A Kiss of Hammer and Flame by. Amy De La Force | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating:

Title: A Kiss of Hammer and Flame (Fated for Hael, #1)

Author: Amy De La Force

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 336

Publication Date: 12/2/25 (first published 7/3/25)

Publisher: Canelo Romance

Categories: Fantasy, Romance, Romantasy

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Canelo Romance for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

An immortal bound in darkness. A shattered empire at war. And a blacksmith whose heart could tip the scales of fate.

When young blacksmith Cahra is commissioned to forge a sword, she uses her imagination to design a symbol. But this symbol invokes an age-old prophecy and awakens Hael – an immortal with the power to shape or shatter worlds – sealed away in a chamber deep in Hael’stromia, the lost capital at the heart of a civil war between three kingdoms.

Now hunted for the sword, Cahra must flee with the very stranger who commissioned it. But what does she truly know about the handsome and charming noble, Terryl?

On the run through the darkly magical Wilds, she is drawn ever closer to Hael, who visits and beguiles her in dreams. With tyrant kings vying to capture Hael and wield him as a weapon, she alone stands between Hael and their deadly ambitions. Will Cahra risk everything to free him in time to save the empire?

Content Warning: violence

+ I got this arc but it’s a book that is being republished with a super pretty sprayed edge. I have a soft spot for female blacksmiths in fantasy stories and in this one we have Cahra who has made a special sword for a lord. But that sword is tied to a prophecy and now her world has changed. Cahra is an orphan, who had a hard life, and everything seemed to be going sort of well until she makes this sword. I think Cahra was a strong character even though sometimes naive, but I feel like she handled some of the challenges, the prophecy and everything being revealed fairly well.

+ The story was interesting even if it’s filled with the usual romantasy tropes. But there was something about Cahra’s story that made me keep reading. Hael, the being inside the sword was very interesting. He reminded me of a jinn trapped in a bottle (but he is not), and the prophecy all ties into him being released and being a weapon that can help rule the three kingdoms. Plus he is tied to Cahra because of the prophecy and their relationship grows into something unexpected. I liked the action in the story which I feel kept the story moving. There are lots of secrets and also political intrigue that I enjoyed a lot – three kingdoms are trying to find this weapon, in order to rule over all, but there is even reveals that have to do with the Oracles.

+ Along Cahra’s journey she meets a few people but I really liked when she meets the Seers and Oracle. I felt like she was all alone, even if Lord Terryl was nice to her, so having these women take her in, kind of guide her and befriend was really nice to see.

~ The romance didn’t really have time to build in my opinion. Cahra and Terryl make a connection when they meet but things change later on. Cahra falls for Terryl because he’s nice and he touches her hand! I didn’t think that alone could do it but it did for her which was kind of frustrating.
She was agonizing over her feelings about him and then things take a different turn so I would have liked to see more build up with the romance.

Final Thoughts:

Surprisingly, I was really into Cahra’s story and journey, when usually in a romantasy – I’m there for the romance. The romance was not my favorite in this story but the political intrigue between three kingdoms and some Oracles really kept me engaged. Overall, I found this one entertaining but wish there was more build-up in the romance storyline. It’s a good start to a series and it will be interesting to see what happens in book two.