I sort of liked this? But also struggled to get through it. I have very mixed feelings.

I was a bit distracted while reading the first 30%, so it’s hard to say if it was the book’s fault or mine, but it took me a while to get into this. And even then, I never felt fully invested. The worldbuilding was a little hard to follow, especially in the beginning. I struggled a bit to keep track of all the names and places and their connections to each other. I also never really connected with the characters, especially the MC Aemyra.

I feel like the intention was to portray Aemyra as strong, powerful, and confident, but she instead came across as arrogant, childish, and naive. She behaves as if she is above others and their ordinary lives and humble work, walking about with a holier-than-thou attitude. She makes rash decisions without considering how they might affect others. Her actions are reactive and short-sighted, focused on what’s happening immediately in front of her, without regard for the bigger picture. She’s quick to resort to violence—despite her disdain for her enemies doing the same and her claim that, as queen, she “won’t let senseless violence stand.” It gave me the impression that she has no real grasp of what it takes to lead. Statements like, “When she sat the throne, her people would prosper.” feel naive, seeing as there’s no evidence that simply having her in power would change anything for the better.

By the end of the book, Aemyra's character may have improved a bit, but she still carried a lingering sense of unwarranted entitlement. Ultimately, she didn't prove to me as the reader that she’d make a good queen.

(And side note—really, no one ever guessed she was the heir?? Supposedly she always had her hair covered, but like, what about her eyebrows?? Not once did even a single strand of hair come free? Not even while she was with Sorcha?? Anyway…)

The romance was good—a true, slow burn, enemies-to-lovers. You could definitely feel the tension and mutual hatred. The transition from enemies to lovers could have been smoother, though, and the MMC’s romantic declaration was a bit cheesy for my taste.

I did like the way the dragons were written—brutal, wild, and mysterious—and the authors take on the bond between Dúileach and their creature companions.

Not sure yet if I’ll pick up the sequel, but the ending was intriguing enough, and this is only set to be a duology, so maybe.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing me with a copy of this book for review consideration.

I was really excited for this Celtic inspired dragon-rider romantasy. Their society that used to have matriarchal rulers has been forced to follow the kings who never have daughters. Plus there’s an oppressive religious group creeping their way into the territory and taking over. Aemyra tries to take the throne that should be hers. This book had so much potential. Love the Celtic roots. I love dragon books. The dragons are dying out, and no female dragons have been seen in many years. I was super intrigued about their matriarchal society.

Unfortunately, the book fell flat for me. Aemyra is really annoying. She’s pretty bratty, full of herself, and seems to be good at everything while also messing up everything. I didn’t enjoy following her around. The romance is also annoying. I’m not into redheads, but I tried for this guy. They truly are enemies, and I thought that maybe we’d get a really good enemies-to-lovers story. They loathed each other, tried killing each other, he essentially killed important people in her life, and then they were making out suddenly. I wasn’t even remotely invested in their love life. He’s had a dragon for more than half of his life and yet doesn’t even know anything about his dragon while she’s an instant expert. I was rolling my eyes throughout the entire book. The decisions the characters made, the things they did, and the reactions they had were ridiculous/silly.

It took me half a month to read this when I typically read almost a book a day. I still might read the next book. Even at the end, I still see potential. Giving it a very generous 3 ⭐️s redeemed by the action packed last 25% of the book.

Love me an epic fantasy with dragons! And this was no exception. Fantastic job with great world building.

This is a debut that intertwines fantasy with a passionate romance, set in a world where magic and matriarchy have been suppressed by a rising patriarchal regime. The story follows Aemyra, a fire-blessed blacksmith destined to become the first queen in centuries, as she confronts political corruption, religious oppression, and her own tumultuous feelings for a dragon-riding adversary. It offers a thrilling journey for fans of romantasy, that left me eager for the sequel.

This story has lots of world building, and oh! the twists and turns. I had a difficult time with the character names in this novel, I felt like I was just winging the pronunciation a bit. Might have been a better audio book for me. Looking forward to continuing with Hazel McBride and the next book.

I think this was trying too hard to be "House of the Dragon" for my taste. I enjoy that show, but this felt SO similar to that show that I just couldn't appreciate it on its own merits. The writing was ok, but there were definitely some clunky turns of phrase that really didn't work for me. The dedication was a banger, and I loved it. The rest of it didn't work for me. The characters were flat and inconsistent, the story felt like a reproduction of one I have already experienced, and the romance was just not there. This was a miss for me.

From the first page, I was hooked—torn between aching heartbreak and breathless anticipation. The worldbuilding is rich and immersive, the kind that wraps around you like a velvet cloak while whispering secrets in your ear. But it’s the characters—flawed, fiery, and utterly unforgettable—that make this story truly shine.

The heroine is strong but scarred, beautifully broken in all the right ways. And the love interest? Whew. Brooding, powerful, and possessive with a soft, tortured core he tries to hide but fails—gloriously. Their chemistry crackles like lightning in a storm, and the tension? It builds until it shatters you.

