Absolutely fantastic read, I love Briar Boleyn books and writing and this just nlew me away, just when I think I can’t love her books more she surprises me again and again, can’t wait for the next. Highly recommended for an engaging and thoroughly entertaining read

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc! I really liked the world building.i also liked the dark academia vibe. I just wish there were more dragons and the slow burn wasn’t so slow. I look forward to the second book.

Vampires, dragons, academy setting, trials/games, did I mention Dragons and Vampires?!! This book has everything that makes me love a book!!

The world building was interesting and had a hint of Arthurian legends mixed in throughout. It was a slow burn of a book, we learned things as our main character Medra learned them. I was never overwhelmed while learning what this world was capable of.

You might recognize Medra Pendragon from Briar Boleyns other series- (you don’t have to have read the other series before this one) - this new book focuses on her navigating life surrounded by vampires, while being told she now has to obey them and all because she’s human or Blightborn as they’re called. I’m very excited to go bs and read the other series now that I’ve read On Wings of Blood.

The side characters were so fun, the found family aspects really made me love the book so much! Florence was my favorite along with Visha and Vaughn, I can’t wait to see what is in store for them!

Let’s talk about Blake! Our vampire MMC. Every time he said the words You’re Mine. I swooned!

You should definitely pick this book up if you like:
Dark Academia
Enemies to lovers
Bully romance
Forbidden love
Vampires
Slowburn dragons
Forced engagement
Power imbalance
Underpowered heroine
Training scenes
Magical creatures
Morally gray characters
Found family / unlikely allies
House of the Dragons meets Hogwarts
Dramione vibes
Villain gets the girl
Mentor-student bonding
Slowburn to steamy romantasy
Gothic/medieval vibes
Political intrigue
Dangerous secrets

I am OBSESSED with this book!! I highly recommend it for anyone who loves high stake fantasy romance with insane tension and incredible plot! This book had me in a chokehold. It’s one of my top reads of the year!! On Wings of Blood is a dark vampire and dragon romantasy and the first installment in the Bloodwing Academy series.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️

The Blonde MMC we didn’t know we needed lmfao.
This was such a fun read, esp while I’m in the midst of listening to ZA audiobooks 🎧 I love the similarities w/ the 4 houses that rule, the whole dark academia aspect of it all, & another bully romance but make it literally the slowest burn ever 🔥 It also had beautifully written world building, albeit some of the pacing was a tad slow, but all so worth the build up. The dual POV w/ Medra & Blake also made this so fun to read, you wouldn’t even know that it was 760pgs long… But that balcony scene 🤌🏽 I def need Book 2 after this ‘cause the ending… The betrayal, The deception!! Also, a special s/o to Neville 🤍
Even the side characters were really great additions, no matter how much I hate Regan’s ass… You can’t lie it’s good writing when you hate a character lol!!

Utterly addictive!

A great twist on Romantasy where fae are considered lesser beings and vampires rule supreme.

I felt this book was the epitome of an enemies to lovers and have to say, I’m still not really sure that they will ever really get to the ‘lovers’ part!

The descriptive world building that was contained within was top class, really felt like some kind of Hogwarts type vibe going on - but with an amazing dark fantasy twist.

It was a joy to read how the female main character developed through the book, especially considering she was perceived as the underling. The male main character was an absolutely excellent, entitled, arrogant aristocrat. But there is just something about him that draws you in and you can see glimpses that there is definitely more than meets the eye.

An amazing 1st book in the Bloodwing Academy series, really can’t wait for the next one!

"On Wings of Blood" by Briar Boleyn is the first book in the Bloodwing Academy, with book 2 coming out soon!

This book hits all the tropes and combines Fourth Wing and Harry Potter...with an exciting mix of magic, adventure, and loveable characters. Medra is the ultimate FMC, loyal and good underneath a pokey exterior. Blake is our ultimate possessive and arrogant MMC, and we can't help but love him. And the fact that we get his POV...swoon!! The side characters are my true weakness.I love a good found family!

The world-building was detailed but easy to follow, and the pace of the book kept me hooked from the beginning. I sped through it in a day, and I am looking forward to book 2!

“In my dreams, she wanted me just as much as I wanted her.”

