A review by malecluvbot
On Wings of Blood by Briar Boleyn

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Thank you NetGalley for the free sample of the book! On Wings of Blood has been a rollercoaster ride of frolicking emotions, ans there are reasons for that.

The leaves were turning color when he found me

When it starts with lines like these, you know you're in for one hell of a ride. Medra Pendragon's journey from being a free captive betrothed without her consent to someone who finds her footing in a strange place where all of her worst nightmares have come alive was exhilirating, to be frank.
The book started with Blake finding Medra in a heap of dead bodies and after bringing her before their council of sorts, ends up getting betrothed to her. They hate each other. Medra wants to be free, but Blake can't let that happen. His world sees highbloods like him as the ultimate power, his own uncle being the unspoken leader of such.
Medra has rider blood in her, which the people recognize in an instant. Despite her being blightborn, which essentially means non-vampire, the riders had a respected place in their society, which is why Blake's uncle deemed her too important to be wasted away, engaging her to Blake. Following which she was admitted to the Bloodwing Academy, the academy attended by every highblood and chosen blightborn.

Fate is a cruel thing.

But as is evident from the first few chapters, written in Medra's perspective, everyone in the whole Academy, if not this society, hates her. They want her gone. People are trying to kill her. The Academy is loyal to their highbloods, who can get away with anything, and these highbloods are the ones who see Medra as a threat, some as a curse.
And yet she perseveres, and from the small, informative tidbits of Blake's povs, we see how much he wants the betrothal to Medra to be real.
But the issue lies with the system itself. It's unforgivingly racist, sexist and plain authoritatian. Highbloods can control blightborn minds, they can feed from them if they wanted to. Blightborns are treated like scum, while these people worship their highbloods like gods. The system benefits only the highbloods, and Medra sees what these disillusioned blightborns wont admit. The highbloods are the problem.
The best part of the book might be the possibility of dragons and vampires strewn into the same world, the two factions growling for complete power. Though the dragons don't make an entrance until the last scene, setting the sequel for an amazing start, the power and glory of the dragons are talked about enough.
The different noble houses of these highbloods, the races of dragons, the enriching history, all of completes the plot into a dark pit of magic and infamy. The diversity in the book is outstanding, though I would have preferred at least one of the main romantic leads to be not white.
Everything considered, On Wings of Blood delivers a promising read, packed with intrigue, betrayals, violence and swoonworthy romance.