Well this was one of the biggest rug pulls i've had in awhile. A Fate Forced In Fire was on its way to getting accolades from me until about the 50% mark. Sadly, this trope stuffed disappointment decided to commit to pulling marketing concepts out of a bag instead of telling an original story.

A Fate Forged in Fire is a romantasy focusing on a society that was once proudly ruled by powerful women- but the lack of royal female births has caused dark societal changes. A patriarchal and hateful religion adopted by the royal family is spiraling the world into a new dark age.

Aemyra is not in direct line for the throne, and has been raised in secret among the people, but has always been trained to rule. She and her family decide that now is their time to rise up and take the throne, but first, she must go through prince Fiorean and the sitting royal family.

This is clearly House of the Dragon inspired, and the plot is actually super cool. I started the book very engaged with the world's politics and feminist themes. Theres some "girlboss" elements to it, but I found it genuinely compelling, with clear and direct parallels to the threats women in the united states are experiencing today by Conservatives. Seeing the radicalized characters in the world interact with the remnants of the faithful to the goddess is chilling, and probably one of the more interesting subplots i've seen in a romantasy.

The first half of the book feels expansive, with a fairy large cast of characters. The royal family is introduced; starting with the second in line prince Fiorean, who is an explosive and deeply loyal to his family and willing to kill for them. His brother is an icy fuck up (Aegon anyone?) and his mother is a religious zealot. Fiorean's introduction to Aemyra starts off promising a truly hateful enemies to lovers story.

Aemyra's family is introduced; both her adopted and biological. Her dynamics with her father and brother are pretty interesting, and the early stages of the story paint Aemyra as half heroic and half fanatical- obsessed with her right to the throne almost single mindedly. I thought this was a really cool character flaw for a female main character.

The second half of the book feels like a completely different book. I was shocked, upset, disturbed, and disappointed. Folks who drool over low quality romantasy will probably LOVE THIS, as the book's second half delivers on your standard trope fare, but if you were at all moved by the first half of the book and reading a book for tropes isn't your thing, prepare for disappointment.

All of the characters quickly get lobotomized when Aemyra is captured behind enemy lines. Her personality flaws diminish and she is replaced with a plucky main character with no real unique traits. Fiorean shifts quite quickly to standard book boyfriend guy- misunderstood, protective, and obsessed with Aemyra. More on the disappointing romance soon.

Its hard to describe the other characters because they soon fade to the background, popping up only briefly to move along the romance between the main characters.

And of course, the tropes, largely absent in part one really start to show themselves. Forced marriage plot, forced knife to throat scene, forced ball scene, forced "touch her and die" scene- pretty much every single snoozy TikTok beat you can imagine is hamfisted into the second half of the book. While part 1 flows very gracefully, part 2 feels like someone wrote a bunch of scenes for a fanfiction and lazily stitched them together.

Of course, this is done at its worst with the romance. Do not get tricked like I did into thinking this will be a REAL enemies to lovers romance. As soon as the leads are forced to engage with each other, the whole thing falls apart. Fiorean's complex character turns into a misunderstood sad boy that actually isn't terribly loyal to his family- it turns out hes always been against their atrocities and just feels so very abused by them.

The characters drop their guard within a few chapters and find themselves working together, swooning, and empathizing with each other. What made this book strong is that both characters had a genuine reason to oppose the other having power, but this is washed away for the sake of getting the characters to have sex. While the author pretends to care about making the characters mistrust each other, its all say rather than "do". The characters constantly express mistrust all while being genuinely interested in each other and never really opposing each other.

I can not express my disappointment in A Fate Forged in Fire. It feels like the author sold out some great concepts in order to be the same as everyone else writing in this genre. What had the opportunity to be a stand out book became another detestable copy of a copy. If you are someone who adores books like Fourth Wing, ACOTAR, etc, and aren't sick of all of their clones; you will absolutely love this book. For the rest of readers, this is probably the ultimate catfish, and it will leave you feeling betrayed.

