I really, really wanted to love this one. What's not to love about a hidden queen fighting for her throne, magic, dragons, and enemies to lovers? Well... it turns out a lot.
Let's get into my favorite elements to talk about:
-Pacing: So often within this book, it felt like it was being built up to this big climax and I was expecting us to be close to the end and we had 50% or 25% of the book left, but the major, biggest conflict that led to the real climax and ending all took place in like a chapter and then abruptly felt like it ended out of nowhere. I didn't pay enough attention to realize that this was the first book in a series, so had I realized that, I would have realized that we couldn't end the book nicely- it needed a cliffhanger of some sort.
-Characters: While I feel like our main characters were well developed and thought out, they felt very young. Aemrya was supposed to be in her mid 20s, yet to me, she acted like someone much younger. She seemed to forget that her actions had consequences until after they happened and if she had been trained (even in secret) to take the throne for years, wouldn't that have been at least a little more at the forefront of her mind?
-The enemies-to-lovers: Aemrya and Fiorean end up becoming enemies to lovers but it seemed so fake and shallow (and reflecting back now that I've read the whole book, maybe that makes sense with the ending, but while I was reading it, it wasn't believable).
-Other relationships: I did really enjoy the way that Aemrya's relationships with her family were written. She was very close to her family and you could see how close they were and how strong those relationships were. The relationship with her birth father was also really well written- she wanted to make him proud and do everything that he wanted, but that also blinded her to some things.
Overall, I had such high hopes for A Fate Forged In Fire and it definitely didn't meet them. But, I will still read book 2, because I do want to see where things go (and maybe see if things pacing wise get better in future books since that was my biggest complaint in this book).

I was lucky enough to get my hands on the eARC of this book & I was so scared to read it! I hadn’t seen anyone get an ARC and was afraid it would be just another copy-paste fantasy. After my favorite booktuber whatemmyreads read it, I was convinced. And boy was I glad to give this book a chance. I’m 15% in and this is exactly the unique kind of story I was looking for. The way the first 15% was set up, was so refreshing & I loved getting sucked into the action/main plot right away. I can’t wait to see what else this book has in store! 💛

DNF - I didn't like the FMC from the first chapter and couldn't get into it. The unlike-ably arrogant woman describing someone else as arrogant was just too much for me.

This was truly such a bummer. I was looking forward to this book coming out for a while. I was so excited to get an arc! However, I probably would've DNFed this book if it wasn't an arc. There was essentially no plot, no character growth and no world building. It was a cool concept in theory, but that's where the pros end. Would not recommend.

thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the arc!

2.75⭐️3🌶️

Romantasy
Adopted/blended family
🏳️‍🌈, 26yo FMC
Prince MMC
Dragons
Elemental Magic
Secret identity
Betrayal
Political intrigue
War
Rebellion


Tw: childbirth, medical trauma, sexual assault, murder, vomit, gore, religious trauma,

The storyline and overall premise are strong. I really enjoyed the concept. The idea of a female-centric government being overthrown by masochistic men sets up an engaging ideological war, and the exploration of female rage is compelling. However, the execution feels slightly disjointed, and I’m struggling to pinpoint exactly why.

The bond between the dragon and the writer is disappointingly vague. The magical familiar concept is fantastic, and I love the idea, but it wasn’t developed in a way that felt meaningful or consistent. That may be part of the larger issue with the worldbuilding. It feels scattered. A more defined portrayal of the belief systems earlier on would have helped ground the story and clarified motivations.

The characters are interesting, but I never felt fully convinced by anyone’s motivations. It was hard to watch the FMC ignore red flags so blatantly. It made me want to shake her.

The writing itself is good, but the story needs tightening. I won’t be continuing, mainly because I’m just not interested in another overpowered, under-acknowledged female main character. Her birthright didn’t feel earned, no matter how often it was asserted. I wanted to root for her, but she read more like a self-absorbed “it should’ve been me” archetype than a complex, just ruler. She came off as an angry pick-me girl at the start, and it took too long to peel back her layers.

The romantic or interpersonal tension also fell flat. There was too much hate at the start with not enough chemistry or intrigue to balance it. So when the tension finally broke, it didn’t feel earned or climactic.

Lastly, the foreshadowing was predictable. I saw the cliffhanger coming from a mile away, which dulled its impact.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing-Ballantine for the gifted eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

I loved this title. Perfect for Romantasy readers who enjoy dragons and some spice in their stories! I do wish there was a little more of the magic, setting, and dragons and that fun stuff; but it was still an enjoyable read. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for sending this advanced copy my way.

Stars 3.50

Aemyra is determined to bond with a dragon and claim her birthright as queen—but the path is anything but easy.* The enemies-to-lovers dynamic is intense and compelling, often shifting back and forth within a single chapter, keeping the tension high.

