Review: Forged by Magic (Falling for Fables #1)

Forged by Magic (Falling for Fables #1)
By Jenna Wolfhart

Published By: Jenna Wolfhart
Publication Date: July 11, 2023
Date Read: June 29, 2024
Genre: Adult – Fantasy Romance
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Format: E-Book
Pages: 310

From Goodreads:
A heartwarming, feel-good fantasy romance…with a helping of spice and only a pinch of danger.

Trapped in a tower by the emperor who conquered her homeland, Daella yearns for an escape. But as one of the few half-orcs left in the world, she knows she’ll never be free, much less find her own happily ever after.

Destiny takes an unexpected turn when the emperor offers her a deal. To earn her freedom, she must journey to the mysterious Isles of Fable and track down wielders of outlawed dragon magic. Eager to seize her chance, Daella agrees.

When a brutal storm tosses her ship off course, she washes up on the wrong island—right at the feet of Rivelin, a gruff but handsome elven blacksmith, who seems more likely to stab her than help her. To her surprise, he offers her shelter until the next ship passes through in six weeks’ time.

Daella soon realizes he’s hiding something big. It could be the very magic she’s been tasked to hunt down—the key to her long-awaited freedom. But as they bicker over the flames of his forge, her heart kindles with something she’s never felt before.

When his secrets finally come to light, Daella must decide what’s more her freedom from the wicked crown or the desires of her heart.

Forged by Magic is a complete, stand-alone fantasy romance novel set in the whimsical world of Falling for Fables.

“When you spend you entire life in fear of something, it’s hard to let that fear go.”

2024 has been the year of cosy fantasy for me. I am fast discovering this is my favourite genre, so when I found myself in a reading slump, I finally decided to pick up Forged by Magic. It looked ridiculously cute, and the cover kind of reminded me a little bit of Legends and Lattes, which I absolutely loved. I was not disappointed. Forged by Magic was everything I could have wanted in a cosy fantasy. It was so much fun, and definitely got me out of my reading slump.

Forged by Magic follows the story of Daella, an Orc who has been imprisoned by an evil emperor. Using her as his assassin, in order to win her freedom, he sends her off to the peaceful Isles of Fable looking for the ‘evil’ dragons. But Daella finds herself in the wrong town, and staying with the grump Rivelin. As she settles into a more peaceful life, and helping Rivelin to win the summer games, she realises that maybe all she has believed in for years, is not actually accurate.

Honestly this book was everything that I needed at the time of picking it up. When I say I’d been in a reading slump, I mean for months, and everything I picked up was just a bit ‘meh’ for me. I absolutely raced through Forged by Magic. It had been taking me weeks and weeks to get through one book, but the minute I picked this book up, I seriously could not put it down. Every time I was busy I was thinking about when I could pick my kindle up again to see what was going to happen, and I truly haven’t felt like that about a book for months, if at all this year.

I loved everything about this book. I loved that it had a pretty substantial plot. While cosy fantasy is fast becoming my favourite genre, I do find that a lot in this genre rely heavily on the vibes, and there isn’t much of a plot… and that’s fine because that’s the purpose of this genre, but this one equally had a great plot. The evil emperor that you are waiting to make an appearance and shatter the joy and peace of the isles… to the summer games that you can’t wait to see who wins… it was a strong plot and I loved that. This book just feels like me in book form. Someone who just finds joy in the simple things and loves their peace. If this sounds like you, you must read this book!

Forged by Magic was utterly fantastic! I loved every moment of it. I have knocked half a star off my rating, purely because I felt like the ending wrapped up just a little bit too easily and too quickly. I wish it had gone on a little bit longer but honestly this is a contender for my favourite read of the year so far. I absolutely loved every moment and I cannot recommend it more!

“With you, I would dance until the world ends.”