literaryhomebody 's review for:

A Fate Forged in Fire by Hazel McBride

DID NOT FINISH: 40%

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So sad because I was initially so excited for this book with the Celtic inspiration and the promise of dragons. It just didn’t deliver though. The world-building was more info-dump than immersive, the magic system felt super underdeveloped, and I kept waiting for it to get better, but it never did. Aemyra, the main character, came off as immature and angry all the time without much real reason, and I couldn’t get behind her as a lead. The romance with Fiorean also didn’t help, it jumped straight from enemies to insta-lust without any actual emotional buildup, so their relationship just felt off. The pacing was messy, the twist” was predictable, the supporting cast lacked depth, and for a book that teased dragons... there was hardly any dragon action. It absolutely has potential, but too many pieces were missing for me to stay interested.