A Fate Forged in Fire

A Novel

By: Hazel McBride

Narrated by: Samara MacLaren

To become the first queen in centuries, a powerfully blessed blacksmith must use her wits and fire magic to overthrow the corrupt powers ruling her kingdom—while also fighting her growing desire for one of her dragon-riding adversaries—in the first book of a sizzling Celtic-inspired fantasy romance duology.

Once a territory built on matriarchal rule and values, Tìr Teine has since grown frail from a long line of fruitless kings, the most recent of which have ruled under the influence of the True Religion, an oppressive group who have steadily poisoned the region with their anti-magic teachings.

Born to rule and blessed by fire, Aemyra has begrudgingly lived in hiding rather than risk her life in court, waiting in anticipation for the current king’s death so she can bond to his dragon, claim her throne, and protect her people. But when the king dies and Aemyra is ready to take what is rightfully hers, her ambitious plan is foiled, and she is thrust into a game of vicious politics and plots.

Her biggest adversary is Prince Fiorean, a dragon rider and one of the most powerful fire wielders in the territory. Cold, arrogant, and blindly supportive of his corrupt family, he is everything Aemyra despises. But as chaos engulfs the court, they find themselves reluctantly entwined, forced to forge an uneasy alliance—one that quickly ignites into something more dangerous than either of them expected.

Behind enemy lines and slowly falling for her so-called adversary, Aemyra uncovers just how far the rot of corruption has spread, and what she may have to sacrifice to claim her throne.

©2025 Hazel McBride (P)2025 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“A smoldering, magical, beautifully empowering romantasy that will keep you reading late into the night.”—Abigail Owen, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Games Gods Play

“Hazel McBride transports us into a world of dragons and scheming rivals. The twisty, action-packed plot and steamy marriage of convenience made it impossible to put down. I absolutely loved it!”—Demi Winters, author of The Road of Bones and Kingdom of Claw

“A Fate Forged in Fire delivers visceral action, dagger-to-throat enemies to lovers, lush worldbuilding, and explosive female rage—everything I could want in a romantasy. McBride’s prose is addictive and her storytelling cinematic. Rarely have I been so swept away.”—Brigitte Knightley, author of The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy

read in a day

I couldn't break away from this book until I'd read it all. Great read. many thanks to Kenny Boyle for pronunciations of Scots words.

Great story and great narration!

I need more. More of this world, magic system, creatures, everything really. Looking forward to more from the author and narrator.

This is a must-read for fantasy romance lovers!

This is a must-read for fantasy romance lovers!

Aemyra is blacksmith's daughter who has always had to hide her powerful fire gifts. As the first daughter born to the ruling clan in generations, she is the rightful heir to the throne of this matriarchal society. With gifts blessed by the Goddess Brigid, she sets out to overthrow the pretender-king.

I had high hopes for this novel, and they were exceeded. This is true enemies to lovers. The world-building is excellent. There are so many Scottish and Gaelic aspects and the politics are intriguing. And did I mention dragons?? They are powerful, they are deadly, and they are close to extinct.

The romance in this book is a slow burn, enemies to lovers. And the ending will leave you in shock.

I read the e-book and listened to the audiobook and can recommend both whole-heartedly. The audio is great for learning those Gaelic words, but the author also includes a pronunciation guide in the text.

Cant wait for the next book!

I love the rhythm interesting of the details. I love the accent of the voice actor. I love the shock twist and turns and I can’t wait to see what happens in the next one!

Enemies to Lovers back to Enemies?

This book gives major Game of Thrones vibes, but with a compelling romance subplot woven through. It features several beloved tropes: hidden identity, arranged marriage, enemies to lovers, "my wife"/"who did this to you?", elemental magic—and yes, dragons.

We’re introduced to Aemyra, a prophesied queen hiding in plain sight among the chosen royals—who rule through male heirs. In contrast, the goddesses bless their female heirs with fire magic and sacred bonds to dragons. Raised in secret by her father, Aemyra has been trained all her life to fight for her rightful place as queen.

The kingdom of Tir Teine is ruled by religious zealots and traditional royals who actively oppress women and vilify magic. When Aemyra is abducted, Prince Fiorean marries her as part of a strategic move to keep her father’s forces at bay—setting the stage for a tense, slow-burn romance filled with power struggles, secrets, and shifting loyalties.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. It did take me some time to fully get into it (hence the month-long read), but the payoff was worth it. There’s strong queer representation and plenty of dark themes—so be sure to check trigger warnings for things like child death and attempted sterilization.

Wholly Diverting Romantasy

You're gonna want this one on audio. Flawlessly performed engrossing story amongst a heavily saturated Romantasy genre with many bandwagon readers/listeners and just about everyone thinking they can be a romantasy author these days😐 😑. Author should be proud of this stand out story with an incredibly easy- to-root for FMC. This Audible saved my entire day--I can't wait for the next book.

REALLY GOOD

Ok wow, I really enjoyed this one! While it started out a little slow, the plot was engaged and its a true enemies to lovers with a bangerrrr of a cliffhanger at the end. Like the twists, the betrayals, and the undeniable connection between our two main characters... dang, I am officially invested and ready for book 2!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for an e-ARC of this book - all opinions are my own!

no plot or likeable characters

Unlikeable characters and a half thought out story. I found myself flipping between boredom and cringing. There was absolutely nothing interesting enough for me to care about anything that happened in this story. a manipulative father, and a glaringly obvious miscommunication to alter lovers to enemies had my eyes rolling.