Book reviews, but make it a ✨haiku✨ for On Wings of Blood by Briar Boleyn. Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with this e-arc!
"He's hot." Mom, please stop.
Not better than me, f*ck you
Fine. Be that way...B*tch

What happens when you combine Fourth Wing, Zodiac Academy, and a pinch of Arthurian legend? You're served On Wings of Blood. This book was SO good I could not put it down! There was tension, spice, fight scenes, high-stakes trials, and mean girls. A mean girl who has a different spelling of my name, and made me want to smack her on more than one occasion.

4.5⭐️
This was so good! It was everything l'd want in a dark academia story and more. The world building, tension, twists, all had me hooked. It's duo POV which is my favourite.
I really liked Medra's character. She is a strong and stubborn FMC, stands up for what she believes in, doesn't take crap from others.
Blake is morally grey and possessive with bully vibes but you get to see glimpses of his softer side. I think there's more to him and he just hasn't shown us yet.
The cliffhanger has me begging for the next book asap. I can't wait to see what happens next and how their relationship will develop.

On Wings of Blood - 5 Stars

If you enjoy morally grey men, Briar Boleyn's characters will have you terrified for the female main character (FMC) while simultaneously praying they end up together, thanks to their off-the-charts chemistry.

This book is perfect for fans of dark academia, intense drama, and those who seek love and romance within the pages of a novel. The FMC is sassy, witty, confident, and always fighting against injustice. The male main character (MMC) is a hauntingly complicated, tortured soul who needs more from the FMC.

In "On Wings of Blood," you'll fall in love with all the brilliantly written characters, even if they smell of mint and apple. Briar Boleyn has once again crafted an excellent piece of work in the genres of Fantasy and Romantasy. If this review doesn't convince you to pick up the book, these quotes surely will:

"He wore a black, tailored suit that fit him impeccably, accentuating his tall, lean frame. The jacket hugged his broad shoulders and chest, tapering at the waist to hint at his muscular, subtly defined torso."

"I’d already been so...aroused that I knew if I’d..., I wouldn’t have been able to restrain myself."

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the concept and the plot. I found the FMC very stubborn and hardheaded, towards the frustrating point sometimes, because I mean we can forgive a morally grey MMC a lot can’t we? Even though I knew she was right! I love the Harry Potter feel of a book for each school year and the learnings of a new world. I can’t wait to read book 2!

Lords, She has done it AGAIN!! Somehow even better though!! I could not put this down and I am APPALLED that I have to wait for the next book. As a ZA/Dramione fan, this gave me EVERYTHINGGGG I needed and was promised. It was thick but not too thick, mysterious but not overkill. Briar, pleaseeeeee let there be love in book 2! I haven't shipped two people so hard before.... Ya'll pick this one up. RUN actually!

Oh boy, it was a looooooong book. Personally I feel like it could be cut shorter and there were multiple times where I was thinking to DNF this one. However the tension between the characters pushed me to read through. It is enemies to lovers however only from one side haha. The book itself is very slow-paced and is a slow-burn, but I liked general world building, with a hint of Fourth Wing and dark academia vides. Overall a book is a solid three stars but was missing something to make me rate higher.
Ends on a huge cliffhanger.

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.

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 👌

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!

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.

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.

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+

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!

✶✶✶✶ / 4 𝔰𝔱𝔞𝔯𝔰 ꔫ

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

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"ℑ𝔫 𝔪𝔶 𝔡𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔪𝔰 𝔰𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔞𝔫𝔱𝔢𝔡 𝔪𝔢 𝔞𝔰 𝔪𝔲𝔠𝔥 𝔞𝔰 ℑ 𝔴𝔞𝔫𝔱𝔢𝔡 𝔥𝔢𝔯."

⊹₊ ˚‧︵‿₊୨୧₊‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹

I think I might be completely hooked on this new book series! The description—"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."—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 adaptation—it's so vivid in my mind!

જ⁀➴ᡣ𐭩 𝔐𝔢𝔡𝔯𝔞

Medra is a badass—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 attitude—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.

"ℑ 𝔥𝔞𝔱𝔢𝔡 𝔥𝔦𝔪. ℑ 𝔯𝔢𝔪𝔦𝔫𝔡𝔢𝔡 𝔪𝔶𝔰𝔢𝔩𝔣. ℌ𝔢 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔞𝔯𝔯𝔬𝔤𝔞𝔫𝔱 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔠𝔯𝔲𝔢𝔩. 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔢𝔪𝔟𝔬𝔡𝔦𝔪𝔢𝔫𝔱 𝔬𝔣 𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔶𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤 ℑ 𝔡𝔢𝔰𝔭𝔦𝔰𝔢𝔡 𝔞𝔟𝔬𝔲𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔴𝔬𝔯𝔩𝔡 ℑ 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔱𝔯𝔞𝔭𝔭𝔢𝔡 𝔦𝔫. 𝔄𝔫𝔡 ... 𝔶𝔢𝔱 ℑ 𝔰𝔫𝔲𝔠𝔨 𝔞𝔫𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔤𝔩𝔞𝔫𝔠𝔢. ℑ 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡𝔫'𝔱 𝔰𝔢𝔢𝔪 𝔱𝔬 𝔱𝔢𝔞𝔯 𝔪𝔶 𝔢𝔶𝔢𝔰 𝔞𝔴𝔞𝔶 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔥𝔦𝔪."

" ℑ 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔫𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯 𝔟𝔢 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯𝔰, 𝔅𝔩𝔞𝔨𝔢 𝔇𝔯𝔞𝔨𝔥𝔞𝔯𝔯𝔬𝔴. 𝔚𝔥𝔢𝔫 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔤𝔢𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥 𝔶𝔬𝔲𝔯 𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔠𝔨 𝔥𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔟𝔩𝔬𝔬𝔡 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔡."

જ⁀➴ᡣ𐭩 𝔅𝔩𝔞𝔨𝔢

Blake is officially the new standard, sorry, not sorry! Honestly, I don’t even care that he was a d*ck to her at first—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.

"𝔐𝔢𝔡𝔯𝔞 𝔓𝔢𝔫𝔡𝔯𝔞𝔤𝔬𝔫 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔪𝔦𝔫𝔢. 𝔄𝔫𝔡 ℑ 𝔴𝔞𝔰 𝔭𝔯𝔢𝔭𝔞𝔯𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔬 𝔡𝔦𝔢 𝔟𝔢𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔢 ℑ 𝔩𝔢𝔱 𝔞𝔫𝔶 𝔥𝔞𝔯𝔪 𝔠𝔬𝔪𝔢 𝔱𝔬 𝔥𝔢𝔯."

"ℑ𝔱'𝔰 𝔫𝔬𝔱 𝔭𝔯𝔬𝔱𝔢𝔠𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫, 𝔩𝔦𝔱𝔱𝔩𝔢 𝔡𝔯𝔞𝔤𝔬𝔫. ℑ𝔱'𝔰 𝔞 𝔠𝔩𝔞𝔦𝔪." "𝔜𝔬𝔲'𝔯𝔢 𝔪𝔦𝔫𝔢. 𝔑𝔬 𝔬𝔫𝔢 𝔱𝔬𝔲𝔠𝔥𝔢𝔰 𝔴𝔥𝔞𝔱 𝔟𝔢𝔩𝔬𝔫𝔤𝔰 𝔱𝔬 𝔪𝔢."

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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.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘌-𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

Reading On Wings of Blood was like being dropped right into my ultimate fantasy marathon—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 nope—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 lead—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 back—I’m already missing it!