I really wanted to like this book. The concept was so interesting but I found the main character to be rather unlikable. I struggled to understand the magic system in the world and had to restart several times to understand what was happening.

Dragons, enemies to lovers, a nerve wracking ending and a fire-wielding, anger-fueled, bisexual queen? What is there not to enjoy?
Definitely read the trigger warnings on this!

I got 25% of the book read before I stopped. While this book has all the elements I am normally interested in, it just wasn’t my jam. I didn’t find the main character relatable and didn’t connect to any of the side characters.

This book was so good!! The perfect amount of romance and plot that I look for in the romantasy genre. Once I got 15% in I could not put it down. The magic system was so unique. The enemies were actual enemies. I felt genuinely attached to the FMC and deeply felt every emotion that she did. The pacing was great once you were introduced to the world. I need book 2 yesterday!!!

DNF at 19%

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the ARC!

I really wanted to enjoy this one, but immediately from the start I couldn't get into it. I kept trying and trying but found myself becoming in a slump. To me, it just felt like another Romantasy story being retold with a secret heir trying to retake a throne. Perhaps it's my fault for reading too much in this genre lately, but it just didn't feel all that original. None of the characters peaked my interest or had me liking them either. The FMC, Aemyra, did at first but very quickly did I find myself becoming uninterested in her journey for the crown.

I'd like to try this one again someday! Maybe it was one of those books I read at the wrong time and may feel differently, but for my initial thoughts I just found myself bored because it was like I had already read this story before. I do like that there are dragons in this though because they're definitely my favourite mythical creatures ❤︎

this book was beautifully written. loved the character development and the world building, and the Gaelic magic
i follow this author on TikTok and you can tell she put so much thought and love into this book.
10/10 read.

Fate forged and fire was an engaging read, particularly for its rich historical embellishments, and the intriguing dynamic between Amira and Florian. However, I did find some aspects of Amy‘s character, particularly her sexual preference is somewhat confusing. At times it seems as though the story might explore themes of a woman trapped in, had a normative marriage While harboring romantic inclination is toward women, but this ambiguity made it difficult to gauge the true direction in the narrative. The portrayal of her relationship and desires left me, questioning the context and where the story might be heading. The presence of a forced marriage – while a well known and troubling trope – created an uncomfortable tension throughout the plot. It raised the stakes in terms of emotional conflict, but also carried an excellent weight. I also found myself grappling with pronunciation and several characters names Which added an extra layer of challenge to the reading experience. Amy‘s character is defined by a fear sense of justice and the stubborn disposition which while admirable also make her particularly vulnerable to manipulation. Given her position as both a healer and an air, I expected her to demonstrate more caution and savvy, especially in navigating the political mind field around her. Her susceptibility to manipulation, while part of her character feels somewhat inconsistent with the strength and intelligence one would expect from someone in her position, secretive or not. Well, I initially anticipated a more adventurous storyline because lead heavily into political injury, blackmail, and power struggles. While these elements are compelling, they have shifted the tone and focus of the narrative in ways that may not align with what I was hoping for.

Uhm, wow!! 4.5 or 4.75 stars out of 5! Easily! I didn't have any expectations going into this book and it blew me away! I really feel like people that love Fourth Wing need to give this book a shot!

I loved the romantasy aspects and it being a slow burn. Even though it was slow burn the plot overall was still super fast paced and it flew by.

I loved the familial aspects between our FMC and her twin and I hope we can get more of their relationship in later books.

The magic was awesome and simple to understand, and can we talk about the DRAGONS!!!! I know dragons are super hyped right now but I loved that the amount of dragons were limited in this book and the relationship was unique for me. I wish we had a bit more time to develop the relationship between rider and dragon but I know with only so many pages not everything can be expanded. I hope to see more of their relationship in future books!

My only complaint is that the sexual comments in the first half of the book seemed so unneccessary and random. The book starts off making it seem like its going to be a bisexual/lesbian character and like that will be a strong trait through the book, but that just is not the case. I did love the romance in the later half of the book but felt like the characters sexuality could have been expressed better.