You will get:
- Dragons and Vampires
- Enemies to lovers
- Dark Academia
- Bullies, including mmc
- Trials
- Arranged marriage
- Touch her and you die
- Low spice

Imagine a darker Harry Potter world with strong Game of Thrones vibes and some intense underlying
Hunger Games feels. This is what you'd get, and you'd be rooting for the villain just like I did. Blake gives 100% Draco vibes, and in my opinion, Medra felt like Harry, Ron and Hermione all wrapped up together with specific aspects of each one of them.
Some parts of this story were really heartbreaking and some made me smile. It took me through every single emotion and ended with betrayal- in the sense that l actually have to wait for the next one and can't immediately jump right into it!

I really love the story line and characters! I was intrigued all the way through and fell in love with the book! Medra is a strong MFC and the the building for the new world she fell in was amazing!

Thank you so much for the ARC!
4.5/5
Bully romance set in a vampire academy with
DRAGONS? Hello??? Immediate yes.
I struggled to put this DOWN I was so engrossed in it.
Medra is strong and resilient and doesn't give a damn about the powers that be. Blake really is an asshole, he seemingly makes Medra's life a nightmare but he's hot so he kinda gets a pass?? There's loveable side characters, cute creatures, and lots of sexual tension.
This book had everything I love and I cannot wait to read book 2!

I devoured this in two days. Needless to say, this was a fun, addictive and exciting read! Honestly, it was incredible.

The world is dark and full of secrets and political intrigue, with Harry Potter and Camelot vibes! I enjoyed our FMC and MMC a lot, and it was giving Hermione x Draco vibes, for sure. The tension between them was sooooo good. Every time Blake and Medra were in a scene together, I knew it was going to be good.

Overall, this was a great romantasy book in a dark academia setting with deadly trials and magical creatures! Honestly, the scenes with Blake and his pet is what sealed the deal for me. So bloody cute.

Thank god I only have to wait a few days until book 2 comes out on the 27th December.

I was intrigued by this book blurb, as I was intrigued to see what else the story has install for us. And with the way that the story developed it definitely got better with the more time in which I read the book. At the start of the book, I found the book very intriguing, however it felt as if the book was going a little slow within in the middle of the book. However with how the book ended I am definitely going to read the next book as I am intrigued. I had found the characters within this book which were very interesting and I could see how they developed through out the book. There were many challenges in which they had to face which you could see that they were having a difficult time getting through them. The fact that the story was told through duo pov which was very interesting and allowed the story to be told with more aspects for it.

Okay, this was an amazing romantasy. Romance, some spice, vampires and dragons!! I really enjoyed this and I can not thank you enough for being able to ARC read this. I love Medra. Her personality and her friendships she has. Cliffhanger and I can not wait until book 2. I need to own a physical copy of this book big time. Such an enjoyable read, definitely one I'll re read again

2.5 ⭐️ in theory, on wings of blood should have been exactly my cup of tea. unfortunately, i really didn’t enjoy this book nearly as much as i hoped i would. the synopsis for this book seems really out of touch with what the book actually delivers.

on wings of blood is compared to fourth wing, zodiac academy and harry potter, and said to deliver dramione vibes. truly, the only comparison i can kinda see is fourth wing being that it’s a dark academia fantasy romance with dragon lore. a side from blake drakharrow, our mmc, having blonde hair and hailing from a prominent family, i’m not sure how this man can be compared to draco malfoy. blake wasn’t even a bully as the synopsis claimed - not really when everything he did was intended to be in medra’s best interest. our fmc, medra pendragon, does not give hermione vibes in the slightest (in my opinion). i’m not really sure i’ll ever understand why authors/publishers try to draw these similarities. i get that maybe it’ll draw in a similar audience base but wouldn’t you want your own book to stand on it’s own two feet without needing to compare your work to other successful series to interest people and ultimately disappoint them when the book fails to compare?

on another note, i found this book really difficult to push through. it started off alright but then just became filler up until the end chapter. i really couldn’t even tell you anything substantial that happened during the middle of the book. i can respect that the world building was extensive but, i’m never going to enjoy a book that is 5% character development, 10% plot and 85% world building. very little was overcome or resolved, it felt very stagnant, mundane and way too many chapters were dedicated to following medra attend classes that majority of the time did not contribute to the storyline or let us get to know medra more intimately.

i am going to continue the series and read the next book. purely because all the world building may have set up a great next book. i do hope that is the case as like i mentioned, the tropes and the concept are there but the execution just didn’t deliver for me.

Oh my gosh. ARE YOU KIDDING??? I loved this. LOVED. It’s been a while since I’ve been this obsessed with a book and I’ve missed this feeling.

On Wings of Blood is about a half-fae girl named Medra who finds herself in a new world with no idea how she got there. She is found by Blake, a vampire, and is brought to Blake’s uncle, a vampire leader. They mistake Medra’s fae features as indication that she is a dragon rider (though the dragons are all gone), and she is forced into a marriage bond with Blake. She is also forced to attend Blood Wing academy, a cut throat school full of vampires. Medra must find a way to survive in this dangerous new world.

This book is reminiscent of all my favorite romantasies, Zodiac Academy in particular. Tory and darius fans will especially love this one.

This is dark academia with true enemies to lovers. The plot was fantastic and the dual POV was everything I needed. I cannot wait to see where this series goes!

Thank you to Net Galley and Briar Boleyn for an ARC of this book!

This book was fantastic! Vampire academia with bunches of betrayal, scheming politics, and delicious slow burn. All my favorite tropes, including enemies to lovers, touch her and d!e, and forced proximity.

Fierce and fiery fae FMC that refuses to fall in line as she navigates this new school she was thrown into, and her feelings for one vampire in particular.

Stellar and in-depth world building, interesting magic system and hierarchy. I can’t wait for book 2!

Thank you to Briar Boleyn and NetGalley for this gifted copy.

Medra Pendragon is shocked to arrive in a new land, attacked by vampires. And even more surprised to be forcibly betrothed to Blake Drakharrow and enrolled in Bloodwing Academy, where she will learn to be a consort to a house leader.

This book has a lot of tropes included - but luckily, the book is action-packed and moves incredibly fast. I think more happens in the first tenth of this book than in the first instalment of many romantasy series! There are a lot of characters, but all of them are incredibly vivid and easy to keep separate, including the secondary ones.

I really enjoyed so many of these characters. The professors at Bloodwing Academy, for example, seemed incredibly well drawn. I wanted to get to know them better and hope we will in future instalments. I also loved the friendship between Florence and Medra - they come from very different backgrounds but provide an incredibly supportive basis for each other. I hope we'll see more of them breaking barriers together in future instalments.

I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys dark academia or The Stars are Dying.

A heart-pounding start to a new fan favorite romantasy!

The chemistry between Medra and Blake is off the charts. I love a good enemies-to-lovers trope, and this one hits all the right boxes. Medra may be a prisoner in a foreign land, but she refuses to bow before the cruel vampires who want her for her connection to the ancient dragon riders.

Blake wants nothing to do with the beauty he found among a pile of dead bodies, but he can't deny his body's attraction to her. When his ruler uncle charges the annoying Medra to be his betrothed (his second one), it creates complex feelings of possession and disparagement—a toxic mixture that makes the deadly challenges they face at Bloodwing Academy twice as dangerous.

This is a real page-turner. I'm looking forward to book two!

I went back and forth on giving this book 3 or 4 stars. I was definitely drawn into the story and enjoyed picking it up to continue every day, but there were a few reasons that I felt this book didn't quite deserve 4 stars.

1. There were some spelling issues and other errors that were hard to overlook. Not a ton, but enough to be irritating if that's something that bugs you in books.
2. There were a few plot points that felt like they were just randomly thrown into the story for more action, but didn't actually make logical sense. I'm not saying they weren't fun to read about, but they didn't quite fit the full storyline in my opinion.
3. Lastly, at times I felt as though I was accidentally reading the second book in a series. We had some vague information about how Medra ended up where she is, but it felt like pieces were missing and I would have liked a bit more information.

I would still recommend this book to people who enjoy dark academia, vampires, and fantasy romance. I have read other books from Briar Boleyn and have faith that this series is going to become more interesting as it continues!

Thank you to Starwater Press and NetGalley for providing me with a free e-ARC of this book in exchange for my review.

On Wings of Blood is an intense and gripping tale that wonderfully intertwines elements of dark fantasy and action. The protagonist of the story navigates a world of betrayal, vengeance, and redemption, with a unique focus on aerial combat and mythological themes. The vivid imagery and fast-paced narrative immerse the reader in a universe that feels both vast and personal. The book delivers thrilling moments but the character development did feel a little rushed. Either way, On Wings of Blood is a compelling read for fans of high-stakes fantasy with a sharp edge.