With the stunning cover, beautiful fanart, and the intriguing premise of a magic dressmaker I was incredibly excited to pick up A Fragile Enchantment. However, what I hoped would be a whimsical and fun reading experience was instead slow, frivolous, and absurd. Unfortunately, I really did not enjoy Saft’s latest release.

I did not care for the characters in this book. Niamh is not a compelling main character. Her only personality traits are being nice to everyone and tripping over air. Though she acknowledges her self-sacrificing nature, at no point in the story do we see her make any effort to grow or change. Kit is an asshole. Maybe in middle school, I would've swooned at the traumatized bad-boy prince character but he just annoyed me. I could have gotten over his icy behavior in the beginning, however, he has toddler-level mood swings throughout the entire book. Both Niamh and Kit have trauma and issues to work through. I enjoy when a romantasy book has a subplot of healing. But the conversations around their fears and pasts were forced, preachy, and repetitive

I could not have been less interested in the romance between Niamh and Kit. The instant lust Niamh feels toward Kit kills any tension between them. They have no chemistry and I cannot believe how quickly their relationship progresses. I also feel like their relationship undermines the anticolonial commentary in this book. Especially because it is presented as a reason for the Macklish workers to stop protesting.

A Fragile Enchantment has a relatively extensive cast of side characters. Some of these side characters, Sophia and Rosa in particular, were far more interesting than Kit and Niamh despite barely being in the book. My favorite character was easily Sinclair but he is a copy-and-paste cliche of the sassy, flirty male lead’s best friend that I have seen (and loved) a million times. Jack, Kit’s older brother, is a confusing character. His character development felt inconsistent and unrealistic. He flipped between being kind but overwhelmed to being cruel and ignorant. His impact as regent and his interactions with the Macklish were brushed aside as the reader is supposed to accept “the power of love” as a believable solution to the unrest.

The plot, pacing, and world-building did little to redeem the story. A Fragile Enchantment has a painfully slow start with nothing of significance happening until after the halfway point. Even once things started happening it felt underdeveloped. The two reveals were incredibly obvious and Jack’s “secret” did not make sense.

Throughout the story, there is a political subplot concerning the relationship between Mackland and Avaland. This is a fairly obvious parallel to the historical conflict between England and Ireland. Though I think this could have made for an interesting subplot, it is not properly integrated into the story. Niamh is a Macklish immigrant working for the Avaland royal family. Though the Macklish protests are repeatedly mentioned throughout the story, Niamh barely has any internal reflection on the impact of her work in the palace or her relationship with her home country. She spends more time learning to be sympathetic and compassionate for the two privileged princes than she does engaging with the Macklish.

The world-building in A Fragile Enchantment is very minimal and generic. The story is set in a Regency era but lacks any atmosphere. The royals don't act like royals and there is no sense of a court even though it is mentioned. I also wish the magic had been more important to the story. We barely explore how it works or the different forms of magic. It is just something in the background that adds dramatic flourish to their tantrums. These critiques are relatively minor but they made it even harder for me to take the book seriously.

To be blunt, A Fragile Enchantment feels recycled. The story is made up of a bunch of genre cliches strung together by the barest threads of a plot. Though I do not expect every book to be groundbreaking and unique, the cliches made the book incredibly dull and predictable.

Bridgerton meets Ever After with MAGIC! It would be a mistake to miss out on reading this beautiful book. “Speaking to him so often felt like walking into a room blindfolded and praying you didn’t find any sharp edges.” Some elements that made me fall in love with this book were the slow burn romance when both parties feel duty bound, magical enchantments are woven into clothing that can evoke certain emotions, and magical temper tantrums which cause plants to grow. I felt this book was so charming and I will definitely be encouraging people to read this!

This was such a sweet, lovely romance. The author
has the type of writing that just sucks you in and I never wanted to put this book down. For me, this was a great palette cleanser between heavier fantasy series!