While the dragons are described beautifully, I found myself wishing they had more page time. They’re such majestic, integral parts of the story that their limited presence felt like a missed opportunity.

The world-building is rich and complex, immersing you in a fully realized realm. That said, there were moments when the pacing lagged under the weight of all the detail. Still, the ending delivered a powerful cliffhanger that left me eager for the next book.

Aemyra is a queen in hiding waiting to take her rightful place. When the time comes, things don't go as planned and war ensues. Strong women and dragons is always a draw for me, but I found Aemyra to be an unsympathetic character. She is brash and immature and it is hard to root for her. Her romances with both women and men seem contrived. The world building in the story is confusing and many elements seem familiar from other popular series. The pacing is also very uneven with major plot points happening very quickly. This is just the first story in a series and I am hopeful that the writing and editing will get stronger as the story moves forward.

My thanks to NetGalley and Random House for an ecopy. My opinion is my own.

as the hidden rightful heir to the crown, aemyra lives as a blacksmith with her adoptive family while waiting for the right timing to reclaim her family’s throne. however as the carefully constructed plans go askew, aemyra finds herself forcibly linked to the reigning family and plans to take them down from the inside.

rating: 3.5/5 ⭐️ | spice: 2/5 🌶️

honestly, the first half of the book took me a while to get into. the world building was kind of confusing and convoluted with so many names thrown around that probably didn’t really even matter much. i ended up just skimming over them because the ones that mattered showed up again, so there really was no point in trying to figure out the world. i also couldn’t help but kind of compare this to fourth wing with the gaelic names, bonding of dragons, special attention to hair color, etc. but it quickly became its own plot after.

after the first half, things started picking up and i finally started to get invested. it became such a fun ride to go through, but i did think the pacing was kind of interesting. a few of the major plot points happened so fast and i wish that there was more buildup to it. there wasn’t anything too special or new with how saturated the romantasy world is these days, but it had all the solid romantasy elements that make me enjoy the book - enemies to lovers that had me up at 2am kicking my feet when they finally started to fall in love, a war/rebellion going on to overthrow a corrupt government, a cliffhanger ending.

i can’t say that i didn’t see the plot twist cliffhanger coming at the end, but dang was i still shocked when it actually happened. i can’t even imagine all the different possibilities that could happen in the next book.

for like someone trained to be the heir, aemyra being so stupid and getting kidnapped so easily felt kind of out of character. and especially with her submitting to the arranged marriage so easily, i was literally like ??? that’s truly character assination there. but i guess that it had to be done to push the plot forward somehow.

however, everything about fiorean and aemyra’s relationship after did have me kicking my feet with that enemies to lover banter. but i do think they fell in love so easily (?), just as i thought a lot of the major things in this book happened so easily without any buildup. in particular fiorean finally unlocking and being able to talk to his dragon; that definitely should have been written out into a longer scene.

like most of me did expect something to happen in the end, but fiorean flipping on her still had me shocked. part of me is also like that’s just so ??? how did it happen when it literally seemed like he was so on board with aemyra’s plans. but i guess we shall see whenever the next book comes out.

I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher and author for allowing me to read this early.

I loved that the FMC is bisexual, however she’s just not that likable. At about 60% the book just fell flat for me and I struggled to continue.

As much as I love romance and fantasy books, this one just didn’t do it for me.

A Fate Forged In Fire is the first book in McBride's Bonded to Beasts series. While the story line and cover are eye-catching the story just fell flat as I unfortunately didn't care for the main character. She is brash and just not likeable. Maybe others will care for her and like this more than I did because yes there are dragons, magic, a twin brother that I liked way better as a character than our heroine. The cliffhanger ending is ruthless though 2.5 stars, round up to 3.

A Fate Forged in Fire is a Celtic-inspired romantasy full of dragons and rage. Please check and be mindful of the trigger warnings.

First off, I appreciated having a bisexual main character written by a bisexual author!

Aemyra is blessed by fire and born to rule, but she has been living in hiding waiting for the death of the king so she can rise and bond to his dragon. Her land used to be a matriarchy, but is now ruled under the influence of an anti-magic cult called the True Religion.

When the king dies, her plans to take the throne and bond with his dragon all go to crap. She ends up captured by the court and married to Prince Fiorean who blindly supports his corrupt family.

Despite many knife-to-the-throat moments and a lot of tension, I wasn’t captured by their romance. There are definite girl power vibes, but Aemyra herself could be so frustrating as a character. I also struggled a bit with the worldbuilding which didn’t feel totally fleshed out.

I think the dragons were written well, especially the dragon fights. I also loved the way dragons bonded with their riders, and I enjoyed seeing Aemyra bond with her dragon. I’m a dragon-lover, though, so I could have done with even more dragons on page.

I genuinely did not see the plot twist coming at the end of the book. Maybe I should have, but I loved that I didn’t!

