Member Reviews

So I was under the impression this story is a standalone, which is why I requested it. I think, yes, it possibly could - but the way the beginning of this story is written, it very much feels like a continuation of something that happened in another book. I happened to have read the first two books in Briar Boleyn's Blood of a Fae series and so I recognize character names, however I did not finish the series and so I am was very lost reading this. I am going to have to read this one after I finished the BoaF series first. I really wish if there is that much of a backstory missing that the story would have been labeled as such. I truly thought this was a brand new series.

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What can I say, i LOVE this book! It has a real Fourth Wing vibe to it and I can't get enough! The world building is awesome, it's really easily to picture in your mind and the characters are really easy to vibe with.
I really enjoy the anticipation of what comes next amongst the MC and the vampires within the Bloodwing academy.
Definitely recommend πŸ‘Œ

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Harry Potter meets Zodiac Academy in this story, the MMC giving strong Draco Malfoy vibes.
This is the first book in the spin-off series of Blood Of A Fae and it’s starting strong!
It kept me on edge the entire time. The main characters are well constructed, the story well written and the plot is interesting.
Medra finds herself in a world of vampires after she survives the events happening in the last book of Blood of a fae series and she is perceived as the last of a great line of dragon riders. Forced to mate with the handsome yet infuriating Blake Drakharrow and obliged to attend a vampire academy, she must survive in a world where most people want to kill her or use her in some way.

The tension and the chemistry was really strong and I cannot wait to read the next book!

Thank you NetGalley, the author and the publisher for this ARC!

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When Medra in On Wings of Bood by Briar Boleyn finds herself in a strange new world, she has no idea that things will get dangerous very fast.
From the very first I was totally engrossed into this book. There is so much going on right from the start, so much action, mystery and danger, that I had a really hard time to stop reading. The writing style is fast paced and the story just pulls you in. Medra is a fantastic character: she is fierce, can fight, but also does not belong in this world she finds herself in. Her captor/enemy/fellow student Blake is somehow she hates, but at the same time there is this attraction.

The world-building is amazing! I got Hunger Games/Harry Potter vibes, but it is much darker. The story is filled with danger, mystery, magic, and there is so much action. All the characters come across so very well.
On Wings of Blood is a must read for any fantasy fan!

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC.

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Actual rating: 4.5 stars

I was instantly sucked into this one and cannot wait for book two! I had trouble putting this one down. Definitely excited for more dragons!

I really enjoyed the tension between Blake and Medra. Also, really enjoyed how their relationship overall progressed. The enemies-to-lovers was well done as well. Both characters were well done, especially Blake's (my new fictional boyfriend?) character.

Loved all of the fantasy elements: the vampires, the dragons, the magic. It also gave Hunger Games vibes which was totally my scene. Also, a little bit of Fourth Wing (dragons obvi).

Definitely recommend to other fantasy readers and anyone looking for more books with dragons.

Thank you to Starwater Press and Briar Boleyn for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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3.5 stars

This is kind of a spoiler, but not really. There’s a point in the book where we learn that there’s a voice in the FMCs head that just so happens to be her mother’s spirit (that died during childbirth). I have so many questions. Where has the mums spirit been this whole time? Why is she only just now speaking up? When they finally start communicating why are they both so casual about it? I feel like if I’d been hanging out in my child’s head for like 20 years there would be a whole lot of stuff I’d want to get off my chest. And there was just nothing… we just accept that her mums spirit now lives inside her head?? What??

It had big HP vibes with a bit of mean girls thrown in. There were the four houses they get assigned (sorted) into, there’s the vampires who feel like they’re better than the muggles, I mean blightborn, special lessons from a professor on how to guard your mind from attack and there’s even a ditsy friend in the popular girl group called Gretchen. We also had secret tunnels that opened up in store rooms of shops in a nearby town and a game/trial that felt very tri-wizard tournament.

Ok, after reading all that back it kinda sounds like I didn’t enjoy it… which is not the case. It was still entertaining and I still need to know what happens in the next book. The friendship group was fun and hoping the next book has more Theo and Visha as part of that group. There was plenty of tension between the two MCs and I’m glad we got a bit of a look at Blake’s POV so we could see his side of the story.

Genre: Romance/fantasy (MF)
Format: Digital
POV: Dual
Tropes: Enemies to lovers, vampires, dragons, school setting, trials and games, fluffy little creatures, secret passages, some truely terrible people.
Spice: 🌢️🌢️ /5
Age suggestion: 18+

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This book went from being fascinating, to intimidating with its content warnings, to mysterious, a little grotesque and then I was somehow hooked and finishing it. All the content warnings, especially about forced blood drinking, murder, death, etc. are fair and should be taken if you prefer not to read these topics. There are some REALLY intense descriptions which had me feeling very uncomfortable at times. However, I was able to skim those sections and in fact wanted to because the plot was so good! This is quick paced, action packed and has truly visceral enemies to lover romance! And yes... they're still not there by the end of this book. They're still very much on the forced allies/enemies side of the scale. The battle scenes were incredible well paced, very descriptive and honestly some of the most enjoyable battle scenes I've read in a long time.

It is accurate to say it's a combination of Fourth Wing with its brutally honest depiction of the gore of the world and reality of the students (plus it's at a war academy), and Harry Potter with its school setting and classes. I haven't read Zodiac Academy so I can't comment on that, and I'll be honest I'm struggling to see all but a vague connection to Arthurian legend (the last name le Fay is used as in Morgana le Fay). Perhaps that will be developed later?

I would have appreciated less time skips, especially as they happen closer to the end of the book, but that's why this is four stars and not five. I love the friendship with Florence, I'm also glad to see Briar isn't afraid to kill off characters, and I hope we see more of the other houses. Can we all say THANK YOU for the justice against Regan. She was such an annoying brat the entire time. One final point... do not expect many dragons going into this. As well as the skips, I think the other element that disappointed me was just how little we learned about dragons, despite Medra supposedly writing an essay on them. I desperately want more dragons next time!

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✢✢✢✢ / 4 π”°π”±π”žπ”―π”° κ”«

If you like Harry Potter, Fourth Wing and Zodiac Academy you will love this book! It has the perfect dark academia feels.

βŠΉβ‚Š Λšβ€§οΈ΅β€Ώβ‚Šΰ­¨ΰ­§β‚Šβ€ΏοΈ΅β€§ ˚ β‚ŠβŠΉ

"ℑ𝔫 π”ͺ𝔢 π”‘π”―π”’π”žπ”ͺ𝔰 𝔰π”₯𝔒 π”΄π”žπ”«π”±π”’π”‘ π”ͺ𝔒 π”žπ”° π”ͺ𝔲𝔠π”₯ π”žπ”° β„‘ π”΄π”žπ”«π”±π”’π”‘ π”₯𝔒𝔯."

βŠΉβ‚Š Λšβ€§οΈ΅β€Ώβ‚Šΰ­¨ΰ­§β‚Šβ€ΏοΈ΅β€§ ˚ β‚ŠβŠΉ

I think I might be completely hooked on this new book series! The descriptionβ€”"What do you get if you mix Harry Potter with Fourth Wing, Zodiac Academy, a touch of Arthurian legend, and a whole lot of vampires? Bloodwing Academy."β€”really sums up the book. The world-building is both nostalgic and cozy, yet it’s got enemies to lovers and plenty of action. I can already tell this is going to be a comfort series for me, and I can't help but picture what it would look like as a film or TV adaptationβ€”it's so vivid in my mind!

ΰͺœβ€βž΄α‘£π­© π”π”’π”‘π”―π”ž

Medra is a badassβ€”I love her! I'm so glad she's not cringy; she's powerful, strong, and her attitude towards men is so relatable. What I really appreciate about her is her no-nonsense attitudeβ€”she’s independent, intelligent, and doesn’t whine about her problems. She just gets up and handles them, whether or not anyone else is there to help. Thrown into a dangerous, volatile world where she's the prey among predators, she never backs down or believes for a second that she’s inferior. And honestly? We love to see it! I also adore the relationships she builds with the people around her, especially how deeply she cares for Florence and Naveen.

