January 29, 2026
„On Wings of Blood” by Briar Boleyn
BLURB
Welcome to Bloodwing Academy.
Expect magic. Expect competition. Expect blood.
I didn't sign up for this. A half-fae in a school of highblood vampires? That's a recipe for suffering.
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.
MY OPINION
First time!
This is the first time a book with a Goodreads Awards Choice badge pulled me in completely.
I am in love with “On Wings of Blood”!
Welcome to Bloodwing Academy.
Four houses.
A lot of vampires.
One dragon raider.
Two consorts who hate each other.
A few hidden secrets to reveal.
And of course — Blake Drakharrow.
After the first three books of the “Empyrean Series”, I couldn't find anything that would pull me into a story again. My beginning with “On Wings of Blood” was tough. I was reading slowly until the magic 30 percent mark — and then I started reading this book everywhere.
This is a really good romantasy with slow-burn romance and an enemies-to-lovers relationship with bullying. But “lovers” is still too big a word here. For now.
I didn’t like Blake for almost half of the book. But one event at the academy — the jealousy scene — hit me so hard that I finally started to like him. He is arrogant, cocky, and handsome, but in many chapters he treats Medra like shit. I was smiling during that jealousy scene and telling him: “You deserved this, you bastard.”
But now we are friends. I mean, he doesn’t know that, but I don’t really care. He has my blessing with Medra.
And Medra Pendragon? She is exactly the kind of heroine I love. Not a shy mouse without her own opinion. She knows when (and to whom) she needs to be polite and when she can be a real bitch.
To answer your questions — she is a perfect bitch heroine. She knows how to fight for herself and never kneels before anyone. She is my girl!
“On Wings of Blood” got me completely. As I wrote, we had problems at the beginning, but later I fell in real love with this story. This book is perfect for romantasy readers who want slow-burn and enemies-to-lovers tropes. Add vampires — which have been a bit absent from fantasy in recent years — and forced betrothal, and we get a perfect story to dive into.
I am starting book two immediately. Highly recommended!