I see why people compare this to Zodiac Academy- forced proximity in a magical academy with multilayered characters where you end up liking people you know are flawed and not always the greatest humans. Overall I liked but didn’t love, didn’t feel invested in the characters & relationships enough YET (as always, the MMC being blonde is probably effecting this 🤷🏼‍♀️) but I see the potential and am READY for the groveling and yearning to continue in book 2. 3.75 ⭐️

What do you get when you throw together Fourth Wing, Harry Potter, Zodiac Academy, and a splash of Arthurian legend then drench it in fangs, fae, and blood fueled drama? You get On Wings of Blood, and let me just say: I. Am. Obsessed.

From the moment I met Medra Pendragon, a half-fae girl thrown into a brutal vampire academy, I was hooked. She’s fierce, sarcastic, and completely out of place which makes her the perfect heroine to root for. Bloodwing Academy is dangerous, dark, and totally addictive. The highblood vampires are powerful and cruel, the rules are twisted, and the secrets? Let’s just say this story is stacked with them.

This book is very much a set-up for something huge introducing a wild, magical world filled with politics, power plays, ancient bloodlines, and a whole lot of tension (yes, that kind of tension too 👀). The world-building is solid, and while I’m still wrapping my head around all the layers, I loved the way the mythology unfolded, especially the Arthurian twist and the dragon lore.

It’s dark. It’s magical. It’s full of bite (literally). And I can already tell this series is going to get even more intense.

Medra Pendragon wakes up on a pile of dead bodies. She is then taken by a vampire prince and becomes his betrothed against her will. On top of all of that, she is then expected to attend Bloodwing Academy where she is expected to fulfill her role as a consort. If you enjoy fantasy with dark elements, vampires, dragons, games and trials, and an academic setting, you'll enjoy this book!

⭐⭐½ – 3 ⭐

On Wings of Blood had such a promising dark academia vibe with tension and fantasy romance, almost like a mix between Fourth Wing and Silver Elite. I absolutely love this author’s other works, but I really struggled to follow the plot here—and I didn’t know much about the main characters by the end. I later found out it’s better to read the author’s previous series first, which would’ve helped a lot! As it was, I felt a bit lost, and the story didn’t hit as hard as I hoped. Still, fans of the author or those who’ve read the earlier books might enjoy it more than I did.

On Wings of Blood is basically what happens when you throw Harry Potter, Fourth Wing, Zodiac Academy, and Arthurian legend into a blender with a bunch of vampires and hit puree. And somehow it actually works!

This book doesn't mess around—it dumps you straight into the dark, twisted vampire world with zero hand-holding, and I was absolutely here for it. Dark academia vibes? Check. Magic? Check. Unlikely friendships forged in supernatural chaos? Double check.

Medra is the kind of FMC you want to root for—tough, determined, and absolutely not here for anyone's BS. She's just trying to survive in this nightmare academy, and watching her navigate all the vampire politics and magical mayhem had me completely hooked from page one.

If you love your fantasy dark, your academia deadly, and your vampires actually scary, this is your jam. Already dying for book two because I need to know what fresh hell awaits these characters!

Thank you to Starwater Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

4.5/5 Stars

On Wings of Blood was a rollercoaster. I'm interested to see how things unravel with the politics and magic of the world. I'm also hoping we learn more about Medra's home and her past! There is no shortage of danger and sarcasm, in equal doses, through the entire book. It was a little jarring to go from what felt more like a medieval beginning to a Harry Potter-esque school but we found the flow as the book continued and things leveled out. I will never be over Naveen, the little cinnamon roll. But with so many moving parts and characters, it is inevitable that not everything will be sunshine and rainbows.

Overall, I think this was a strong start to the trilogy and did a great job setting up the starting points for the rest of the series. And the callback from the first chapter in Blake's POV to the final chapter in Medra's was a really nice way to set character expectations and see how we got to such a pivotal point.

Unfortunately had some issues with getting the file to work, but eventually got there! (This does not impact the review at all).

Acadamia/Vampires/Dragons/Magic. A whole lot going on and I love it.
I live for a book that has a true enemies to lovers, and on this front, this book delivers and then some! Filled with angst and tension and ofcourse banter. Team slow burn.