"β„‘ π”₯π”žπ”±π”’π”‘ π”₯𝔦π”ͺ. β„‘ 𝔯𝔒π”ͺ𝔦𝔫𝔑𝔒𝔑 π”ͺ𝔢𝔰𝔒𝔩𝔣. β„Œπ”’ π”΄π”žπ”° π”žπ”―π”―π”¬π”€π”žπ”«π”± π”žπ”«π”‘ 𝔠𝔯𝔲𝔒𝔩. 𝔗π”₯𝔒 𝔒π”ͺπ”Ÿπ”¬π”‘π”¦π”ͺ𝔒𝔫𝔱 𝔬𝔣 𝔒𝔳𝔒𝔯𝔢𝔱π”₯𝔦𝔫𝔀 β„‘ 𝔑𝔒𝔰𝔭𝔦𝔰𝔒𝔑 π”žπ”Ÿπ”¬π”²π”± 𝔱π”₯𝔒 𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔩𝔑 β„‘ π”΄π”žπ”° π”±π”―π”žπ”­π”­π”’π”‘ 𝔦𝔫. 𝔄𝔫𝔑 ... 𝔢𝔒𝔱 β„‘ 𝔰𝔫𝔲𝔠𝔨 π”žπ”«π”¬π”±π”₯𝔒𝔯 π”€π”©π”žπ”«π” π”’. β„‘ 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔑𝔫'𝔱 𝔰𝔒𝔒π”ͺ 𝔱𝔬 π”±π”’π”žπ”― π”ͺ𝔢 𝔒𝔢𝔒𝔰 π”žπ”΄π”žπ”Ά 𝔣𝔯𝔬π”ͺ π”₯𝔦π”ͺ."

" β„‘ 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔫𝔒𝔳𝔒𝔯 π”Ÿπ”’ 𝔢𝔬𝔲𝔯𝔰, π”…π”©π”žπ”¨π”’ π”‡π”―π”žπ”¨π”₯π”žπ”―π”―π”¬π”΄. π”šπ”₯𝔒𝔫 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔢𝔬𝔲 𝔀𝔒𝔱 𝔱π”₯π”žπ”± 𝔱π”₯𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔀π”₯ 𝔢𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔱π”₯𝔦𝔠𝔨 π”₯𝔦𝔀π”₯π”Ÿπ”©π”¬π”¬π”‘ π”₯π”’π”žπ”‘."

ΰͺœβ€βž΄α‘£π­© π”…π”©π”žπ”¨π”’

Blake is officially the new standard, sorry, not sorry! Honestly, I don’t even care that he was a d*ck to her at firstβ€”he was obsessed from the moment they met, and we love that energy. What I really enjoyed as a reader was how easily I could see through his cold, arrogant exterior. Deep down, I knew he was a softie, and that was totally confirmed when he had to deal with the fluffin. And then, that scene near the end where the fluffin follows him and he doesn’t even realize, so he hides it in his bag, gets all flustered, and then smiles at Medra across the room? MY HEART MELTED.

I did enjoy how possessive he was at first, but I’ll admit, by the middle of the book, I think he said "she’s mine" just a bit too much. Still, I really appreciated how Medra didn’t just roll over and accept the betrothal. She always stood her ground and fought for herself and her independence. She was never just his to claim, no matter how much he tried to insist. The way she stayed true to herself, regardless of his claim, was so girl boss of her.

Also I just had to add the back and forth between Blake and Kage. It was so entertaining to watch like yes Kage get Blake rattled, it was nice to see Blake worry whether he could keep Medra betrothed or not.

"π”π”’π”‘π”―π”ž π”“π”’π”«π”‘π”―π”žπ”€π”¬π”« π”΄π”žπ”° π”ͺ𝔦𝔫𝔒. 𝔄𝔫𝔑 β„‘ π”΄π”žπ”° π”­π”―π”’π”­π”žπ”―π”’π”‘ 𝔱𝔬 𝔑𝔦𝔒 π”Ÿπ”’π”£π”¬π”―π”’ β„‘ 𝔩𝔒𝔱 π”žπ”«π”Ά π”₯π”žπ”―π”ͺ 𝔠𝔬π”ͺ𝔒 𝔱𝔬 π”₯𝔒𝔯."

"ℑ𝔱'𝔰 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔭𝔯𝔬𝔱𝔒𝔠𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫, 𝔩𝔦𝔱𝔱𝔩𝔒 π”‘π”―π”žπ”€π”¬π”«. ℑ𝔱'𝔰 π”ž π” π”©π”žπ”¦π”ͺ." "π”œπ”¬π”²'𝔯𝔒 π”ͺ𝔦𝔫𝔒. 𝔑𝔬 𝔬𝔫𝔒 𝔱𝔬𝔲𝔠π”₯𝔒𝔰 𝔴π”₯π”žπ”± π”Ÿπ”’π”©π”¬π”«π”€π”° 𝔱𝔬 π”ͺ𝔒."

