[Asis’ Review] Forged by Magic by Jenna Wolfhart

Forged by Magic
by Jenna Wolfhart
Series: Falling for Fables #1
Pages: 310
Published by Self-published
Release Date: July 11, 2023
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, New Adult, Romance
Source: Author, Publisher
Format Read: ARC, eBook
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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.

I received this book for free from Author, Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Forged by Magic first interested me because of that cover. I don’t see books with orcs in them as much as I should so that alone grabbed my attention. Now a female orc falling for an elf? No one could have stopped me from getting this.

The story is super easy to get into, and the pace is crazy fast. This was both a good thing and a bad thing, and I’m a bit conflicted on that. But I think it was more a good thing than a bad thing.
The worldbuilding was really good without being overcomplicated. And the writing was good.

I really like the two main characters. They were interesting and layered and had a very good chemistry. I also liked the development of their romance, since it wasn’t love at first sight, we see their feelings evolve and we get all the angst and love and sweetness that comes from that.

I liked the plot of the trials and how we get to see them overcome each of them to win the competition. It was a good setting for them to get to know each other and show their skills. I also wasn’t expecting the dragons to be such an important part of the story and of course I absolutely loved that. They were one of my favorite parts of this book.

I do feel a bit conflicted with the final part of the story. It felt like the angst and conflict between the characters came in without enough development/justification on that front, and then it all got solved way too quickly. The same goes for the bigger, broader plot involving the King and the conquest of the islands… it was a bit disappointing that we didn’t get any of that, but understandable due to the pace of the story.

I did find the ending leaves you satisfied and happy with the story and the author. I am definitely happy I read this.