I always appreciate a fantasy where the lead female character is a strong one and I am not cringing about the overly abusive relationship she is in. I loved the world that McBride created, and I appreciated that the main character was older and not an 18 year old helpless virgin. The ending left it open for another book - which I hope the author writes! Overall this is a fantasy series I would recommend over others and I look forward to the continuation of the story.

Prior to reading this I heard someone say the love interest was inspired by a Targaryen… so you know I was excited to receive this arc from NetGalley. It had a premise I haven’t read before. It was everything a romantasy book needs to keep me interested. The fmc wasn’t insufferable and I related to her sneakiness ALOT

I personally did not enjoy this book. I found Aemyra so hard to like, that it made enjoying the rest of the book hard.

seems like this will be a book that’s either for people, or not for people and i just fall into the “not” category.

A Fate Forged in Fire is an epic mix of elemental magic, dragons, and slow-burn romance that had me hooked once I got more comfortable with the names, terms/language and initial world-building. Aemyra is a total badass, and her tension-filled dynamic with Fiorean is perfection. The stakes are high, the betrayals cut deep, and the romance? I’d give it a two chili pepper spice rating. If you love powerful heroines, enemies-to-lovers, dragon bonding and riding, action and war, plot twists, and betrayal you need this book! But fair warning—that cliffhanger will have you begging for the sequel!

Tropes:
• LGBTQ representation / Bisexual FMC
• enemies to lovers
• slow burn
• open door romance
• dragon bonding
• dragon riding
• elemental magic
• betrayal

Thank for the opportunity to be an ARC reader!

This book was amazing and I'm devestated that it isn't being released unti May this year! So many times I've told people on Threads to add this to their TBR! Trigger warning - If you're not ready to be absolutely devestated and fall madly into this world than this book might not be for you until the rest of the series is released but don't let this stop you from adding this to your TBR immediately.

However if you are someone who likes to rattle your emotional support waterbottle in shock than this book is definetly for you. It will grab your full attention, take you on an adventure and leave you with brain tickles for days later as you wonder what, the who and how did that all happen? This is a Celtic-inspired fantasy featuring women, dragons and a touch her and you d!e vibes.

🗺️ The world building is pleasantly presented and is easy to follow along. It's comfortable fantasty world building that won't confuddle you.

🌶️ The spice is here but it is slow burn spice.

📚 This book is for you if you enjoy a sassy FMC and family issues. Please do ensure that you read the trigger warnings before reading as there are a few topics that could be triggering.

✈️ An easy read that's perfect for travel and is a fantastic start to the series. I can't wait to get my hands on the next many book as soon as it is available!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC to review!

I seem to be falling out of love with romantasy, but this one was just ok. I wished it felt more original.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I was not that engaged for the first half of the book, mostly because I found the main character, Aemyra, insufferable, and the plot didn't seem like it knew where it wanted to go. About halfway through, though, things picked up significantly. The twist was somewhat predictable, but I'm looking forward to the second book to find out how this all concludes. I'd recommend to fans of House of the Dragon.

I had to DNF this book at 34%.

The story was simultaneously dragging on and on as well as being all over the place. I feel like the plot was just too messy. I found myself getting confused quite often and had to reread many sections to understand.

The FMC was very back and forth in how she was portrayed. I couldn't connect with her or really any of the other characters. Everyone came across as very flat and one dimensional.

Not to mention it just seemed like every little thing was going wrong. This book was written at a solid downward curve with not a single thing going right. It felt very unrealistic (yes I know its fantasy) but I just couldn't get behind it.

The thing I really liked about this book was the female rage and queer rep, the plot felt a little messy at times and I had to go back and re read because I got confused but that could just be me? I can't wait to read more by this author and overall I'd say this is a solid debut

I’m rating this one a 3 star because I know it’ll be enjoyed by SOMEONE, that someone just isn’t me.

I ended up DNF’ing at 34% because I felt like the story was severely lagging and all over the place at the same time.

I did not like this book. I had to DNF on chapter 4. This book did not draw me in, right away I knew I did not like the main character Aemyra. Sorry this was just not my cup of tea.

Oh. My. God. This book was absolutely incredible.
I loved the story line but found myself going back and forth on Amerya’s character. First Amerya feels inferior to the other women around her and that did turn me off a bit, however when her world is turned upside down, I felt myself empathize with the character! I felt like Amerya was multifaceted and I love seeing that in a story. The battles, the tension, the true enemies to lovers — LOVED IT!! Overall, I am so excited for this book to come out & will absolutely be recommending it to fans of When the Moon Hatched!

