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Bloodwing Academy #3
The Wings That Bind
Not yet published
Expected 10 Mar 26The night's chaos left us breathless. Now the real nightmare begins.
A second dragon has awoken–her heart tainted and her power commandeered by two ruthless highbloods whose cruelty knows no bounds.
My dearest friend teetered on the brink of death. A dragon saved her, but now she's tied to him in a way I can scarcely understand. What will this new bond do to the woman I've come to love as a sister?
And then there’s Blake. Once my relentless tormentor—he betrayed me again, nearly condemning Nyxaris to a cursed, stone-cold fate. Now something has shifted in him. His gray eyes hide a secret he’s desperate to keep.
I saved Blake’s life, despite everything. Yet now my every heartbeat questions where we go from here.
With Bloodwing Academy in turmoil and a new headmaster no one saw coming, only one thing is This is going to be one hell of a term.
At Bloodwing Academy, power comes with blood, and betrayal is as common as ambition. This dark fantasy series tackles mature themes. Readers are advised to consult the trigger warnings before embarking on this intense, morally gray/black journey through the realm of Sangratha!
A second dragon has awoken–her heart tainted and her power commandeered by two ruthless highbloods whose cruelty knows no bounds.
My dearest friend teetered on the brink of death. A dragon saved her, but now she's tied to him in a way I can scarcely understand. What will this new bond do to the woman I've come to love as a sister?
And then there’s Blake. Once my relentless tormentor—he betrayed me again, nearly condemning Nyxaris to a cursed, stone-cold fate. Now something has shifted in him. His gray eyes hide a secret he’s desperate to keep.
I saved Blake’s life, despite everything. Yet now my every heartbeat questions where we go from here.
With Bloodwing Academy in turmoil and a new headmaster no one saw coming, only one thing is This is going to be one hell of a term.
At Bloodwing Academy, power comes with blood, and betrayal is as common as ambition. This dark fantasy series tackles mature themes. Readers are advised to consult the trigger warnings before embarking on this intense, morally gray/black journey through the realm of Sangratha!
Kindle Edition
Expected publication March 10, 2026
52 people are currently reading
37987 people want to read
About the author
Briar Boleyn
19 books4,364 followers*** I am most active on Instagram!
Please Note: Goodreads won't let me follow any more people, but please feel free to add me as a friend! :) ***
Briar Boleyn is the New York Times, Sunday Times, and USA Today bestselling fantasy romance author of the Bloodwing Academy and the Blood of a Fae series. Briar once wrote scholarly papers on Dumbledore, Dragon Age, and King Arthur before finally realizing she could create her own worlds where all three might coexist–with significantly more kissing. After wandering through English literature departments at four universities across Canada, she took a detour to teach in the Arctic, where her students would sometimes run out of class to chase polar bears. When not raising fictional dragons from the dead, Briar enjoys reading all types of sci-fi and fantasy, cultivating an unhealthy Disney World obsession, and playing RPG video games. She has written fourteen historical romance novels as Fenna Edgewood.
Please Note: Goodreads won't let me follow any more people, but please feel free to add me as a friend! :) ***
Briar Boleyn is the New York Times, Sunday Times, and USA Today bestselling fantasy romance author of the Bloodwing Academy and the Blood of a Fae series. Briar once wrote scholarly papers on Dumbledore, Dragon Age, and King Arthur before finally realizing she could create her own worlds where all three might coexist–with significantly more kissing. After wandering through English literature departments at four universities across Canada, she took a detour to teach in the Arctic, where her students would sometimes run out of class to chase polar bears. When not raising fictional dragons from the dead, Briar enjoys reading all types of sci-fi and fantasy, cultivating an unhealthy Disney World obsession, and playing RPG video games. She has written fourteen historical romance novels as Fenna Edgewood.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
November 29, 2025
Hey, so what the fuck was that?
