"A Fate Forged in Fire" is a compelling fantasy romance read. McBride's Celtic-inspired world, filled with legendary beasts and intricate political dynamics completely sucked me in. Aemyra is a refreshing and formidable female protagonist. Her evolution from an 'ordinary' blacksmith to a potential queen was a transformative journey. The feminist themes throughout are empowering and natural, not heavy handed. The enemies-to-lovers romance with Prince Fiorean is full of tension, just like you want. Heads up, the ending will leave you wanting the next book NOW in the best way.

A smashing debut novel with great characters. Finally, a strong woman who doesn't turn into a simpering wimp at the first sight of a man 😉
The romance element is superbly executed enemies-to-lovers, but the thing I loved most about this story is the total and catastrophic destruction of everything. Really enjoyed the finale, which leads into the promise of a sequel.
Now, how everything will turn out, that's like the million dollar question. And I can't wait to find out.
If you like gritty, dark, sexy, and you are not squeamish.

I have read high fantasy before. Of course the first pages of the first book in the series are meant to be confusing, but it shouldn't be annoyingly confusing. Take author G for example, I was awed when I read his prologue the first time, confused but satisfied at the opening of the story. But this book angers me more than anything. Aemyra is so insufferable I can't stand being in her thoughts. Perhaps this book just isn't for me, though I believe it will find the right audience just fine out there.

It is a great debut novel for Hazel McBride, it did take some while to fully immersed myself into the book. But once I was invested the overall plot was very addictive. If you are a fan of game of thrones this would be a great blind buy nonetheless!

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for this e-arc!

I'd seen this book around bookstagram so much and so grateful to receive a review copy through Netgalley. It is worth ALL the hype.

What to expect:
Enemies to Lovers
Dragons
Elemental Magic
Animal Bonds
War

This book was super action packed, after a slow start with the worldbuilding it really picked up at 30%, and I was hooked.
Aemyra was an amazing FMC, strong willed and powerful but also empathetic and kind. Her journey is one of lies, betrayals, battles and secrets and I really felt for her the whole time. In this book we see her struggle to rise as the true Queen, blessed by the goddesses to rule, but on both sides she is used as a pawn and undermined.
The religion aspect in this book was fascinating, and the war between both sides. A religion has risen up hating powerful magic users and women and I really hope in the next book Aemyra gets to crush them all.
I heard this was a HOTD/GOT fan fic before and I definitely see those vibes.
Fiorean was a great MMC, I loved his character arc, but that ending!!!! We NEED the next book immediately. The cliffhanger really leaves us with not knowing who to trust!

The Dragons were excellent and the bonding was fascinating and I really hope we get more moments of them together in the next book.

Overall if you loved GOT, Fourth Wing etc then you'll love this book! It's out 27th of May and I highly recommend picking up a copy!

4.5 ⭐️

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

I thought this was brilliant for a debut fantasy writer, the set up and plot took a while to get going but became very engrossing. Its a matriarchal society in her Erisocia world (or should be) and Had some great, but harrowing scenes that felt relevant for issues faced today.
I do love a strong female character and could see what Hazel was accomplishing here, but I think there were occasional times the main character felt a bit obnoxious. But I would still prefer this to cookie cutter characters.
Overall, I still loved the Celtic background, the elemental magic , the world building and most of the characters and hope to get to know them all better in the sequel ( which feels very far away and after that cliff-hanger). The last third of the book is particularly well written.
I've bought the physical copy also as cover is beautiful!

I went into A Fate Forged in Fire expecting a Gaelic-inspired romantasy with dragons—what I got felt more like House of the Dragon fanfiction, with every name swapped for a Gaelic equivalent and the signature white hair conveniently turned ginger.

Plot & Pacing
The storyline was predictable, every single one of my predictions came true. Because it borrowed so heavily from Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, there were no real surprises. Even before I realized it was essentially a fanfic rework, I kept thinking, this feels oddly familiar…, and once I put my finger on it, it became even harder to stay immersed. The first 200–250 pages dragged, and while I eventually got into it, the ending lacked impact and left me underwhelmed.

Worldbuilding & Writing Style
Even as a Scot, I found the heavy use of Gaelic names, places, and terminology overwhelming. A pronunciation guide was included, but an additional glossary might have helped. Instead of adding depth, the abundance of Gaelic elements felt excessive and, at times, distracting.

