Bound by Fire and Fate: A Cozy Dragon Shifter Fantasy Romance

by Jesi Donovan

A cursed bakery, a secret witch, and a dragon shifter who just might be her fated mate.

After inheriting her grandmother’s bakery, Tessa has poured everything into restoring it to its former glory. But a sudden curse threatens to close her doors for good. Every morning, her delicious pastries turn to stone by midday, and her fledgling witch powers aren’t enough to stop it. Worse, the only way to lift the curse comes with a price tag she can’t afford.

Enter Darius Flintwing—a powerful, dangerously handsome dragon shifter with a problem of his own. He’s determined to build a haven for magical creatures in Windhollow, but with rumors of dragons being dangerous hoarders, investors are wary. When one investor assumes Tessa is his partner in the venture, Darius plays along.

Desperate to save her bakery, Tessa strikes a bargain with she’ll pose as his devoted fiancée in exchange for his help breaking the curse.

It’s a perfect plan—until their fake relationship starts to feel all too real, and an even darker force threatens Windhollow. Together, they’ll face dangerous magic, ancient secrets, and a fiery connection that might just be more than either of them bargained for.

Will love rise from the ashes, or will their carefully built façade crumble?

Genres: Fantasy

254 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 17, 2024

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm new to Jesi Donovan's writing, and I found Bound by Fire to be a delightful cozy fantasy. I mean, she had me hooked with the mention of a bakery and a dragon shifter.


The story is set in the magical town of Windhollow, where the magical mixes with the mundane and is the perfect place for Darius's Sanctuary project. Darius, with Tessa's help, navigates the politics of the town to gain approval and support. However, at every turn, he faces stereotypes and old prejudices against dragons, but he does so calmly and collectedly. Darius is a great guy, he really cares about the community and bridging the gap between the magical and humans, but it's obvious how much their negative thinking affects him.


Good thing that he and Tessa have each other. Tessa is great, she has quiet strength and a big heart. Her family's bakery is threatened under a curse, and it's not just her bakery, the whole town is at risk. She's determined to solve the problem, and willing to do anything to get to the bottom of it. Enter all the fantastical elements I've been looking for, magic, a quest, artifacts, villains lurking in the shadows, and more. It was exciting. The more Tessa and Darius face their problems together, the closer they grow, bringing with them hope and unity.


Bound by Fire was a good cozy read filled with magic and a touch of romance.

[Gabriela · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dual POV, HEA

I don't know what to think. Already at the very beginning, things felt too repetitive. I had to check that I wasn't accidentally reading the same passage again.

Going through the Whispering Caverns was painful and it felt like a joke. The constant talks of "this is really hard" and "I couldn't do it without you" were in absolute contradiction to what I was reading. The only thoughts in my mind were "What are you talking about? Did I miss something extraordinary happening? What's so hard about this?" So yeah, after they returned, merged the pendant and fixed the curse (halfway through) I was more than ready to ditch the book. Truth to be told, the second half got a bit better.

Overall my biggest problems were:
- lack of understanding of the timeline, I often felt like I'm missing something out
- I completely missed the part where she learned her magic and how to use it (first being clear of not having any magic to being confident in all spells without any thought)
- talks about the growing feelings, when all I read were two interactions of the two main characters; it felt the two characters are doing their stuff, but I didn't see any of their interactions
- no romance whatsoever. Also, they are okay going through some "binding ritual" of their souls to each other, yet they didn't even profess their love/didn't kiss... but what they wouldn't do for saving their town
- the main battle was supposed to include 3 bad characters, but only 2 appeared there (one of them was killed, the other disappeared promising revenge but we haven't heard from her since and the third didn't even appear so I have no idea what happened to that person)

[Katie Dunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cover is gorgeous. The story was enjoyable. I liked the descriptions/use of magic and dragons and I liked the bakery scenes. I wish I could have some of the treats. The two MCs were so supportive of each other and I always like a fake dating trope. I enjoyed the journey they each went on to fulfill their goals. The audio version wasnt great and I feel like I needed more details about the villain because she just seemed random. Overall I liked the story though.

[Dawn Cavenee · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story had potential, but was failed by it’s editor. Rocky, disjointed scenes and interactions were numerous as well as unpleasant. I did not enjoy the book. And I will stay far away from this author’s other works. 😢