I absolutely loved A Fate Forged in Fire. This fast faced Romantasy is VERY loosely inspired by House of the Dragon and it's everything I wanted the show to be. Aemyra, our FMC, fights to reclaim her throne and must form alliance with the king's brother/our morally grey MMC, Fiorean. I loved how badass and real Aemyra is and Hazel's writing really makes you feel what she is going through. There were several chapters and moments that brought me to tears and others that made me feel Aemyra's rage. I thought the world of was really cool A Fate Forged in Fire and would have loved to know a little more about it... I think it could have added a bit more depth on the political conflicts and overall lore BUT it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book. I will be recommending this book to everyone I know and that cliffhanger ending has me desperate to know what happens next!

Rating: 3.5 stars

My favorite part of this book was the dragons. Anything with dragons and I am there!! It reminded me mostly of House of Dragon (the show) and I love that aspect of it.

I think one of the main set backs for me was the fmc in this book, Aemyra. There was something about her that I couldn't quite get past. However, the other characters made up for it and kept me intrigued throughout the rest of the storyline. I also loved the worldbuilding and pitting rivals from within a ruling clan. It felt very different to anything I have read recently and felt more like an elevated fantasy world. There were so many different houses and politics involved as well that touches on the topic of leadership, social hierarchies, and family dynamics/structure.

I am curious to see where book two would go!

(4.5 rounded down)
A Fate Forged in Fire is a face paced, enemies to lovers fantasy. This book had so many of the features that I love in a romantasy book, and it definitely delivered. The beginning 1/3 of the book was a bit slower, but the second half was near perfection, which I don’t say lightly for a romantasy book. A lot of fantasy books (especially romantasy) have a plot that is based around the female main character (FMC) finding out that she is the heir to a kingdom, so having an heir in hiding was a new concept to me. I did have trouble keeping track of all the names, but that was a small issue that had to do with me more than the book. The other issue was that the FMC is on the harder side to relate to, but I did love her banter and “don’t give a f-“ attitude.

A few of the features/tropes from this book are listed below:
- Enemies to Lovers
- Arranged Marriage
- Dragons
- Lost heir
- He falls first
- Political Plot

I loved the plot of this book but I hated how Aemyra made so many choices without even a second thought. Her negligence irritated me to no end. Despite her poorly thought out actions I still consider this a 5 star read

The themes of magic, politics, and social hierarchies were so rich and layered that I found myself constantly reflecting on the story. Aemyra’s struggle against the patriarchy was a driving force throughout, and I couldn't help but root for her as she navigated a world that tried to suppress her at every turn.

Aemyra’s internal conflict—torn between her desire for power and her personal morals—was compelling and deeply relatable. The sexual tension with Prince Fiorean is electrifying and adds such a complex layer to their already fraught relationship. As a bisexual woman, I really felt Aemyra’s emotional journey, particularly how she had to balance her desires with her duties. The dynamic between them is tense, raw, and, at times, heartbreaking.

The magic and dragon lore were fantastic, adding depth and urgency to Aemyra's quest. The way the dragons and magic are intertwined with both her destiny and the kingdom’s survival was fascinating. That ending? Absolutely gripping. I’m on the edge of my seat waiting for the next book to see where this wild journey goes.


Will post again to my social's closer to release!

First of all, thank you Delacorte & NetGalley for the chance to read! I finished within 24 hours, and it's been a delight to get an early look at Hazel McBride's new series.

I'd give this 3.5 stars rounded up to 4, but don't let the ratings deceive you! I'll almost certainly devour the second when it comes out (and I loved Aemyra more than most FMCs). There's so much right in this book - fun world building, political intrigue, and dragons, of course. Not to mention Fiorean (be still my heart). So it's a promising start for a longer series. I just struggled a bit with the big dumps of mystery backstory, and Aemyra's family in particular (there's much to the next book lol). But that's often the first book dilemma, and I'm excited to see how things unfold in the second book now that we've been immersed.

If anything happens to Fiorean and Aemyra though...

Dates read: 1/23-1/25
Star rating: 2 stars (DNF)
Review: I found that the book was hard to follow, overall. Within the first couple of pages, I was confused on what was happening and the premise behind the story. I only made it 7% of the way.

