4 stars

One of a kind, I really enjoyed reading this book and look forward to more from this author

On Wings of Blood was such an exciting book. I liked the world building, dual POVs, and the protagonist, Medra and the love interest Blake who was also a bully. Despite not having read many bully-romances, this one was exceptional and I enjoyed every bit of it. The dragons and the inclusion of half-fae in a world of vampires was unique. Can't wait to read more books by the author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

Medra Pendragon wakes up in a pile of corpses, in a world she’s never heard of. Surrounded by highblood vampires, one of which she is newly betrothed to, she’s sent to Bloodwing Academy, an exclusive school where she will train to be the last of the dragon riders. Which might not be half bad if there were any dragons left to ride. The school is brutal, the highbloods are worse, and her betrothed Blake, and their co-betrothed Regan might be the worst of all.

I loved Medra’s determination to constantly adapt and make the best of a situation and a betrothal she never asked for. I loved Blake’s dark broodiness with a soft side. I loved the school setting and the found family and the ending!! I did find it dragged a bit in the middle but it still maintained enough pacing to push through easily. I can’t wait to read the rest of this series!!

🔥Enemies/ bully to lovers
🔥 Badass FMC
🔥forced betrothal
🔥 vampires
🔥 academia
🔥 found family

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thank you for the ARC! Sadly unable to read as this was downloaded onto an old device I no longer have access to and the book has since been archived.

3.5 ⭐️

This book is fun if you’re looking for Harry Potter/ZA but with vampires & dragons(ish).
I swithered so much throughout this book with my thoughts.. some of it I thoroughly enjoyed (the last 25%) mainly.. But I struggled in some parts due to the writing style, and also how parts of the plot didn’t add up.
I didn’t really see the point in the consort games, since surely such a small population of the school would be involved? Why was it such a big deal at the school?

And sometimes the relationship between Medra & Blake would go from timid and uncertain to very confident and certain the next minute.

That being said - I did have fun! And the ending was really good, I’m so tempted to read the next one..

Thank you to Starwater Press and Briar Boleyn for an eARC of On Wings of Blood!

This book gave me Harry Potter / Fourth Wing vibes. Our FMC, Medra, is the PERFECT blend of sass, stubbornness, and “I will burn the world down if you hurt me” energy. Every time she opened her mouth, I cheered like a gremlin! The plot? A rollercoaster of betrayal, secrets, and the kind of slow-burn tension that had me physically restraining myself from throwing my kindle across the room. This book is gothic, gritty, and gloriously addictive. The vibes are immaculate. The worldbuilding is rich, dark, and seductive. I am a sucker for dragon books! I immediately began reading book 2, The Bonds that Burns and preordered book 3!

Briar Boleyn has done it again! I have been a fan since Boleyn’s first book released and I am not disappointed!
This book is perfect for fans of Fourth Wing and The Crowns of Nyaxia series!
I thoroughly enjoyed this and I cannot wait to read the next one, thank you so much for the copy!

I love the worldbuilding in this story, immersing me completely. Vampires, dragons, fae, all the things I love in one beautifully crafted story. I also love a dual POV so you can see both sides of events. And that cliffhanger?? I needed Book 2 as soon as Id finished!

This is a dark academia fantasy romance with some bully romance, with forth wing and dramionie fanfic vibes. The story is easy to get into - the FMC wakes up after some unknown event has transported her to a different world from her own (Fey) world, and she's found and taken to the castle by the ruling family of vampires in this country. There it's discovered that she may have some long lost powers and she's betrothed to the (crown?) Prince and is to attend the deadly academy he's attending. Then, the story pretty much takes of from there, with herself and other humans of the world living in fear in this academy where the vampires kind of rules and are bullying and ab*sing the humans for their enjoyment, quite like the Fey would do in the cruel prince series.

This is for those who want their romance fantasy to be a little more slow paced and take a bit more time, the romance is very slow and you really get a lot of day to day at the academy content, a bit like you get at Hogwarts in the HP books, without forced action happening constantly that feels unrealistically sudden. There was also, like at Hogwarts, so many side characters that also gave this cozy vibe and again more dynamic to the academic setting.