3.5 stars, rated up. Allison Saft has become an auto-buy author for me. "Down Comes the Night" and "A Far Wilder Magic" were easily 5-star reads that I see myself re-reading someday in the future. While I didn't dislike "A Fragile Enchantment," it doesn't have the same re-readability that I have enjoyed from her previous books. Niamh and Kit are not relatable characters and their romantic journey felt forced and awkward. I have so many questions about the world of this story- who/where is Parliament? How are they so in-the-dark with all political matters of the country? What was Rosa actually planning on doing once she married? Why aren't the Machlish using their powers to better their country? Which countries are potentially fighting and what is their history?... and more.

Short summary of the plot: The story revolves around a wedding that is doomed from the start. Niamh falls in love with the future groom and befriends the future bride... and makes them emotion-powered clothing. Yep, you read that right.

My review sounds a bit harsh, but Saft's writing style makes up for any complaints I make. She has a beautiful way with words and overall, I found the book a light-hearted and fun read. Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC read of this book. This book was published at the start of the year. Fairyloot is doing an SE for their YA book box, and I'm super excited to see the beautiful art that goes with it!

Ｂｏｏｋ Ｒｅｖｉｅｗ
Holy WOW! I loved this book! It is the first book by Allison Saft and it was absolutely magical! I stayed up all night reading this gem!

Think Regency Gossip Girl…Niamh is not the typical seamstress…when she stitches a garment she stitches in her emotion into her creation! So if she is thinking happy thoughts, the person who puts that dress on will feel her happiness. She is requested at the Palace in Avaland to be the Royal Seamstress for Prince Christopher's wedding.

Prince Christopher (aka Kit) is a grump with a capital "G"! He is a mean bully to Niamh from the first moment they first met. Not only does she have to deal with him, but she receives a note from an Anonymous Scandal columnist, Lovelace, to find dirt on the Royal Family. She needs to decide whether or not to help dig for dirt or possibly be thrown into the gossipy mix.

Niamh was such a strong, lovely character. While I love how she works hard to help her family, she really needed to put herself first. Wearing herself down, getting sick while doing it was just hard to watch/read. I have someone in my life who does the same thing so it made it feel all that more relatable. At first, I didn't care for Kit but my feelings soon changed once I saw that he disliked everyone but her. His tender little moments and actions towards her were so endearing. I loved them!!!

I loved the ending. While I did find it to be a bit predictable - Lovelace's true identity, it didn't take away from my love for this book! I loved all of the supporting characters - especially Sinclair and Rosa! I have been recommending this book to all of my friends!

Ⓦⓗⓐⓣ Ⓘ Ⓛⓞⓥⓔⓓ:
✨️Beautiful cover
✨️Powerful writing
✨Bridgerton vibes
✨️Wonderful supporting characters
✨️Their sweet moments alone

Ⓦⓗⓐⓣ Ⓘ Ⓓⓘⓓⓝ’ⓣ
✨️How the help (especially those from Machland) were treated
✨️That Niamh put everyone before herself (even her health)

𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 ℍ𝕒𝕤:
Regency Romantasy
Magic
Forbidden Romance
Enemies to Lovers
Family Secrets/Drama
Anonymous Scandal
Tension/Angst
Found Family
LGBTQIA Representation
Political tension

Thank you to @netgalley, @stmartinspress & @allisonhsaft for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A story of passions and agendas clashing in the middle of a class war that has an optimist thrust in the middle of it without even realizing it.
Niamh Ó Conchobhair is a seamstress with ancient magic that lets her sew feelings into her work. She's so good at it that the ruling family of the country responsible for her country's ruin hires her to make an entire wardrobe for the crown prince and the wedding dress for the princess he is to marry. Niamh accepts because she wants to make sure that her mother and grandmother won't have to work as hard as they have to survive. She plans to show up, make the best outfits, build a reputation, and live a comfortable life thereafter with her family. But the reality of the ruling family and the situation in Avaland is not at all what she expected, with the crown prince being very different from the fairytale she'd imagined. Niamh must learn to navigate not only the intrigues of a foreign court at war with its people but also her feelings for a man who is not only completely out of her league, he's also the groom she's there to outfit.
It starts out feeling a little too familiar for my tastes, but the characters won me over enough to forgive the fact that the story has nothing new to add to the genre. I had trouble liking Niamh, but ended up really liking her once I realized that the whole point of the book is her realizing that she can do things for herself and that she doesn't have to sacrifice everything for everyone else.
It's a slow burn in that it takes a while for the story to really take off, but you get pulled in and it's impossible not to care for everyone's happiness and success.
Not exactly a book I'm going to be raving about, but enjoyable.