The third installment in the Bloodwing Academy series dropped on Edelweiss, and I downloaded that bitch the very same day. Currently, it's unavailable to download, which leads me to believe there's more changes being made.
My history with this series is simple, I read the first two books, On Wings of Blood and The Bond That Burns back in May. I ate both up and gave them both four stars. Since May, the series has been traditionally republished in the US, with the second book rereleasing this Tuesday, November 10, 2025. I knew I wouldn't be able to put off The Wings That Bind until next year, so I apologize for reading this DRC 5-ish months before the release date. Forgive me?
However, I don't know if I'm somehow forgetting the first two books, which I don't do, or perhaps there is some editing that's been done with the new traditional releases, but even though I enjoyed the HELL out of this book, I felt like I didn't know these characters. Regan, for example, in an attempt not to spoil anything because this book doesn't come out until May, and I prioritize reviews that will enhance the reading experience, feels CRAZY different. Once again, this could be an editing issue. I read the independently published releases, and this book is also a proof copy, so things can and may have changed, but WHO IS SHE? She feels miles different than the character that I knew, but I am actually very excited to see where her story leads. Kage is someone I've LOVED from book one, in fact sometimes I was wondering what a romance with Medra could have looked like, and MMM MMM MMM I cannot wait for his plot to develop. Medra's best friend, Florence, becomes more important as the book grows, and even finds herself with a romantic development in this book that I am finding questionable LOL.
Briar Boleyn is a pen name for two authors, and from this book alone, I can see their growth as authors. There was definitely an editor at hand here, because the writing is Boleyn's best so far. In the first two books, we are told it is a bully romance between Medra and Blake. Both of them detest each other and detest the way their hearts beat for each other the same. At the end of the second book, this HUGE moment happens that, while handled very well with Medra, I expected it to blow up in our faces in book three. However, that's not the case. In fact, these two have finally learned proper communication skills– at least when it came to that particular problem. In this book, the romance finally blossoms into something more than just a physical relationship, yet it still somehow feels like we're being held back from their potential.
In The Wings That Bind we now have more character POVs: Regan, Florence, Neville, Blake, Medra, and Kage. Boleyn opens up the scene to gather more towards the plot, and while I enjoyed the POVs, sometimes it began to feel like too little too late. With the introduction of new POVs, there were also more additions to worldbuilding, lore, and magic systems. We see snippets of what is to come in book two, but so much more gets built upon here that it also felt like we're doing too much. While I enjoy it and love the concept of unpredictability (is that a word?), the world we knew in book one with vampires and blightborn seems so far away from the present. Obviously, Boleyn knew what they were doing, and we can tell just from the covers what they've been cooking up, so I can't say this book had concepts that came out of nowhere.
As for how readers will find this one, I don't know. On one hand, I think people will enjoy the romance and the smut as always. If you're in it for the politics, you'll enjoy this one too. But for plot development, I'm unsure. This doesn't really go anywhere in terms of Medra and Blake. Movements are made, and they are huge steps for them, but at the same time, I still feel stuck in quicksand. For the actual plot, things are once again happening, but for the bigger picture, I am still STUCK. It's a big book, clocking in at about 450 pages. It's not a filler book, but at the same time, reflecting on it, I feel as if we've only made a small chunk of progress, but HEY, don't take my word for it.
Now, I seem a bit negative, but I had a wonderful time. This book is so easy to get sucked into, and I found myself reading in very long sprints because I couldn't put it down. I LOVE the romance between Medra and Blake, and now that it's finally something more than just sex, UGH. Blake knows how to YEARN. I just wish they'd keep their word and be honest with each other for more than five seconds. Finally getting a Kage point of view excites me, and I'm glad the authors are opening the space for more POVs so we get more storylines. It is exciting, and hopefully, the other POVs carry their portions properly.
As for series ranking, I think this comes in second for me. On Wings of Blood was delicious, and this book is objectively their best work yet, but I ride or die for book one!
