Sadly, A Fragile Enchantment fell flat for me. I was very excited to read it based off of descriptions of magic meets Bridgerton. I needed MORE MAGIC. I just needed more everything because it was a little boring for me to tell the truth. Nothing really happened until half way through, I wasn’t invested in the characters and didn’t feel the chemistry between Niamh and Kit.
2.5 stars

I was unimpressed with Saft's debut, "Down Comes the Night," but was utterly enchanted with her sophomore novel, "A Far Wilder Magic." Unfortunately, "A Fragile Enchantment" will take its place in my mental shelf by the former, rather than the latter.

This is a 384 page book in which...very little happens. The back cover synopsis claims that our conflict will be that an anonymous columnist (a la Lady Whistledown from "Bridgerton") forces heroine Niamh to spy on the royal family as she falls in love with the spare brother. That conflict literally never occurs. The columnist asks, Niamh says she'd rather not, and the columnist is totally fine with that answer. This is occurs in one chapter, and that's it.

It's sad, because there is SO MUCH Saft could work with plot-wise! Avaland (Regency England) and Machland (recently freed Ireland) have a rich history that never progresses beyond political briefings. Jack and Sofia have a tentative romance on the back burner- Niamh could have gotten involved and made garments for Sofia that would invoke desire or lust. Avaland's capital, Sootham, is in the midst of their Season- give me balls, teas, musicales, opera boxes, longing glances, mean old chaperones!

Not to mention, Niamh has the ability to sew emotions and memories into clothing. There were so many opportunities for Niamh to use that skill to develop her relationship with other characters, and to then develop those characters' stories and motivations. Instead, the magic slowly ages Niamh, which didn't add any urgency to the story. It just ruins Saft's ability to have fun with this device.

Romance of manners need not be stale. Look at the historical romance greats- Lisa Kleypas, Sarah MacLean, Courtney Milan, Lorraine Heath, and Beverly Jenkins, to name a few. Many of their books are character-based and focused on social norms, but their narratives are never tedious. With "Enchantment," I was just begging for it to hurry up and end.

The central romance between Niamh and Kit was lovely, and Saft sure can write a confession of love; men of the universe, take note! But the conflict and the character development never seemed to intertwine, and thus we have an unstitched story that isn't quite ready when it's time to attend the ball.

Thank you to the publisher for the eArc!

I will admit the cover absolutely drew me in and was the reason I needed to read this. However, I’m happy to say that the story was just as delightful. The romance was adorable and the LONGING in it had me giddy. Also the representation was done in such a natural way, and was a great addition to a genre of romance that many people don’t see themselves in very often. I will definitely be recommending this to anyone looking for a great romance that leaves you feeling warm inside.

“In this romantic fantasy of manners from New York Times bestselling author Allison Saft, a magical dressmaker commissioned for a royal wedding finds herself embroiled in scandal when a gossip columnist draws attention to her undeniable chemistry with the groom.”

I absolutely loved this book. Classic enemies to lovers set in a fantasy world with the delight of magic. Niamh was an amazing protagonist and heroine. She was smart and sassy in all the right ways, as well as humble and sure of herself. She looked out for everyone, even those that might not have her best interest at heart. And she did it all of for the love of her family.

I fell in love with Kit immediately. Dark hair, brooding, with a twinge of abrasiveness? What’s not to love!!! The way you can see him open up and begin to share himself, not only with Niamh but with others close to him, was amazing. You could see all the small (but meaningful) gestures he is making out of love.

The best part? The intrigue and drama wasn’t too much. It was at the “just right” level of excitement without going over the top or out of control and it all wrapped up nicely at the end.

This was solid four star read for me and I hope to get the chance to read some more from the author at some point!

A special thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press & Wednesday Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I will post my review online on goodreads/socials when the SMP reviewer boycott is over.

3.5⭐️

“Stop cutting off pieces of yourself, when you’re already more than good enough.”

This book was just what I needed to read right now. It felt like a breath of fresh air. A fragile enchantment is a YA romance fantasy with very soft and magical vibes.

