Medra has awoken a dragon. Nyxaris, the Avari dragon, is now her companion. Well, kinda. The vampire Tribunal determines that she has to show control and command of the dragon or else.... 💀. What is a girl to do? Convince the dragon to help her by being sweet? Meanwhile, Blake has his own issues that he is trying to scale. And one of those issues lies in his own flesh. The other is freakin Kage Tanaka and his refusal to leave Medra alone. Is he just a friend or is he a challenger for her affection? And why won't this stinkin fluffin stay put?!

Gosh, I just love these characters and this world. I need a fluffin expeditiously. I cannot wait for the third installment of this series. The ending left SO much going on that I have no idea who is alive, dead, or just giving up. May cannot get here fast enough!

WOW! This book kept me hooked from the first chapter, I couldn't put it down i was they invested.

The tension and chemistry between Blake and Medra was beautifully written and the spice was much appreciated.

I absolutely love Medra's character and how she takes no shit from anyone.

I was shocked at so much that happened, I did not see any of the plot twists coming. This book absolutely played with my heart strings. These cliffhangers are not healthy for me, I already cant wait for book 3!!!

Briar Boleyn’s The Bond That Burns, the second installment in the Bloodwing Academy series, is a captivating continuation of Medra’s journey. This sequel amplifies the dark academia atmosphere, weaving a complex narrative filled with suspense and intrigue. The story delves deeper into the world of Bloodwing Academy, where dragons and vampires entwine in a web of power and politics. Medra’s journey is marked by growth and resilience as she navigates the treacherous landscape. The characters are multidimensional, with compelling arcs that add depth to the narrative. The book explores themes of survival, trust, and power, all set against the backdrop of a richly detailed world. Briar Boleyn’s writing is atmospheric and engaging, capturing the essence of dark academia with vivid descriptions and tense dialogue. The Bond That Burns is an addictive sequel that builds on the foundations of the first book. With its intricate plot, complex characters, and immersive world-building, it will keep you on the edge of your seat. The story is full of twists and turns, making it a must-read for fans of fantasy romance.

Ummmm yeeees!!!!
I have so many questions! I just want the next book. Reading and waiting until the next releases is torture.

Things I want more of: dragons, vampires biting (specifically Blake), the rebellion against his uncle.

The push and pull between our Blake and Medra. I JUST WANT THEM TOGETHER!! The angst! C’mon, I just want them to love loving each other!

Tick tock.. let’s drop the next book! I’m not made for this waiting game when the books are this juicy!

"𝕭𝖚𝖙 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖇𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖋𝖎𝖗𝖊. 𝖄𝖔𝖚 𝖒𝖆𝖐𝖊 𝖊𝖛𝖊𝖓 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖉𝖆𝖗𝖐𝖓𝖊𝖘𝖘 𝖘𝖍𝖎𝖓𝖊. 𝕰𝖛𝖊𝖓 𝖉𝖗𝖆𝖌𝖔𝖓 𝖋𝖎𝖗𝖊 𝖈𝖆𝖓'𝖙 𝖈𝖔𝖒𝖕𝖊𝖙𝖊 𝖜𝖎𝖙𝖍 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖜𝖆𝖞 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖇𝖚𝖗𝖓"🩸

Wow, this book was incredible! I was a little hesitant going in because the ending of the first book had me worried it might take a direction I wouldn’t love, but I was SO WRONG. The Bond That Burns beautifully expanded on the story, deepening the world-building and character development in such a satisfying way. I fell even more in love with so many of the characters. Florence is the sweetest baby angel, and of course, Neville and Nyaxis are the bestest boys. I adore them so much!

I especially loved how Medra and Blake’s relationship evolved—watching them slowly begin to trust each other made for such an intense and rewarding journey. The action and tension were non-stop, keeping me hooked from start to finish, and I was shocked at how much was packed into a book that’s shorter than the first. AND THE SPICE was absolutely chef’s kiss!🔥 It was the perfect amount of steamy, intense, and so well-written. And THAT ENDING?! I am absolutely freaking out. I NEED the next book immediately!