Wow, I absolutely devoured this book, a Scottish/Gaelic inspired dragon rider romantasy where things aren’t always as they seem. This book is for fans of House of the Dragon and Throne of Glass, with an elaborate matriarchal world built around an angsty, ragey Queen-in-waiting whose fire powers would be greatly amplified by bonding with one of only three surviving dragons. Our FMC has to overcome woman-hating cult religion trying to usurp her birthright, and in general has to navigate manipulation from mediocre men basically every step of the way. There are many of your favorite tropes here - an expertly done enemies-to-lovers that are never really either one if we’re being honest, an infuriating slow burn, arranged marriage, “one bed” (lol) - but for the most part it feels like a fresh story. This will be a duology and I can’t believe I have to wait extra long for the conclusion… this is definitely a con to ARC reading!

A Fate Forged in Fire by Hazel McBride

4 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the earc copy of this book.

This was a very fun romantasy read for me. It kinda combined elements from several other books that I enjoyed - and I loved that it felt unique with its own identity, Sometimes that feels hard to do when so many fantasy novels lean into the same subject matter.

I loved the FMC. She's spunky and I love that she was a blacksmith. That's definitely not the normal fantasy go to so it was refreshing here.

The story had good pacing and was well written and kept me entertained and smirking the whole way through. This was a fun time for sure.

Looking forward to the second book!

Definitely recommend this upcoming 2025 book to all my romantasy fans. This is a must read.

Thank you again to netgalley

Oh this book is delightful! Can happily admit that I work up cranky most days due to staying up waaayyy too late reading this one! Unputdownable. For me, world building and character development are vital to making a novel worth staying up for and Hazel does exactly that with A Fate Forged In Fire. Already planning on rereading. Ready for your next fantasy obsession?!

Thank you to Delacorte Press (Penguin Random House) for accepting me to read an e-ARC of this book!

I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. Though it did start a little slow for me, it picked up speed quickly. The plot itself was interesting but not entirely unique. The premise of a rightful queen trying to take back her kingdom from an imposter king was exciting and well written. The fact that it was Celtic-inspired was something different for me, but I think it added some extra interest.

Aemyra, our FMC, is strong and feisty; though she does have some tender and emotional moments throughout. I believe this only gives her more depth as a character, and it was nice to see that growth from her. There is enemies to lovers to enemies, and I loved every second of it! The utter betrayal at the end just left me wanting more.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy with a strong FMC and dragons! You will not be disappointed.

Holy hell, this book is good. The characters, the world, the magic... it sucked me in from the first page. It is such an original (to me) story, and you could feel the atmosphere around you, choking you, like it did Aemyra. I will be recommending this to everyone next year. 5 stars.

Okay, so this book… whew. Let’s dive in. We’ve got Aemyra, a bratty blacksmith (yes, blacksmith) who’s secretly heir to a throne but has to bide her time until some dude bites the dust. Is she queen material? Not really. But does that stop her from strutting around like she owns the place? Also no. Bonus: she has a hot brother (because priorities, right?).

Things take a turn for the chaotic when Aemyra finds herself in a spicy enemies-to-something-else situation with her sworn nemesis, Fiorean. She promises to kill him. Multiple times. But, you know, she’s got stuff to do—and did I mention he’s hot? And scarred (emotionally and physically, because that’s a must in fantasy romance).

This book gave me House of the Dragon vibes, but without all the family tree gymnastics, which makes it infinitely better. There are dragons, of course, because what’s a fantasy world without fire-breathing chaos machines? And the stakes are so high, it feels like they might just roast the entire cast and take the throne themselves. Honestly, I’d root for it.

Hazel McBride’s world-building is incredible—rooted in Celtic mythology and full of rich details that feel totally fresh. But let’s be real, the marriage of convenience trope was the real MVP here. The tension? The smirking? The fan-self-worthy moments? Chef’s kiss.

The plot twists kept me on my toes, and I couldn’t put it down. Like, is sleep even important when a book is this good? Nope. This one is a must-read, and I’m already counting down the days for the sequel.

Big thanks to NetGalley for the ARC! Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be imagining dragons and morally grey hotties for the foreseeable future.

This one started off SO good but didn’t keep that same energy for me by the end. I love the premise of the plot for this book because it has all my fav things in a fantasy. A FMC who’s single handedly saving kingdoms from terrible men, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, dragons, elemental magic, etc. but even though it had all those things it still felt a little lacking

I think it could have used with a little more world building with some aspects. Like there seemed to be things in this universe where the author assumed the reader would get some sort of nuance when there wasn’t any nuance written to begin with, just statement. Idk if that makes sense fully but I just feel if you haven’t read fantasy this wouldn’t be a good intro, not because it’s hard to read (it’s very easy to read) but because I had to use my one imagination a bit more.

