Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2025 and when I tell you I almost screamed when I got approved for the arc!

This gets a strong 4.25 stars for me and is such a promising debut. If you love House of the Dragon, Aemond Targaryen specifically, and the show Reign, I recommend looking into this.

This is a romantasy, but it is a romantasy where the author really tried to build a plot and world too. The first 50% really tried to build the story and a believable enemies to lovers set up, and I appreciate that. I foresee some people struggling with the crumbs of the romance in that half, but I personally liked it as a reader who doesn’t want to romance shoved down my throat from the beginning like I’m stupid. I won’t call the pacing perfect, but for the most part I think she worked with it well.

This has a male lead I loved. Which is to be expected, as I picked it up promised Aemond Targaryen vibes. She delivered.

I can’t wait for my preorder to get here so I can have a beautiful physical copy!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
🌶🌶
🔥🔥🔥.5

Aemyra, our FMC, has been hiding her whole life, waiting for the day that she will fight to take back her throne. What she did not account for was Prince Fiorean, and his plan to to stop her from taking her place as the rightful queen, and freeing her people from the mad king.

When I read the summary, I was really excited for this book, and when I was given the ARC, I jumped right in. This book holds all the classic tropes, with a strong plot of political and religious intrigue. The plot is the main part of this fantasy, and the romance does very much taken second place. You only get the POV (third person) from Aemyra, and I was really wishing we would get some random POV's from Fiorean, but it did not take away from the book with the lack of his POV. You really get to read about the battles and strategies Aemyra must take to not only save her life, but her people's as well. Her need to help her people outweighs any animosity she has towards her enemies and she will always put them first in any of her decisions.

The enemies-to-lovers trope is real in this book. When I think of enemies-to-lovers, this would be it! This is not an insta-love book, but very much a slowwwww burnnnn. I would even reach to say that they are enemies for a majority of the book, and I mean the majority. But, that just makes the flirty banter that much more 🔥.

There are still many parts we are missing in the story, and that cliff hanger...I am so happy that I was able to read this early, but now I am so upset I will have to wait so long for book 2! 😢

If you are into fantasy, independent strong FMC's, great banter and true enemies to lovers, this is definitely something to add to your TBR!

<u>Tropes:</u>
🐉 Dragons 🐉
✅ Marriage of Convenience
✅ Magic 🔥🌊🌬🍃
✅ Touch her and 💀
✅ Bi FMC
✅ ⚔️ Stabby/Badass FMC ⚔️
✅ Grumpy MMC
✅ Witty Banter
✅ Slow Burn 🔥🔥🔥🔥
✅ Knife to throat 😏
✅ Betrayal 🤯 😭😠🤬
✅ TRUE Enemies-to-lovers
✅ He falls first
✅ No OW/OM drama
✅ Cliffhanger *you have been warned*

*There are some dark moments in this book, so make sure to check the triggers*

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you Random House Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I am 100% sure this will become a phenomenon as soon as it is officially published, booktok will eat this up instantly.
This book was SO GOOD. It is high fantasy, which I love, and has very rich world building that is not so complicated as to be a bother, you might have some problems in the beginning due to the amount of different words but just go with it and you will understand everything eventually. Some of it was a little overboard in my opinion, like the use of words like caisteal and breithday instead of the normal English words, but since it is done in moderation it was fine.
One of the things I would like to point out is how much I enjoyed the family dynamics, I feel like they are sometimes overlooked in romantasy because the focus is the romantic relationships, but I loved her family with all their little quirks, and don't even get me started in the twins. I want the next book asap just to see more of Aemyra and Adarian's relationship, I love them so much.
But it is a romantasy, and it deserves the name, the way the enemies to lovers is developed and you can feel the little changes in their perspectives is delicious to read. There are some dialogues between them that were absolutely fantastic, I wish I could post many lines here because they are that good.
I also like the conflict. It's so common to have enemy nations or civil war that I find it really cool to have also a religious plot going on, even if it drove me mad and I just wish Aemyra could burn them all to the ground. While in this topic, I recommend checking trigger warning, the book starts with a list(very wise decision), because there is a scene towards the ending that is quite heavy.
I saw it is compared to Fourth Wing and Sarah J. Maas and while I agree in some aspects I also think you might like it even if you don't enjoy those books.

