On Wings of Blood Paperback – 31 Oct. 2024

This turned into so much more than I thought it would from the first few pages, the world developed slowly and perfectly and the exquisite slow burn romance, friendship, trials, vampire politics and pet sidekicks had me hooked!!You get to learn everything through medra’s eyes as she finds herself in this new world and ends up initiated into the high blood vampire academy alongside her betrothed Blake. The politics and the lore surrounding the vampire world, the dragons and also medra world… I feel like there is so much more to learn and I’m excited!I adored the dynamic between medra and Blake, enemies to lovers for sure, the dislike and the eventual secretive longing and then finally the eruption, man it was so addictive! Blake was mysterious, cold and cunning but underneath he has layers and had a history you’ve barely unravelled I feel.You get bullying and jealousy as she is betrothed as a second consort to our MMC, which adds a level of angst and jealousy which was fun to read and comes to an excited head towards the end of the book!You also get some gorgeous building friendships, I loved Florence and naveen and Neville our fluffy little fox like sidekick!That cliffhanger…. Damn… still so many secrets! Which I know is going to make the next book another gut wrenching, angsty read and I’ll be jumping back in soon

Academia, dragons, vampires? Yes please. It might not be a literary masterpiece, but it had everything I want in a good dark romantasy — it was spicy, unique, and a lot of fun. I struggled a bit in the beginning, the writing style was a little confusing and dropped me into the deep end with a lot of world-building. But once the pieces started falling into place, I was hooked. There’s so much going on in this book, and while that might be overwhelming for some, I honestly think it sets the series up perfectly.This is a dark romantasy done right! We’ve got bully romance, a fierce protector, and some of the best enemies-to-lovers tension I’ve read in a while. Like, actual hate. Sparks flying while they’re still wishing each other dead. The spice scenes? Full of raw, messy emotions — hatred, guilt, longing — and I ate it up.The female MC is strong, determined, and doesn’t back down. And Blake… oh, Blake. He’s dark, brooding, morally gray, and completely unhinged when it comes to protecting her. He falls first, falls hard, and yeah — he kills for her. Iconic.One thing that really stood out was the balance between plot and romance, which is honestly so hard to find these days. The romance never overshadowed the stakes, and vice versa. And the found family vibes? Loved them. Naveen, Florence, and Victor added so much emotional depth and helped shape the main characters in a meaningful way.If you love morally gray characters, slow-burn chaos, and a rich fantasy world that keeps you guessing, this one’s worth the ride. Push through the start — it’s 100% worth it.

I can't stop thinking about this book!That was one of the best reads I have read in a long time!It has everything you want in fantasy romance book! That ending was wow!There are so many parts to this book. It wasn't just one plot in the story I feel like there were many and there was no way to guess about any of them or how any of them would have turned out. 6* read! Highly recommend!!

May the book deities forgive me… Once more I have fallen into the trap of buying and reading a book recommended on social media… and I hate to say it but this one didn’t live up to the hype. 😢Despite having a strong beginning, there were several things that I thought were lacking in this book. The major problem that I had was with the world building. This happens more often than not in the romantasy genre (an unfortunate side effect of working outside mainstream publishing and without a really good editor). As I was reading, I couldn’t help but notice that there were certain details that felt anachronistic to the overall setting (Medieval? Castles, swordplay — Modern? Indoor plumbing and stretchy dress materials). Unfortunately, even though they were small inconsistencies, the effect was jarring and kept me from being fully engrossed because my mind became focused on the discrepancies.My second issue was the presence of plot holes in the overall story starting from the beginning and how Medra landed in this world so far from and different from her own. It also felt a bit contrived that she ended up in a school that is a cross between Hogwarts and Basgiath. There were a few other things but I don’t like spoilers in my reviews and, you never know, maybe there are some things that are explained later in the series.Lastly, on the negative side, this is quite a dark story with lots of triggers (the author kindly places these in the first few pages) most of which I did not mind because (1) I try not to judge even though some of them are not my cup of tea; and (2) this is a book that includes vampires so darkness is to be expected. The one that bothered me the most however was not the morally grey actions of the MMC but some of the dialogue where one female character throws shade at another by using sexual shame and this, IMHO, is not OK. Women get enough of it IRL, is it necessary in our fantasy books as well?All of the negative points aside, I thought that the writing was OK (do not expect Dostoyevsky) and the plot engaging enough to keep me interested enough to care about what happens next. Also, the rituals and political structure of this world are well developed enough to balance out the derivative setting.As for the violence and spice levels, as I said before, this a novel with vampires, so it should come as no surprise that you will find the levels to be 🩸🩸🩸🩸 and 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️, respectively. This is a dark romantasy where the relationship between Medra and Blake is the main plot arc and it is a fun read, especially if you like a kick ass FMC, sexual tension (quite well done) and an overdose of “touch her and die vibes”. There are enough plot twists and political intrigue that prevent the book into collapsing into a story that is merely an excuse for wild spice time.This is a book that, despite its problems and lack of “greatness”, was different enough that I will be continuing the series. It all comes down to your tastes and what you’re in the mood for…3.75 stars 🤓📚#OnWingsOfBlood @BriarBoleynAuthor#booksbooksbooks #bookish #bookaddict #reading #bookstagram #booktok #bookreview #booksof2025 #bookdragon #bookworm #lovebooks #bookrecs #booklovers #booklove #booknerd #bibliophile #passionforbooks #readingcommunity #bookaddict#romantasy #romance #adventure #fiction #action #darkromance #vampires #fae