malecluvbot's reviews
428 reviews

Overall, the book was written in a very easy manner, the prose uncomplicated yet diverse. For high fantasy books, thats a feat in itself. The concept of magic here was intriguing and organized, and there was a lot to love in the book. 
I liked the fact that it was unexpectedly short, ending somewhat abruptly, giving way for the sequel. There were well-formed characters, although I'm sure that we have a lot to learn about them yet, given the time frame of the book. The romance was sweet, rushed just enough to make sense within the length of the book.
It was good enough to keep my spirits high as I dive into the sequel.

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.

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.

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.

So grateful to NetGalley for sending me a copy of the book for review.

The first thing that stood out in the book was the significance of historical feminism, which is really incredibly important at a time when we're already starting to forget the roots of it. That too, told in such a simple yet artistic way that is attractive to the readers of literary fiction as well as ones who do not identify as readers of any kind. Kids of all ages should also have fun while reading the book, every page of which is so beautifully cared for, every character portrayed with such attention that I'm sure they would enjoy it.

The graphics are just so sweet and the conversations so sweet and yet realistic. This is a perfect graphic novel for kids and adults alike, knowledgable and fun to read, I enjoyed every bit of it. I love how the truths aren't cut short, like the ones about the witch trials and christians detesting magic, the raging sexism, and spiteful hatred for witches.

Summing up, this was a perfect read, suitable for all ages and all occasions. 

Nesta Nesta Nesta.

Let me just announce that I always had high hopes from Nesta, and even in the earlier books, where Feyre was our mc, I always preferred Nesta more. Did she make mistakes? Yes. Did she act cold ans cruel and indifferent to their lives? Yes. Could she have done better before? Of course. 

But, in ACOWAR, the Nesta who gave herself for these people, that was the Nesta I knew would make a comeback. I loved ACOFAS especially because of Nesta's sudden change due to her father's death, and I knew that her redemption arc was going to be just that good. It was.

The book started with Nesta being forcibly sent to the practice with Cassian, which, obviously, she detested. She put up a fight, but was overruled. I had always thought she was like me in a lot of ways. Maybe that is exactly why I love her so much.

She was supposed to train in Windhaven with all the other Illyrians, but that was something both Devlon and Nesta had objections to, which is why Cassian decides to train her right where they were staying at, which was the House of Wind. Nesta was working part-time at the library as part of her "punishment," and surprisingly enough, makes friends with a nymph there, growing sympathetic over the priestesses' probable histories. The nymph (who was rather quarter of a nymph), Gwyn, was serving as an assistant to a very important priestess, one who was researching Valkyries. That was where Nesta got another burst of inspiration and motivation for training.

Constantly at odds with herself, struggling with her own unrevealed powers and her burning rage, Nesta let Cassian train her, and, this was where it gets warmer, started sleeping with him. Because obviously. They've been pining over eo since the last three books, if they didn't do it now, I wouldve been so disappointed. Considering the amount of steam the book had, I'd say Nesta was in desperate need of blowing some.

She gradually made friends with Gwyn and Emerie (we saw her in ACOFAS) and got them to join her in training, wishing for everyone of then to turn into valkyries, a group of female warriors who were claimed to be better than the Illyrians in every aspect. Other priestesses joined in too, and it was really a proud moment for Nesta, as was for me. I felt Nesta's success through the pages (what can I say, I really do have a soft spot for the girl).

But the threat to the Night Court, and to Prythian wasnt over yet, and the young queen, who had now turned into an old hag by the Cauldron, had allied with an ancient god, commanding spies ans fleets to gain access to their lands. That, but all she wanted was to be Unmade, back to who, what she was. I never liked her btw.

The feud between Nesta and Amren was honestly so wholesome, and the fact that it was resolved only later just fell in the right pieces in the book.

In this book, we get to see the general play the courtier, the cold become warm and many more things. Every part of the book was resonating with the spirit of Nesta's rage and the soft warmth that crawled beneath. All in all, ACOSF, to me, turned out to be the best out of all of ACOTAR so far, and I would honestly read it again (you get it, I'm biased).