Some of my favorite things in a book:
Romantasy
Slow Burn
Dragons
Banter
Enemies to Lovers

This book was amazing. It caught my interest almost immediately and I was immersed. Lots of world building and overall amazing read. Cannot wait for a physical copy to add to my collection!

This book gives house of the dragon vibes with a twist. There is some smut and enemies to lovers' theme. The Mc has quite the journey, I can't wait to see what happens next.

A classic enemies-to-lovers romantsy featuring a strong female main character destined for the throne. There is magic, dragons, and fighting in this story that will feel familiar from other books. This book brings in the reality of women oppression into a ‘once upon a time’ setting that has you feeling a close feeling to reality. Ready yourself for a cliffhanger setting up book 2. Trigger warning: there is graphic violence against women at points.

Thank you Net Galley and Dialogue Publishing for this ARC!

The only reason I regret reading this ARC is because I am going to have to wait SO long for the second in this duology to come out and my greedy self NEEDS IT.

This Celtic-inspired romantasy follows Aemyra, the most powerful fire wielder and rightful heir to the throne of Tir Teine. In a territory once built on matriarchal rule that has been overrun by the True Religion, an oppressive group of men who condemn all magic wielders, Aemyra hides as a blacksmith until the king of Tir Teine dies and it is Aemyra’s time to unveil herself as the rightful heir. But with the court overrun by the True Religion group, Aemyra is forced to endure games of politics and scheming, where she in thrust into a marriage with Prince Fiorean, a dragon rider and brother to the usurper currently inhabiting the throne. While she refuses to lose sight of and her goal of bringing peace to Tir Teine, the fire between Aemyra and Fiorean ignites; and soon she will realize exactly what it takes to sit the throne.

I am a sucker for a romantasy with a bad ass FMC and Aemyra delivered. The heartbreak that she experiences throughout her life molds her to be a caring and just leader and I really enjoyed that. This is a true enemies to lovers in all the best ways with a few of my favorite tropes: forced proximity, marriage of convenience, and a few “where is my wife” moments (obsessed). One of my favorite aspects of this book was the dragon bonding and the history of the dragons in general.

In true duology fashion, the ending had my jaw on the ground and my mind reeling at how this could have happened and WHAT IS COMING NEXT??

An enjoyable read, especially if you enjoy dragons *but not as the main attraction*. Great enemies to lovers vibe, although I felt like the characters could have been fleshed out a little more.

Very intriguing world and great world building. I will definitely read the next book.

Also, that ending! A shocking twist and it was so good!

3.5/5 ⭐

A Fate Forged in Fire is a Celtic-inspired romantasy filled with dragons, enemies to lovers and political court intrigue. This was a fun read, but damn did certain things frustrate me. The FMC continued to make reckless and irresponsible decisions without a second thought to the consequences. When she was aware of the consequences, she would often dismiss them anyway. I can forgive an impulsive character if I see enough development throughout the story, but I felt like that wasn’t present. I also couldn’t get a read on who she was as a character, as we saw different sides that didn’t always fit cohesively.

Overall, I did find the book enjoyable and was very House of Dragons coded which I enjoyed. I most likely will read the sequel just so I can see if our FMC finally learns how to think decisions through, as I WANT to love her.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

I really really wanted to like this book. It has everything I love in books.

Unfortunately, this book was torture for me.

The FMC is the most annoying, childlike character I’ve read in a long time. I disagree with damn near all of her choices and she is quite possibly the most annoying character in the book.

Her brother is sweet yet boring.

Her father is evil and seemingly purposefully cruel to her.

The MMC love interest is not only BLAH as far as romance goes, but possibly related to her, seeing is the author keeps talking about how much they look the same. It’s creepy.
ON TOP of him being a fool who is also corrupt.

I really wanted this to be a mix of fourth wing and throne of glass, but it was giving much more keeping up with the Kardashians with dragons instead of birkins.

Plus the sexual assault scene is horrific

I finished this book in two days. The characters grabbed me right away and the action was non-stop. Highly recommend!

Thank you @netgalley for an advanced copy of A Fate Forged in Fire by Hazel McBride. I absolutely devoured this book and finished it within a day. We have a strong FMC who is in hiding, waiting for the day when she is called forth to become Queen. She wants what’s best for her people and wants equal rights for all. We have true enemies to lovers, we have dragons, and magic.
I only had a few issues. One of them being about their religion. The majority of the book is about the magic blessed worshiping the goddesses, and “the chosen” who is trying to eradicate magic. Our main FMC asks for blessings from these goddesses and we really don’t know anything about them, yet we get parts where things get somewhat elaborated in a way where it feels like we should already know more about them.
Then, throughout the whole book we get shown that our FMC has been getting trained by her father since she was 5. She has scars all over her body from her training and she’s supposed to be this badass, the most powerful non bonded Dùileach in the world, yet every time she gets into a fight she almost immediately gets apprehended. I know the story wouldn’t be able to unfold correctly if she did defeat all of her enemies right away but I feel like the talk of her skills should then be scaled down for it to fit.
Besides that, I loved everything else. The author made us have feelings towards all these characters, even side characters. We had some fun romance scenes, and of course all the drama!!! I’m kind of upset that I read this book so soon and now have to wait probably two years or so for book two because that ending?!?! Ughhhhhh!!!

I had no idea what was in store when this was sent my way. If you want dragons that are much more cutthroat but still in the realm of fantasy romance this one is for you.

We start with a secret heir who’s lived a humble life in wait of her birthright. Upon her reveal, everything becomes a hot mess and they avoid death. From there, she seeks to claim a dragon and return to free her people from an oppressive religion that was brought to the land. She finds herself married off to the enemy and in close proximity to the mad king who took her crown. She’s caught between claiming her throne to free her people and an enemies to lovers trope.

A Fate Forged in Fire brings in a lot of elements that are refreshing in today’s climate, but please be sure to read the content warnings.


Thanks Netgalley for a review copy.

HOLY SH*T do we all have a new favorite dragon rider series?!?! I think YES

Amazing world building and magic system, Celtic lore, dragons, romance, enemies to lovers, he falls first, strong AF gritty badass FMC on a quest for vengeance..... literally what else does a fantasy reader want?!?!

I cannot wait to recommend this book to everyone I know!

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Delacorte Press for gifting me an advanced digital copy via NetGalley - all thoughts are my own.

BAMF bisexual fmc + broody, self loathing (super hot) mmc + dragons + a betrayal that will haunt me = a STUNNING fantasy romance

What a ride this book takes you on in all the best ways. There are a lot of dragon fantasy romances hitting shelves these days, but this story stood apart for me almost immediately. From the first page, Hazel McBride captures what it is to be a woman. The feelings, the struggles, the desire to lead and protect, and the journey that is coming to realize that decisions are often high stakes and come with real, tragic consequences.

This is a book that FINALLY delivers on the promise of enemies to lovers' trope. The relationship between Aemyra and Fiorean is unexpected and complicated. Steamy and touching. And builds it up to a devastatingly perfect cliffhanger. It's apparent that every line of dialogue, every beat in their relationship, was leading to the last moment, and it was flawless. I found myself wanting to immediately re-read and note each interaction with a new lens.

I love the world and characters (and dragons) McBride has imagined and brought to the page. Add in the rich, Celtic-inspired mythology, and it's a layered, enthralling journey that you can't put down.

I’m not familiar with Scottish Gaelic and even though there is a pronunciation guide in the back of the book I had to spend too much time looking up the pronunciation words and meaning of words or phrases to the point I didn’t enjoy the book. I just could not connect with the characters, the storyline was difficult to follow, and had to force myself to continue reading.

Thank you to Random House Publishing and Netgalley for allowing me to read this advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. (via Netgalley)

Throwing this under spoilers even though I'm being vague.

Tbh, to me this felt like a YA read with some spice in it. The pacing was good but I really struggled with the main female character. In the beginning, Aemyra was ready to kick ass and take names. As the story went on, she just kind of like.. undeveloped? lol. She kept making dumb and impulsive decisions without considering the ramification to others. She's in her mid 20s acting like this!

Fiorean was an asshole throughout and had he been less of one, I would have actually been shocked by the ending. It also kind of gave me the ick they were described as looking so similar.

Buckle up, fantasy fans. The next romantasy obsession has arrived. A Fate Forged in Fire has everything veterans of the genre love…

🔥I actually want to kill you enemies-to-lovers
⚔️Two great houses at war (with lovers on opposite sides)
🔥Arranged marriage where they still hate each other
❤️Dragons, dragons, and more dragons
🔥Historically grounded religious conflict
⚔️A badass bisexual FMC
🔥FEMININE RAGE at its finest
❤️Political conflict grounded in interpersonal drama
🔥Fighting with daggers that turns into… doing other things with daggers
⚔️Worldbuilding based in Scottish folklore
🔥One bed trope (while they still hate each other of course)
❤️A pagan religion focused on entirely feminine divinities
🔥“Only I can hurt him/her” (...but not in an abuse kind of way)
⚔️Strong sibling relationships
🔥Did I mention DRAGONS?
❤️A brooding MMC who is Aemond Targaryen but less annoying
🔥A well-developed plot with enough twists and turns to keep the reader interested without ⚔️giving them whiplash
🔥SLOWburn that lights up in just the right way
❤️“Who did this to you?” (on both sides)
🔥Hurt comfort and healing wounds
⚔️A hidden heiress willing to become the villain to claim her throne

If you’re looking for your next romantasy obsession, this is certainly the book for you.

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆ 5 Stars

This book is a compelling introduction to a series! I hope to that there are more than 2 books based in this world! And I’m already looking forward to re-reading this book.

I found the book was a good balance of characters, world building, politics between various groups, romance and spice.

I loved the banter between Aemyra and Fiorean.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me access to an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Random House and NetGalley for this early read. I loved finally reading a fantasy that mixed some Celtic mythology in it as well. It did feel predictable but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Thank you to NetGalley and hazel mcbride and random house publishing for this ARC in exchange for my opinion. A Fate Forged in Fire was a great read with a strong female main character, dragons, and enemies to lovers.

This Celtic inspired fantasy was beautifully written, although it did take me a little while to get into the world and all of its lore. Sometimes in the beginning it was a little confusing and it took time to follow along easily with the plot, but I enjoyed it all. I definitely fell in love with this book in the second half.

This book was a great representation of how men use religion to justify disrespecting and abusing women. I loved reading this matriarchal fantasy. The ending broke my heart, but I’m ready to get my hands on the second book.

Aemyra is the first female born in the Daercathian clan in generations...and the true heir to the throne of Tìr Teine. With a mad king on the throne and the growing presence of the True Religion, Aemyra is biding her time to claim her birthright, Bond with his dragon, one of the few remaining dragons, and return Tìr Tiene to the way of the Goddesses. But with the Daercathian princes refusing to return to the matriarchy and give way to Aemyra, she must rely on her father and the army he says will act in her name. Being queen and Bonding to a dragon is what Aemyra was raised to do, to become. She knew it would be a fight for the throne, a fight for her people and all those blessed by the Goddesses that the priests of the Chosen deem possessed. She just thought she'd be better at it.