✨Thank you to NetGalley and Briar Boleyn for graciously providing me with an ARC. All opinions are my own! ✨

🌶️🌶️🌶️
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
It's been almost a day and I still haven't recovered from the end of this book. I don't know if I will any time soon or until I get my hands on book three. I was expecting everything dialed up from book one, but I think Briar Boleyn may have broken the dials. This was a 6-star read for me so could book three be my first 7-star read this year?


Nyxaris’s roar would seem like nothing compared to mine when I was through with Blake-fucking-Drakharrow.


I spent the first half of the book wanting to throw my kindle at the wall because Blake is thicker than my walls and that still may be understating it. He decides to double down on all his wrong choices and I wondered if we would ever get back to the romance part of this bully romance. At one point, I may have even considered being a traitor and rooting for Medra x Kage, but I stayed true to the end. If I were Medra, I probably would have just fucked around and found out with Kage regardless after some of the things she said to Blake. I would be lying if I denied I cried like a big baby quite a few times and the longest at the end, so you have been warned. This book toys with your emotions and makes you realize book one was just the foreplay. The spice was beautiful, intimate and everything I wanted from this novel. There might be a Visha line that will rent-free in my mind for far too long, and you are free to guess which one it is as I will not be repeating it. Enjoy an excerpt I loved instead.


The warmth of his hand was jarring. His thumb brushed against my pulse and for a moment, I felt my treacherous heart stutter. “This would be easier,” he said, leaning towards me, his voice low. “If you’d stop pretending you hate it.”


Briar continues to build upon this beautiful rich world and bless us with characters I can't help to love or despise with every inch of my being. The character growth is huge for everyone (except those damn mean girls iykyk.) The relationship between Medra and Florence is so damn beautiful and strong and I always love seeing strong female friendships, especially when they have such different strengths that compliment each other. I loved learning more about the four great houses and their important characters. These are the small details I live for. The difficult relationship between Medra and Nyxaris was so enjoyable to read because you really never knew what was going to happen next, and it was unique and full of many emotions. I cannot wait for book three and part of me doesn't want it to end, ever.

He suddenly pushed his chest up against mine, shoving me backwards. His breath was hot against my ear. “Why don’t you just fall in line, like a good little girl?”

🩸 Dark academia
🖤 Dual POV
🩸 Found family
🖤 Unlikely allies
🩸 Dangerous secrets
🖤 Forced betrothal
🩸 Villain gets the girl
🖤 Rival houses

“Mine,” I whispered, the word slipping out before I could stop it.

Thank you Starwater Press via Netgalley for an eARC. All opinions are my own.

What do you do when you read a line like this: 'Sometimes our choices are all we have, Miss Pendragon. They define us, for better or for worse.'?

For me its a simple decision, you brew a good strong cuppa, get in your comfiest chair, put on your Do Not Disturb Socks, and grab your book because The Bond That Burns - Bloodwing Academy Book Two - and get ready to fall into a sweeping saga of a story filled with danger, action, and myth. Boleyn has balanced what makes a strong book for me, with sparkling banter and sizzling chemistry this is a book that will leave you giving advice to Blake because we know him so well and understand all his swirling conflicting feelings.

I cannot tell you how exciting this was to read and how excited I am to stay longer in this series for the next book.

The ultimate compliment, I will be reading books one and two again before book three is released because I don't want to miss any of the clues or hints. And, to be honest I want to note out what I might have missed in my rush to see what happened before I was left hanging on the best cliffhanger I have read in a while.

Thank you NetGalley and Briar Boleyn for sharing this book with me!

What a treat this one was!

More trials! More angst! More tension! More spice!

Medra is such an interesting, complicated FMC. She's a fully developed person, and whilst the romance is an important element, it's not her whole world. Her fierce love for her friends, especially Florence, is so nice.

I love the world building and just feel there is so much more to come from this world and this story.

I'd be really interested to know more about Medra before she came to be at Bloodwing... a prequel perhaps?

Can't wait to read more and see what happens with the Dragons!!!