βŠΉβ‚Š Λšβ€§οΈ΅β€Ώβ‚Šΰ­¨ΰ­§β‚Šβ€ΏοΈ΅β€§ ˚ β‚ŠβŠΉ

This book definitely had me hooked from the very start! The world-building was rich and easy to follow, though there was a lot to take in, which makes sense for setting up the series. The pacing slowed down a bit between 20-50%, but it was still engaging enough to keep me going. Once it picked back up, though, I couldn’t put the book down!

I'm super excited to dive deeper into Medra’s homeland and to learn more about Dragons. And honestly, I need Blake's POV in the next book. After those final chapters? I need to see him begging on his knees for forgiveness. Like, what the actual ffffff?! I can’t wait for the next book I NEED IT NOW.

π˜›π˜©π˜’π˜―π˜¬ 𝘺𝘰𝘢 π˜•π˜¦π˜΅π˜Žπ˜’π˜­π˜­π˜¦π˜Ί 𝘒𝘯π˜₯ 𝘚𝘡𝘒𝘳𝘸𝘒𝘡𝘦𝘳 π˜—π˜³π˜¦π˜΄π˜΄ 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘡𝘩π˜ͺ𝘴 𝘌-π˜ˆπ˜™π˜Š π˜ͺ𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘀𝘩𝘒𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘒𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘡 𝘳𝘦𝘷π˜ͺ𝘦𝘸.

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A cutthroat dark academia in a fantasy world…with a little spice.

Medra finds herself not only in a new school…she’s in a new realm entirely. She crosses paths with those in power and finds herself bond and shipped off to their school for their high society and those of great intelligence. This book is full of power struggles, proving oneself, betrayal, and a lot of angst as she deals with being betrothed to a man who already has a crazy finance.

Highly recommend for those who wish they went to Hogwarts but need more spice, deception, and dragon lore. Absolutely fantastic and I’m dying for the next book already.

Tropes/Themes: magic, he falls first, arranged marriage, found family, dragons, powerful fmc, vampires, grumpy professors, dark academia

While you do not need to read the Blood of a Fae series, I do recommend it as we first meet Medra there. But On Wings of Blood can be read and understood without reading the other series.

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3/5 stars.

I try to keep my review on purpose short and vague because I don't want to spoil the book.

A quick and fun read. The worldbuilding was well executed and all the vampires were a huge plus for me. And all the lore about dragons and dragon riders were also a plus, coming from someone who devoured for example Eragon as a child and now Fourth Wing. The academy setting was also fun. I just never knew when the time skip happened, how much time did it actually skip.

I quite liked the mmc. He really did give me the same vibe as Draco Malfoy, and I really did like that aspect a lot. So I just hoped there would have been some more romantic scenes between him and the fmc. I also liked how all characters weren't only black and white, but they had depth in them.

The cliffhanger was also amazing. I hoped something like that would happen, but didn't at any point for sure see that coming.

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Dragons
Vampires
Dwarfs
Bad a** FMC

This book had everything I didn’t know I needed in a fantasy book. It was engaging and easy to follow unlike other fantasy books. The FMC was such a bad a** throughout the whole book. I loved the representation of all skin tones in the book. The plot was strong. I can’t wait to read the sequel to this book. I rated it 4.5 stars.

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Thank you to Briar Boleyn and NetGalley for an ARC.

Dragons and vampires
Enemies to lovers
Trials
Academy

What more could I ask for???

The FMC was incredible!!! Blake was amazing and I was completely intrigued by him. I was hooked and couldn’t stop reading. The pacing was incredible. I would definitely recommend this book.

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This was a fantastic romantasy! It had everything: tension, angst, tattoos, romance, spice, politics, dragons, and vampires. I really enjoyed it!

I found Medra's personality and demeanor very engaging, especially her friendships with Florence and Naveen. Blake was an interesting character too; while the tension he brought was compelling, I wouldn't call him a good character.

I'm eagerly looking forward to book two! The cliffhanger at the end left me wanting to know what happens next, especially regarding the bonding and pairing.