Happy thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the romantic read!

A Fragile Enchantment is my first book by author Allison Saft. I couldn’t resist the invitation to read this young adult fantasy weaved with magic, politics, and romance, especially when I saw all the early glowing reviews.

This story about a magical seamstress hired to create the wedding attire for a prince’s arranged marriage is layered with several plot lines. Of course there is a romance, but it’s also a story about class, political intrigue, and familial relationships.

While I used to read much more young adult fantasy, it hasn’t been a genre I’ve read a lot of in the past few years. I’ve recently been trying to pick it up more often. And while I did enjoy this one, I did still find it a bit YA for me, with high drama and an ending that wraps up a little too nicely. I also found myself guessing all the “mysteries” at every turn.

But I can see why so many readers have loved it. Niamh is a compelling heroine, with her ability to stitch emotions and memories into the fabric of her clothing designs. Even though it’s an ability that will one day kill her, she has embraced her power and only wants to earn enough money to provide for her family back home. When she gets drawn into the political intrigue of the royal family—and falls in love with the prince—her life becomes even more complicated.

Kit Carmine, the prince she is designing for, seems like a royal pain in the ass when she first meets him, but he has his own magical powers that have complicated his life, too, not to mention a tumultuous relationship with his older brother Jack, the Prince Regent of Avaland and the man insisting on Kit’s arranged marriage. Kit and Niamh can’t resist becoming friends as they spend more time together, drawn closer by the impending wedding.

I also adored all the side characters, each one important to the plot, as well.

Throughout A Fragile Enchantment, I found myself drawing comparisons to Bridgerton and Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare, mostly just certain plot lines or scenes, but if you’re a fan of either of those, you’d probably like this one, as well. Saft has created a unique regency era-inspired fantasy world with intricate magic, enigmatic characters, and a compelling story that kept me reading!

Why did this book have to have such an enticing cover? And the description had me anticipating this as a top read for 2024 but it did not come through for me.

Top selling point that I was really looking forward to was the main character. A tailor who can weave enchantments into the clothes she makes? Love this. While her magic was really interesting, it wasn't good enough to make up for her weak personality. Actually, personality was my issue with the entire book. Every character suffers from just being unable to stand up for themselves and when they do, it's for the wrong reasons and they know it's wrong and that it will come back negatively and then act very upset when it turns out to be the wrong thing to do...even though they knew? This is the worst character type in romance and I seem to run into it a lot in fantasy romance. Frequent dialogue along the lines of "I'm such a coward." "I'm a failure." "I'm undeserving of love." and just a general "Woe, I'm bad and I'm bad at everything." is a part of every single character and by the end of the book it is unbearable.

The story...what can I say. Niamh takes a job to make the clothes for the royal wedding of a Prince and a Princess from different countries. There are a lot of political discussions that could happen from this book, given that each of the fantasy countries are clearly based on real countries and to a degree, the history of those real countries. But...it's just so fluffy that none of that actually ever feels important. Especially when the story comes together in tied in the most perfect HEA-bow I feel like I've ever seen. This has instalove and ends in a marriage that through the whole book is portrayed as impossible and would cause huge conflict in the countries, but actually somehow solves most of the issues that were supposed to be the plot of the book. I feel exhausted by all the love reveals that were so obvious the entire time and by all the times someone tried to explain why they were so terrible and unworthy only to have someone else make grand gestures to prove otherwise. This was a rough book for me, and I would have DNF'd if it hadn't been an ARC.

