my head until then. I love dark worlds and seeing an already strong fmc go through it to only become stronger on the other side and this delivered.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author Briar Boleyn for the ARC.

On Wings of Blood (Book #1 in the Bloodwing Academy series) by author Briar Boleyn was SO GOOD! I had a good feeling about this one only 20 pages in, and it did NOT disappoint. I mean harry potter vibes x vampires x academy settings… Yes please!! The characters, the setting and the romance aspects were great. Not to mention, the cliff hanger… I’m going to need book 2!! I do want to add that I have not read this author’s other series (Blood of a Fae), therefore I am unsure of how this could have altered my reading experience of this one.

We dive into this book meeting Medra (our FMC), after being dropped in from another world, miraculously alive, she ends up being found by a prince, but not the kind you’d think. She’s then dragged to a strange city, otherwise known as Sangratha, where she’s then declared bonded to that prince, otherwise known as Blake Drakharrow (our MMC). Right off the bat we had some great banter between our FMC and MMC. Medra was always quick to make a sassy remark and I was thriving for it. She was so unapologetically herself regardless of the situation. Medra is a smart and cunning FMC, I like that although she took no BS, she knew her weaknesses and was just/fair throughout the book and not to mention kept getting better and better each chapter. Blake, oh Blake…. WELL he certainly fits the morally grey/bully/possessive MMC card right! “It’s not protection, little dragon. It’s a claim.” LIKE OH OKAY! I will certainly say that possessive Blake might’ve been my favorite Blake. I enjoyed that we got to follow his POV as we find he has many layers to uncover. I started to really enjoy Blake when we got to see him live out his childhood dreams with a real fluffin. I also thoroughly enjoyed our side characters too! Florence came off as such a sweetheart, and I hope to see more of her in the next book. Not to mention, Kage… Well regardless of him being a walking red flag, let’s say I am hoping we get more of him in the next book as he’s definitely competing with Blake for me on this one!

The world building was great, I always enjoy a good academy setting and this one really did it for me! I also was really intrigued by the aspect of the 4 houses and what each represented. I felt like I was able to understand all the subclasses and how each were sorted as it was easily explained. This is the same for the magic system, although it was not as complex, it was easy to grasp and explained well. I did feel like there were some mini storylines that were super intriguing, but they kind of fell off and did not pick back up, which I guess I struggled to understand. I do wish I’d also known to have read the “Blood of a Fae” series prior to this as I’d like to have had background knowledge on the FMC. I do also feel like things got a bit repetitive, which I believe with the typical academy type-setting and classes that the interactions might have been, but it became a bit slower paced there for me then picked back up towards the end. Overall, THE CLIFFHANGER! I absolutely cannot wait for book #2 and I believe this was a great first installment!

Favorite Quotes:

- "𝘐 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯."
- "𝘏𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩."
- "𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘣 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺. 𝘐𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘵."
- "𝘔𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬, 𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵, 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦."

Definitely recommend reading if you enjoy the following:
✨ Arranged Marriage
✨ Bully MMC
✨ Dual POV
✨ Vampires x Dragons
✨ Academy setting
✨ Forced proximity
✨ Found Family

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6944316822

Briar Boleyn is a master at grabbing her readers attention and keeping them captivated from beginning to end.

Blake and Medra are such well written characters that I feel as though I'll be missing friends until book 2 comes out... And that ending!