There’s fate, sacrifice, fire magic, and just the right amount of spice to keep your pulse racing and your heart clenched.

If you’re a lover of dark fantasy romance with grit, depth, and characters that live and breathe beyond the page—A Fate Forged in Fire is an absolute must-read.

Five stars, no hesitation. Now excuse me while I go cry, recover… and probably reread it.

I got the arc late and the book has already come out but I just received it, so I haven’t been able to read it yet. I will be purchasing the hard copy now that’s it’s out to support the author and will be leaving a review on Goodreads when I’ve finished. Thank you Netgalley and Hazel McBride for the arc opportunity, I look forward to reading this book! I’m highly anticipating it, and congrats on the release! 🙌🏼

“Weak men would rather guilt strong women than become strong themselves, and Aemyra was content to show him what strength truly looked like.“

A Fate Forged in Fire is a brilliant debut! The world, the banter, the magic, the dragons! This high stakes story will pull your heart strings and make you cheer on Aemyra our gritty and snarky MFC, I was ecstatic when I had the opportunity to read this one early and it did not disappoint! Fans of house of the dragon will adore this one.

This is a true enemies to lovers, and Hazel will have you turning page after page with action packed scenes, political intrigue, and this bi-furious vengeful woman ready to claim her crown.

I loved this one so so much! I also listened to part of the audiobook and really enjoyed hearing the Scottish pronunciations, and the narrator did an excellent job.

Fair warning it has a massive cliffhanger ending! I would also be aware of these TW/CW
Talk of SA/acts of SA via instrument/medical procedure, religious abuse, child loss, parental loss, knife play.
And probabaly others but those are the ones that stuck out to me.

My jaw? On the floor. I have been CONSUMED by fire, and I fear I will never be the same.

The amazing:
Aemyra was such an unbelievable badass. Her unyielding strength against all odds. But she was also very human and flawed, which I loved. She made mistakes, a lot of them. But her intentions were always so pure, and her heart is so true.
I love this conversation about feminism – that women can be strong, but they can also be a mother, but it is ultimately THEIR RIGHT TO CHOOSE. Also, the Chosen being insane religious fanatics trying to suppress magic and the matriarchy. Absolutely no parallels to reality, right? Just pure, unadulterated feminine rage.
The banter and commentary at every step of the way I stop tier. It was perfection. Also perfection? The enemies-to-lovers connection between Aemyra and Fiorean. I would say they are even further than enemies-to-lovers. The hatred these two feel for each other and yet…
Hazel McBride did an amazing job developing this fantastical world filled the magic and political intrigue. I literally have no idea who to trust, even down to the very last page.
Speaking of the last page – THE CLIFFHANGER THIS BOOK LEFT US ON. I am so distraught. I need the second book like yesterday. I need to know what happens. I will never rest until I know.

Things that prevented from being 5 star for me:
There was less world buildings and more world unloading. There was a lot of lore dumped very quickly.
The knife play was a bit much for me. That is just a personal preference.

This book was so very good. It drew me in from the very begining and had kept me going. I never got bored and I definately didn't want it to end the way it did! But the sign onf a good author is one that can get you so invested, and make you mad at a character.
The characters were believable and the writing well done. I even enjoyed the political parts which are usually my least favorite. They weren't too heavy and leangthy like some can be.

I'm really looking forward to the next book.

The previously. matriarchal kingdom of Tir Teine has had kings for over a hundred years due to the lack of female heirs. That changes when Aemyra is born to a cadet branch of the royal family and seeks out to take the throne she believes is rightfully hers. She forms a tenuous alliance with the second born prince Fiorean as she fights against the patriarchal restrictions of the new 'Chosen' religion in the region as well as trying to bond a dragon. As her father gathers an army in her name, Aemyra attempts to find allies within the court to support her rule. But will she be successful?

So this book was very clearly a knock off of 'House of the Dragon' except with changing the character's relationships so there was less incest.
(Maybe? It was never really explained exactly how closely related Aemyra and Fiorean are.) And it was a very poorly constructed copy of HOTD.

The most glaring issue this book had was its main character. Aemyra is frankly, an idiot and far too impulsive for her own good. Her complete inability to think critically about her situation made it so hard to root for her. In terms of positive qualities, Aemyra only has her feminism. Aside from that, I am confused as to why anyone should support her as queen. I understand that this is the beginning of a series and I'm sure Aemyra will undergo some sort of character arc (hopefully). However, the author has to make her compelling enough that I'm willing to go on the journey with her and I am just not. Her stupidity and lack of forethought just made me angry by the end of the book. She is obviously Rhaneyra's counterpart and to be honest, it's just disrespectful to Rhaneyra.

And for a book that purports to be feminist......where are the other fleshed out and meaningful female characters? Why wasn't Aemyra attempting to make alliances with the oppressed women of the court? Why does this book barely pass the Bechdel test? Like clearly the feminism is just there as window dressing and not to say anything meaningful about a woman's ability to lead. Just gross.