Dragons, Scotland, bisexual badass FMC? Yes please! I had high hopes for this book, and while I loved parts of it - I have to be honest and say it was also hard to get through at times.

The feminism was 👌🏻 *chef’s kiss*

You will definitely get pissed off with female rage several times during this book, I found that really refreshing.

The queerness was also a big plus for me, but I expected more. It’s still 97% hetero.

I had trouble following the avalanche of names and clans and leaders and keeping them apart. Sometimes the war-strategy info dumps would be boring and unnecessarily long.

The plot felt a little messy and there some skipping over stuff here and there. It was hard to follow at times because of all the Gaelic words.

A big plus was the intense love scenes, expect the blood play - not my thing… 😅

I could not relate to the FMC unfortunately, I also found her annoying at times, as I’ve read on here in other reviews.

To end on a high note: it’s a very refreshing book in a genre where that is very difficult to achieve. Not in a big way, but in small world, plot and character components.

I think this writer has a lot of potential and I’m excited to see what else she will create. I’m all for more queerness in the romantasy genre! 🌈

-

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc for a honest review.

DNF @ 40%

The synopsis was very promising and I had high hopes. However, I didn’t not care about any of the characters, or the world, and I felt like the FMC was all over the place.

When I read “I had no idea the air moved so much” I figured that was a good place to stop for me.

A Fate Forged in Fire by Hazel McBride isthe first book in the Bonded to Beasts duology. The story follows Aemyra, who’s been living in hiding as a blacksmith for most of her life. But she's destined to be queen and has to use her intelligence and fire magic to overthrow the current kingdom once the king dies. The book is inspired by Celtic lore and takes place in a world that was once ruled by woman. Unfortunately, this world has weakened under the rule of kings and the influence of the True Religion, which is led by anti-magic men.

To fully claim her throne, Aemyra needs to bond with a dragon. The plot is full of political intrigue and scheming characters, Prince Florian, a dragon rider, has been supporting his corrupt family. After Aemyra and Florian enter into a marriage of convenience, they form an uneasy alliance, and their attraction draws them together. Despite Aemyra's vows to kill Florian, she has never acted on them.

As Aemyra navigates court politics, she uncovers just how deep the corruption runs. Aemyra was a bit hard to root for at times and I found her haughty, arrogant, and often makes poor decisions. I wanted her to be more supportive and empowering towards the other women in the story. Florian, on the other hand, felt very flat to me. I needed more depth to truly enjoy his role.

The story is fast-paced, and I'm hopeful that the conclusion will bring some growth for our main character.

Thank you Net Galley for the advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A Fate Forged in Fire is the first in a duology, and does a fantastic job building a world that sucks you in and will not let go. I loved that this fantasy romance was filled with political intrigue, sexy banter and TENSION. The fact that dragons are also involved here is the icing on the cake. I loved the FMC; Aemyra is a complete badass. Would recommend to anyone who loves this genre, especially fans of the enemies to lovers trope.

DRAGONS. Okay, with that out of the way, this was an interesting adventure with a great enemies to lovers romance.

A Fate Forged in Fire is an epic fantasy with rich world-building and a gripping plot. McBride’s vivid writing and complex characters make this a must-read for fantasy lovers.

I was disappointed in this book and I had to DNF it. At first I was intrigued and excited about it but the more I read the more uncomfortable I became. It felt very anti Christian to me and felt very offensive. I know there are people who will like this book but not me. I did give it a fair try!

Aemyra has been waiting her whole life to take a throne that is rightfully hers. Living as a blacksmith in the very place she wishes to rule, she waits for the king to die so she can claim his dragon and take the throne. Except nothing goes according to plan following the king’s death. Aemyra must survive through the court and it’s corruption all while battling her unbidden feelings for the cold, dragon riding prince Fiorean.

The cover is very pretty and suits the story well! I enjoyed the dragons in this story as I love dragons. It just didn’t fully click with me. Aemyra is an interesting character, both powerful but definitely needs to learn more and mature for the goals she strives for in the book.

It’s definitely a cool book, filled with fire and royal corruption, I hope the second book clicks better, since I will still read it so I can see more of the dragons.

Definitely give it a try if you like fantasy, romance, dragons and fiery heroines.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Delacorte Press for the chance to read an arc of this book.