arc read alert !! available tomorrow, may 27th

this was such a fun read. it was a bit hard in the beginning with learning how to properly say the names. but once it got going, i throughly enjoyed it and absolutely ate the book up

thank you so much to netgalley and random house publishing book for the arc 🩵

General vibe: enemies to lovers, dragons, fire 🔥, war, magic ✨
Could I put it down? Nope! Took a bit to world build but once I hit 40% I was sucked in
Would I recommend? Yes!

So happy I was able to get this early from @hazelmcbrideauthor via @netgalley 🥳 This was book 1 in her new series and I’m hooked. There were dragons, there was fire (lots of fire 🔥), magic and tensionnn 🤌🏼. I wish there was a little more spice but maybe in future books. Left kinda wrapped up but also with more story to tell. Looking forward to more in this series!!

The potential exceeded the execution but there were still some great moments and who doesn't love a dragon? I wasn't sure if I would rate it two or three stars but the potential and the dragons won me over.

I had really high hopes for this book given the blurb for it and it had just about everything I look for in a fantasy. It really fell flat for me. The pacing was really slow and the way too fast without much explanation, it struggled to grip me. I put this book down ad picked it up a lot, it took me over a month to finally finish it. I should probably have DNF'd it. Ameyra was a horrible character, there was no redeemable quality to her, she made me think of every woman I've ever met that made it a point to put other women down to make herself feel better and more important. Fiorean was a flat character, so much so, I felt anything for these two was be forced. Such a bummer.

A Fate Forged In Fire is a bit slow to start, but I got sucked in once we really started to engage more with the dragons.

Things I loved:
- Loved the bond with Terrea, wish we had more of it.
- Immersion into the worldbuilding and language
- Character development of Aemyra - she makes some dumb choices, but it felt as though she was being very real. I appreciated getting to watch her come to terms with challenges of claiming her birthright, even with continued betrayals and challenges.

Things I didn't love:
- Adarian - we had basically no mention of him while in the castle. Same for Sorcha. I know there were a number of other things going on, but felt a bit 'out of sight, out of mind' and like some of their importance to Aemyra was diminished.

Overall, I really enjoyed the story and can't wait for the next one, especially with how this book ended.

Thanks to the author, Random House, and NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book!

Expect the unexpected!

The vibes of this book were giving House of the Dragon meets Cruel Prince. This book was easy to devour, and it had many quotable moments. I found myself unable to put it down.

The FMC was not without her flaws I will say. There were times her character felt very immature and ignorant, and it did make it hard to root for her at times. But overall, I do think we saw her character change throughout the book which helped. The MMC was a nice addition. His dynamic with the FMC added a lot of fun tension, but I do wish there had been more moments between them. Especially at the end! But I did love that ending between them, but I still wanted more. I cannot wait to see how it will develop in book two.

Overall, I think this series has a lot of potential. I love the dragons and the magic system. I think there is so much to explore, and I can't wait to see where this series will go.

I would like to thank the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rating: 4.5/5

A Fate Forged in Fire is a new fantasy series by Hazel McBride. I really enjoyed this journey from hidden heir to Queen setting in a very engaging world and the political intrigue. I was very invested in the plot. It did take a a little while for me to become completely engaged in the book but once we got about 30% in, I was hooked. I found the Celtic inspiration behind the fantasy world, very beautiful. And as always, we love dragons!

Thank you #Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A Fate Forged in Fire is an engaging fantasy story that keeps you wanting more the entire time. The world-building, political intrigue, and tension amongst the characters make this story one that immersed me from the first page. Aemyra must take her journey to learn how to be a queen and how to navigate the political sphere that she was never truly prepared for, and watching her learn how to do so while trying to be true to herself and her beliefs makes you feel and root for her. I was absolutely enthralled by this story and I can't wait for book two!

3.5 ⭐️

The story follows Aemyra, a hidden heir forged by fire and destined to reclaim a kingdom poisoned by power and corruption. It’s a Celtic-inspired fantasy with huge stakes and an even bigger promise.

But I’ll be honest: the first half of the book was extremely tough to get through. The pacing felt slow, and the world-building was overwhelming. Between the religious influence, political intrigue, magical systems, and a lot of similar-sounding place names, I struggled to stay connected with the story. There’s so much happening, and it was frustrating at times to be so confused.

