Review by taylorstbrshelf - A Fate Forged in Fire

taylorstbrshelf 's review for:

A Fate Forged in Fire by Hazel McBride

3.5

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Book: A Fate Forged in Fire

Author: Hazel McBride

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

A Fate Forged in Fire is the first in the Bonded to Beasts duology.

It was an intriguing Celtic-inspired romantasy story that combined dragons, an interesting elemental magic system, and lots of banter.

The tension and world-building within the story were also enjoyable to read about and made for a story that was vivid and unique.

Although the story was on the slower side, and the pacing was a little different than other books I’ve read recently, I did enjoy it overall.

This book would be especially enjoyed by those who like having a political element to the fantasy books that they read. There were strong themes of finding one’s identity and living up to their power.

It follows the FMC, Aemyra, who is a powerful blacksmith that begrudgingly lives in hiding instead of the as part of the court throughout her life. She faces hardships when she decides to rise up and claim her rightful spot on the throne after the king dies. Her attempt to do this is ruined though, when it becomes a bitter game of politics and pushback from those who do not want to see her in power. Aemyra wants to go after what she believes she rightfully deserves and refuses to be a pawn for anyone while doing so. Complicating things further, she begins to fall for a dragon-riding adversary who reluctantly becomes her ally.

I did find at times that Aemyra made a few decisions throughout that were impulsive. She would act without thinking of the possible consequences, and I look forward to hopefully seeing her become a stronger character in that sense in the second book. I also hope to see the connection between both main characters develop further, as at times things felt slightly off combined with the pacing. Their relationship was a good example of enemies to lovers, though, which is a trope that I very much enjoy.

I look forward to reading the second book, and I am intrigued to see where the storyline goes from here!

Throughout the story, there were moments of emotional depth and vulnerability from characters.

There were also some heavier scenes that I would advise readers to read content warnings on beforehand.

Thank you to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for the chance to read an eARC of A Fate Forged in Fire.

Content Warnings