Unfortunately, this will be a DNF for me. I don’t think this is a bad book by any means, but this just isn’t a book for me. Right off the bat, this book is extremely political. As my bio clearly states on Goodreads, I am not interested in books that are focused on discussing modern political or social issues. I really don’t enjoy reading books, especially fantasy books, that have these discussions in them.

Having said that, I know a lot of people do love that in books, and if that’s you, you will likely love this book. I will leave a rating for this book off of Goodreads because I don’t think my opinion matters on this book.

Please check this out if you are interested in it, but if you are the same type of reader as me, you may not enjoy it.

I was so excited to read A Fate Forged in Fire because it contains such promising fantasy tropes and I was immediately drawn in. However, it didn’t take long before the world building started to feel overwhelming and so many characters were being mentioned it was hard to keep track, especially because we didn’t get the backstory we needed on them. I found the fmc to be super immature, selfish and rude and the romance didn’t seem genuine. I really, really wanted to like this more but it unfortunately did not do it for me.

I am grateful to Hazel McBride and random House for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

The plot line is decent… but slowww. The FMC completrly ruined this book for me. Like I wanted to throat punch her the entire time and I just couldn’t get past it.

A romantasy that hits multiple popular tropes but falters in the execution.

The rightful queen fighting for her throne, dragon bonding, enemies to lovers, arranged marriage…

The plot points were all there but the pacing was off, with not enough build-up to major reveals or events. There wasn’t enough time given to get attached to characters so emotional scenes didn’t hit the way they should have. The FMC wasn’t likable and the romance wasn’t believable.

1.5⭐️

*Thank you to Netgalley for providing an ARC for an honest review. All opinions are my own*

This one took me by surprise. I mean, I’ll always sign up for dragons and I loved the twists and turns. But the magic system and world is what sucked me in. Can’t wait for the next

This book was bit challenging to read in my option. Random names pop up with no idea who is who. The female lead is a little too petty for my liking. Not one I will recommend

Ahh! This was such a fun romantasy. The tropes and the twists and turns were so much fun! Can’t wait to explore more of the world with book 2.

Hazel McBride has crafted a book that really does have it all. This book definitly scratched the itch for big HBO shows like Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon, etc. I pretty much loved everything about this book and really had to take my time going through it, simply because I did not want it ot end. Enemies to lovers are MY FAVORITE. They gain even more points when they are true and authentic. Progression is a really important part of the enemies to lovers arc and this book did it beautifully. Our main character, Aemyra (lovely name) is a strong, passionate character that is the definition of badass and I felt she was very evenly matched with our MMC, Fiorean.

ALSO DRAGONS????? THE PLOT TWISTS???!!!

I loved it. I can't wait for the next one.

A Fate Forged in Fire is a new celtic-inspired fantasy romance dulogy. The story follows Aemyra, a magically gifted blacksmith, who is the rightful heir to the once Matriarch-led throne. Aemyra must navigate court politics and overthrow the current power—a weakening Patriarch-led line—in order to ascend what is rightfully hers.

I enjoyed the world building and celtic-inspired elements of the story. The writing was detailed in introducing some of the characters and the backstory of the kingdoms and magic tied to each.

I struggled to feel any sort of pull to Aemyra. She was portrayed as a strong-willed FMC, but her repreated bad decisions made it difficult to fully connect with her character. She reminds the reader of her rightful place on the throne and how powerful she is, but it felt unfulfilled in the grand scheme of things. I did enjoy the banter and true enemies-to-lovers dynamic she had with Fiorean, but beyond that, the characters all fell short for me.

The court politics and scheming was interesting but I'd have liked to see that in greater detail. I liked the element of the dragons and other magical creatures that are tied to each kingdom. With that said, while I did appreciate some parts the story, this was not for me.

—Thank you NetGalley and Random House, for sending this book for review consideration. All thoughts are my own.—

when i read the synopsis, i thought this is exactly what i enjoy. i was fairly disappointed. it felt like a cheap copy of the house of dragon and game of thrones, the amount of things taken from R. R. Martin's series is concerning (the obvious ones being two families battling for the throne and the whole royal family being a rip off of the targaryens). i could tell you which asoiaf character each of the people were based on and i don't think that's good.

the writing was good, but more worldbuilding was needed. the world itself was original and i think the ideas were amazing, they were just poorly executed. the author kept giving us new names with little to no backstory and i'm still not hundred percent sure the fmc and mmc aren't blood related. the dragons were nicely created, i really enjoyed reading any scenes that had them, and i think if the author focused more on that than the romance, the book would be much better.

i LOVE a strong fmc, unfortunately Aemyra was just unlikable and annoying. i cringed any time she said something, instead of coming off as strong, she was just childish and embarrassing. she kept talking about justice and how she would fight everyone, but when she thought her nemesis killed her entire family, instead of doing something she married him. then she slept with him. that's just crazy to me, and the fact his explanation of how he didn't "actually" kill them didn't really change anything is even worse. aemyra craved male attention, she had no real relationship with any woman other than her mother. i dont get why anyone wanted her to be the queen. she had no prior experience, had no knowledge of how the kingdom works, and instead of learning all of this throught the story, she just gaslight herself into believing she was good enough and could do it.

the politics and the problems the world was facing were interesting, unfortunately the romance was prioritized. i don't understand why. the mmc himself was very unlikable and had no personality, he kept contradicting himself. he and aemyra had ZERO chemistry and the unnecessary smut scenes were even more unbearable because of this. he was supposed to be this misunderstood character who acted like he was bad but was actually good, but it absolutely didn't work out.

i wish i had more good things to say about this book because i was truly excited to read it, however it wasn't for me.

If you like court politics, enemies to lovers, world building, strong badass FMC and dragons, forced proximity, touch her and xxx, then read this! There’s also a lot of Gaelic influence that made this so fascinating too and really worked with the vibes.

I enjoyed this so much, esp the second half of the book - I could not put it down and every chance I got I was reading this.

A queen in hiding as a blacksmith tries to take back her throne and bond to a dragon to give her legitimacy. A haughty prince who’s super hot is forced into a marriage and they absolutely hate each other.

This really felt like a true enemies to lovers where there were moments I’m like - “are they going to really unalive one another?!!!” and I loved every second of it!!

The ending was so good and kind of gut wrenching 😭. Without major spoilers our main characters had made such great strides so this felt like a punch to the gut. I know this isn’t published yet but I’m already ready for book 2!

This was an incredibly slow start. Not in a way where you can tell something is going to happen or the world building is intricate but just reading words for no reason. I will say it, the FMC is annoying. Absolutely wanted to throw her through a window. I think there is a way to write someone unlikable where you can still understand them compared to this. If you stick around for over 60% it does get a lot better. I think this needed a bit more work before we got to see it to live up to its full potential.

Firstly, I would like to say thank you to Netgalley for the E-ARC of A Fate Forged In Fire. Honestly, I am really struggling with how to rate this one. In theory this book has everything that I love in a novel, dragons, hidden heirs, a slow burn romance, political intrigue, and some top tier banter. I should’ve loved this, however I really struggled to connect with this one.

The pacing just felt extremely off, it took me hours to get through some of the chapters because things felt way too over explained and flowery, but I was still confused. I had to re read certain paragraphs over and over to follow the plot. It felt all over the place.

I also had a hard time connecting with the characters. I really, really dislike the FMC. Aemeyra was supposed to be the savior and new queen but truly she was so insufferable. I could not get behind people following her because she just felt like a whiny child. I completely understand having a complicated character but this was just over the top bratty and arrogant.

I can absolutely see how this could be the next viral ‘booktok’ sensation. This was full of feminine rage and “my wife” moments. I know as a collective we are all a little giddy over dagger to the throat moments but this one just felt award for me. I may be the odd one out here, but it felt like the main characters had little to no chemistry. Their relationship just didn’t seem fleshed out which is an insane claim to make since I feel like the author over explained many parts of the plot.

The one saving grace of this was that the political and religious plot in this was very interesting. Even with the same old lost heir trope, this felt fresh and exciting.

The story took a little while to find its footing, but once it did, I was completely hooked. The main character went through so much—it felt like every time she took one step forward, life pushed her two steps back. Her struggles were so raw and real that I couldn’t help but feel her pain and frustration deeply, even though she frustrated me so much sometimes.

What really stood out to me was the relationship between the FMC and MMC. Their connection was layered and compelling, and I loved watching it unfold. But that ending? Absolutely brutal! It left me desperate for answers and counting down the days until the next book. I need to know what happens next!

Hazel McBride’s A Fate Forged in Fire is a captivating fantasy with rich world-building and emotional depth. The protagonist’s journey is engaging, and the relationships feel authentic. However, the pacing is slow at times, particularly when the key moments or “burns” take a while to unfold. The cliffhangers are intriguing but could have been more impactful to keep the tension high.

Despite these slow moments, the story is still enjoyable for fans of fantasy with strong character development.

ARC read- releases May 27, 2025

Aemyra, a goddess blessed blacksmith, is determined to fulfill her birthright- to bond to a dragon and become the first queen in over 200 years, Prince Fiorean has other plans. Tìr Teine and its dragons have grown weak without a female leader, leaving the royal court to be infiltrated by corrupt anti-magic priests who oppress and degrade women. On her quest to rid her kingdom of the Covenanters and claim her throne she is thwarted by a prince. Forced to become allies she soon realizes he may be her only salvation- or so she thought.

🔥🐉

The dedication immediately told me I was gonna love this book. I’m baffled by how much I enjoyed this! I think I would give it 6 stars if I could. The enemies to lovers is actually crazy omg- they literally tried to kill each other, I’m talking actual hatred. The ending still has me reeling and I finished it a couple days ago (cliffhanger🥲).

Hazel McBride painted a beautiful picture of Aemyra’s life and the kingdom of Tìr Teine. I was immediately hooked by Aemyra’s quick comebacks and banter and found it so hard to put this book down. She reminded me of Aelin (tog) and Nesta (acotar), with her “I don’t need men” attitude lol and she’s honestly just a badass.

The world-building was really good and the side characters were very well developed (Lachlann <3). The magic and political systems can get a little confusing, especially with the hard to pronounce words (there was a pronunciation guide, I’m just lazy), but it was pretty unique and I enjoyed it a lot.

There were a few descriptor words used during ✨inappropriate✨ scenes that were a little icky and kind of took me out of the book, but other than that I really have no notes lol.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC- I received this eARC for free and all of my opinions are my own

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

DNFed at %50. I did my best, I really did. I kept waiting for the story to pick up, for the fmc to finally own up to her big talk, but it never happened, and when I'd started crying angry tears, I knew it was time to put the book down. I don't want to spoil the story, but the fmc is easily the most incompetent main character I've ever read about. She's got no strengths, no charm, and is highly disrespectful to other women. Had the story followed anyone else, I might've been able to endure the other half of this book, but with a character like this at the head? She gave me no reason to root for her. Someone else might enjoy this story, but I need a female main character that I can at least respect, and Aemyra was the furthest thing from that that I could ever get.

Thank you netgalley for the E-Arc!
This book has me in a chokehold.

It’s been almost two weeks since I finished it and I still can’t stop thinking about it.
Was it a perfect book without flaws? no. Did the characters make me rage at points? Yes. But did I still enjoy and love it? Absolutely
I honestly loved learning the different Gaelic words and pronunciations (thank you to the pronunciation guide!!!)
The battle scenes were action packed, and the book was full of dragon goodness, magic wielding, and just the right amount of smut for my liking.

The only issue for me, that I can think of, is the long wait I’m gonna have for book 2

The MC was completely unbearable I DNF’d I totally understand what the author was trying to do with the MC but I’m afraid in an effort to try and make her strong willed instead made her unbearable, the whole cocky I’m better than you attitude and the immaturity of the MC made this book unreadable for me.

Thank you Netgalley Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Delacorte Press for the arc

The world building was a bit confusing. This is romantasy. It has enemies to lovers which is my fave trope. The plot is intriguing. The fmc was a little annoying on my opinion but it was ok. Looking forward to the next installment.