Aemyra (FMC) is fiery, passionate, and determined, but her character often felt more impulsive than strategic, which made it hard to fully buy into her role as a future queen. It’s frustrating because her rage makes sense and could have been a more powerful force if it were channeled more strategically and consistently. 

Still, when the story finally started to heat up at the halfway mark. The enemies-to-lovers arc between Aemyra and Fiorean (a cold, calculating dragon-rider loyal to the very regime she hopes to destroy) is a classic slow burn that actually works. Their dynamic is frustrating in all the right ways, and while neither character is perfect, it’s filled with tension, distrust, and longing. I only wish we got more from Fiorean (he was a little one-dimensional for being the MMC).

Also, for a book with dragons... I wanted more dragons. More background, more bonding, more presence, maybe even more chaos?

If you’re in the mood for a fantasy novel with strong themes of power, legacy, and rebellion, and don’t mind a slower build through a world of religious power plays, corrupt rulers, and a crumbling matriarchy, this is one worth sticking with. Aemyra may be forged in fire, but it’s clear her story is just beginning. I’ll be back for book two in this fiery duology because I need to know what happens next!

And finally - thank you so much to NetGalley and Ballantine/Delacorte Press for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

A Fate Forged in Fire is a new novel by Hazel McBride that offers magic, political intrigue, and an enemies-to-lovers storyline that romantasy reads are likely to enjoy — but I do think there were some places where I wanted more from the book.

The story centers on Aemyra, a blacksmith with fire magic who is hiding her true royal ancestry. Unlike many romantasy books, this royal blood isn’t the big reveal. Aemyra quickly launches into a campaign to claim the throne in the face of the anti-magic “True Religion”, who would stand against her claim to rule. Aemyra is loyal to the “old gods”, where the society was previously ruled by a matriarchy of “goddess blessed” heirs.

The pacing and story structure was curious to me - I think the author packs a lot into the length of the book, and for that reason, sometimes I felt as though parts of the story were either rushed or could have used more development, while other times, I felt like the story was dragging. It could have been 2 books to give the characters and lore more room to develop, especially the main characters Aemyra and Fiorean - some of their relationship felt a little too reliant on tropes and I felt some of the dialog had the cringe factor, but the ending gives me some hope for the remaining book. I do think duologies are the perfect length, so I will definitely read the next installment.

I liked it, but wanted to love it! Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine / Delacorte for providing an advance copy. It’s out May 27th. Opinions are my own!

In this first installment of the Bonded to Beasts duology, Aemyra has been waiting for an opportunity to strike and take back what’s hers. When the time comes, politics, oppressive religion, a marriage of convenience and the mighty calculated Prince Fiorean stand in the way. And he hides a dark secret that will change Aemyra’s story forever.

I really liked the world building and the matriarchy aspect of the old society. It’s a theme not explored often, but when you combine that with dragons… it makes a powerful statement. I also truly enjoyed the enemies to lovers in this book. The banter was exquisite and I wish we had more of it! More Fioreon, please!

I did have a hard time understanding Aemyra and her plans. She’s portrayed as plotting complex machinations that will help her accomplish her goal of taking back what she lost, but the results were lacking. Maybe this is part of her arc, but I had a harder time trying to root for her by the end of the book.

The dragon scenes GAGGED me! They were so cool and the way the author threaded the bonding with the characters and the throne was beautiful. Also, need more dragons! Can’t have enough dragons! Needless to say, I will definitely pick up the conclusion after that helluva cliffhanger!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
Plot: 📚📚📚
World building: 🌎🌎🌎.5
Character development: 👤👤👤
Writing style: ✍🏻✍🏻✍🏻
Reading enjoyment: 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

I was so excited to dive into A Fate Forged in Fire. Celtic-inspired fantasy, dragons, and a magically blessed blacksmith destined to take down corrupt rulers? It sounded like everything I’d love. But unfortunately, the story didn’t quite live up to the promise.

The magic system was intriguing and the setup had real potential, but the world building just never came together for me. I found myself confused about the territories and the conflicts between them, and I kept waiting for it all to make sense, but it didn’t. And Aemyra, our main character, didn’t help much. She came across as immature and kind of entitled, which made it really hard to connect with her or root for her journey.

