Briar BoleynOn Wings of Blood (Bloodwing Academy)

“Why should I fight so hard to keep the monster inside when you’re so determined to bring him out”If I was baking something and mixed up Fourth Wing, Harry Potter, ACOTAR, and Zodiac Academy together then the end result is On Wings of Blood! 🥹❤️ In other words I’m obsessed and I love this book with every ounce of my being! 🫶 I couldn’t put the book down and that cliffhanger had me screaming in shock because I didn’t see it coming! 😱 This book made me smile, laugh, cry, scream, get mad, and had me so invested in the story that I legitimately woke up one morning in bed with my kindle still in my hand! 🙊🙀Medra wakes up on top of a pile of dead bodies in a completely different world and that hooked me in instantaneously because I had so many questions and I just had to know what was going to happen next! ☠️🖤 In other words, I was hooked with this story immediately! 😍 I think that Medra is such an incredible FMC and I love that she is raw, authentic, and always stands up for herself no matter what! 🫶 She speaks her mind and is so blunt and I love that 🥳🎉 Her friendships with Florence and Naveen are truly so beautiful and it’s wonderful how they all support one another! 🥰Briar Boleyn seriously needs to offer a masterclass on slow burn and hate to passion because they made me have goosebumps running up and down my arms! 🤭🔥 The chemistry between Medra and Blake is simply *chef’s kiss* 👩‍🍳💋 I loved it so much along with the banter and all of the tension! 🤭Briar Boleyn is now officially added to my list of favorite authors and I will be diving into book two immediately because I need to know what happens next! 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️ Grothe’s writing style gave me goosebumps so many times as I was reading and it truly was so poetic and beautiful. This beautiful story is going to forever hold dearly in my heart! 🐦‍⬛🖤✨To everyone reading my review, my words don’t even begin to capture how amazing this book is so be sure to pick it up and read when it comes out in because it’s an absolute must-read! 🫶

Okay, a few biases on my part to get out of the way. 1. I don't like vampire or school stuff. 2. I tend to shy away from romance books.That said, this book was much better than I thought it would be. It isn't really anything special in concept, largely combining "hunger Games" "Harry Potter" "twilight" and a couple other things that get copied endlessly and it doesn't do it in a very creative or original way. No plot beats surprised me or were things I didn't see coming long in advance.also, the plot had a tendency to crawl and even with the concept of a school setting, information was often dumped in very artificial-sounding ways that seemd like we just had to be fed world lore rather than it coming up naturally. It wasn't completely contrived but it could have been handled more gracefully.You may wonder why I'm giving this 4 stars since I have these gripes. Even with a hackneyed plot that I saw from miles away, the execution of said plot was pretty good. The autor also knows how to write interactions between people and make everyone feel unique. The fights were described well and the actions scenes but some of the best-crafted work was done in simply small talk conversations. This is a hack work, but it is a good hack work that is enjoyable to read. and I found myself sucked in by the characters and the world though I had seen it a million times before.The author is also nice enough to include trigger warnings, but if you read that list, it makes the book seem nastier than it is. There is one weird sex scene that seems shoehorned in but otherwise the romance makes sense.

If you like YA, this book will probably be a hit for you.If you came looking for an adult academy romance with vampires and dragons, then you may end up frustrated too.The story idea is solid, and the world-building is strong—vampires, dragons, academy setting—all great. Unfortunately, it just didn’t live up to the hype for me.I don’t understand the obsession people seem to have with this book. It’s a decent read, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not this amazingly written, mind-blowing, angsty, slow-burn romance to rival the ages as people are touting it to be.It’s... okay.This book is the latest viral “it” recommendation, and the way it’s been talked about, I genuinely expected to be blown away.It’s average.The slow burn is more of a slow warm.Angst? Where?Swoon? Who?Banter? Must’ve missed it.Dark fantasy? Huh?Are the dragons in the room with us??The tropes aren’t troping.The FMC is likable, but her flaws are frustrating. She’s just another heroine who can’t be bothered to tap into the power we’re told she has—should have—but doesn’t.The MMC is mid. He’s a bully with a heart, but he’s being touted as morally gray? Meh.Also—we KNOW his full name. We knew it after his first introduction. We definitely knew it after the second. Then we read it again. And again. Seventy times, to be exact. SEVENTY. TIMES.I think if I were a teen, this might’ve slapped. But I’m not. So it didn’t.Maybe I’m the problem here, but if you’re an adult reader who loves a true angsty slow burn with an eventual hookup as a reward, you might walk away just as underwhelmed as I did.Still, it’s a decent book and worth a read.