A big thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing an eARC!

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Reading On Wings of Blood was like being dropped right into my ultimate fantasy marathonβ€”Game of Thrones meets Harry Potter meets Fourth Wing meets Zodiac Academy. It has everything: slow-burn romance, enemies-to-lovers vibes, vampires, elves, dragons… I mean, what else could you possibly want?

The story follows Medra, this total badass who, after trying to save her homeland of Camelot, thinks she’s dead. But nopeβ€”she wakes up in a totally different world ruled by high-blood vampires. She’s thrown into Blood Wing Academy, an intense school for people with powerful bloodlines, and has to navigate a crazy new reality.

And let’s talk about the grumpy male leadβ€”he’s got secrets, he’s got attitude, and he’s driving this slow burn that’s so intense, I don’t even want to call it romance yet. But it kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time.

Briar Boleyn totally nailed it with the world-building, characters, and all the twists. I’m just obsessed with this universe now. Honestly, take me backβ€”I’m already missing it!

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On Wings of Blood (Book 1, Bloodwing Academy) - Briar Boley

I was given a copy of this story through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Briar Boleyn is a Canadian author, however that is her pen name. Her real name being Fenna Edgewood – a bestselling romance author, with books such as her Gardner Girls series.



Medra Pendragon is far from home in Camelot, because one minute she is there and the next she is in a new land and covered in blood.

This land is called Sangratha and here there are no fae, this land belongs to vampires or as there are known here Highbloods and those that are human, or lesser than, are called Blightborns.

Yet that isn’t the strangest thing about this new place, Medra notices there is no one here with red hair, just her. The people are not quite sure what to make of her but they are convinced she is what they call a Dragon Rider – yet a dragon has not been seen in Sangratha for centuries. The colour of her hair represents a potential power that could yet resurface.

Luckily or unluckily, depending on how you look at it, Medra is captured by the most powerful highblood family in Sangratha – the Drakharrows; consort to Blake Drakharrow and a student and the most illustrious academy in Sangratha – Bloodwing Academy.

Blake Drakharrow is your typical alphahole – brooding, good looking and thinks he’s entitled to what he wants and is hardly ever denied what he wants, moreover he's a vampire. A vampire who things he owns Medra and her blood but he’s about to learn Medra is like no other blightborn he has ever know, she won’t bow down to him and is stubborn until the very end.

Bloodwing is not your typical academy, there are four different houses yes but as luck would have it Blake Drakharrow is the leader of House Drakharrow at the academy. Regardless it is a deadly place where students die, mainly the blightborn students due to the highbloods and the deadly competitions.

Medra must navigate this new land, the strange academy and whatever the hell is going on between her and Blake. She hates him, she loathes who he thinks he can simply use her when he wishes, just all the highbloods in Sangratha but she won’t allow it and she will figure a way out of it all.

In doing so Medra will uncover some secrets that the powerful in Sangratha would rather have been left hidden. But Medra will survive, she won’t bow down to them.



β€œOn Wings of Blood” is a dark academia story that has a bit of Harry Potter and a bit of Crowns of Nyaxia all rolled into one. I have read Briar Boleyn’s other series – Blood of a Fae, which I thoroughly enjoyed – but I have to say this series is just on a whole other level. I devoured this book, the story had me riveted and totally intrigued. Medra Pendragon is such a strong female character who knows her worth and isn’t afraid to stand up for herself no matter who is opposing her which is what gets her into trouble half the time. Blake Drakharrow is what some might call your typical alphahole – tall, dark, mysterious, good looking, an asshole and thinks he has a right to whomever and whatever he so desires. So, when he is told no or denied what he wants it is not something he takes well. Yet Medra and the way she is, is slowly changing something in Blake. What I really loved is how the author at the end of the story had them slowly coming together and then seemingly tearing them apart and then together again. One thing is for sure that ending will definitely spell nothing but trouble for Medra and I personally can’t wait to see how she tackles this new obstacle.

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Fantastic, can't wait for the sequel. Great characters and story, love the ages and the setting. Cam't wait to see what happens with the dragons in the next book.

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On Wings of Blood is a dark fantasy academia with vampires, magic, and β€œdragons”. Yes, please! And I have a lot of conflicting thoughts about it. Our MC is thrown into an unfamiliar universe, found under unfortunate circumstances, and dragged into the world of Sangratha. Her fierce and stubborn spirit starts to fade once she’s unwillingly betrothed to her captor and forced to study at Bloodwing Academy. She gets some spark back as she begins to integrate, thankfully, but I was a little disappointed by how easily she seemed to accept her fate for a while.
There’s no mistaking where the inspiration for this story came from. The author openly acknowledges their muse, but the influence is so heavy at the start that I couldn’t get the characters of Harry, Draco, and their circle of friends out of my head. The content, inspiration, and my imagination started clashing, and I wondered if the only real distinction from the original muse was that our Slytherins are vampires.
I also couldn’t shake one relentless question: why are these vampires in school?

There’s no real information about their age or development (or maybe I just missed it) and I couldn’t get past it to the point that I began to wonder if this story was for me. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again and forever more: why are preternatural, formidable, transcendent beings in school, learning basic education?

Still, I journeyed on…

At around 150 pages, things pick up, the content gets more adult and vicious. I’m starting to get into the story, and the characters are finally beginning to stand on their own. There’s a lot of world-building through student-led teaching and peer conversations, which is interesting and unique but also creates some lulls in the story. Mythical elements are introduced; some add a nice touch, while others raise more questions. But I keep going, because the tension is palpable, the banter is bantering, and I need our two MCs to kiss! Speaking of kissing, explicit content is scarce until about halfway through, where the story takes a darker turn and the β€œscenes” get quite graphic.

Overall, there is some uniqueness within these pages, though I’m not sure it needed quite so many of them. I’m also not sure this review needed so many words, as the book description sums it up perfectlyβ€”and kudos to Boleyn for the transparency. *β€œWhat do you get if you mix Harry Potter with Fourth Wing, Zodiac Academy, a dash of Arthurian legend, and lots and lots of vampires? Bloodwing Academy.”* #micdrop
To sum up my honest opinion β€” On Wings of Blood has all of the elements for an epic fantasy but it just didn’t quite hit the mark for me. It was a rollercoaster of love and hate in equal measures. I hope for more uniqueness in the next book, which I am or may not read.
A special thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC copy for review.

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Thank you to the publisher, NetGalley, and Briar Boleyn for this ARC and allowing me the opportunity to review this book.

I would like to state upfront that I did DNF this book at 32% (p. 244/764) as it wasn't a good fit for me as a reader.

I really liked the concept of this one. I was initially drawn in by the blurb with the enticing combination of academy romance, bully romance, dragon riders, fae, and vampy paranormal fun. I'm always on the hunt for a delicious "true" hateful bully enermies-to-lovers and something I really enjoyed about this book was that it was definitely brewing to deliver on that promise!

Unfortunately, I struggled to connect with the style of writing and the verbosity of the storytelling on this one. I also found the characters and dialogue a bit too juvenile for my personal tastes and feel this book may be a better fit for slightly younger NA readers. That being said, I do think there is an audience that will really enjoy this book and I would still consider recommending this to the right reader! Fans of Zodiac Academy might enjoy this one!

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Thank you to NetGalley, Briar Boleyn, and Starwater Press for a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

The Plot:
Medra Pendragon is a powerful half-fae thrown into a new world. She wakes up on a pile of corpses to find Blake Drakharrow standing over her. In this new world, vampires and dragons exist and Medra discovers that she is one of the last remaining dragon riders.

She is immediately enrolled in Bloodwing Academy after being betrothed to Blake where she must take classes and win competitions in order to prove her worth.

My Thoughts:
I did not realize how much I missed this type of read until now! I used to read vampire novels all the time and that dark academia background set everything up for success.
At first, I was a little nervous for the 500+ page count, but I don't think there were any wasted pages. I loved the pacing. The characters were well developed. We got enough info about the setting and history without being lectured. It was a win all around.
I also had a lot of fun with Medra and Blake's relationship. It wasn't drawn out too long. We got what we needed when we needed it. And everyone wasn't magically fixed through the relationship.

This book was a perfect balance of romance and action. If you were a fan of The Serpent and the Wings of Night or Cruel Illusions, I think you'll love this book.

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Five out of five stars! This book is what I wanted Harry Potter to be!! Loved every moment and binged this all in one setting. Definite atmospheric story line with all my favorite tropes. Put this on your To Be Read and thank me later!!

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