The side characters didn’t leave much of an impression either. Most of them felt flat and underdeveloped, which made the story feel a little hollow overall. Even with the way it ended, I don’t think I’ll be continuing the series. It had some cool ideas, but the execution just wasn’t for me.

I am already ITCHING for the next book, because that ending was INSANE.

The world building was progressive, it started with a good foundation and expanded naturally. The plot kicked up quickly and did. not. stop!!! Something gripped me in almost every single chapter. I felt the full spectrum of emotions through the story along with our FMC… anger, giddiness, devastation, rage, loss, betrayal, violation, warm-fuzzies.. all of it!!!

The FMC, Aemyra, delivers on every front. She faces challenge after challenge and, despite her flaws, she keeps moving in the best interest of her people.

The witty quips, feminist empowerment, and overall badass energy was top notch. I will be thinking about this every day until book 2 is released.

3.5⭐️ the world-building in the first 30% was extrtemely confusing - so many names and places and words I’d never seen or heard before. I know fantasy worlds can be hard to establish, but I really wish we had gotten more information and backstories about the magic system, the goddesses, people and the royal family history. for a while I was afraid the love intest would be her cousin (he’s her 3rd half cousin) because I didn’t understand the royal bloodline🙈

overall I did like the writing - especilally the fighting scenes, but I didn’t like how we were thrown into this magical world with little to no explenations. I did reach out to the author and she sad a lot was cut out including some important lore. I wish her publishers/she had chosen to keep a bit more of it in the book 🙌🏼

in addition to that, I wish I had had a glossary list and a family tree! that would have been an immense help😌 it did kinda click after 40%, but it would have been nice for the Scottish/Celtic words to have either explanations or translations somewhere, since I didn’t know any of them. even though I didn’t understand it, I really liked how it was incorporated into the fantasy aspect!👏🏼

it took me a while to read, and I’m not sure if that’s because of the book or because I’m swamped with uni at the moment🤷‍♀️ the premise was great and the pacing fast, but maybe a bit too fast some times. everything happened really quickly and a few times I wish we would have spent more time exploring certain moments or feelings. when things were revealed to Aemyra she didn’t really act on it, which felt like something her character should have done. and the moments we were supposed to <i>feel</i> didn't really have any impact on me 🙈

the ending honestly annoyes me a bit. firstly, I kinda guessed it, but secondly I really wanted Aemyra to show a grand display of power for once, but that just didn’t happen😞

I think the series has potential, so I could see myself reading the next book in the future. I did get an uncorrected ARC/proof so I don’t know if some things mentioned above has been changed in the final version 🤷‍♀️

thank you to Hazel McBride for the e-ARC! this is my 100% honest review

I really tried.

I was white knuckling this book the whole way through. I was wondering if this would change in the last hundred pages like some other authors like to do and it just wasn't it for me. I just wanted to slap Aemyra because she reminds me of all the pretentious girls at my daughter's school. I never rooted for her and thus, I knew this book just would not land in my mind.

I can tell how others would like this (dragons!) but when I don't care about the main character... I am done. Sorry!

"A Fate Forged in Fire" by Hazel McBride is a fantastic 5-star fantasy read! Aemyra has been living in hiding, waiting for the moment she can claim her birthright as Queen of Tìr Teine. But when the current king dies, nothing goes according to plan. Her biggest rival is Prince Fiorean, who will stop at nothing to ensure his family retains control of the crown. Aemyra and Fiorean clash multiple times, leaving readers wondering which family will ultimately triumph.

I don’t read a lot of fantasy, so this story truly amazed me! It’s fantastically written, with superb world-building and rich layers of political and religious intrigue. Plus, there are dragons and magic—what more could you want in a fantasy novel? If you're hoping for romance, it appears about halfway through the story.

Some of the names and terms are derived from Gaelic, so be sure to check out the helpful pronunciation guide at the back of the book. Additionally, make sure to check out the author’s note to see the content warning, there are topics which may not appeal to all readers, including strong negative opinions towards women from many of the male characters.

I only wish the second book in this duology were already out—I can’t wait to see how the story concludes!

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Delacorte Press, Hazel McBride, and NetGalley for providing me with the opportunity to read this ARC and share my honest review.