It was an enjoyable and easy read, but still keeps you on your toes. The world building was easy to follow, and not info-dumping, which is something I always appreciate. It's definitely laid the ground work for the rest of the series. Whilst there is slow parts in the book, it was still very enjoyable on the whole.

Our MCs, Medra and Blake, adored. Medra is a no nonsense type of girl, and can stand on her own 2 feet. She's determined. Blake, whilst he might have a cold exterior, beneath all that, he is a softie. Special shout outs to Naveen and Florence🥰

This one is AMAZING. Magic ✔️ vamps ✔️ dragons ✔️. This one hooked me in from the beginning and I'll be reading book 2 asap!

4.5 stars, rounded up because dragons and vampires always deserve it!

If Harry Potter and Zodiac Academy had a baby and then sprinkled in a dose of dragon lore for extra bite, this would be it. I knew I would love this book the second I saw it had all my favorite academia fantasy elements, plus a few fresh twists. Briar has crafted a compelling world where vampires reign supreme, and Medra Pendragon is thrown headfirst into it, forced to navigate the treacherous world of Bloodwing whether she wants to or not.

It did take me a few chapters to settle in, but that was probably more of a reading hangover from my last book than any fault of this one. Once I got hooked, I couldn’t stop and binged straight through to the end.

And that ending twist was pure agony in the best way. I need the next book immediately. Fans of Zodiac Academy will feel right at home with the pacing, the romantic tension, and the deliciously tangled secrets.

If you love:
🐉 Spicy academia
🐉 Dragon lore
🐉 Enemies to lovers tension
🐉 Magic and hidden agendas
🐉 Dangerous trials and high stakes
🐉 Political intrigue
🐉 Found Family
🐉 Fourth Wing, Zodiac Academy, The Bonds that Tie, Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac


Then pack your bags and enroll. Just don’t expect to come out unbitten (lol)

Huge congrats to Blair on the trad contract too. This book deserves it. I can’t wait to see how big the world gets in the next installment.

This is an Academia fantasy romance that features vampires, but I also fae. I thought overall this was really well read. I really appreciated the character development and at first I was confused. What happened to her and I am still looking forward to what happened to the female main character from the perspective of her background. This is definitely an enemies to lovers, grumpy sunshine and black cat romance, very independent female, main character who is strong. I like the plot twist of the book as well and thought that overall it was really well paced, it really made me appreciate that academy and the magic system, as well as the thought of where are the dragons. The end ending totally makes me wonder what is gonna happen in the second book!

4.5 Stars

This is perfect for fans of Fourth Wing and Phantasma! We’ve got a classic enemies-to-lovers setup in a dark school setting.

“He kissed me as if I were air and he couldn’t get enough.

He kissed me like wildfire, consuming everything in its path.

He kissed me as though I were the last drop of blood in the world, the only thing that could ever sate his hunger.”

PLUS, dual POVs.
“She was insufferable. Completely and utterly maddening.”

I had trouble putting this one down! If that sounds exciting to you, I highly recommend picking this one up!

Thank you to Starwater Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

WOW!

As an avid Briar Boleyn reader, this one did not disappoint at all. While I was a bit confused at the start, the book picked up quickly and had me hooked

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

The story takes place in an academy inhabited by vampires and guided by ancient prophecies. Medea is forced to attend because she is identified as a dragon rider, although the dragons' whereabouts are unknown. There are morally ambiguous characters everywhere and the world is filled with intrigue and deception. Initially, the plot unfolds gradually, introducing a world where Medea is uncertain about whom to trust or what her role is. As the story progresses, it gains momentum and will have you reading late into the night and needing to immediately pick up book two!

I'm going to be honest, this book wasn't for me at all and the only reason I pushed through was because this is a long overdue Netgalley read and I wanted to review it honestly. I have read the first book in Briar Boleyn's Blood of a Fae series and I had mostly enjoyed that book, but ultimately found the writing too choppy, the pacing awkward, the side characters lacked depth, and the romance felt rushed and unconvincing. Which is exactly how I felt about this book too, but even worse this time around. I was hoping this book would be an improvement considering the other one appeared to be a debut but it wasn't, and I see that these books, five or six of them at least, have all been published within the last two and half years and that feels very fast to me. I think perhaps that has played into why this book feels messy, underdeveloped and underedited. I didn't know before going into it that it was a spin off from the Blood of a Fae series either which confused me, I was worried it might give some spoilers away but now that I have read this one I have decided I won't be reading any more of Boleyn's books.

Mostly this book just felt very juvenile and far too busy. It was like Boleyn tried to cram all of her favourite romantasy tropes into one story and in some ways that could've worked but it just did not for me in this book. We were dropped into the story with very little context at the beginning and the plot progressed very quickly from Medra essentially being held captive because she'd been found not dead on a pile of dead bodies to her being betrothed to her captor and admitted to the vampire academy in the nearby city as a student, which didn't really seem like a realistic turn of events to me. It felt a bit like those Wattpad stories where a girl gets sold to or kidnapped by One Direction. There were some inklings of an interesting plot at the beginning though, with Medra trying to understand how her death in her own world of Aercanum had led to her new life in Sangratha, and with her trying to figure out how this was happening and possibly how to get away, but this quickly dissolved into an unbelievable plot with her somehow falling for her betrothed despite him being an asshole to her at all times and there being absolutely no chemistry between them except for some very shallow attraction and lust, her deciding to fall in line for the most part and just go along with their plans for her, and her playing high school petty rivalry with her co-consort. It just... really wasn't my cup of tea.

The premise sounded like it would be something I would enjoy and I saw a few people on Tiktok raving about it, so clearly this hits the marks for certain types of readers but not for my sadly. Check your trigger warnings if you're still thinking of giving this one a go because there is a quite a lot of alpha-male speak, bullying and dubious consent to it as well as the obvious Dark Fantasy usuals such as murder, violence and deadly competition, as well as a few romance scenes that made me feel a bit uncomfortable - not because of their content but because I couldn't understand why they were getting it on when there was barely any spark between them. The writing also wasn't up to standard for me, it really felt like it hadn't been edited very well, a few turns of phrases used slightly wrong, some mispellings and extremely overused words just made it feel clunky overall unfortunately. I sadly can't recommend this book, but thank you to Netgalley and Starwater Press for giving me the opportunity to read this.

4 Stars!
On Wings of Blood by Briar Boleyn is a paranormal romance set in an academy teeming with vampires, enemies, and political games. The FMC, Medra, finds herself suddenly dropped into this unfamiliar, dangerous world—bullied, tested, and tormented by strangers who quickly become enemies. She's forced into a betrothal with Blake Drakharrow, the vampire who found her, and must navigate a society where manipulation and strategy are second nature. Medra quickly learns that she's a pawn in a game she doesn't understand the rules of, and is being used for her ability to ride dragons, even though they've been thought to be extinct.

Thoughts:
Getting through the beginning of the story took me a lot longer than usual. I found it to have a slow start, and it took a while to fully capture my interest. We have an FMC who is in a new world, one where she knows nothing or no one and has to learn their ways and history while being thrust into a betrothal she didn't consent to. While Medra seemed young and naive, she was incredibly smart and talented in fighting, yet everyone underestimated her and thought her to be beneath them. Blake’s character arc was intriguing at first; the author did a great job slowly building him up. But by the end of the book, it felt like all that character development was undone. His final actions felt completely out of sync with the person we had come to know, which made the ending feel jarring and disappointing.

That said, I still enjoyed On Wings of Blood. The friendships, the slow-burn tension, and the academy setting were highlights. I’m hopeful that book two will provide more answers and a stronger sense of direction for where the story is heading.

Unfortunately this book wasn't for me - it didn't say any of the trigger warnings when I first requested it, I wish it had. But I do think others would enjoy this book!