Characters & Emotional Depth
I struggled to form a strong emotional connection with the characters. They could have been developed further to make their arcs more compelling. Aemyra, the FMC, had fantastic banter, but her characterisation wavered, she often came across as very immature for a 26-year-old. When deaths occurred, I didn’t feel the gut-punch I expected.

Romance & Female Rage
This was not a romantasy. The romantic subplot lacked development, jumping straight from enemies to instant love with no tension or slow burn. I was here for the female rage, which was enjoyable at times, but the romance felt underwhelming. When we finally got to the smut, it was disappointingly basic, with the only redeeming factor being that it was at least consensual, unlike the misogynistic trends of other characters in the book.

Final Thoughts
Ultimately, this book had so much potential, and I still believe in that potential. The characters could have been fleshed out more, and the major plot points needed better execution to truly deliver on the stakes the story set up. As a debut, there’s room for growth, and I have no doubt Hazel’s storytelling will improve. If she leans into her own unique voice rather than derivative worldbuilding, her future works could be something truly special.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ | A solid debut with potential, but highly predictable, and missing the emotional depth I was hoping for.

*the game of thrones theme tune plays in the background*

I was expecting a Gaelic inspired Romantasy with dragons and what I got is literally a House of the Dragon fanfic with every name changed to Gaelic and the white hair changed to… you guessed it…. Ginger.

Now if it had been marketed to me as such I wouldn’t have been quite so pissed about it. Despite having a pronunciation guide, and being a Scot, I found the overuse of Gaelic names, places and nouns confusing and felt it was overdone.

Before twigging that this was a fanfic rewrite I spent the whole time going “this is very familiar and something seems off” and “this is very danerys targaryen coded”.

I did not feel connection to the characters so the envitable deaths were more of a “oh dear” than the usual tears and snot I’d suffer.

Aemyra has some wicked banter but otherwise she’s pretty insufferable and unlikable. Daemo…. I mean Draeven is also hugely unlikeable.

For me this wasn’t a Romantasy. There was 0 development of the romantic plot we went from enemies to instalove.

The female rage was all well and good until the smut was literal P in V … I honestly skim read the later scenes. Same same. The only thing that distinguished it from the misogyny of the rest of them is that it was consensual.

The first 200-250 pages were super slow but I did get into it. But given how similar it is to George RR Martin’s world the end was not surprising at all and I was left feeling underwhelmed.

Kudos though, I didn’t work out who the culprit was.

This book/series had promise but I feel it has been marketed poorly and sets anyone who’s watched/read GOT and HOD up for a disappointing ride if you’re looking for something unique. My stars are for the banter, the female rage and the familiarity of George RR Martin.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced E-ARC :)

Definitely one to look out for! Filled to the brim with fantasy, steamy scenes and lots of character development.

I did find the FMC bratty and very annoying. The other characters were okay though. Aemyra lacks every skill possible to be a Queen apart from her strength.

I loved the themes of vengeance, anger and loathing. The fighting was top tier and I do love a good FMC who isn’t expected to bow down and sit pretty.

Itll be interesting to see how things go when the next book comes out.

It took me a minute to get immersed into the story, but once I was there I was in. A thrilling Scottish fantasy, with a finger up to the patriarchy, Hazel McBrides debut novel is a masterpiece.

This book is an important commentary on many issues faced within society today, and the general attitudes of the masses towards solving those issues. The author has created an interesting world in which the patriarchy is flipped on its head and how this world might look to the eyes of men and women. It had some very well written, but strikingly uncomfortable moments, that highlighted some of the extreme views women continue to face at the hands of religion and said patriarchy.

The overall plot was very slow for the first two thirds of the book, accelerating at breakneck speed for the final chapters. I felt that the FMC was not fully developed with some conflicting actions and thoughts. I also found her to be brash to the point of self sabotaging, but that’s personal taste. There were some interesting twists in the last third, the final twist being slightly obvious, but pleasing all the same. I think it’s fairly clear what’s happening with this, but only the next book will be able to tell me for sure how the situation managed to occur.

Overall it was an ok read!