In A Fate Forged in Fire, Hazel McBride delivers a sizzling Celtic-inspired fantasy romance packed with fire magic, court intrigue, and dragon riders. Tìr Teine was once a land ruled by powerful queens, but centuries of weak kings and the rise of the oppressive True Religion have left the territory in decay. Enter Aemyra: fire-blessed, fiercely stubborn, and raised in hiding. Her plan is simple—bond with the dead king’s dragon, claim her rightful place on the throne, and protect her people. Naturally, everything goes wrong.

Aemyra, like many modern fantasy heroines, is frustratingly stubborn and rarely listens, but despite myself, I couldn’t help but root for her. Her dynamic with Prince Fiorean, a dragon-rider loyal to the very regime she seeks to dismantle, is electric. He’s cold, arrogant, and… somehow still very likable. Their enemies-to-lovers arc is deliciously slow-burn with just the right amount of tension, angst, and betrayal.

Let’s talk about the dragons. Bonded dragons? Yes, please. I just wish we got more: more emotion, more inner connection, more of that deep, magical bond we were promised.

The villains? Horrifying. In the best (and worst) ways. These aren’t your cartoonishly evil bad guys. They are insidious, deeply misogynistic men with power, and wow, Hazel really doesn’t hold back. There’s one scene that left me full of absolute rage. If you’re sensitive to religious themes, consider this your heads-up: the True Religion’s grip on the court is suffocating and deeply reminiscent of real-world extremism.

Pacing-wise, this book surprised me. The middle never dragged, and I was fully immersed until the last chapter and a half, where everything exploded. I finished this book furious. Like, scream-into-a-pillow mad. Hazel, what did you just DO?

Will I read the sequel? Absolutely. Do I trust Hazel not to wreck me again? Absolutely not.

If you love enemies to lovers, feisty FMCs, sarcastic-but-sweet MMCs, fantastical creatures, dragons, and a touch of Scottish myth, A Fate Forged in Fire will absolutely set your bookshelf ablaze.

4.5/5 ⭐️

Aemyra has been blessed with fire magic but is in hiding until her time to claim the throne as the rightful heir. Prince Fiorean has also been blessed with fire magic and is one of the most powerful dragon riders in the kingdom. He’s also Aemyra’s biggest adversary and is entwined in his family’s corruption that is starting to spread.

This book was a true enemies to lovers story. It was a serious slow burn but was well worth the wait. The spicy scenes were so well done. While the pacing was a bit slow to start (have to establish the world and whatnot) it really picked up after the first few chapters. I am a sucker for any books with dragons and definitely need more of them in book 2. I also really loved the Scottish mythology and lore this world was built around.

I loved this book and can’t wait for the next book!

Tropes:

🔥True enemies to lovers
🔥Scottish mythology
🔥Dragons
🔥Feminine rage
🔥Political intrigue
🔥Religious cult and persecution
🔥Slow burn
🔥Touch her and die

Thank you to Hazel McBride, Random House, Delacorte Press, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the ebook.

**Definitely check trigger warnings on this one**

Aemyra is a blacksmith with a secret. In the city she lives in an oppressive religious order has influence over the king. This group is against magic and Aemyra is biding her time for the king to die so she can bond with his dragon and get rid of the True Religion.

Someone said this is Outlander meets House of Dragons and that is the perfect way to describe this book!! I will say this did take me a bit to get into. Some phrases like “pissing” rain were a bit strange to me. And the world building was a bit confusing. But after 20% I was obsessed with this book! The FMC is very feisty and literally gave zero f*cks which I liked. Also this is a true enemies to lovers!!!! I’ve been waiting for this for so long!!! Aemyra is such a strong FMC. Truly. The trauma she goes through in this book is no joke. She is the epitome of feminine rage. And the spice! Omg!!! It was so good! The ending almost had me shedding tears!! I need Hazel to go ahead and release the next book tomorrow. That’d be great!

🔥 Dragons
🗡️ Elemental Magic
🔥 Celtic Inspired
🗡️ Hidden Heir
🔥 Political / Religious Intrigue
🗡️ Enemies to Lovers

When I first started reading this book, I thought it was very slow paced. It took 10 chapters just to figure out who the FMC really is to the whole plot of the story. After chapter, the author was like buckle up butter cup we are going for a ride. It took off. I loved the action. Magics role in the book and how that affected the world in the book. The fact this whole book is based on matriarchy instead of patriarchy was absolutely amazing. I loved how inclusive it is. This 🏳️‍🌈 LGBTQ certified. I loved it.