Review--On Wings of Blood by Briar Boleyn

 

What do you get if you mix Harry Potter with Fourth Wing, Zodiac Academy, a dash of Arthurian legend, and lots and lots of vampires? Bloodwing Academy.

I didn't sign up for this.

A half-fae in a school of highblood vampires? That's a recipe for torment.

I'm Medra Pendragon—last of the dragon riders, or so they tell me. Funny thing is, there are no dragons left. Not a single one. But somehow, that hasn't stopped the vampires from deciding I'm worth capturing. Now I'm stuck at Bloodwing Academy, where the highbloods run everything and blightborn like me? We're just blood in their veins, pawns in their games.

But that's not even the worst part. Enter Blake Drakharrow. Cold, arrogant, and way too gorgeous for his own good. He's been tormenting me since the moment we met, and now, thanks to some ancient ritual, we're betrothed. He acts like he owns me, but I'm not going down without a fight.

Bloodwing isn't just a school—it's a battlefield. Highbloods fight for power, and if you're weak? You're dead.

Between deadly competitions, lies that could get me executed, and a dragon-shaped secret looming over my head, all I have to do is survive. Easy, right? Except I'm starting to think the real danger isn't the academy—it's what I'm becoming in this twisted game of power.

And Blake? He might just be the one who pushes me over the edge.

They think they can control me. They think they can use me.

But they have no idea what they've awakened.


Bestselling epic fantasy author Briar Boleyn returns with a new series perfect for fans of hate to love romance, heart-pounding action, and dark magic. 

Briar Boleyn brings a unique fantasy read with On Wings of Blood, blending two favorite character types, together; vampires and dragons! Although, in this world, dragons are practically extinct, but there is something very telling on the horizons with this series if the covers are anything to go by!

Medra Pendragon awakens to find herself naked and laying among dead bodies. How she got here, and wherever here is, she doesn't know. She does maintain her memories of what she was doing in her own world before she suddenly winds up in another one entirely. It's then she's found by Blake Drakharrow, a vampire prince and brought back to his uncle, Viktor, who reigns over the Drakharrow clan. It's been determined that Medra is in fact a dragon rider, only, everyone knows dragons have been gone for a very long time. 

Before Medra knows it, she's being betrothed to Blake for finding her and bringing her to "the family." While there are no dragons currently, Viktor clearly believes they will be back and having the only dragon rider in their family will be very beneficial to them. Then it's decided that Medra will attend Bloodwing Academy in order to learn everything there is to know about being a dragon rider and how their world works, basically.

This mammoth of a book was decidedly long and while reading the physical edition I discovered a super tiny text with super tiny line spacing, so cashing in at 506 pages is putting it mildly, as I suspect it would be a great deal longer in a more traditional format. Which makes me wonder, since this book series has been picked up by a major publisher, what changes might be made or cuts taken if any. I had decided I wanted to give the series a chance in its original viewpoint before that happens. And while it is decidedly long, and some parts occasionally drag out a bit too much, I still found I could not put the book down.

Medra is trying to adjust to a whole new world, literally, and is only finding enemies at every turn. Blake apparently has one betrothed already but since he's a vampire prince, having more than one spouse is par for the course. Although, Regan, his betrothed since childhood, is definitely not pleased with the sharing aspect of it all.

Blake is no better as he continues to be cold and elusive when it comes to Medra. We do eventually get his point of view in the book which leads us to see a whole other side to him that just makes him more confounding. He's a cunning sort, comes off as cold and vicious, but there's reasons for that and we see those unfold ever so slowly through his chapters until his true character is revealed.

The other characters we encounter are also pretty intense! I could never really get a feel on some of them to see if they were being genuine or not. You knew a select few who were being truthful or deceptive, but others have yet to be truly seen. I'm curious to see what these side characters will do in the future! All were very well-developed though, you pretty much knew among the few who you were going to hate and wish to see get their comeuppance and who she just wanted to give a big hug to!

As far as romance goes it is decidedly, a very, very slow burn. Medra and Blake are forced to be together, but Blake spends as much time as he can far from Medra's presence. But eventually, towards the latter half of the novel, he begins to want to spend time with her and little tiny moments start popping up between them. Of course, he's still holding back plenty of secrets that will bound to come back later.

Even with the somewhat slower pacing and drawn out moments, I found this to be a pretty enjoyable novel! The school setting does give off some Harry Potter vibes and I suppose Fourth Wing as well. The separation of students into houses does give you that HP feel again. The cutthroat antics of students resonates with Fourth Wing as well! I never read any of the Zodiac Academy books so I can't make a comparison on that front. Things naturally shook up in the end to give you a sense of anticipation for the next novel. Not quite a killer cliffhanger, but just one that leaves you excited for more!

All in all, I'd say as long as you enjoy reading longer, slightly slower paced books with a big payoff in the end then you will find On Wings of Blood to be quite enjoyable! It was a fun and intriguing read and I will be curious to see what happens next with this cast of characters in a world that is very much changing!

Overall Rating 3.5/5 stars