Review--The Wings That Bind by Briar Boleyn

 

The third installment of the viral Bloodwing Academy series is here! This dark academia romantasy delivers seductive vampires, high-stakes adventure, and dangerous romance.

The deluxe limited edition of The Wings That Bind features stenciled edges, custom endpapers, and a jacket with metallic effects! This breathtaking hardcover edition is available only on the first printing and is a must-have for any book lover while supplies last in the US and Canada.

The night's chaos left us breathless. Now the real nightmare begins.

In the wake of last winter's tragedies, through loss and heartbreak, we somehow made it to a new year. But our fight is far from over.

A second dragon has awoken--her heart tainted, and her power commandeered by two ruthless highbloods who will stop at nothing to uncover the dangerous, bloody secrets at the borders of Sangratha. Their cruelty knows no bounds.

Florence, my dearest friend, teetered on the brink of death. A dragon saved her, but now she's tied to him in a way I can scarcely understand. What will this new bond do to the woman I've come to love as a sister?

And then there's Blake. Once my relentless tormentor, then the keeper of my heart... he betrayed me again, nearly condemning Nyxaris to a cursed, stone-cold fate. But something has shifted in him. His gray eyes hide a secret he's desperate to protect. I saved Blake's life, despite everything. Yet with every heartbeat, I have to question where we go from here.

With Bloodwing Academy in turmoil and a new headmaster no one saw coming, only one thing is certain: This is going to be one hell of a year.

This dark fantasy series tackles mature themes. Readers are advised to consult the trigger warnings before embarking on this intense, morally gray/black journey through the realm of Sangratha!

I've been all over the place with my reading these days! Since I'm planning a road trip to see Briar Boleyn next week so I can have a fully signed set of these books, I thought I better get on reading The Wings That Bind as it's the third book in the series and the one before the grand finale! Luckily diving back into this one wasn't too hard with my notes and hopefully I'll be able to pick up the final book not too long from now, but knowing my luck, it will be awhile still! Lol.

We pick up where we left off which was once again, utter chaos! We open to what I believe was a new point of view, I read the first two books in their original format before moving to the big publishing house, so I don't know all of the changes that might or might not have been made. But anyway, this time we get also get Regan's point of view, Blake's wicked ex who was a capital B with an itch. But naturally, Briar decides to show us this character in a new light. While I can't call her a good person who was misunderstood, we do get a better insight to her person.

Then we also get Florence's point of view and I loved having her perspective! I've always been the quite bookish one, but with fictional books, I am not book smart! Lol. I still always feel a kinship to the bookworm whatever their choice in reading is. Florence is now bonded with a dragon, Nyxaris and it has definitely made life different for her.

That's not the only thing changing either. Big changes have come to Bloodwing Academy and it, naturally, won't be good changes. The classmates soon find themselves divided and pit against one another. Most are not for these changes, but some are embracing the change with relish.

Things continue to develop between Medra and Blake of course. They have definitely been one of those hot and cold relationships, hating one another, liking each other, then Blake messes things up and then there's more strife. They have the most up and down relationship I've ever encountered in a book before and it's mind-boggling! Lol. It's a supernatural version of Ross and Rachel practically but since we're nearing the end, hopefully things will turn out for these sometimes star-crossed lovers. They are definitely cross with one another that's for sure! But there are still plenty of heated moments between them.

Suffice to say, I cannot rank on the spicy scale! I feel like everyone has their own ranks to what's spicy and tame that putting a number on something tells me nothing unless I know how spicy your previous reads are. So I will just say that there are a few romantic interludes in the beginning portion of the novel, but when the chaos ensues, the romance takes a back seat! And Medra and Blake are not the only relationship to keep your eyes on. We get teases of another relationship and one that kind of had me theorizing things that are likely way off course, but when it's fantasy and/or paranormal, anything is fair game! Lol.

The ending to this one was pure chaos and I loved it! Of course chaos means cliffhangers galore since the cast of characters we dealt with all 400+ pages long were separated, so that's a lot of cliffies to deal with. But luckily the book is out and I get my copy next week! If you love a good paranormal fantasy romp with the classic school setting then this is a series you might just enjoy! It's set with college age students, so I guess we can call it new adult. Is that still a genre/level? But needless to say Briar Boleyn is a fantasy author to keep your eyes on if you love a good dragon and/or vampire read!

Overall Rating 5/5 stars