*** thanks to NetGalley for the eARC***

OMFG this book Is better than the first one and I didn't think that was possible I loveeeeee iiittttt, the relationship between Medra and Blake daaaamnnn, the ups and Downs, the secrets, the twists!!!!, THE FINAL!!!!!! I want the 3rd book soooo bad, I need it now like I need air 😭😭😭🤌🏼

It makes me laugh, it makes me angry, i was kicking my feet sometimes, I have mixed feelings about Blake, And Medra as always a stubborn one but a fiesty one too I loved them

A well-written continuation in the series. I love the found family that comes in play in this book. The house intrigue. The dragons.

I was very excited going into this book because of the way Book 1 ended. I will say, I spent the majority of the first half of this book pissed at Blake and slightly annoyed at Medra. Normally, I like the whole "mine" vibe, however, when the woman you are referring to keeps telling you to piss off because you've taken all her freedoms away and she is practically a slave to you and tells you she wants nothing to do with you and you answer with, "mine", then you are just flat out annoying. Luckily, the book wasn't like this and the vibe changed about halfway through.
I will say, that I was rooting for someone else and Medra to get together, I won't say who, but it added an interesting jealous aspect to the story that was VERY enjoyable!
I did like the book overall and will definitely be reading the next one, but the ending wasn't my favorite. It left me wondering what the hell I had just read.

Picks up where the first book left off. The character growth is great and the spice is excellently executed. I also really loved the dragon!

The second book in the Bloodwing Academy and it did not disappoint.
The slow burn between Medra and Blake continues to torment us exquisitely whilst we see other relationships develop which is truly enjoyable. Briar writes political intrigue excellently and weaves emotions so intricately that you don’t even realise when you become so invested in the characters and their lives and relationships.
I adore Nyraxis and you feel his pain at being the last dragon remaining, and not being able to remember his past. He’s grumpy and understandably slow but Medra is compelled to try to help him whilst managing expectations placed on her to be his rider. This tenuous bond and its evolution draws you along and you need to know what happened.
Medra is more sure of herself now and is taking a stand for what matters to her and you see her strength of character. Blake is a difficult character but you understand his need to protect Medra whilst also not becoming like his brother and uncle.
Pick this up if you are a fan of well written fantasy brimming with magic, vampires and dragons, with a healthy dose of political intrigue

OMG this book was amazing! the slow burn, the banter!
it had me angry and laughing the entire book!
Medra is a Strong rider who can withstand anything! she is headstrong and thoughtful .
Blake is a jerk who eventually realized that he needs to change his act to get his girl!
the ending had me in shock so badly! i NEEEEEEEEEDDDD the next one like now! the cliffhanger had me on the edge of my seat!

𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒔: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
𝑺𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒆: 🌶🌶🌶
𝑺𝒘𝒐𝒐𝒏: 🖤🖤🖤🖤

𝑴𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔:
This book was everything I wanted and more — I spent the entire read laughing, crying, swooning, and on the edge of my seat, waiting to see what happened next!

I loved the tension, banter, and delicious steamy romance, but the found family, mystery, and snarky dragon were also incredible.

MORE PLEASE!

First of all thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC of this book.

As is the usual with Briar Boleyn, she writes a great villain, as always. So many characters to hate in this book.

Really loved the friendship/relationship developments throughout this book. I laughed a bit more than I was expecting to. Also enjoyed getting Florence's POV towards the end. Really excited to see how this series will continue.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with a copy of The Bond That Burns. I absolutely love this series and I can’t wait for the next book!

In this book we got to see a lot more character development, especially from Medra, and finding out more about her past and seeing more interaction between characters which gave them lots of personality.

I love reading the books in this series as they are so fast paced whilst maintaining the world building without losing out on key information.

I love the direction this series is going in and will 100% be picking up the next book!

