Review: A Fate Forged in Fire: A Novel by Hazel McBride

A Fate Forged in Fire: A Novel by Hazel McBride
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.  In full transparency I did end up listening to the audiobook via my Spotify subscription, which I pay for myself as I wanted to get this reviewed as close to release date as possible.

This is the first book in an adult romantasy duology.  There are several spicy scenes in this but the fantasy and political plotlines far out shadow the romance.  This is definitely adult as there are several triggering scenes and quite a few adult topics covered.  This talks about body autonomy when it comes to women and motherhood, there is a particularly gruesome scene where the main character is almost brutally sterilized by one of the priests of the opposing religion.  There are quite a few detailed fight scenes, so if gory details and blood aren't your cup of tea you may want to skip this one.  

This leans into Celtic lore and Ameyra our main character is the true born queen according to the laws of the kingdom.  She has been hidden away to protect her identity and now she and those loyal to her are making a play to retake the thrown and kingdom.  The reigning king has just died and his son is poised to take the throne.  He is supported by an opposing religion that claims Amerya and those like her blessed by the goddesses with magic are demons.  The road to the throne is not going to be easy as her people are starving and dying under the oppressive rule of their new King, and she is not able to seize power as easily has she had hoped.  Her forces must go to war but at what cost?

I thought the world building and fantasy elements were really well done.  The plot was well constructed and I loved the female based power structure.  Amerya on the other hand is supposed to be one of the most powerful magic wielders and trained to become queen, yet she makes some really poor decisions when it comes to her actions.  She is not the female leader that her people need and at every turn she is often thwarted by the opposition and by her own advisors.  I hope in the next book we see more character development from her and she grows into the queen she needs to be, not the damsel in distress she often was in this first book.  

I'm looking forward to the next book to find out how our characters grow and what happens now that the two sides are truly at war.

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