Gonna be honest...I was a little lost at the start as my little chaotic brain struggled to put together all the info and world building...

BUT THEN..

I became obsessed with the plot and FMC's journey!!

🔥 High stakes
🔥 Twists, shocks
🔥 Brilliant dialogue that'll make you go grrr and oooh
🔥 THE ROMANCE PUSH AND PULL
🔥 The ending -- whaaaaat

Loved it.

Matriarchal fantasy romance, female rage, dragons, political warfare and a headstrong FMC with fire magic! I found pure escapism within 'A Fate Forged in Fire' and was counting down the minutes until I could next pick up the book (for the first time in a while!). This publication will definitely scratch the dragon itch all fantasy readers currently have as well as introduce a new and entertaining series to the bookish world. I can't wait for book two to be published so I can continue reading about Aemyra's adventure and fight for the throne.
Additionally,
I was fascinated by Hazel's author note which explained her use of Scottish Gaelic within the book as well as a background of the language. A pronunciation guide is also included which provided not only dialect variations but also explanations for these variations which I found super interesting.

”Weak men would rather guilt strong women than become strong themselves,”
“’those who grasp for power will never keep it.’”

To read a long list of how to pronounce every name used in the novel was off-putting. I freely admit, it nearly made me put it back down again. But I decided to see if the story was worth it.

Yes, I enjoyed it immensely - this is a genre I adore and there are twists that keep it fresh, and one isn't the Gaelic. The story runs away at a fabulous pace and it keep it up all the way through. The characterisations are lovely and filled with illustrative detail and speech patterns. It has all the luxury of Sarah J Maas, the unbridled enjoyment and unashamed revelling in itself. It doesn't swerve difficult topics; it is violent in places and it leaves you tense, because you care about these characters. The language isn't shy. It's real, real people using real language and doing real things. And the evil is creepy and scary, and so very, well, REAL.

Aemyra is warmly arrogant and just self-aware enough to be likeable. Draevan is undeniably brave and viciously cunning; Fiorian is complex and yet, so very simple. I want to know of what happens to them; I want to read on and I will be looking out for the sequel.

However, as well as the Gaelic, which is a bit annoying and unnecessary really - we all cope with Tolkein without the need of a translator - I was slightly put off by the very clear influence of Game of Thrones with the dragons. There are new bits, new lore, but it still borrows a bit too much, and if the name Daercathian was replaced with Targaryan, you wouldn't have to make too many adjustments.

I do feel a bit mean writing that, but it is the truth. But, for all that, I liked Game of Thrones, and I like dragons. And, ultimately, I'll be looking for the sequel in around a year. And that is success in a writer and a book.

I really wanted to love this book, but unfortunately it wasn't for me and it put me in a reading slump.

I'm not sure if it's because of the FMC Aemyra. I just couldn't warm up to her and I really tried! I love strong female characters, but she just came across as angry and entitled from the beginning. Being rude to the prince for no reason at the beginning. She knew it could affect the business of the people who had brought her up as their own. She didn't care for anyone but herself. She was rude to get brother. Everyone.

The synopsis sounds like something I'd normally love but sadly I didn't. I found this book really hard going at times as I wasn't rooting for any characters in particular (except the dragons!).

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC!

I feel like I'm hating on 'strong' female characters a lot lately, but I didn't like Aemyra. I love strong female characters who are allowed to have personalities beyond 'anger' and 'arrogance'. Like, why is Aemyra such an arse to pretty much everyone? Even her own family. She also makes ridiculously stupid decisions and seriously overestimates how good she is at...well, anything, frankly. Aemyra is goddess blessed and has strong fire magic, something she wants to desperately wield and claim her birthright - the whole kingdom. Aemyra wants her kingdom back, which used to be matriarchal and has since become run by men. The problem is that the dragons are also becoming weaker the longer there are no women born in the royal line. As you might expect, Aemyra is unhappy with this and even more unhappy with the pseudo-cult that is gaining more power in her world.

These religious men believe in a patriarchal society and want to erase the magic users, so I obviously understand and agree with her anger at the men trying to put women down and create a heteronormative world. My immediate comparison was obviously the Catholic Church, which I imagine is what the author was going for. If not Catholic, then something Christian.