Thank you to the publisher, MIRA, for the DRC! This title is set to release on March 10, 2026. Apologies for the very early read, but I couldn't help myself :)
Original review that got me all the likes lol
The release date getting pushed back to March 2026 is my villain origin story
UPDATE: just got an ARC for this, everyone SHUT UP WEFIJNS Dzbijxn
The third installment in the Bloodwing Academy series dropped on Edelweiss, and I downloaded that bitch the very same day. Currently, it's unavailable to download, which leads me to believe there's more changes being made.
My history with this series is simple, I read the first two books, On Wings of Blood and The Bond That Burns back in May. I ate both up and gave them both four stars. Since May, the series has been traditionally republished in the US, with the second book rereleasing this Tuesday, November 10, 2025. I knew I wouldn't be able to put off The Wings That Bind until next year, so I apologize for reading this DRC 5-ish months before the release date. Forgive me?
However, I don't know if I'm somehow forgetting the first two books, which I don't do, or perhaps there is some editing that's been done with the new traditional releases, but even though I enjoyed the HELL out of this book, I felt like I didn't know these characters. Regan, for example, in an attempt not to spoil anything because this book doesn't come out until May, and I prioritize reviews that will enhance the reading experience, feels CRAZY different. Once again, this could be an editing issue. I read the independently published releases, and this book is also a proof copy, so things can and may have changed, but WHO IS SHE? She feels miles different than the character that I knew, but I am actually very excited to see where her story leads. Kage is someone I've LOVED from book one, in fact sometimes I was wondering what a romance with Medra could have looked like, and MMM MMM MMM I cannot wait for his plot to develop. Medra's best friend, Florence, becomes more important as the book grows, and even finds herself with a romantic development in this book that I am finding questionable LOL.
Briar Boleyn is a pen name for two authors, and from this book alone, I can see their growth as authors. There was definitely an editor at hand here, because the writing is Boleyn's best so far. In the first two books, we are told it is a bully romance between Medra and Blake. Both of them detest each other and detest the way their hearts beat for each other the same. At the end of the second book, this HUGE moment happens that, while handled very well with Medra, I expected it to blow up in our faces in book three. However, that's not the case. In fact, these two have finally learned proper communication skills– at least when it came to that particular problem. In this book, the romance finally blossoms into something more than just a physical relationship, yet it still somehow feels like we're being held back from their potential.
In The Wings That Bind we now have more character POVs: Regan, Florence, Neville, Blake, Medra, and Kage. Boleyn opens up the scene to gather more towards the plot, and while I enjoyed the POVs, sometimes it began to feel like too little too late. With the introduction of new POVs, there were also more additions to worldbuilding, lore, and magic systems. We see snippets of what is to come in book two, but so much more gets built upon here that it also felt like we're doing too much. While I enjoy it and love the concept of unpredictability (is that a word?), the world we knew in book one with vampires and blightborn seems so far away from the present. Obviously, Boleyn knew what they were doing, and we can tell just from the covers what they've been cooking up, so I can't say this book had concepts that came out of nowhere.
As for how readers will find this one, I don't know. On one hand, I think people will enjoy the romance and the smut as always. If you're in it for the politics, you'll enjoy this one too. But for plot development, I'm unsure. This doesn't really go anywhere in terms of Medra and Blake. Movements are made, and they are huge steps for them, but at the same time, I still feel stuck in quicksand. For the actual plot, things are once again happening, but for the bigger picture, I am still STUCK. It's a big book, clocking in at about 450 pages. It's not a filler book, but at the same time, reflecting on it, I feel as if we've only made a small chunk of progress, but HEY, don't take my word for it.