I had a hard time at the beginning of the book really getting into the story. I would say it took me to about the 25% mark until I was really into it. Medra I really loved from the beginning but Blake, not as much. I did enjoy the dual perspective and that doesn’t happen very often in the fantasy/romantasty genre.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read and I’m excited to jump right into the 2nd book. On Wings of Blood is perfect for fans of ACOTAR or From Blood and Ash.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a review copy of this book.

I loved the fact this story was a mix of Harry Potter and Fourth Wing, two of my favourite series of all-time. And throw in some vampires too. I think the world building needed a bit more depth and the pacing could be improved for the next book. Some of the characters were amazing and some were meh, but overall, I enjoyed and would definitely continue the series!

⭐ Rating: 3.5/5

On Wings of Blood delivers an intense and often brutal academy fantasy that leans hard into the tropes of secret legacies, bullying hierarchies, and an underdog protagonist navigating a hostile world. The atmosphere is dark and immersive, with a strong sense of place at Bloodwing Academy, where danger lurks both in combat training and behind every smirking rival.

The main character felt authentic, even if her growth was more subtle across this first installment. She held onto her sense of self and began to forge real connections, even while being repeatedly underestimated and manipulated by others. Some of her naivety, especially in reading relationships, was frustrating, but it added to the realism of her journey.

The magical and dragon-linked elements are introduced with restraint in this book, woven in through lore and mystery rather than spectacle. There’s promise in the idea of dragons being extinct (or not), and the story hints that bigger revelations may come in later volumes. The training scenes had impact, and the fights were some of the highlights in terms of action and tension.

The themes of bullying and isolation stood out more than anything else, and while there’s a spark of romance, it wasn’t the focus or particularly memorable here for me. The book didn’t quite hit the highs of other works from this author in my opinion, it felt more like a foundation than a climax, but I still plan to continue the series. Knowing what Briar Boleyn can deliver gives me hope for where this story could go next.

I’d recommend it to fans of academy fantasy who enjoy layered social dynamics, intense rivalries, and a heroine fighting to belong in a world built to break her.

I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Review: On Wings of Blood by Briar Boleyn

Thank you to the author and publisher for providing an ARC—this review is my honest, unhinged opinion.

FANTASY ROMANCE SLUMP? Shattered.

I went into On Wings of Blood with cautious optimism, fresh off a string of disappointing reads, and holy hell—this book grabbed me by the throat and refused to let go. I devoured it in one sitting, immediately dove into book two, and am now counting down the days until the finale releases in May. (Someone check on me when it drops—I’ll be foaming at the mouth.)

Is this high literary art? No. But is it a deliciously addictive dark fantasy romance with everything I crave? ABSOLUTELY.

Why You’ll Obsess Over This:
Medra, Our FMC: Wakes up in a vampire-ruled world, gets kidnapped by a vampire prince, and is told she’s the last dragon rider alive. Casual Tuesday. She’s fierce, snarky, and hiding layers of secrets—I’m desperate for her backstory.

Blake, Our MMC: A morally grey vampire prince with a filthy mouth and a tortured soul. The way he hates Medra (until he doesn’t) had me SWOONING.

The Slow Burn: The enemies-to-lovers tension is perfection. Limited scenes together early on? Yes. Every interaction dripping with venom and unresolved lust? YES.

The World: Vampires, dragon riders, fae politics, and an academy setting? Inject it into my veins.

Found Family: The side characters are chef’s kiss—I’d die for them.

Vibes Checklist (✔️ = Hell Yes):
✔️ Academy setting with deadly secrets
✔️ TRUE enemies-to-lovers (none of this "they bicker but secretly like each other" nonsense)
✔️ Morally grey MMC who actually has edges
✔️ Forced proximity + betrothal trope
✔️ Banter so sharp it could draw blood
✔️ HE FALLS FIRST AND IT’S GLORIOUS

If you love dark fantasy romance with substance—where the plot and the romance equally wreck you—this is your next obsession. Briar Boleyn has crafted something addictive, and I’m already mourning the wait for book three.

Rating: 5/5 ⭐
Read if you loved: A Court This Cruel & Lovely, The Serpent & the Wings of Night, or Fourth Wing but with more bite.

PS: Blake Ferndrake has ruined me for all other vampire MMCs. Thanks for that.