All that being said I did enjoy reading the book and found myself rooting for the main character. Also the cover art is so pretty!!

thank you to NetGalley for the digital ARC

4.5⭐️ (rounded up) What an absolutely fantastic beginning to what sets up to be a remarkable series. I am still reeling from the ending of this one. The world building is wonderfully rich and descriptive. I revel in the Celtic influences. Aemyra is everything I adore in an FMC sarcastic, confident, and stabby. The tension between her and Prince Fiorean is perfection. I also really loved the matriarchal centric society and the concept of having to fight to keep the patriarchy out. It spoke to me in so many ways.

Highlights:
✨Enemies to Lovers
✨Arranged Marriage
✨Hidden Identities
✨Dragon Riders
✨Cliffhanger Ending

Favorite Quote: “So how can I be fire? If the only thing that makes me burn … is you.”

Thank you to the author, Random House Publishing, and NetGalley for the advanced copy. My opinions are my own.

This book was phenomenal. Everything I could want from a dragon rider Romantasy. This story also covers a lot of difficult topics and some very extremely emotional and traumatizing scenes. There are a lot of themes that this touches on that are so extremely relevant in (americas) political climate right now.
I love that it uses Scotland and its history as a rough base for this story. It helps bring the story alive in a way and makes the emotions that much stronger as you know a similar battle (albeit less fantastical) really did happen over similar reasonings.

The characters were realistic and full of fire and had big plans they were trying to reach for even if their young ages caused them to be more reckless than they should. The banter and the fighting was top notch. The emotional/traumatic scenes will have you holding back sobs and rage.

A young queen who is destined to rule is trying her hardest to be the queen her people need while fighting for her throne from all sides. She has to wrestle the seat of power from another of her clans line who are determined to only relinquish the throne with their cold dead hands. On the other side she is fighting against the Covenanters, “conservative” religious bigots who believe their one god is the only one and any who believe or receive power from the old gods is a thing of evil, they are men who wish to hold power over all, especially women and the weak. Aemyra is fighting a losing battle but the goddesses are on her side, aren’t they? Fighting tooth and nail and a flash of a smile she will do what is necessary to secure the crown and protect her people and the last of the remaining dragons.

This book came as a surprise to me! I really thought this would be yet another dragon based fantasy book, but I found it to be unique, exciting, and full of twists. I loved the magic system at play here, the large clan dynamics, and the (sometimes a bit heavy handed) politics between the various religious orders. I also loved the romance elements of this story, with a true enemies to lovers story that reminded me of Outlander. My main complaints with the book are length (I got a bit lost towards the end) and the main betrayal scene at the very end feeling rushed without enough clues to set us up for this scene so it felt a bit shocking and sudden (not necessarily in a good way). Overall though, one of my favorite fantasy reads this year!

I cannot wait to get a physical copy of this book in my hands, the cover is beautiful! I was pre approved for this advanced copy from NetGalley, I knew nothing about it but the fact that it had dragons on the cover so I was immediately sold! I cannot say enough how thankful I am for that because I loved this book! This is sort of like House of the Dragon meets the TV show Reign in my opinion.

I read that this is a duology and honestly I’m terrified knowing that, because of everything that happened in book one I feel like book two is going to knock me off my feet. The emotional rollercoaster this book takes you on is unreal! I definitely recommend this for fans of George R.R. Martin!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing an early copy of A Fate Forged in Fire in exchange for my honest review.

This book was simply not for me.

I struggled to stay engaged with this book. The world-building felt underdeveloped, and the characters lacked depth, coming across as two-dimensional.

The use of modern language clashed with the 1700s setting, which pulled me out of the story. When I pick up a fantasy book, I anticipate a more immersive “fantasy timeline” feel, which this didn’t deliver.

There was also a lack of high stakes throughout the story, which made it hard to feel invested in the outcome. Additionally, the dragons—a potentially fascinating aspect—were underexplored, with not enough backstory or lore to make them truly captivating.

The absence of a glossary or pronunciation guide made it difficult to grasp certain names and terms, causing me to skim over them. Combined with the slow pacing, there just wasn’t enough to hold my interest or keep me engaged.