At first I wasn't very sure about the characters but little by little they won me over. The romance between Niamh and Kit was everything and the side characters were amazing and so fun to read about.

But anyway, I don't think this is Allison Saft's best work. In fact, I'm surprised that this is her third book because there are a lot of loose and underdeveloped things, which doesn't happen with her other books.

The broad strokes of this story are sweet, warm, and fuzzy. But most of the plot is too easy to predict. The magic is unclear, and underexplained. Characters are likeable because we are told we should like them, and the lgbtq+ representation checks boxes without really adding any weight to the story. Alot of potential with a nit of flat execution.

This book was enjoyable-very much Bridgerton vibes. I dug that aspect but I did sort of miss out on character chemistry. It was fast paced, easy to read and get into and overall a fun read!

Rating 4.5 stars - While this book took me a bit to get into, by the halfway mark I was fully invested. The main characters all have reasons to be guarded, but together they find that they can be their true selves for once, and help each other see that they are worthy of happiness and love. I loved the found family these diverse characters were able to find together.
This is a magical, regency setting with a background of political commentary around colonization in a western-European based fantasy world. Niamh’s magic reminded me of Sophie’s from Howl’s Moving Castle, imbuing her feelings and desires into the embroidered clothing she creates. The royal’s magic is more elemental. There is some steam, placing this in the upper-YA to new adult category, with on page descriptions to third base.
Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book flew fairly easily. This is a Regency inspired world but with magic. Niamh and the way her magic works is an interesting concept in that she is able to stitch emotions into fabric. The way Saft describes the garments Niamh makes is descriptive and beautiful. Even though this story is not set in a college or boarding school setting it still manages to feel very light academia to me in a way. Yes, there are some dark themes but overall there is a highly motivated girl, friendship, and hope. It also helps that Niamh is likable and not annoying. Kit on the other hand takes a while to warm up to. At times it felt geared towards a younger audience but then the writing would shift towards an older. Overall it was a cute story that I think high schoolers would like. If you enjoy enemies to lovers and some slight political intrigue you might enjoy this.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, for sharing this book with me in exchange for my honest review.

Soft DNF @37%

I'm putting this one on hold for now. I might come back to it in the future, as it isn't objectively bad. However, pushing through right now may do a disservice to any review I might craft right now given my current disinterest in the story.

This is the second book I read by this author, and same as with A Far Wilder Magic, I feel it had a lot of potential it just kept dragging on.
I did like the FMC and her backstory, but not enough to be truly invested.

I do not, however, think this is a bad book. Allison Saft has consistently been a NYT bestseller for a reason and I think a ton of people will like this book, I am unfortunately not one of them.

Thank you to net galley and the publisher for this ARC

A seamstress falls in love with a rejected prince; apparently, there’s magic somewhere, too. The premise of this book sounded right up my alley–it started strong but ended up losing me. The magic system was severely underdeveloped, and many of the reveals at the end felt pushed as a reason to wrap up the plot rather than being genuine parts of the characters. That said, I did enjoy the banter between Niamh and Kit, and the overall world, with its political quarrels, had a lot of potential! This one might be a good read for historical romance lovers because it’s certainly a slow burn, and several friends I talked to said it gives strong Bridgerton vibes.

Thank you, @stmartinspress and @netgalley, for the review copy!

"Love is what makes life worth living. Love is what makes us act when we most need to. That's what your legacy is. It's how you love the people around you, not how much you've sacrificed for them."

I'm between 4 and 5 stars for this one, mostly because the plot became a bit too drawn out and convoluted towards the end, but the ending itself was so warm and just exactly what I wanted that I think I will go with a 5.

Allison Saft just knows how to write about yearning, and this book is FULL of it. Some events are drawn out, like I mentioned before, but I never truly felt bored. The plot flowed nicely, and offered enough turns to keep me wondering. And I loved all the characters - Niamh was headstrong, Kit was infuriating and then charming, and the rest of the cast balanced each other out nicely. The writing was magical without veering into superfluous, and as this is the second book I've read (and enjoyed) by this author, I can confidently say that she is one of my new favorites.