Now, I seem a bit negative, but I had a wonderful time. This book is so easy to get sucked into, and I found myself reading in very long sprints because I couldn't put it down. I LOVE the romance between Medra and Blake, and now that it's finally something more than just sex, UGH. Blake knows how to YEARN. I just wish they'd keep their word and be honest with each other for more than five seconds. Finally getting a Kage point of view excites me, and I'm glad the authors are opening the space for more POVs so we get more storylines. It is exciting, and hopefully, the other POVs carry their portions properly.
As for series ranking, I think this comes in second for me. On Wings of Blood was delicious, and this book is objectively their best work yet, but I ride or die for book one!
Thank you to the publisher, MIRA, for the DRC! This title is set to release on March 10, 2026. Apologies for the very early read, but I couldn't help myself :)
Original review that got me all the likes lol
The release date getting pushed back to March 2026 is my villain origin story
UPDATE: just got an ARC for this, everyone SHUT UP WEFIJNS Dzbijxn
January 8, 2025
This series… what was that? I devoured two parts in just a few days and want more! I really hope this series gets the recognition it deserves. As for me… I have no idea how I’m going to wait until May. It’s only the first books of the year, and it’s already at the top of my fav list!
anticipated-releases
April 11, 2025the cover of this book has OFFICIALLY been released!! it’s actually on the authors intsa, and not posted on gr yet… i love it though!! 🩶
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yall i am so excited for this book!! i can’t believe we have to wait until june though… 🥲🥲 i can’t wait to see this cover! 🥰🥰
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yall i am so excited for this book!! i can’t believe we have to wait until june though… 🥲🥲 i can’t wait to see this cover! 🥰🥰
January 7, 2025
Praying to the Bloodmaiden that I get my hands on this book soon 🙏🏻
The ending to TBTB has absolutely wrecked me 😭🔥🤌🏻
The ending to TBTB has absolutely wrecked me 😭🔥🤌🏻
Want to read
March 30, 2025I’m more obsessed about getting this book than Blake is obsessed with Medra, and that says something because he is gone for her. Please, have pity on me, Briar👁️🫦👁️
December 23, 2024
I can't wait until May!!! 🩸🖤
Want to read
March 29, 2025.ᐟ.ᐟ 𝒑𝒓𝒆-𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 [03.29.25]
Preparing myself for Blake's pirate era to make an appearance and for Viktor Drakharrow to hopefully never make one ever again, amen 🙏🏻
Preparing myself for Blake's pirate era to make an appearance and for Viktor Drakharrow to hopefully never make one ever again, amen 🙏🏻
April 20, 2025
This book was an absolute thrill ride! Shakuru Doragon is a legendary character — stoic, fierce, and unforgettable. The world-building is gritty and vivid, and the sword fights had me holding my breath. I couldn’t put it down!
April 4, 2025
I know I’m going to eat this shit up. Need book 3 ASAP PLEASE.
Want to read
June 14, 2025The release pushed back to march 2026? Gross.
Want to read
May 9, 2025sorry but why am i not being told when these things happen?? waiting until the arc is released on netgalley
Want to read
October 18, 2025when this got pushed back to march 2026, i think my heart shattered a bit, one of my favourite series of this year!
Want to read
October 28, 2025Coming out March 10
Want to read
October 28, 2025I CANT WAIT TO READ THIS OMG IM SO EXCITED
October 31, 2025
Stop it right now. Whattttt? I need book three yesterday
Want to read
May 21, 2025omg just saw on the author’s insta that this series is getting trad published, hooray! all new covers coming out in hardback…. but also the release date for this has been pushed to next year😩 i am so happy for Briar but also so sad bc i thought I’d be reading this in june😭
Want to read
June 20, 2025Not me hoping for MFM 😬
June 28, 2025
I am OBSESSED with this series so far! How am I supposed to wait for book 3?!?! 😭
November 23, 2025
The Wings That Bind is EASILY one of my favorite installments in the Bloodwing Academy series - bold, emotional, and absolutely packed with tension. Briar Boleyn has a talent for raising the stakes with every book, and this one had me flipping pages like my life depended on it.
