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adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
All I can say is AMAZING! If you love fantasy, dark academia, dragons, magic, enemy to lovers, vampires, twists, betrayal, and secrets - this is the book for you!
I am a huge Briar Boleyn fan, and I have been since I read her Blood of a Fae series. I knew I had to read this spin off, and book 1 did not disappoint! It flowed perfect from the last book, "Knight of the Goddess." I love how Medra Pendragon continued her story as Fae in a land of vampires. Medra is such a badass and I love how she doesn't let anyone tell her what to think.
The world building was great! I really felt like there was a lot of detail, but it was easy to follow and I could really picture everything. I like how this book still carried over concepts from the Blood of a Fae series, but had its own direction. You do not need to read any prior books, but Medra's previous life is referenced. Reading the Blood of a Fae series will give you a better insight into who Medra really is and where she came from. I liked the dual POV because we got to see things from Blake Drakharrow's point of view. I definitely have a love-hate relationship with Blake. Just when you think you love him, he does something to twist your feelings. I loved him from the beginning, but so many things made me want to scream, "Why would you do that?!?!"
The enemies to lovers theme is strong and well written. I think I like that Medra doesn't just fall head over heels for Blake, even though everyone else worships him. The slow burn is a SLOW BURN and SOO GOOD! I hope book two keeps up the snarky banter and Blake gets it together, because I NEED more between him and Medra (yes it's a need at this point).
This book moves at a good pace and new situations happened often, usually because Medra could see the discrepancies in the blind following of the highbloods. I love how she empowers those around her and helps them see how poorly the blightborn are treated.
I could not put this book down and am going to start book 2 right away. I must know what happened after that ending....and what was that? I found myself gasping in shock. So much happens at the end, but I don't want to give away any details....you'll just have to read it for yourself.
Overall, highly recommend! I hope you like it as much as I have!
Thank you Briar Boleyn and Starwater Press for allowing me to read and review this book via NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and all opinions are my own.
I am a huge Briar Boleyn fan, and I have been since I read her Blood of a Fae series. I knew I had to read this spin off, and book 1 did not disappoint! It flowed perfect from the last book, "Knight of the Goddess." I love how Medra Pendragon continued her story as Fae in a land of vampires. Medra is such a badass and I love how she doesn't let anyone tell her what to think.
The world building was great! I really felt like there was a lot of detail, but it was easy to follow and I could really picture everything. I like how this book still carried over concepts from the Blood of a Fae series, but had its own direction. You do not need to read any prior books, but Medra's previous life is referenced. Reading the Blood of a Fae series will give you a better insight into who Medra really is and where she came from. I liked the dual POV because we got to see things from Blake Drakharrow's point of view. I definitely have a love-hate relationship with Blake. Just when you think you love him, he does something to twist your feelings. I loved him from the beginning, but so many things made me want to scream, "Why would you do that?!?!"
The enemies to lovers theme is strong and well written. I think I like that Medra doesn't just fall head over heels for Blake, even though everyone else worships him. The slow burn is a SLOW BURN and SOO GOOD! I hope book two keeps up the snarky banter and Blake gets it together, because I NEED more between him and Medra (yes it's a need at this point).
This book moves at a good pace and new situations happened often, usually because Medra could see the discrepancies in the blind following of the highbloods. I love how she empowers those around her and helps them see how poorly the blightborn are treated.
I could not put this book down and am going to start book 2 right away. I must know what happened after that ending....and what was that? I found myself gasping in shock. So much happens at the end, but I don't want to give away any details....you'll just have to read it for yourself.
Overall, highly recommend! I hope you like it as much as I have!
Thank you Briar Boleyn and Starwater Press for allowing me to read and review this book via NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and all opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting
Moderate: Hate crime, Sexual content
Minor: Child abuse, Homophobia, Death of parent
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Classism
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Death
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Special thanks to NetGalley and Starwater Press for giving me an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!
This book follows Medra Pendragon, who has fallen into the world of Sangratha with no idea how she got there. She is apprehended by vampires who discover that she has dragon rider's blood, even though there are no more dragons, and she is made the consort of Blake Drakharrow, our prodigal bad boy. As part of this bond, she is forced to attend Bloodwing Academy, where she has to learn to protect herself around vampires, deal with the bullying of catty girls, figure out who she is, and, of course, fight off her attraction to the vampire she is stuck with.
This book shamelessly copies Harry Potter (the fact that the mortals are called blightbloods sent me), and honestly, I loved it. It felt instantly familiar to me, while also having new and exciting twists and features. The spice is truly incredible (there is one scene in particular that is the stuff of fantasies, you can thank me later), and Medra is fun to root for. This book moved very fast, the minor characters were interesting, the school felt very well thought-out in terms of classes and content, and the power dynamics were constantly changing. I don't do well with romances with the bullying trope, and I was a little nervous about this book given it's been marketed as like The Zodiac Academy series--which I was put off of reading by reviews describing the main relationship dynamics as emotionally abusive and incredibly toxic. But thankfully, Blake and Medra's relationship doesn't really have bullying; Medra is bullied by other people, and Blake is cold to her at first and sometimes rude, but he shows shades of being a good person early on, and Medra gives as good as she gets. The gradual warming between them feels natural and earned, and I was satisfied by the way things left off at the end of the book.
Some of the worldbuilding is confusing and feels a bit unnecessary; a world with vampires and dragons already feels a little contradictory, and adding in the Camelot and Fae stuff really had my head spinning (thankfully that wasn't a huge part of the book). But luckily, most of the plot is contained at Bloodwing Academy, and the world makes a lot of sense, especially given the endless similarities to Harry Potter (again, not complaining).
All in all, I loved this and will be eagerly awaiting the next installment!
This book follows Medra Pendragon, who has fallen into the world of Sangratha with no idea how she got there. She is apprehended by vampires who discover that she has dragon rider's blood, even though there are no more dragons, and she is made the consort of Blake Drakharrow, our prodigal bad boy. As part of this bond, she is forced to attend Bloodwing Academy, where she has to learn to protect herself around vampires, deal with the bullying of catty girls, figure out who she is, and, of course, fight off her attraction to the vampire she is stuck with.
This book shamelessly copies Harry Potter (the fact that the mortals are called blightbloods sent me), and honestly, I loved it. It felt instantly familiar to me, while also having new and exciting twists and features. The spice is truly incredible (there is one scene in particular that is the stuff of fantasies, you can thank me later), and Medra is fun to root for. This book moved very fast, the minor characters were interesting, the school felt very well thought-out in terms of classes and content, and the power dynamics were constantly changing. I don't do well with romances with the bullying trope, and I was a little nervous about this book given it's been marketed as like The Zodiac Academy series--which I was put off of reading by reviews describing the main relationship dynamics as emotionally abusive and incredibly toxic. But thankfully, Blake and Medra's relationship doesn't really have bullying; Medra is bullied by other people, and Blake is cold to her at first and sometimes rude, but he shows shades of being a good person early on, and Medra gives as good as she gets. The gradual warming between them feels natural and earned, and I was satisfied by the way things left off at the end of the book.
Some of the worldbuilding is confusing and feels a bit unnecessary; a world with vampires and dragons already feels a little contradictory, and adding in the Camelot and Fae stuff really had my head spinning (thankfully that wasn't a huge part of the book). But luckily, most of the plot is contained at Bloodwing Academy, and the world makes a lot of sense, especially given the endless similarities to Harry Potter (again, not complaining).
All in all, I loved this and will be eagerly awaiting the next installment!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism