A review by aduarte
On Wings of Blood by Briar Boleyn

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

I’m honestly torn. There’s a solid story in here, but it feels like it’s just shy of being great. The pacing is all over the place—it’s like someone couldn’t decide if they wanted a marathon or a sprint, so we got a weird hybrid where it’s both too long and too fast. It lingers in the wrong moments and then zooms past the parts where you really want the characters to slow down and have a full-blown emotional meltdown.

And then there’s Blake… Look, I can overlook the whole “blonde love interest” trope, but his utter lack of common sense? That’s where I draw the line. I couldn’t connect with him at all—his decisions were all over the place. No wonder Medra was getting emotional whiplash! Honestly, I felt the same way every time I switched POVs. Just when I thought I was starting to understand his reasoning, he’d flip the script and do or say something so ridiculously stupid. What was he expecting? That Medra could somehow read his mind?

This book really feels like it could benefit from a more thorough edit. The world-building and the overall premise are strong, but by the end, I was just praying to the Bloodmaiden that Medra wouldn’t end up with that ridiculous man.

*Netgalley final copy received for honest review