I would have liked to see more about her chronic illness and how that will effect her new career and relationship with Kit. Also, based on the book's description, I had expected the gossip columnist's proposal to be a bigger part of the plot, but it wasn't really. I enjoyed the plot for what it did end up being, in any case.

This was a nice read that has left me with a warm feeling inside. Beautiful prose, loveable and understanding characters (except Jack?), and a wild story...what's not to love?

This was a cute regency romance. A grumpy/sunshine relationship. The consequences in this book felt real, but they were kind of ignored at the end for the sake of wrapping things up. I did not like Kit as a love interest for 30% of the book. I normally can live off of "bread crumbs" when it comes to enemies vs lovers, but I felt like I was getting nothing for a good bit. I loved Rosa. She is my goth Princess. Overall I give this book 3.5 (4 rounded up)⭐

~thank you to netgalley and the publisher for gifting me an advanced reader copy-

this one is for the girls who’s comfort movie is the 2005 adaptation of pride & prejudice!

a fragile enchantment is a fairytale, regency-era love story centering around our FMC, Niamh, a divine blooded gifted seamstress, and our MMC, Kit, a brooding prince.

This story was so whimsical and comforting and I ate it up! I personally love regency-era media in any format and this did not disappoint! Allison Saft has a gift for writing such beautiful imagery, and intricate characters. It was so easy to picture the setting and our characters because of their writing.

This book feels very bridgerton-esc and features a gossip collumn that stirs up trouble in our characters lives.

the romance was to DIE FOR!! the angst and frustrations between our two mc’s was delectable and the romance was so tender and sweet.

my only critiques of this story is that it felt like there was some unresolved conflicts, that were never resolved and felt important to the story. I also felt like towards the end it started to drag but picked up and finished very intensely!

just wanted to mention that I recieved this ARC a few days after its release which is why im posting this review late! either way a fragile enchantment is out now! go buy a copy with this beautiful copy!

This book was such a fun read, it’s such an engrossing read. Loved the regency Bridgeton fantasy spin. The magic system and characters were enjoyable. My only complaint is the ending felt a bit drawn out. Overall, would highly recommend this.

I will update with my review once the SMP boycott has ended.

In the meantime...
#SPEAKUPSMP has three demands:

Address and denounce the Islamophobia/racism from their employee.

Offer tangible steps for how they're going to mitigate the harm this employee caused.

Address how, moving forward, they will support and protect their Palestinian, Muslim, and Arab readers, influencers, and authors in addition to their BIPOC readers, influencers, and authors.

This book is everything! I was swept away with the magic and romance. The writing was beautiful and the pacing set up the story really well.

Of course I fell in love with the characters and the romance. Even the secondary characters were written so well!

Definitely gave me Bridgerton vibes set in a fantasy world.

Highly recommend this magical gem!

4.5 ⭐️

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books and NetGalley for an electronic ARC of this novel.

Niamh has magic, which lets her put emotion and enchantments into the pieces of clothing that she creates. Her talents have taken her away from her family in a lower class much looked down upon country to the more affluent Avaland, where she hopes to make a name for herself and to send back money to support her family back home.

Once she arrives, she finds that things in Avaland aren't as stable as they seem. Prince Jack, who is running the country due to his father's illness, is acting as if everything is fine, even though the lower class is rebelling due to poor conditions. His brother, Kit, has recently returned from his travels to make a political marriage. But Niamh and Kit are drawn to each other, even though they aren't supposed to be together. .And Niamh is doomed - all of her relatives seem to die young because of their powers, and she doesn't feel like she will be the exception.

A Fragile Enchantment, by Allison Saft, is a fun and entertaining read. I enjoyed reading it and it was an interesting plot and well written. I think her fans won't be disappointed in this one!

It was pretty tough to get through the first half. The second half was better but that's a lot to get through for a standalone.