While the FMC is a bit your typical female fantasy tough character, I like that she also is kind and POLITE which is a small detail but something that always bothers me with other fantasy romances lately that has the sassy FMC just being rude and sassy to people when it's really uncalled for making it feel forced. The MMC takes longer to figure out which is also really nice, and he does to be fair give Draco vibes as suggested, being broody and slightly unhinged.

Personally, this isn't maybe exactly my kind of writing, as I'd have liked a bit more depth to the characters and wordbuilding, however, this one definitely reminds me a lot of When the moon hatched, and while that wasn't my favorite I know so many people loved it, and I genuinely believe that if you loved that, you will enjoy this. I am excited to see where this story goes.

I really enjoyed reading this book! I've gone on KU and downloaded the second book right away! The story was so fun and such a good example of enemies to lovers done the right way!

I DNF'd this book at around 40% (I'm sorry!)

I sadly just could not engage or connect with the characters and found it really difficult to keep my attention on the storyline.

I have, however, seen a lot of people love and rave about this book, so it is definitely worth giving it a go if you are intrigued by it!

Just because it wasn't my cup of tea, doesn't mean it won't be yours!

Unfortunately I was not impressed with this book. It felt like a cross between Vampire Academy and Fourth Wing. It seems like it has potential, but I fear there might be too much going on. We have vampires, dragons, and fae from another world (that we have yet to learn anything about, but is called Camelot so possibly an Arthurian legend?). Oh and let’s not forget something called “consort games” which felt random. The enemies to lovers romance was lacking, there is lust but no real connection. The pacing was all over the place and too long. I am chalking it up to it being the first book in a series and needing world building and set up. But I am a little skeptical as to where the story is going.

This book was really great! I loved it.
I’ve read from this author before and this one did not disappoint.
The world building was fantastic and it was so beautifully written that I could imagine what the author was describing. The book is pretty long which I didn’t mind.
I loved the enemies to lovers trope and felt this one came across so well.
I love a fantasy and this one had so many amazing elements, Vampires, Dragons, Magic and lots more.
I definitely recommend picking this one up and reading other books from this author.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Although it was not a literary masterpiece, I found it to be entertaining like a reality tv show. This was very reminiscent of Zodiac Academy which is one of my favorite series. I think the friendship between our main character and florence is my favorite relationship in this. I am looking forward to book 2.

This was SO good, I feel dumb for not finishing it sooner. If you loved Fourth Wing or zodiac academy you’ll devote this!!

I loved this book. I’m a massive fan of dark academia and the characters were so like able. I can’t wait for book 2

Overall: 2.5.

Premise: A half-elven girl from another world ends up in a world where vampires are the superior race. Forced betrothal, intense love interest and dangerous games enfold.

The concept of the book is interesting with the idea of mortal girl being betrothed to an immortal and fighting for her place in that world. The first 25-30% of the boom was well-developed with good worldbuilding and character development however between about 30% - 85% of the book it felt more like unnecessary fillers.
The book promised a mix between fourth wing and Harry Potter however although I have yet to read fourth wing, I believe there is no similarity between the books apart from dragons and an academy setting.
Although an interesting idea the writing was lacking and unfortunately felt like a badly written fan fiction.

My post read thoughts: I really liked the main character - she’s a strong person, likable and has an interesting back story.

Includes my favourite trope: enemies to lovers!

I did find it a little difficult initially to suspend my disbelief that Medra went along with everything immediately and had no issues starting at the academy. With no escape attempts, she just started classes day 2 of being thrown into that world like it’s no big deal. Especially after being captured, chained and betrothed/married to a stranger.

I also couldn’t get a read of what age everyone was meant to be that took me out of the story a few times, especially whenever it was mentioned that someone looked to be the same age as Medra - but I don’t think her age was established(?) There was also a throw away line (maybe, or might might come up in a future book) about her aging differently in her world?

But overall still found it an enjoyable read and a fun escape from reality for a while. And I’m looking forward to book two!

Love this right up there with zodiac academy. So good I cant wait to read more. Truely one of my top 10 this year so far

Even Zodiac Academy was better than this so that says a lot. The world made no sense whatsoever, the author should have focused on one thing and stuck with it instead of *gestures at the book* whatever that was. The characters were so annoying and flat, the romance--was that romantic? I don't know, I'm still searching for the romance. Just read Zodiac Academy and don't bother with this.