I loved this! Aemyra was a fun bisexual lead and though she was reckless in her choices I couldn't wait to see what she did next. Can't wait for next book with more dragons and magic!

A pronunciation guide is included which helps with the Scottish names

‘To become the first queen in centuries, a powerfully blessed blacksmith must use her wits and fire magic to overthrow the corrupt powers ruling her kingdom—while also fighting her growing desire for one of her dragon-riding adversaries—in the first book of a sizzling Celtic-inspired fantasy romance duology.’

A Fate Forged in Fire opens with a sedated beginning, unfurling a slow burn enemies to lovers with a tough female lead. Throw in some magic and of course my favorite mythical mofo’s, dragons! Gahh, Ima sucker for some dragons. Gimme a saddle, hand me a lasso and beam me up!

This was drama-filled, clever and unique. I have wildly mixed feelings about the FMC, Aemyra, not sure if I love her or hate her. But that’s not a bad thing necessarily. At least my emotions are in involved, right..? Religion and politics at play, & ughhh, just typing those two words makes me gurn and roll my orbs, but fortunately it played out well enough. Andddd naturally, it wouldn’t be a romantasy without leaving my ass on a crag, would it?! Noooo, of course not!

So yea, I'll just be over here, dangling and waiting for book two! I can't wait!

Big thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Delacorte Press for this arc in exchange for review!

Pub date: 5.27.2025.

Thank you to Hazel McBride and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

Aemyra, our fire wielding FMC, has been hidden away in place sight as the lost rightful queen. As news of the king's death arrives - it becomes time to strike back against and claim her place. But the kingdom has been infiltrated by the "True Religion" who demonize magic and taken over by those who will do whatever it takes to stop Aemyra and her family.

Thank you for actually delivering on 'Enemies to Lovers'. I'm still recovering from the whiplash that the ending of this book was, and I genuinely cannot tell how I feel, especially considering how long we'll have to wait for the follow up in the duology.

Read for:
* Dragons
* Elemental Magic
* True enemies to lovers
* A strong but stabby Bisexual FMC with sarcastic banter
* Political and Religious conflict
* Slow Burn Spice

3.5 stars

House of the Dragon meets Kingdom of Ash. I loved it and I’m only sad because I have to wait longer for the next book in the series.

I loved the Scottish setting and the feminist themes of the book. The FMC can be frustrating to read about but she’s at least self aware enough to know she has some growing to do. The MMC is… interesting to say the least, and I’m afraid I need to keep my mouth shut because this is a spoiler-free review. I enjoyed the magic system and the world building. There’s definitely some crumbs to follow for the next books and I can’t wait to see how those play out.

4/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me this e-arc!
Further thoughts to come but OMG that ending! I can’t wait for the next book!

I will say at first the main attraction to me was that it had dragons in it, but I left with an even better story, it was very well written I could feel these characters pain and also their rage. The main character was a force to reckon with I haven’t read too many books with a strong female character but Aemyra is definitely a well written character. The only flaw if even that was that I predicted the ending but I was also suprised at how we got there, things I didn’t think that would happen, happened.

This was my first time reading a book that is Celtic-inspired and it was difficult to get into initially. There was so many names of places, people, and clans that I was getting confused with what was what. I wish the pronunciation guide was placed in the beginning, I was afraid to turn to the back to look at it for fear of potential spoilers. After getting through ~20% of the book, I really started to get into the story. The relationship between Fiorean and Aemyra felt like a true enemies to lovers where at times I couldn’t fathom how they could possibly fall in love. This book is definitely more heavy on the politics of ruling but there was a good mix of fights and action thrown in too. The battle scene at the end of the book was chaotic, but that feels on par with the author describing war as pandemonium in the book. I wish we could have seen the fmc come into her own more and step into her role as a queen more, but I feel like she only got slightly better than how she was at the beginning of the book. Considering how the book ended, I can’t wait to see her grow more in the next book. Lastly, gotta love a book with dragons and dragon riders.

so grateful to have received an ARC of this book because OH MY GOD

this is a true enemies to lovers and slow slow burn that is worth every single second of tension. aemyra, the fmc, is so iconic, strong and powerful fighting for her rightful place on the throne while our mmc, fiorean, is on the side against her. THE ANGST THE TENSION between these two is just insane

this book really has everything you need for a fast paced, engaging romantasy:
-magic
-dragons
-enemies to lovers
-betrayal
-a power hungry, controlling father
-strained family dynamics
-insane cliffhanger

i felt that the world building was very straightforward without information dumps while still giving the reader all of the necessary history and information. this book is action packed and engaging from page one and it was nearly impossible to put down for a break

THE CLIFFHANGER and THE PLOT TWIST had my jaw on the floor while tears streamed down my face. i don’t even know what to do with myself

i loved every single second of this and cannot wait to have the physical copy once it comes out as a reminder on my shelf of how much i loved it. already needing the next book but i will practice patience because i know it’ll be beyond worth the wait

The worst part of this book was that it’s an ARC and not even out until May and I have to wait god knows how long for book 2. Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC, however!

Enemies to lovers? ✅ Slooooow burn? ✅ Female rage? ✅ Dragons? ✅ I devoured every minute of it.

I see a lot of negative reviews that the FMC was annoying, but to the FMC’s point in the book, she’s been kept in the dark for so long and you expect her to figure it all out immediately? I personally enjoyed the rollercoaster of her enacting a plan she thought was right, only to realize she has a lot more to learn. Character arc, people!

Our possessive MMC who’s only a softy for her? Yes. The spice when it spiced? 🔥

The parallels between the current state of the world and how women are viewed in this book? A lil haunting.

The plot twist at the end? 🗡️ I saw it coming from 1-2 chapters away, but it still hurt.

Hazel McBride if you have no fans I am dead.

Thank you to Hazel McBride and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC! 

Aemyra is a fire wielder. Her character is powerful, headstrong and determined. She’s desperate to take over the throne and waiting for the king’s demise to claim her birthright. Unfortunately, Aemyra's plans to take over ends with her being captured by the prince and now she’s not only outed herself by attempting to stake a claim over the throne but she has to navigate the danger she’s put herself in. 

The characters were interesting and the world building was unique. I soaked in every detail about the magic systems and history of the kingdom because I was completely intrigued. This story was heavy on the enemies to lovers trope and I loved every minute of it. 

Overall, I think this book is a good start to a series and I will definitely be reading book two when it comes out.

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.