Raised by blacksmiths as a princess in hiding, Aemyra is waiting for the moment when her father will reclaim her and she will bond to the king's dragon - overthrowing the current ruling family in the process. But everything starts to go sideways when the king dies, she fails to bond with the dragon, and has to flee the country. A hot-headed, misguided attempt to return leads to her being kidnapped and forcibly married to a prince, where she has to survive as a untutored pretender/captive/princess in a complicated royal court.

Too often in the genre, outsiders are bestowed by their authors with an (unspoken) magical ability to navigate complicated royal/national politics without having earned that knowledge first so it was a delight to see Aemyra put her foot in it then slowly recover from her early mistakes. The book is part of a duology and ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, so it'll be easier to judge it once the next novel is out, but altogether it seems like a promising start.

Slow burn enemies to lovers, with dragons, and families fighting to hold the crown, sure sign me up for that. The first 50% I enjoyed the storyline. I was a little distracted by pronunciations of names and places, and the need to look up the definitions of so many words. The pronunciation guide should have been at the beginning of the eARC copy instead of the last few pages because I didn’t find it until I was finished reading. The second half, while I did like the fighting scenes with the dragons, I hated almost every character except Adarian by the end of the book. Maybe that was the plan to set up character growth for book 2, but I’m not currently rooting for any of them. The FMC goes from being a tiger to a kitten letting her Father fight her battles, while she is supposed to be this powerful queen? Maybe she will redeem herself as the series goes on.
Also, this would have been great with multiple POV’s, at least from the FMC’s family to learn more about the battles, world building and magic system.

This book to me was not what I had anticipated based on it's blurb and description. I was very much looking forward to reading a fantasy book about an FMC who was a lost heir and was hoping she would be a total BADASS, but unfortunately instead of badass, she was just bad. Reckless, stupid and annoying as hell. I did not care for her at all, but I've rated other books with crappy FMC's higher than I've rated this one. The pacing was just too inconsistent throughout, and the battle scene? Oh boy. Aemyra should have just stayed in hiding for it. Really bummed this one just didn't do it for me. :(

I received an Advanced Reader's Copy of this book from NetGalley. This review is honest, unbiased, and completely my own.

Honestly, I found this difficult to read and keep up with. I do however, feel that the plot still shone through. The Celtic notes were very beautiful and I always love a bad bitch main character!

4.5/5 Stars - rounded down.

I was so excited to get this ARC, as this is one of my most anticipated reads of 2025. Enemies-to-Lovers-to-Enemies is one of my favorite tropes! She is The Chosen One. The Queen to end the tyranny. Except none of her plans work, and she is constantly failing. (Maybe that's a spoiler?)

There were times when the FMC's character and actions weren't in line with her previous traits. Her actions in Chapter 21? Not in line with her fight-The-Patriarchy attitude at all. It almost lost me right there.

I will be picking up a physical copy of this book when it publishes in May, though. I want to know what happens next!

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group, for this ARC.

2⭐️ I really wanted to like this book, a Romantasy with enemies to lovers, a fiery queen, Celtic vibes and dragons… but unfortunately it was very hard to read.

The first part of the book was fantasy focused but the lack of descriptive world building and non-existent character introduction made it difficult to connect with the character or engage with the plot.

Our FMC who was supposed to be fiery, fierce and a strong female leader was instead insufferable, childish and unlikeable. The choices that she made were infuriating and her arrogance and the way she seemed to dislike women made it very hard to read.

The second half of the book was romance focused. The enemies to lovers romance lacked chemistry, but that might be because it didn’t really make sense. He seemed to be focused on being mean to her simply to drive this trope into the story.

This should have been the book for me but instead it felt like House of the Dragon fan fiction.

2.75 stars

Thank you Netgalley and and Delacourte Press for this e-arc.

