Un invested. Lots of political drama between religious and pagan beliefs. Combine that with a whiny FMC who’s “not like the other girls” and I DNFed 25% in.

This was a good book and great story. It has a great magic system, dragons, royalty and lots of action. I throughly enjoyed reading this book, even so, that I finished the last 16 chapters in a couple of hours. If you like magic, dragons, royalty then this book is for you.




I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A Fate Forged in Fire has a lot to love for the romantasy readers. Enemies to lovers, dragons, action, spice, and a stabby FMC, it hits all the tropes that are currently trending. The story follows Aemyra, a princess who has been raised alongside her brother in secret by a blacksmith and his family. While she learns swordcraft and smithing, she is waiting for the day when she can bond to a dragon and finally reclaim her rightful throne. Only one thing stands in her way: the current King Evander and his brother, Prince Fiorean. When the time comes to announce her claim, things go terribly wrong, and she is forced to flee with her brother and biological father (who has been amassing an army and planning the coup all this time).

Readers who loved Feyre, Aelin, and Violet will also probably love Aemyra. She's cocky, talented, and beautiful. But that's about it. She's young, I know, but given the weight of her mission, one would expect that she would be a little bit smarter. Truthfully, this girl is an idiot. She made bad decision after bad decision, ultimately leading to her capture by the prince. That being said, she cares for her people and her passion is admirable. I just wish she had thought more with her head and less with her libido.

The romance was....okay. I am not a romance reader, so perhaps I am not the best judge of how it was portrayed. But the enemies turned to lovers far too quickly for my liking. This man is supposed to be her rival and true enemy, yet a few scenes of being kind to her and she's head and over heels. I don't dislike relationships in fantasy books--I love them, in fact--but I need to feel the characters fall in love. I just didn't see that here.

All of that aside, the world building and the magic system is beyond cool. The author's passion for Scottish history and mythology really shines, and I applaud the research and time she put into crafting her world. The political intrigue was well done for the most part, but it did start to fall apart when Aemyra was captured. While she was going to dinners and seeing the inner workings of the enemy, her father and brother were seeing the real action. It felt like there was a disconnect between Aemyra's story and that of her family's, and it left me a little confused when things come to a head in the last few chapters. I almost think this story would have been better served being told from her brother's POV, or at least a dual narrator.

If you enjoy reading for the vibes and love action and dragons with a dash of spice, then you'll likely enjoy A Fate Forged in Fire. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

The plot and pacing was quite slow to start but it did pick up towards the 60% mark. Wasn't my favorite but not a bad story

Holy hot fire! I was in a reading slump for a while but not a anymore. McBride writes beautifully and her writing style fully enraptures me in the story. Words cannot describe how much I enjoyed reading this one. The characters were complex and I enjoyed the relationship dynamics between them all. The conflict of religion and how far deep it can effect a nation. There we're antoganists but many felt morally grey due to the dueling perspectives of the characters. The main heroine was flawed but that's what I enjoyed most about her! She doesn't know what she's doing. I enjoyed watching her grow! I highly recommend checking this series out! The book had me burning for more 🔥

I could not put this book down it was SO GOOD. The pacing was perfect, driving strong characters and intriguing world building. The Scottish Gaelic names were difficult to figure out which took me out of the book a bit at the beginning, but once I got used to them, it all flowed very nicely.

Honestly my only critique is that there needs to be more clarity on the familial distance between the FMC and MMC because it's a bit confusing as an American reader who has no experience with Clans/Kin etc.

Really excited for the next book and subsequent duologies in the series- Hazel is immediately a must buy author for me!

This book was good but could be better. The plot was slow to get into. It wasn't until about halfway that I really found myself wanting to pick this book up and read it.

This was a great read! It was a little confusing in the beginning as there was a lot of names drops with places and then more info dump. I do wish the map was bigger (guessing it will be in the physical book) and it didn’t seem like all the places that they talked about were on there. There were some sentences that seemed repetitive and can’t really go into it as don’t want to give any spoilers. However I really enjoyed the explanation of bond in this book and loved the dragons. I am very excited for the next book in this series.

