On Wings of Blood (Bloodwing Academy Book 1 )

Enemies-to-lovers is already a favourite trope of mine, but what happens when the characters seem determined to keep reversing the direction of that relationship? Apparently, you get Medra and Blake from On Wings of Blood. It’s book 1 in the Bloodwing Academy series by Briar Boleyn (I love this author’s name)

Blurb

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.

Genre

Fantasy Romance / Romantasy in an Academia Setting, aka Bloodwing Academy

Characters

Medra Pendragon (she is somewhat a levelheaded FMC; I don’t hold anything against her)
Blake Drakharrow (as the name suggests, he is kind of an asshole)
Viktor Drakharrow(Blake’s uncle and the main antagonist, meaning the bigger asshole)
Kage Tanaka (I like him very much, level-headed, clever, and not an asshole)
Naveen(she is cute)
Regan (betrothed to Blake and the 2nd main bully)

Tropes

Enemies to Enemies
Slow-Burn
Reluctant Allies
Forced Proximity
Vampires, Dragons and Half-Fae
Dead Mother in the Head
Secret Powers
Kind of a Bully Romance
Dark academia (loosely)

My Review

You know those books you start, put aside because life gets in the way, and then return to with absolutely no intention of being productive? This was one of those books. I thought I knew exactly what I was getting into with On Wings of Blood: vampires, dragons, a magical school, and a little (it’s a massive) enemies-to-lovers situation. What I wasn’t prepared for was how quickly I’d go from putting it down to refusing to put it down.

On Wings of Blood had been sitting unfinished on my netgalley reading list for a while. Work got in the way, and somehow I never managed to get back to it. That changed this weekend when I finally picked it up again. And I had a wonderful time. Medra is Half Fae, and she woke up in another world, and that’s how the story starts. The world she woke up in is kind of a cutthroat world; she is sent to school, and there everything has gone downhill or uphill… it depends on your pov. Vicor is a leader of this world, and his say is final. He is also trying to secure more and more power, so there are elements of political intrigue too. I have read Briar’s older work….the Blood of the Fae series, and Medra came from that world, so it is an interesting twist too.

Also, why do I feel like it’s loosely based on the Malfoy and Hermione concept?…… I might be reaching, but I just had this epiphany… anyway, this book brings together so many elements I enjoy in fantasy: a magical academy(the best one), vampires, dragons, a bully-romance dynamic, and romantic tension that seems to have a complicated relationship with the idea of staying romantic. It’s the sort of combination that made me turn the pages. As a whole, this was a thoroughly enjoyable read for me. Briar Boleyn has me interested in where this series goes next, and I’m already looking forward to picking up book two. Highly recommended!