On Wings of Blood (Standard Edition): A Novel (Bloodwing Academy, 1)

I went into On Wings of Blood expecting Bloodwing Academy to be my new obsession. There are vampires, a half-fae heroine with rare dragon rider blood, a deadly academy, and a possessive prince who thinks he can claim Medra with an ancient ritual. That pitch was catnip for me because I love dark academia fantasy romance with a sexy touch-her-and-die vampire. Medra Pendragon gets taken from the Fae realm and dropped into a vampire-run world where blightborn are treated like property and highbloods set the rules. She’s forced into Bloodwing Academy to learn what the vampires consider proper training. She is also trying to survive the politics and bullying, while learning everyone wants something from her. For me, most interesting plotlines were the mystery of Medra’s bloodline, the way her mother’s soul is tied to her, and the promise of dragons returning. Now for the tea. This book had flashes of exactly what I wanted, but it did not deliver consistently. The Academy setting with classmates who bullied Medra felt immature. I struggled with how immature a lot of the interpersonal conflict felt. Especially the mean girl jealousy and the endless will-they-won’t-they tension. The Games and competition sequences came across as cheesy to me. I found myself wishing the story would move back to the dragon lore, the budding romance, and the dragon rider bloodline mystery. Blake and Medra's relationship is complicated. The chemistry can be hot. There are scenes where the possessive devotion was exactly what I wanted from the Vampire Prince. The power imbalance was where the romance lost me. Blake frequently crosses into coercion and Medra's autonomy is taken from her without informed consent. That is a dealbreaker for me when the story does not meaningfully reckon with it. The ending had a few moments I genuinely liked. The dragon appearance was the highlight for me because it finally felt like the world opened up beyond schoolyard drama. I appreciated Medra pushing back on Blake's entitled behavior when she realizes how much has been withheld from her. Unfortunately, these cliffhangers did not hook me enough to continue the series. I listened to the audiobook. The narration style didn’t work for me. The chapters are split by narrator, but they are not switching voices for dialogue. Hannah Hedley was strong overall, but I cringed when she faked the male voice. Hannah Hedley made Medra sound panicked often, which sometimes made sense and at other times came across as Medra's character being too one dimensional. I enjoyed Hannah Hedley's narration because her voice is very soothing. Justin Hill did not match the sexy tone I wanted for Blake, which tamed the romance and confidence of the character. On Wings of Blood is a run of the mill vampire academy romantasy with spicy moments and intriguing dragon mythology. Unfortunatley, I felt the pacing sagged, the character drama felt drawn out, and the romance leaned too hard into coercion for my taste. You may like this better than I did if you’re here for bully vibes, dark bonds, and possessive vampire energy. I wanted more dragons, more maturity, and more agency on the page.