Unfortunately, this was a bit hard for me to get into and ended up feeling a little generic, but I think that there is a lot of potential here! I will likely continue on in the series because of that cliffhanger.

Thank you, NetGalley, Random House - Ballantine, and Delacorte Press, for the advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

This felt like a Romantasy version of Game of Thrones, which was fun enough! Some parts of this were very cliche but what romantasy isn't just a little cliche these days. Overall a good time!

Thank you to the Random House Publishing Group team and NetGalley for sending me an ARC!

⊹₊🔥⋆｡°✩
Okay, honestly, I was disappointed. I usually like any book with dragons, haha, but ugh, this one was so hard to get through. I wasn’t really interested. I did my best to finish it, but at times I was bored.
That said, I really loved Amerya having fire powers. So cool, honestly!
We have our mmc, Fiorean… umm, I didn’t like him at all. Sorry, not sorry!
Also, I was getting whiplash trying to remember all the names for everything in this book :((

Overall 3.50 stars

I really enjoyed the story from, the start. I felt like it was very nice and smooth world building. It got to a certain point though, where I was just like… Aemyra, you’re going to just trust anyone that’s nice for more than a minute? Had me yelling mentally at her, like… be smarter! Her aspiring to complete her father’s goal kinda of irritated me, but maybe I just have issues of my own.
The relationship building just felt kind of fast, and I think that was my major issue. I loved the story, and speedread this in one day. I got the audiobook through Libby, and it was a hit.
I feel like there is many ways the story could go from there, and I can’t wait to see how maybe Aemyra stops trusting others so easily.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the ARC copy!

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
🌶️🌶️🌶️

I enjoyed this book a lot. It took me a little bit of time to get into it, and I won’t lie, the names and pronunciations threw me off quite a bit at the start, but once I found my rhythm, I was fully swept up in the story.

This book delivers on so many levels. There is powerful magic, political intrigue, a Celtic inspired world, and of course, dragons. The dynamic between Aemyra and Fiorean was everything I love in a fantasy romance, enemies forced to work together, reluctant trust, and a chemistry that burns hotter than their fire magic.

I especially loved Aemyra as a protagonist. Strong, clever, determined, and fiercely protective of her people. Her growth throughout the story made her so compelling to follow, and her fire magic was such a unique and satisfying element to see in action.

Now, let’s talk about that ending. I am not okay. Hazel McBride really left us hanging, and now I have to wait who knows how long for the next book. How dare she. I need to know what happens immediately.

This was a powerful, slow building and emotionally intense start to a duology that promises even more magic, passion and rebellion to come. Highly recommend.

A fun read and I mean... DRAGONS!!!! Parts of the book felt rushed or a little confusing, but other than that I enjoy the book! Thank you NetGalley for the copy!

📚💭Book Review📚💭

📚A Fate Forged in Fire by @hazelmcbrideauthor 📚

💭 When @brigitteknightley recommends a book, you read it. Thank you to @netgalley for the eARC!

This was such an immersive story from the beginning. As an American with no ears for Gaelic, I appreciated McBride’s pronunciation guide until I could get my hands on the audiobook to listen to alongside my book.

The tension between Aemyra and Fiorean was well established by the end of Chapter 2. And the tortoise-paced slow burn was delicious when it all finally culminated.

You know this is going to be an empowering book with the dedication — “burn them all to the fucking ground.” The matriarchal world building receives 10/5 stars in my book. The way that McBride writes how insidious The Chosen are in their own grabs for power (by, of course, sowing doubt in those with actual magical powers) feels too close for comfort in today’s political landscape.

I loved this book from cover-to-cover and recommend you snap this up ASAP! This is book 1 of I believe a duology so don’t hate me for recommending you read this book now with THAT cliffhanger 🫣

#bookreview #bookstagram #hazelmcbride #afateforgedinfire #aemyra #fiorean #bondedtobeasts #dragons #firemagic #earc #arc #arcreview #netgalley

I wish I could say differently, as I really tried here, but I had to DNF this book. I hope to one day pick it up via audiobook, but for now reading the text on the page was incredibly difficult for me. It hurts because I think this book is going to be great, but I can’t focus on it, and I think my brain is just struggling to pick up on the world bending via my eyes - yay for nureospicy brains I guess.

Im a sucker for any story that involves mythology. While I found this story to be predictable and a little spotty I still enjoyed reading it. The only thing I would change is that some of plot details were a little more thought out. There are times when you're reading and the main character will be in doing something and in the next sentence she's somewhere completely different and having this big event happen to her. its a bit confusing. And the part when she's bonding with dragons? obviously dragons aren't real, but being denied a bond once and then immediately getting a bond right after that? it just doesnt feel right. I wish that part was done differently. Other than that I really enjoyed this book and read it in 2 days.