A Fate Forged in Fire is a steamy enemy to lovers with an arranged marriage, dragons and a fierce fiery queen. First off, I am already biased and love a book that includes dragon, fire and fantasy, but I did not love this. I felt that the chemistry between the main characters Aemyra and Fiorean wasn't very enjoyable. Fiorean did some really bad and messed up stuff to our FMC and she doesn't exactly forgive him but they essentially only a few chapters later jump into bed did not love that. I also felt that the chemistry felt very fake and forced which I was not for. I did love Evander, Fiorans brother because he is just unhinged and crazy and I feel like all fantasy stories need one really messed up crazy villain. While the majority of the book fell flat for me I did love the plot twists. I had an initial prediction for the end that the author talked me out of as the book went on and then for it to actually happen floored me. This author has a gift at giving really good plot twists. Unfortunately, this book just wasn't for me.

A captivating read filled with magic, political intrigue, enemies to lovers.... and so much more.
We follow Aeymera who is the rightful heir to the throne and is determined to claim what is rightfully hers....that is until things go awry. Thus begins a dance of politics and the dangerous game of love.
This book delivered in the world building, the characters were very interesting and kinda hard to like at first but once you get into the flow of the story...wow.
Plot was fast paced and made me put down my phone to stare blankly at the wall a couple of times....especially the ending.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC. Can't wait for everyone else to read this book.

No spoilers:

I need EVERYONE to hear me when I say - THIS is the next big book. I am 100% obsessed. From the first page I was drawn into the world and fell in love with our main character. The world this author created feels so unique and not like anything I’ve read. I absolutely love an angry woman and this book delivers. I’m also a sucker for political intrigue and corrupt leaders being overthrown. I think fans of Air Awakens and When Women Were Dragons would love this.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

I just couldn't stand the fmc. She was rude and entitled. The romance felt forced. It was a true enemies to lovers, they were trying to kill each other the first half of the book and then got forced into marriage. However, I didn't really feel any love between them. The dragons are story were there u just couldn't vibe with the characters personalities.

5/5 ⭐

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Delacorte Press and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is giving House of the Dragon with more politics, more magic, more scheming, and just about as much heartbreak. The tension between Aemyra and quite literally everyone in her life because of her secret, including her twin brother, made me want to keep reading. Their strained relationship with their father came to fruition beautifully in the final stages of the book to give a peek behind the heavily enforced walls of Draeven and made some of his motivations make more sense.

Why you’ll like this book:
The power struggle between the prevailing matriarchal society fights fervently against the oppressive patriarchal society makes for a compelling read. This boils down even to the Bonded beasts, including the dragons, and their fight to restore their own individual societies to prosperity through the restored matriarchal society of their bonded magic wielders. The action sequences are thrilling, the stakes couldn’t be higher, and the tension between our reluctant allies comes to a shocking head in the cliffhanger ending of this book.

I place this book with my top tier reads for vibes and craftsmanship alongside:
The War of Lost Hearts trilogy by Carissa Broadbent
The Aurelian Cycle trilogy by Rosaria Munda
The Curse of Saints trilogy by Kate Dramis

Bonus tip: I listened to the game soundtrack for The Elderscrolls V: Skyrim while reading and it was the perfect complement and highly recommend.

This book was not for me, but it had some interesting things in it.

Themes/tropes:

Old world pagan matriarchal society
Fire breathing stabby lost queen
Bisexual FMC
Feminine rage
Dragons
Whitecloak/Children of the Light style militant religion
She pulls a dagger on him.


Things that didn't work for me:

First half felt like a really long intro.
She makes not smart choices and blames and judges others for making their own choices because she does not agree with them.
Dragon is hardly there, felt like what happened with her dragon was more of a statement to her so called strength but had low bearing on the plot for the bulk of the book.
MMC does not really have distinguishing traits or personality besides being possessive and loving his misguided brother.
Very little romantic chemistry
The ending didn't make sense to me.


Content: forced marriage, misogyny, unsolicited groping, militant close minded religion (felt very White Cloaks/Children of Light from the Wheel of Time series), strong language, explicit s*x

Thank you to Random House Publishing's Delacorte Press and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book. This review is voluntarily written and the thoughts and opinions contained in this review are my own.