I was really excited to read this one but sadly, it did not meet my expectations. I found the plot to be quite slow––often boring, which made me not enjoy the rest of the book, which is unfortunate because again, I was really looking forward for this one.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC!

At first I'll be honest I was a little confused and trying really hard to get into it! The world building comes in so fast and it took me a while to fully grasp what was going on. However, 50% into the book, things started to get pretty interesting..... Also I wanted to really like the FMC but I found her annoying at times and so cocky. I wanted to scream when she had so many opportunities to escape and well... it did not happen. The MMC idk... I feel like there's more to him than what we got.

The ending though.. OK that got me. I teared up during that one sad part with the FMC (TRIGGER WARNING) and I just wanted to RAGE. And the betrayal??? I had a feeling but still.. it hit me.

A Fate Forged in Fire - Hazel McBride
4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/🌶️🌶️
“𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦, 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯.”
🔥🐉🗡️🐦‍🔥

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing, and Hazel McBride for the e-ARC!
It’s givingggg House of the Dragon.. which makes sense actually bc I think I saw somewhere that before publishing it was a fanfic? And I loooove me some HoD.

If you love a determined FMC, dragons, fire magic, a plot twist, and rebellion… pick it up!!

I’m coming out of a slump and this book was a little hard to grasp onto at first. It is Celtic-inspired so the language and word choice does reflect, and between my slump and my half of a brain cell I had to push through. But once the plot starts thicken though, I was hooked! And the ending??!! So intrigued to know how the second book will go.

Hmm... This one is difficult for me to rate/review. I keep jumping back on forth on the rating, leaning more to a 2.5 but willing to round up. It felt like this had bits and pieces from a bunch of different novels that are put together, but don't really quite fit.

Basically, you have Aemyra, a 26 year old wannabe badass who has an affinity for fire. She's actually the only female heir in a former matriarchal society that worshipped Goddesses, but had to be kept hidden as the throne is currently held by males. A new religious order has a foothold and is trying to change the society from female driven to male. (Think the barefoot and pregnant type extremist view). Throw in some dragons and you have the makings of an interesting read...

...and yet. Hmmmm....

The character of Aemyra is difficult. While I understand McBride is attempting to develop the character, she just doesn't hit right. She a badass with no common sense, yet she is ready to take one the current monarchy for her throne... but she doesn't want anyone to get hurt... but she wants to bond to a fierce dragon... but she walks right into obvious traps... but she is smart and know how to heal children... For someone who has been supposedly trained since birth to start a rebellion and take back her throne, Aemyra does not present that type of persona.

The romance with Fiorean is also... odd. Aemyra makes it pretty damn clear in the beginning and then throughout the novel she prefers the company of women, which I was excited for. How would McBride keep this interesting in a stereotypically heterosexual situation/setup? Oh, let's make her bisexual instead... and then beyond lustful for Fiorean instead to the point where she has to pleasure herself while thinking of him because they have been separated for like 3 days.

Overall, it feels like McBride takes the easy way out with each plot point. There really isn't anything earth shattering or shocks you with this novel. I sincerely hope this stays as a duology and does not get drawn out into a series instead. While reading it was able to keep my attention, but when I stop I didn't feel the strong full to pick it back up to read. This will be a pretty quick read as a nice cleanser after a heavy novel.

This one is gonna be a hit! I just know it. I absolutely loved this books, you have sexual tension, dragons, bonding, kingdom fighting, rightful ruler. Pretty much everything you want in a fantasy you can find in this book. My only complaint would be that the pronunciations of the words were hard to figure out and I wish in my arc copy it was in the beginning of the book so I was able to read through them first to have a better idea. But that’s also my preference. I can’t wait for everyone else to read it so I have more people to talk to about this book!

This book had everything I enjoy in a fantasy read and more! There was romance, slow burn, dragons and a very strong and fesity FMC. I continued to root for her as she reminded me a bit of myself, where she has all these amazing plans, but nothing worked out in her favor. It reminded me that not everything will go according to plan, and I can either give up or try again.