What I love most about this series really shines here: the character work. Medra continues to grow in ways that feel powerful and earned - she’s fierce, flawed, and fighting for something bigger than herself. Watching her step further into her own strength, magic, and identity was honestly so satisfying. And Blake… I swear, his arc keeps getting deeper and more addictive 🥹. Every scene between them crackles in that perfect “we shouldn’t, but we can’t help ourselves” way. Their dynamic evolves beautifully - it’s intense lol
The worldbuilding also expands in the best way. We get more danger, more magic, more political intrigue, and more moments where I genuinely forgot to breathe. The emotional beats hit so hard - there are scenes that feel like being punched in the chest and others that feel like being wrapped in firelight.
Briar blends action, romance, and dark academia vibes so seamlessly that I was completely immersed from start to finish. This book just flows. The twists? Perfectly done. The pacing? Sharp. The drama? Chef’s kiss.
What I love most about this series really shines here: the character work. Medra continues to grow in ways that feel powerful and earned - she’s fierce, flawed, and fighting for something bigger than herself. Watching her step further into her own strength, magic, and identity was honestly so satisfying. And Blake… I swear, his arc keeps getting deeper and more addictive 🥹. Every scene between them crackles in that perfect “we shouldn’t, but we can’t help ourselves” way. Their dynamic evolves beautifully - it’s intense lol
The worldbuilding also expands in the best way. We get more danger, more magic, more political intrigue, and more moments where I genuinely forgot to breathe. The emotional beats hit so hard - there are scenes that feel like being punched in the chest and others that feel like being wrapped in firelight.
Briar blends action, romance, and dark academia vibes so seamlessly that I was completely immersed from start to finish. This book just flows. The twists? Perfectly done. The pacing? Sharp. The drama? Chef’s kiss.
November 7, 2025
I tried 🤷🏻♀️ I thought maybe the second book would throw us into a captivating plot and that I was overly optimistic the first book was world building to the extreme however it wasn’t meant to be. I can’t comment on the whole book as I must admit I DNF’ed after realising I was 6 chapters in and hoping the author was planning a mass character culling… shouldn’t I be getting attached to the characters by now!? 🤷🏻♀️ maybe I’ll pick it up again another day but for now it’s lucky it is a pretty book on my shelf so it can stay.
October 21, 2025
While I entered back into this series in a severe reading slump, this book started off kind of slow and ramped up around the 60-70% mark. Ending in a fashion that kept me glued to the Kindle to finish even with an early morning work start. I will say that initially the story felt stalled for the first quarter or so, but it was detailed evolution of relationships and character baselines that will be important in the future - so my initial reaction is definitely adjusted.
Want to read
July 18, 2025I am extremely upset that I started this series knowing the third book would be released a month later for then to find out it’s being pushed a whole damn year. I keep coming back HOPING the release date changes but alas it has not. I have words for you Boleyn
April 26, 2025
So so excited to get my hands on this book. 🙌 the cover looks amazing!
coming-soon-not-so-much
May 6, 202514/06/25
to-be-released
May 24, 2025can someone update this cover
Read
May 27, 2025Oh no, pushed to March 2026 - by the time this comes out, I will forget about this and move on :'(
July 15, 2025
I read expected spring 2025 in the book...Needless to say I'm devastated😭
Want to read
August 16, 2025ⓟⓡⓔ-ⓡⓔⓐⓓ
ayo haven't finished the second book yet but I'm really into Blake so far so I'm probably gonna read this book
JS FINISHED I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS I NEED TO READ THE KAGE AND BLAKE LORE RIGHT NOW.
ayo haven't finished the second book yet but I'm really into Blake so far so I'm probably gonna read this book
JS FINISHED I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS I NEED TO READ THE KAGE AND BLAKE LORE RIGHT NOW.
Read
October 7, 2025Waiting for the third book is excruciating 😭
October 8, 2025
Amazing!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews