★★★★.5

“𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙧𝙩. 𝙨𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙛𝙩 𝙣𝙤 𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙢 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙛𝙡𝙖𝙬𝙨. 𝙥𝙖𝙡𝙚, 𝙨𝙢𝙤𝙤𝙩𝙝 𝙨𝙠𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙫𝙚𝙨. 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙝 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙖 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙗𝙖𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮”

the bond that burns was everything i wanted and more ♥️ briar has seriously delivered with book two of the ‘bloodwing academy’ series, and i’m absolutely hooked

this series is quickly becoming a favorite of mine this year 🤭 faes, vampires, shifters, dragons—what more could you possibly ask for?

the world-building is chef’s kiss, the characters are perfection, and the storyline is so addictive i couldn’t put the book down

i’ll admit, i was not thrilled with blake’s behavior towards medra at the start of the book 🙂‍↔️ i was actually really disappointed in him

but getting his pov made such a difference - learning more about his true intentions and that jaw-dropping revelation about who/what he actually is?? i’m still recovering 😦

and those plot twists?

briar has mastered the art of keeping us on the edge of our seats

the ending shattered me in the best way, and now i’m stuck counting down the days until spring to find out what happens next 🐉if you love fast-paced fantasy with a ton of heart and surprises, you need this series in your life

“𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙙𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧, 𝙞 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙞’𝙙 𝙜𝙡𝙖𝙙𝙡𝙮 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙪𝙥 𝙢𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙖𝙛𝙚”

it had only been five days since finishing the first book, On Wings of Blood, but i was so happy to be back with Medra, Florence, Blake, and Neville the fluffin. the bond between Medra and Florence continues to demonstrate the power of female friendships. the second installment of the Bloodwing Academy series absolutely blew me away! Briar's effortless writing style seamlessly transported me back to the gothic hallways of Bloodwing Academy, where vampires lurk and danger is always present. she has a stunningly dangerous way of giving you just enough information to keep you interested and wanting more, confirming my stance of being my first (and favorite) auto-buy author.

i highly recommend checking out On Wings of Blood and The Bond That Burns if you're interested in dark academia, dragons, vampires, blood magic, and more. both available on Kindle Unlimited now!

thank you so much, Briar & NetGalley, for granting me an ARC copy of this dark and adventurous story! i’m absolutely hooked and cannot wait until the next installment.

Oh my god… this book was insane! I loved that the whole book had different POVs by chapter and we got to learn a lot more about Blake and saw his character develop, in more ways than one 👀. I personally love Medra (and always will) but I was kind of hoping she had some sort of personal “awakening” with magic, but this could also be set up for the next book.

One of the other aspects that went really well with this book was making the other characters mean something instead of being side characters. At first I was wondering why many seemed to become more fleshed out and a bigger role but the ending cleared that up real quick. I need the next book immediately because I’m going to think about the ending for the next few months.

I highly recommend this book, series, and the Blood of a Fae series (helpful for background on Medra too)!

Sometimes you stumble upon an author and/or series and think “damn…they just did this right!”. Well…damn Ms. Boleyn…you did it right with Bloodwing Academy. Even better news…she didn’t make us wait agonizing months and months for book 2, and won’t for book 3! Frankly, I have no patience and she must know this. 😉

The Bloodwing Series really has it all…vampires, dragons, magic…broody (HOT🔥) MMC, badass (🔪🖤) FMC, lovable & loyal friends, evil & conniving family, plot twists and cliff hangers. Oh and the banter…yes please!

One of my top reads this year.

Things totally kicked up a notch in this second book, coalescing into an incredibly intense and astonishing ending! Absolutely unputdownable. I thought I was dead after the first one, but now that I deeply love and sometimes hate the cast of characters I’m actually totally dead, died, done… until the next one this is! 😆 I cannot wait.

First things first, happy release day to this beautiful, chaotic masterpiece of a novel! If you’re a fan of Fourth Wing or Harry Potter (honestly, who isn’t?), then prepare for a wild ride that throws in vampires just to keep things interesting. I. LOVED. THIS. SEQUEL. It’s everything I hoped for and more—think of it like the first book but turned up— and doing the absolute most.

We get *more* of all the good stuff (yes, that means the 🌶️), and trust me, it does not disappoint. Blake and Medra? Oh, they’re still at it, fighting and… other stuff, too. More Neville. More Kage. More Florence. More Theo. Basically, more of everything that made the first book so incredible. The stakes are higher, the drama is juicier, and honestly, the plot feels like it could burn through the pages with how intense it is.

It’s like someone took everything that worked the first time and cranked the intensity up to 11—and also… DRAGONS. This sequel is a full-on rollercoaster and I’m here for every twist, turn, and chaotic moment.

If you’ve not jumped into this series here’s your sign! Get on it.

I'm seriously not sure how Briar Boleyn managed to outdo her first book but The Bond That Burns manages to do just that, holy crap! I'm still sitting here reeling over the book and her giant ending. Thank you for giving us such an amazing series, well done!!!!

6 mf ⭐️!!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ handed it out to Briar! The second book is even better than the first! Stop right now! I’m going to go sit in a corner and drown my sorrows but also write out WTF so many times until my hand hurts!!! The cliffhanger! I paced around my house reading the last few chapters!!!🥺🤯🤯🤯🤫

Well done Briar!!! Well fricken done👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

What an absolute blast, and potentially the most exciting ending I’ve read all year. A couple things I saw coming, but so many twists I was utterly shocked by. Lots of gasps and squawks and OH MY GODS to my poor husband. Even the predictable turns were tee’d up well and I’m stoked to see the impact in the next book.

This picks up shortly after the world-altering events of the last book. Medra is pissed at Blake’s betrayal and Blake is…not handling it well. Numerous political agendas are tightening around Medra and she has no idea what to do or who to trust. Some want to kill her, others use her. I loved how Boleyn really upped the stakes here on all sides, without anything ever feeling confusing or disingenuous.

Blake Drakharrow…I am not a bully romance fan and absolutely wanted to murder him for his idiocy for the first 40% of this book. Thank goodness for Visha, who became a surprise MVP this book for numerous reasons. When he comes around though it’s incredible.

Conversely I adore the found family and the one forming here builds on the first book in such a satisfying way.

Dragons! Hard to say much about this without spoilers but at a time when dragons are (pun intended) hot, I liked this twist. While certainly evocative of Fourth Wing, the dragon lore stands on its own.

And Medra is a great FMC. She’s frustrated, a little lost, vulnerable when those she cares about are threatened, and yet never lets Blake or her superiors push her around. And her friendship with Florence is a guiding star for her.

Anyway this is quickly becoming a favorite series. Can’t wait for more! Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the ARC!

"It felt good. So fucking good to know I could make her do more than hate me. Dangerously good."

Excuse me!?
EXCUSE ME
I FEEL LIKE IVE RUN A MARATHON. My heart is pounding, I’m shaky, I’m feeling all the emotions, I can’t breathe.
Ohmygod

“Magnificent. Utterly magnificent.” And it was his tone of voice that caught me off guard this time. Reverent. No, worshipful.

Okay, I got my shit together.

This was everything I wanted and more. Blake was perfect. Medra was perfect. Florence was a cute little bean. Tanaka was swoony. Theo and Visha stepped up. Neville has my whole heart and I would end the world for him.

“But you bring the fire. You make even the darkness shine. Even dragon fire can’t compete with the way you burn, Pendragon.”

This book picks right up where the last one ended, on the cliffhanger, and OH this one has a cliffhanger to, so get ready to DIE. I’ll be here to consol you in hell (babes, we’re not going to heaven at this point lmao).

"So, my girl was a princess. It wasn’t that much of a surprise, really. She’d always looked like a queen to me."

Medra takes absolutely no shit. I love it and her. She stands up for herself all the time and for her friends. There wasn’t a time where I got annoyed because she wouldn’t say anything, you know, when you’re screaming at a character to stand up for themselves, Medra was just great.

"I thought of how close we’d become last year. How good it had felt to think, just briefly, that she was on my side. The two of us against the world. Now I was alone again."

Blake, our little bully vamp turned into an obsessive bully vampire AND something is happening to him, some change that I won’t say to spoil it but OHMYGOD YES. AND TANAKA. YES. All the yeses.

"She was deep inside me now. Woven into my blood. Carved into my heart. But maybe these feelings were poison. Sweet but deadly."

I don’t think it’s gonna happen but I am rooting for MFM or MMF but I have a feeling I know where it’s going based on the ending now, so while I’m sad, I still like the how this is all playing out.

"I’m going to die, aren’t I?
You are not going to die, Nyxaris answered. You will not fall. I will not allow it. I will not permit you to humiliate me in such a ridiculous way."

Nyxaris. That’s all.

"Pendragon hated me. I already knew that. But what I hadn’t realized was that her dragon did, too."

What even is this review? What a fucking mess lmao

“You survived your first year because I allowed it. Don’t make me prove that to you now.” 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?”

A very tall task to carry through the story from book 1 but this book is everything (and i LOVED book 1, so that says a lot)! The pace remains fast, the author has a very clear idea of where she's going with the story and I massively enjoyed how well thought this feels as a whole. Medra and Blake have both great ARCs and the transition into dual POVs works really well, as I can't see how we would ever warm up to this man otherwise, he is so good at making us hate him and every step forward is two steps back in how their relationship is developing.
The plot is very satisfying, with realistic characters and every now and then we get a plot twist to push the narrative further. I can't describe enough how much a appreciate Medra as a main character, her strength, courage, resistance are amazing and she is so level headed and principled, you can't help but root for her and feel invested in her journey. Blake is really struggling with his feelings for her and as the story unfolds realises how many of his preconceptions he has to shed and how skewed his reality and idea of self are. Brilliant ARC.He by no means deserves Medra, but maybe, just maybe there is hope he redeems himself.
I am so upset I have to wait so long for the next installment, the cliffhanger left be breathless and I can't wait to be transported back to Bloodwing academy and Sagratha! Make sure you have read the 1st book before picking this up, I think it's essential to understanding the characters and to be able to fully enjoy the progressions of the story.
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my review copy, all opinions are my own.