Non-Review: A Fate Forged in Fire (Bonded to Beasts #1)

A Fate Forged in Fire, Book 1 in the Bonded to Beasts Series by Hazel McBride

Published By: Renegade Publishing
Publication Date: May 27, 2025
Date Read: April 17, 2025
Genre: Adult – Epic Fantasy / Romantasy
Source: eARC from Renegade and Netgalley
Format: E-Book
Pages: 368

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Born to rule. Blessed by fire. Broken by desire.

Gifted with fire magic from the Goddess Brigid, Aemyra has always known she is destined for more than the life she leads as a blacksmith’s daughter.

Once a territory built on matriarchal rule and values, Tìr Teine has been without a female heir for a century. Recent kings have abandoned the matriarchy and allowed an oppressive and corrupt religion to infect the land.

Raised among the people, Aemyra has felt their struggles and witnessed the decline of the dragons. She has waited in anticipation for the king to die, biding her time until she can use her power to bond to his dragon – one of the last in existence – and save her territory.

However, Aemyra is thrust into a game of vicious politics and plots, one she finds herself woefully unprepared for. Her biggest adversary is Prince Fiorean, a dragon-rider. Cold, arrogant and without remorse, he is everything Aemyra despises.

When he commits an unthinkable act against her, she seeks her vengeance. Under the heavy gaze of the royal court, Aemyra begins to understand the true weight of the crown and she must decide what she is willing to sacrifice to claim her throne.

I was so excited to get an early copy of A Fate Forged in Fire. I am such a huge fan of fantasy books with dragons and this one sounded like something I would absolutely love. Unfortunately, I really struggled with this one. I found it quite difficult to get into. You’re really thrown into the deep end with this book, with very little world building. I was confused for so long, and felt like not only did I not know what was going on, but I also had no idea who all the characters were. They were introduced and having conversations, without much detail about who they actually were and how they linked in to the overall families and story.

I really tried with this one. I was determined to keep going and give it a good chance but I ended up giving up at around the 35% mark. I’m not completely sure how many pages that is, as I was reading an eARC on my kindle. I think this book really did have some good potential, but for me it was a little bit too fast paced. Despite me struggling to get into it, it wasn’t because it was slow… but rather so fast paced that things were happening to quickly without me having time to actually form any sort of attachment to the characters. I got 35% in, and decided that I honestly wouldn’t be bothered if a main character died at that point, as I just didn’t really care for any of them. Unfortunately this one just wasn’t for me. I do think some people will love this one, and I really wish I was one of them but I decided to cut my losses as life is too short to struggle through a book you’re not enjoying.