In this second book of the series we are back in the Bloodwing Academy after Medra accidentally woke one of the house dragons. She can mentally communicate with Nyxaris, but being freed after so many years without clear info what happend to him, why he was a stone figure, the dragon is not trusting anybody any longer hence is taking off.
All the highblood houses want control over this great power so more than ever is Medra in danger. She is bluffing that she can control the dragon and bit by bit she can gain Nyxaris trust. Bit by bit secrets get revealed showing what once happened.
After Blake´s betrayal Medra is searching for a way to get rid of their bond and not to be in house Drakharrow any longer. As she is Blake´s only blood source yet they set up a kind of truth how she is accepting him feeding of her. So Blake must understand what mistakes he did and to avoid losing Medra for good he needs to change.


I really like this sequel. You need to read the first book to understand what is going on in the second.
I like the relationship between Medra and Nyxaris. The dragon does not trust anybody, wants to be left alone but is understanding, he is the only remaining dragon. He lost some of his memory while being in stone and Medra is helping him to find out what once happened. How they work together, start trusting each other is in my opinion really well written.
The secrets that get revealed are great and give the story new twists and cause lots of action here.

I really like that Medra is still true to herself. She is no push over, she is standing in for herself and her friends and no matter who tries to bully her she is handling it very well.
Blake is really an ass here and they way he is treating Medra at the beginning is tough. I very much liked how he understands that he is pushing her further away, that he is behaving like his older brother or uncle and that this is the wrong way, that he doesn´t want to be such a person. How he is changing is really believable for me described here. I liked to read it and due to this how he and Medra are getting closer. The chemistry between them is for me absolutely believable and I liked their erotic encounters.

Again the story takes here really good twists and keeps you a bit hanging, how the story will proceed here as unexpected things happen at the end of this book.
I just flew through the story and couldn´t wait to learn how the story proceeds. So I am really looking forward to the next book in this series.

4.5 stars

Briar has truly outdone herself with The Bond That Burns, the second book in the Bloodwing Academy series. Picking up right where On Wings of Blood left off, this sequel delivers everything I wanted—and more. With unpredictable twists, a heart-pounding romance, and a plot that kept me on the edge of my seat, I couldn’t put it down.

Briar excels at weaving complex dynamics between dragons, vampires, and dragon riders. The political intrigue was captivating, and her masterful blend of dragon, vampire, and fae lore with an action-packed plot kept me hooked. While a few twists were predictable, most took me by surprise, and I’m eager to see how they unfold in the next book.

The immersive writing style made it easy to stay engaged from the very first page. The dual POVs provided deeper insight into both Medra and Blake’s characters—especially Blake, which I particularly enjoyed. The balance between romance and fantasy is spot on, with just enough action and intrigue to keep me fully invested.

The pacing never falters, constantly filled with action, mystery, and surprises. Briar skillfully combines romance, political intrigue, and magic, making the series even more addictive. Her clear vision for the story is evident in the way she seamlessly integrates these elements into a unique and compelling narrative.

Medra’s growth in this book is remarkable—she’s stronger, more determined, and unafraid to stand up for others. Her evolving relationship with Blake, full of tension and conflict, is a standout, with their enemies-to-lovers dynamic keeping me hooked. Blake’s obsession reaches new levels, and while he remains cold yet occasionally charming, more mysteries about him start to come to light. The sharp banter, high tension, and their constant battle of wills only add to the undeniable chemistry between them, making their connection utterly captivating.

Another highlight is Medra’s relationship with Nyxaris. His sarcasm, wit, and stubbornness reminded me of Tairn from Fourth Wing, and his evolving connection with Medra adds a rich layer to the story. Nyxaris’ awakening reveals so much, and it’s both fascinating and unsettling as we uncover the truths surrounding dragons, their riders, and vampires. With the cliffhanger at the end, I can’t wait to see where their journey leads.

If you love dark academia, enemies-to-lovers romance, and a world brimming with dragons, vampires, and magic, this book is a must-read. Full of political intrigue, action, and unforgettable characters, it’ll leave you craving the next installment. I’m hooked and can’t wait for more.

Nedra will be sending you on an emotional roller coaster as she navigates and grows with her found family. The story keeps a steady pace that keeps you going and the world building is fantastic I couldn’t put it down.