Again, thank you Penguin and Netgalley for the ARC!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for providing me with an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

I wanted to start by emphasizing that you should take this review with a grain of salt. I've recently been disillusioned with the romantasy genre. I feel like I've read too many versions of the same story/characters, and 'A Fate Forged in Fire' doesn't bring anything fresh to the narrative. I know that there are people who love to read the same ‘enemies to lovers’ story with different characters, but unfortunately I am not.

All that said, I believe this book has a lot going for it. The world-building and politics were captivating, the plot was intriguing, and the writing was decent. I particularly liked the fact that the main character was bisexual (or, I assume, bisexual).

I know that this book will be very popular among the Romantasy readers and I do recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the genre, but for me personally, I felt like it didn’t offer anything new.

A Fate Forged in Fire is Hazel McBride's debut fantasy romance book. Set in fantasy Scotland, the story follows Aemyra, a blacksmith who is fighting for her right to her throne in the background of a crumbling matriarchal society and the rise of a patriarchal religion. The world building is vast and intricate and while we're only focusing on one region, I can see the complexity of the wider world.

AFFF tackles many issues such as feminism and misogyny, however never to a depth that isn't superficial. We surely see the issues of a woman's right to their body and Aemyra does have that "feminine rage" aspect of her character, and there is a scene where do see Aemyra's right to her body being violated, but I would have liked the author to go a little deeper.

The enemies to lovers dynamic is done well. Aemyra and Fiorean really do hate each other and spend a good portion of the book trying to kill each other. But while Aemyra follows the stock character of "badass, angry, good with a sword, sarcastic" fantasy romance heroine that we see in a lot, Fiorean isn't as strong as an MMC or even as a villain. Their attraction to each other was immediate and on paper and I could see that the first book is going to follow the enemies to attraction/lust trope. I just think Fiorean needed a little more developing to be an intriguing MMC, and he might be one in the sequel. I liked that there was a significant portion spent developing Aemyra's background and her relationship with her father and her adoptive parents.

In terms of pacing, it follows the trajectory of a YA novel and there were times that I did think that this would fare better as one. If you take out the explicit sexual scenes, which I did not think added any value to the actual plot, and the crass language, I think the fast-paced, non-stop action does better for the younger adult audience. To have been suitable for an adult audience, it doesn't need to have explicit scenes, but rather an in-depth exploration of themes that I found a little missing here. Perhaps it's because this is a duology and so the author had to have that fast-paced nature to the book to cover as much ground as possible, but sitting at just 416 pages, the author could have spent 50 pages more (which is usually the standard for adult fantasy novels) really building Aemyra's arc and her relationship with Fiorean, as well as, its complex themes.

That being said, anyone looking for their next Romantasy book would love this. I will be reading the sequel.

Thank you Net Galley and the Publisher's for an arc!

This is an interesting book to review. The story is compelling and the characters are well written and complicated but wow this book is a gut punch and dark. I’ll say if you have any sort of religious trauma this book will be a tough read for you. I had to take a break or two myself while reading.

If you liked the Bridge Kingdom series and want more dragons, then this is a great book for you to pick up. We have a scramble for the throne, murky motivations, and a character chosen at birth to rule. The plot of this book was so well written. There were a few character choices that I didn’t understand at first but then as the story progressed and we learned more about everyone’s motivations things cleared up.

The magic system and dragons were presented in a new and refreshing way. I hope that in the next book we will see more of the other kinds of magic!

I expect that many people will rate this book higher than me. I rated four stars just because of how difficult some of the scenes were for me to read. This book is dark, and it did get to me at some points. It’s a testament to how well written is as it made me panic as it headed into some dark storylines.

A very compelling start to the series. I imagine that anyone looking for a complex world with lots of political intrigue will pick this up!

Oh my Goddess, that was a really good book! I am already itching to read the second one! It was fast paced and so enthralling. Had me hooked from the first chapter.

I do very much appreciate it the main character being a bisexual woman, whose sexuality is relevant through the book. I also appreciate it was written by a queer author.

I wish there was more diversity beyond that, there weren't any side characters who were noticably people of color. It felt like a very white book.

We also need to talk about how the MC and her love interest are distant cousins, to the point they have the same last name and near identical features. It's uncomfy.

The pacing of the second half of the book is a little too quick, choices are made that I wish had much more build up.

All of this said, as far as romantasy books go, it's an enjoyable read.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an early copy of this book! Below is my honest review.

Rating: 4 starts out of 5 stars

Summary of the plot:
Tir Teine used to be ruled by goddesses, queens, and their dragons until one generation decided to switch it up and put kings on the thrones. Ever since then, dragons have long disappeared except for three: two of which are bonded with the current royal family members and one is in the wild (called The Terror). Aemyra was born blessed by the goddess with the ability to control fire and bond with a dragon. For most of her life, she was kept hidden from the throne, training and waiting for her moment.

One day, the king dies and she and her father see this as an opportunity to seize the throne. But things don't quite go as planned, so Aemyra and her people go into hiding. But then she's able to bond with the Terror (renamed to Terrea) and tries to storm the castle to avenge her fallen family members. She's captured and forced to marry the prince, Fiorean. And as she tries to escape, she ends up catching feelings and learning more about the royal family.

Thoughts on the book:

Overall, this was a decent read. The beginning was a little slow for me, so I almost DNFed it. But I ended up finishing it and it was enjoyable. I will say, certain scenes/conflicts were resolved a little quickly in my opinion (example: how can Aemyra teach Fiorean so easily how to bond with his dragon when she had all of two seconds being with her dragon?), but I think the plot flowed nicely overall. I also didn't like how Aemyra is described as a "blessed blacksmith", but she only have one scene where she's doing blacksmith work? I would say she's more of a healer based on the scenes that she's in. Also the romance was a bit surface level, but I'm sure that will be developed more in subsequent books.

Aemyra is probably the strongest thing about this book. You can see that she sticks to her morals and her dedication to become a good queen, not one who rules with fear and violence, unlike how her father would like her to rule. I also enjoyed reading about how religion and sexism play a rule in society. Before, people used to worship the goddesses, but now people have been forced to convert to another religion. Also interesting to see the correlation between queens on the throne and dragons that remain alive (which we don't have an explanation as to why this is).

I don't really like how people compare this to Throne of Glass or Fourth Wing or really any popular series now. I don't think this book is anything like that. Sure, there's a secret queen involved like Throne of Glass and dragons like in Fourth Wing, but this book is its own plot and story. Therefore, if you did NOT like Throne of Glass or Fourth Wing, don't worry--this book may still be enjoyable to you!

You had me at Dragons!! This story was brutal, yet beautiful.
Aemyra is such a strong, fierce, and snarky character. The amount of empowering oneself and others in this book is everything.
The relationship between Aemyra and Fiorean is so strong! Their love/hate relationship keeps you on your toes and has you rooting for them to finally admit their connection.
If you like Fantasy, with a hint of romance, this book is for you!
Not to mention the cover is gorgeous! Can't wait to add this to my bookshelf!

When I said this book had me screaming!!! I quite literally finished it within 48 hours. A political fantasy with (proper!) Celtic influence, a true enemies to lovers relationship happening, and a plot that isn’t just a laundry list of people going places and doing things…this is really rare for me to love a dragon romantasy book. So if you love dragon books and felt that most of those type of books rely way too much on tropes and not much plot wise, you will love this.
As someone who hates almost 90% of dragon romantasy books that are marketed as “enemies to lovers” because it never felt like true enemies to lovers, I was FED. The two main characters, Aemyra and Fiorean were constantly trying to kill each other before eventually fucking ugh it was so great!
World building wise, you can tell this had a lot of Celtic influences through the use of religion, with a matriarchal pagan religion under attack from a monotheistic outside religion intended on destroying a culture. I hope that we seen other parts of the country in the second book, especially with that insane cliffhanger of an ending.
I’m just very annoyed I read this so fast cause who knows when the second book comes out.

This book is beautiful and brutal and tragic. The main characters are so endearing, you can truly feel the love and devotion they have for their families, and for their people. Aemyra is snarky and unyielding in her beliefs. I loved that she was always looking to empower herself and other women. She also goes through some truly dark emotional and physical traumas (that are detailed in the book, so read trigger warnings first) and is so resilient and strong despite all she faces. And I have such a soft spot for Fiorean with his caveman possessiveness and protectiveness of Aemyra, even though they're supposed to be enemies. The tension and angst between the two of them was perfection. The magic system involves elemental magic, and those with magic can strengthen it by bonding with a creature - DRAGONS in the case of our main characters. I wish we got a little more personality from the dragons, but otherwise I loved this book so much. The ending had me gasping. I NEEEEEED book 2! Thanks Netgalley and Random House for the e-ARC!

Captivating and entertaining! A Fate Forged in Fire was a rollercoaster of action and plot twists. I enjoyed Hazel McBride’s writing style, and the characters grew on me. I am eager to follow their paths in book #2.

In the first installment of the duology, readers are introduced to Aemyra, a sassy and fierce woman with fire wielding power. She has lived in hiding as a blacksmith’s daughter with her twin brother waiting for the king’s death so she can bond to his dragon and claim her rightful spot on the throne. When the king dies, Aemyra’s makes herself known as the true heir, but her ambitious plan falls apart. Prince Fiorean is the most powerful fire-wielding dragon-rider and things are always heated when these two are in the same room. He is an interesting character, and I enjoyed his arc through the book.

Aemyra finds herself behind enemy lines, corruption spreading, and does not know who to trust. The theme of sacrifice is heavy in this book, and I just hope she finds some light in the next book! The book ends with a surprising cliffhanger. I cannot wait to see what happens in book #2.

416 pages
Expected publication date: May 27, 2025
Rating: 4.5/5

Thank you @netgalley for the ARC.

If I could give A Fate Forged in Fire a million stars I would. I have a feeling this is going to be a hot hot book next summer, it's BEYOND incredible!

Think Game of Thrones x Reign x Scottish Fantasy. Clash of Clans. It has intricate world building which so many books seem to be missing these days.

Our FMC Aemyra and her twin brother have been hiding in plain site for years until it was time for her to reclaim her throne. They both have fire magic (the magic system Hazel McBride has created is really neat as there are others with magic that control different elements). Those with magic also usually bond with creatures, and Aemyra is hoping to claim a dragon for herself as there are pretty much none left.

After things don't go according to plan, she ends up needing to form an alliance with Prince Fiorean (whose father/brother currently sits on the throne). Their banter is everything and I loved seeing their relationship develop. There's also some great *spice*.

I don't want to give too much away but I love that Hazel McBride isn't afraid of battles filled with gore and executions. Definitely check the trigger warnings before reading this book!

It ends on a cliffhanger and I am truly dying to get the next book.

FIVE FREAKING STARS.

This book had me hooked from the start. From literally page 1, I wanted to know more about Aemyra and her journey. She is strong and determined to fight for her birthright.

I do suggest reading the trigger warnings at the beginning of the book as there are very dark topics.

Pick up this book now.

4.5 ⭐️ rounded up. finally, a dragon romantasy that i LOVED. this was so intricate, with such an interesting love interest? i loved its exploration of misogyny and religion’s role in power (or lack thereof). and ofc i loved Hot Dragon Boy, as i love all my Hot Dragon Boys. I NEED BOOK 2.

There were so many things I loved about this book. First of all, can we talk about the House of the Dragon vibes? Because I very much enjoyed the House of the Dragon vibes. I am sure any girl who loves fantasy, dragons and a zesty red-hot heroine will also love this story.

Let's start with the things that were not my favorite first:
1) I wasn't a huge fan of the love story. I felt their feelings for each other were mostly surface level and they were merely strongly attracted to each other because they saw parts of themselves in the other they could empathize with. I would have liked to see more emotional growth before they really started to accept their relationship. Especially considering Aemyra's predicaments at that time, I find she started giving in to him too quickly. I think it would have made more sense if she begun to reciprocate her confusing feelings just a little bit later on.
2) There was a period near the beginning where I felt myself getting a bit detached from the story/characters and I found it difficult to try to get to read it further, but I pushed through that area and quickly found myself unable to drop it afterwards.
3) I would have liked to know a little more about Aemyra's family tree to try to understand who is kin vs who is not. At one point I thought Aemyra was directly related to her love interest.

Now onto the things I loved:
1) Aemyra as a the female heroine was a badass! I loved her sassy, fiery nature and felt myself laughing out loud a few times at some of her retorts (which I found pretty clever for a few of them). She was an interesting character that was by no means perfect and had enough faults of her own to keep her working towards her end goal. You couldn't help but cheer for her success.
2) I could NOT stop reading this once I hit a certain point of the plot. I had to know what would happen next.
3) I loved the parallels and allegories in reference to current modern themes, politics and religious dogma and how easily a society can easily succumb to corruption behind those in power.
4) The dragons and their stories/personalities was an obvious hit for me as well

I always purchase copies of the ARCs I enjoy best and this one will be no different. Can't wait to see what happens in the next installment.

4.5/5

She wants the throne, they want her submission.

This book is full of emotional ups and downs. Aemyra is a future queen in hiding and when the king dies she makes a play for the throne. Fiorean is a prince bonded to a dragon that gets in her way.

This book sucked me in right away. It is an easy read (aside from the Gaelic words that I had to look up occasionally) and relatively short. There’s enough character backstory without it becoming boring before the real story kicks off. The author has a good writing style which maintains a fast pace without excluding necessary details.

The religious theme and some of Aemyra’s sexual preferences made me uncomfortable and almost ruined the book for me at times. However, I continued reading as the character tension was delicious and DRAGONS. Who doesn’t love a strong FMC and super strong dragons fighting against oppression?!

If you like Fourth Wing or SJMaas, this book is for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Fate Forged in Fire by Hazel McBride is a refreshing dive into fantasy, filled with vivid world-building, intense magic, and a protagonist you can’t help but root for. Aemyra’s journey is captivating; she’s fierce, flawed, and constantly evolving, making her feel incredibly real. The author’s writing style is richly descriptive, pulling readers into every setting and conflict, while the pacing keeps things fresh and intense. What I loved most was the balance of action, character development, and a beautifully crafted slow-burn romance that added depth to the plot without overshadowing it.

The world is easy to get lost in, with every detail serving to enrich the plot and Aemyra’s personal growth. The writing is straightforward yet emotive, making it a great pick for readers who appreciate well-built fantasy worlds and characters with emotional layers. There’s a smooth flow that makes this a great read for both fantasy lovers and those dipping their toes into the genre.

The pacing in the beginning is a bit on the slow side, which allows for deeper world-building but might feel a little drawn-out for those who prefer a quick start. Also, while the side characters are interesting, a bit more depth would have added an extra layer to Aemyra’s relationships and motivations.

Fate Forged in Fire ignites with passion, power, and a heroine who burns brighter than her challenges—a mesmerizing must-read for every fantasy lover.


Overall, this is a stellar start to what promises to be an engaging series. I’d give it a strong 4.5 stars and definitely look forward to continuing the series!

4.5⭐️
2.5🌶️

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for a copy of this e-arc!

Wow! What a journey this book took you on!

A Fate Forged in Fire is book 1 of a dulogy that centers around Aemyra, the hidden female heir to Tir Tiene, a matriarchal society where woman were rulers. However, after a century of male only heirs being born, it has slowly fallen away from worshipping their goddesses and instead the True Religion has seized an opportunity for power and to suppress woman from every angle.

Once the current king dies, it is on Aemyra to step out of the shadows and make herself known as the true born female heir to the throne. The royal family and the True Religion leaders however will not allow her to claim what’s rightly hers. Forced to deal with one of her greatest enemies but undeniable attraction to, Fiorean, Prince of Tir Tiene, Aemyra must fight for her birthright and her budding feelings for the deadly prince.

Warning 🚫: I do suggest reading the Author’s Note for the trigger warnings. There are topics in the book that are dark and may be triggering for some.

When I saw this come up on NetGalley, after reading the blurb, I knew it was going to be right up my alley. It’s such a new and unique world for a fantasy romance book. The magic system is different and the various clans, families, etc. just bring an overall intrigue to the reader. I will say, it took a bit to get used to all the Scottish stylings and culture influence as someone who isn’t overly aware of them to begin with. I do feel like the author does well explaining things without it feeling like she’s explaining it.

I read this book in 24 hours. From the very beginning it brings you right into the heart of the story. It took directions I didn’t see coming and other parts I was able to predict, but I like the mix of those 2 things.

The spice 🌶️🌶️ is slow burn but pays off in a big way! It didn’t take away from the plot but added to the story I felt.

Story does end on a cliffhanger.

I’m only so sad that I got this e-arc so early before the release because now it means it’s going to feel like FOREVER before book 2 comes out 😭 just kidding, I am so happy to have received this arc! But I will definitely be reading book 2!