Hazel McBride's writing was very detailed and smooth that I felt like I was in the world she created. I m currently in my dragon era, and this did not disappoint. Can't wait to see more from Hazel McBride.

perfection. i loved this book and already wanna do a reread. it was so addicting and easy to follow, loved it. i can't wait to reread with the audio

Brigitte Knightley said to read this so I read it🧎‍♀️

I really enjoyed A Fate Forged in Fire! It was the perfect mix of fantasy politics and a spicy romance. Aemyra was a great FMC, and I loved her journey as a hidden heir. While she was very confident in her status as queen, she seemed impulsive and underprepared for her role, so I look forward to her potential character growth. I loved Fiorian even when we were supposed to hate him lol. This is definitely a slow burn, in romance and plot, but I devoured the second half. I can't wait for the next book in this duology! I'm hoping for a bit more worldbuilding, magic, and dragons.

✨Check TW✨

❤️‍🔥 Celtic inspired
❤️‍🔥 Ragey, bi FMC
❤️‍🔥 Enemies to lovers
❤️‍🔥 Political intrigue
❤️‍🔥 Betrayal
❤️‍🔥 Big dragons

I'd recommend this for fans of A Fate Inked in Blood and House of the Dragon.

Thanks to NetGalley, Hazel McBride, and Random House Publishing Group for an eARC.

Aemyra and her brother grown up as the children of a town healer and blacksmith but are actually hiding a secret claim to the thrown. McBride provides you with loss, passion, the dangers of religion, and a touch of spice. I enjoyed the dragons and hope for more in book 2.

𓍢⊹ 🔥 𖧧 ࣪ 🗡️

“Aemyra had been forged in fire, but a queen would rise from the ashes.”

— thank you to netgalley and the publishers for the arc! please check tws before reading!!

🔥 enemies to lovers
🗡️ many dagger to throat moments
🔥 feminine rage
🗡️ marriage of (in)convenience
🔥 lots of “my wife”

i don’t really know what to say about this book! i liked it at times and then i didn’t and just have mixed feelings overall! the beginning was filled with so much world building that i feel like could’ve been explained better, i found it so confusing!! after reading more it started making more sense but it still wasn’t so enjoyable at the start!

i don’t know what to think of the fmc; i feel like the book made her out to be this strong and powerful fmc which at times she was but i feel like she barely accomplished anything if that makes sense? all her plans kept going to shit and i was just asking myself when something would change! i kept rooting for her to win and sadly it never happened :(

i wish we got more or fiorean, his character was okay and a bit bland but there was literally nothing more!

now my favorite thing about this book would definitely be the enemies to lovers! i think it was done well and i enjoyed the tension and hate between the characters!

i also wish there was more dragons!! i absolutely loved the authors take on bonds and would’ve loved to see more of it!

the ending i saw coming because sadly i saw a review with a slight spoiler hinting at it and i honestly would’ve been completely oblivious had i not seen that! THAT BEING SAID… (i think) i will be continuing this series!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this as an ARC. Unfortunately I have been struggling to read this book for over a few weeks now. It starts off well, but the main character irks me and I can’t seem to want to continue. I may come back to this, but it’s a dnf for me.

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5 stars

Love dragons? And TWINS siblings? Pick this book up! Yeah, like now, now.

Here the MFC EARNS her dragon, and it was no easy task. The main reason i picked up this book is because (as you can see) of the dragons.

I loved the interactions between the siblings and their family. The writing is amazing and very unique. Some PLOT TWISTS! Loved it!

At first however, it was hard to get into (just like any other fantasy world) and definitely felt like Aemyra had a lot of hatred in her heart towards males. Her reason for it at the beginning was not sufficient. Her personality was something that it took me a while to get used to. I mean, even to her brother she was like that.

I understand her wanting to have a dragon (I mean, who wouldn’t?) and the way she earned it? Wow, was not expecting that.

Also, keep in mind this is a new fantasy world so there will be lots, LOTS of character and places names that will be somewhat confusing. Throughout the book, I had to keep going back and forth to the map because I could not memorize the continents and people. But then again, maybe it is just me.

Overall, it was definitely a difficult read but readers will get used to the plot and setting. Thanks for the ARC!