The only character that is actually an improvement on their HOTD counterpart is prince Fiorean. He is actually a more intelligent and calculating version of Aemond who knows how to play the long game.

The spicy scenes were well written. The dragons were cool. The magic was cool (except an obvious rip off of Avatar's bending magic). Other than that, this book was not good and is yet another disappointing romantasy.

Reviews going live on Tiktok, Goodreads, fable and Storygraph on 5/28

When the first paragraph features the female protagonist musing on enjoying having her face between a woman's legs, I'm wary. Not because of the LGBT representation, but because I am not going to recommend a book with descriptive sex scenes to students. I found the protagonist to be stubborn and unlikable. She's cocky. The representation of how she disliked the new religion--clearly a stand-in for Christianity--was heavy handed. F bombs, a lot of references to sex. DNF at 10%. This one just wasn't for me.

thank you so much to random house publish | ballantine & hazel mcbride for this arc via netgalley!!

unfortunately i just was not able to get into this one. i think it’s just because i am just not in the mood for a fantasy rn and it has a slower beginning that didn’t really suck me in enough. definitely will keep this one in mind to give a second chance in the future because I love the premise!

(did not leave a star rating on goodreads/storygraph)

DNF. I requested A Fate Forged in Fire because the premise of the story sounded interesting. Although the plot had some neat elements, the magic and political system didn't hold up. I thought the world building could have been fleshed out more. At the beginning of the story, the author dumps a lot of information onto the readers. I wished she spread out that information or wrote it in a manner that was easier to understand. I found the world building confusing and overwhelming to decipher. There also were a lot of characters to follow. It was hard to keep track of them all. As a result, the characters felt one-dimensional, and the plot felt all over the place. I wasn't the biggest fan of the main character, Aemyra. I found her immature and wasn't a fan of how she treated her twin brother. This was a miss for me. Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the ARC.

A Fate Forged in Fire is a riveting Romantasy with Celtic-esque vibes, enemies to lovers, fighting for the throne, and dragon bonds.

I struggled with the first half of the book because so much time was spent on the world-building, explanation of dragon bonds, and the political unrest/history going on in Tir Teine. Once I hit the 44% mark though it was well earned and the action, the tension, and the family dynamics truly rewarded the time spent trudging through the first part of the book.

I liked the FMC, Aemyra, but she is going to either frustrate you or empower you with her constant mistakes, arrogance, and ruthless edge. Our queen does not play, and she will not go down without a fight. She was constantly handed difficult situations but rose to the challenge (albeit not always gracefully) and met her adversity head on.

Coming to the end of the book with THAT cliffhanger I am definitely looking forward to Book 2 because I was not expecting the betrayal and have so many questions for our MMC. Why would you do this to us, who hurt you, and are you okay?

I think this first book is setting us up for a whole lot of action for Book 2 (think Season 2 of House of the Dragon) and I am getting my popcorn because I am READY.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House/Ballantine, and Hazel McBride for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title. An honest review was requested but not required.

Aemyra is a princess in disguise, working alongside her adoptive parents as a midwife or a smith while her father plots to get her throne back. Their land has a long matriarchal tradition, making Aemyra the rightful queen. However, the influence of "the True Religion" has changed court politics. With only a handful of male dragons surviving, Aemyra must try and seize her throne when the king dies. But the plan goes awry and she is captured by the new king and his family. When she is forced to marry the prince, she discovers that not everything is quite as it seems. The beginning of a new dragon saga, I found this book impossible to set down and read it in one day!

This is romantasy but has excellent world-building and less of a focus on the romance compared to many other romantasies. While I did find Aemyra to be a bit annoying because she was terrible at staying out of trouble, I also loved her character. I cried, I laughed, and I found myself blushing.

I am a bit annoyed about the ending of this because, why did I get an early copy? That means I have to wait even longer to find out what happens next! I am eagerly awaiting future books in this series.

Thank you to Net Galley, Delacorte Press, and Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

A queen in hiding waiting for the time to claim her kingdom starts this story. Aemyra is headstrong and impulsive and yes many mistakes are made before we get to the battle for the crown. A sketchy father, a noble brother, lots of political intrigue and a spicy enemies to lovers trope are all in play. The twist at the end (definitely saw it coming) is still intriguing enough to want the next installment of this book. And did I mention there are magical abilities and DRAGONS! Thank you Netgalley and Random House for this read

This was just a great read! I am obsessed with anything fantasy at the moment, and McBride found a way to create something unique and engaging, while still giving me everything I love about the genre.

A soft DNF.

I’ve tried and tried to get sucked into this but I’ve found to challenging to stay engaged and connect with the writing style. I’ve seen other peoples reviews who really enjoyed it and I’ve seen some spoilers that have me cringing a bit. I’ll keep an open mind and perhaps try it again at a later time.