The male MMC, Fiorean, is...fine? There's not much interesting going on with him, and I would have liked more personality to be given to him. They're enemies to lovers, as he's part of the royal family who holds the throne that Aemyra believes to be her own. Unfortunately, I just didn't feel anything going on between them.

I also wish we had more world-building. We get some, but not much. We get some hints as to the other lands, such as one land having griffins instead of dragons, but not much more. Fantasy works best when there's a solid world created, but I couldn't see it here.

There are plenty of people who love this, and I'm cheering on you, but it just wasn't for me.

I went into this one with such high expectations and I don't know if it was just that I've been reading too much fantasy lately but this one missed the mark for me.

I enjoyed elements of the story and characters but really didn't feel like it brought anything new to the table. This definitely could have been a me problem because I know that a lot of people love this one, I just have to be honest about my own experience.

I found the plot very predictable and it took me some time to get into the story. I enjoyed the Celtic influences and the feminine rage but didn't particularly love the main character, which isn't always a bad thing but I didn't find her to be a particularly memorable FMC.
I understand that this is a debut novel and I will consider continuing the series when the next book releases.

I did like the bonding element with the mythical creatures in the story - I just wish it was explored more fully because this could have been a massive draw to this series for me, perhaps it will be expanded on in the next book.

All in all, this was a decent debut and I'm sure it will be loved by many.

Thank you so much for the arc in exchange for my honest opinion, I really appreciate it.

Thank you Dialogue and Netgalley for the digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

The synopsis for this book gave me high hopes for an epic, feminine rage-fueled story with dragons but unfortunately it fell a little flat for me. It’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the story I just found myself questioning a lot of the world building. I didn’t really understand why creatures bonded with the Dacaerians (what was in it for them?) I also desperately wanted more dragons and to learn more about the bonding (again the reason why the bonds are there in the first place).

The main character Aemyra was hard to like, now I’ve read books before where the FMC is unlikeable but I just found her frustrating and this took me out of the story. I kept wanting to root for her, but her decisions and reactions to certain elements of the story were just not to my liking. I really think scenes could have been developed further to really get into her head and emotions. I struggled to believe how distraught she was after she discovered information that should have been devastating. Even her rash decision that caused her to be captured was just a bit flat. For a story that is advertised as feminine rage she just came across a bit bratty and childish.

I wasn’t sold on the romantic pairing either, the forced marriage plot should have worked well within the premise of the political world but I couldn’t get on board with it. Even the twist didn’t particularly excite me, by that point I had lost all investment in Aemyra getting her rightful place back on the throne, her decisions made it hard to believe she deserved to be there and it didn’t feel like the big betrayal that it could have been.

Things I liked:
The dragons - what there was of them I enjoyed, with a fresh idea of how they communicate with their bonded human I just wanted more.
I liked that unlike many other fantasy stories Aemyra has always known her true heritage rather than discovering this where the story begins. I think she should have been a stronger character having grown up with that knowledge.


This was very House of Dragon coded with the warring ‘houses’ fighting over the rightful heir to the throne, there was political elements that I enjoyed and many of the characters were morally grey which created a more interesting dynamic.

Overall this was a good (okay?) debut fantasy, but to me it will be easily forgotten as I’m not dying to know what happens next.

Really enjoyed this, it was easy to understand and loved the tension! Also the first paragraph cracked me up 🤣

First of all i want to thank Netgalley and publishers Dialogue Books for the opportunity to read an arc of this book.
Omg i enjoyed this book so much definatly 5 stars.
I want to say that i hope the actual book will have the pronunciation guide in it as i found it very useful.
Names of people and places are based on Scottish Gaelic and i feel the pronunciation guide was a really good idea.
Before reading please be aware of possible triggers such as misogyny, sexism, domestic violence, sexual harrassment/assault and a case of attempted forced sterilisation.
The FMC has been hidden for most of her life so that when the time is right she can claim the throne.
A male orientated religious group want the king and his (male) heirs to stay on the throne as they have no respect for women at all and we follow our FMC as she attempts to take her place and when plans go awry she must make a political alliance in order to survive.
This book also includes elemental magic and bonding with magical creatures such as dragons.
Such an enjoyable book and i will definatly be buying when it releases on May 27th.