Even with all my issues, I think readers who enjoy super fluffy, HEA's will have a good time with this book. I've come across other wildly popular books that feel very similar to this and the market is clearly here for this type of story! It just didn't work for me personally.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a digital copy of the book in exchange for a review. I'm really sad I didn't like this one!

This book put me straight into a world where Bridgerton meets the fantasy genre!! I really enjoyed this read.

Niamh is a magical dressmaker who is asked to come into the kingdom to design clothes for the youngest prince’s upcoming wedding. Upon arrival she finds a very grumpy client that wants nothing to do with her or her craft. In this novel filled with grumpy vs. sunshine, prince vs. pauper, and enemies to lovers, you are immediately swept into the magic of the story and you never want to leave.

Excellent book!

It’s a no for me. I cannot do 3rd pov and this story just drags on and on. It’s too ya and yet tries to address a lot of issues. The story is messy and boring at the same time.

I kept seeing this cover everywhere and I am a sucker for pretty covers! It’s what really drew me in.

The book is told from one point-of-view and it comes from Niamh. She has a magical gift when it comes to sewing/embroidery. She can weave emotions and memories into the fabric and those who wear it or see it can understand the magic she has weaved into it. I thought that this was a very unique gift and I loved seeing what she created from it. Other characters had gifts as well, but this one was used more.

I wouldn’t say that I fully connected with the characters though. I did understand their plight, especially those fighting for better conditions. I liked how Niamh saw the best in people even when she probably shouldn’t have. Kit had good qualities and the banter between him and Niamh was very well done! The relationship that formed between them was alright but it wasn’t a favorite part of the story for me.

Overall, I thought this was good but it didn’t live to the hype for me.

3/5 Stars

This gives Bridgerton vibes. This was my first thought when reading this book. There is a gossip column that the people get access to and read it in lady whistledown voice. while this book has some magic, it didn't feel like it. I'll be honest and say I felt a little bored while reading. I just found that I wasn't connecting to the characters or this story in any way. The romance just lacked for me in every aspect. Overall it was a pretty average read for me. I liked what the author did and how the story was told, it just wasn't my favorite.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I only gave this book 3 stars because it took me forever to get into the story. The beginning really dragged so it took me over two weeks to get to the point where I was gripped by the story because I just kept putting it down.

Once the story picked up, it was pretty interesting. I liked both Niamh and Kit. I also really enjoyed the magical system in this book. Overall, the story was good, but I wish it wouldn’t have taken so long to get to the interesting part.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving this ARC, and this doesn't influence my review. This book was like Spin the Dawn, as the FMC had to sew magical dresses. Some tropes include: hate to love, bisexual MMC, enemies to lovers. This was an okay read.

“You're like a pint-sized hurricane of earnestness and good cheer.”

No one writes romance like Allison Saft. The yearning, the pinning and the sweet kindness throughout? Impeccable. When Saft's men fall in love, they fall in love with their entire mind, body and soul. I would die to be loved like a Saft man. A Far Wilder Magic is my Pride & Prejudice so when I found out she was writing a new fantasy book with a dressmaker - I was so excited.

A Fragile Enchantment follows Niamh Ó Conchobhair, a dying dressmaker that wants create a safe future for her family in a world where her people are oppressed, so when an invite comes for her to design and create for the royal wedding, she packed up and went to the city. The groom, Kit Carmine wants nothing to do with the wedding, but knowing that it's his political duty as the younger brother of the king - making him prickly and abrasive to Niamh.

Fighting to keep her job and knowing that her future resides in the palm of someone who wouldn't remember her, she tries her best to make her styles and magic show. Their time together starts to bleed almost into a friendship - until a gossip column sees them together, putting both her job and his marriage and ergo the country's future on the line. But love is not meant to be denied, and these two are drawn to each other regardless of country, status and anyone else. (Side note: I won't spoil it here but there's no cheating involved!)

Unfortunately this one didn't hold up for me as much for 2 reasons. The writing style is still IMPECCABLE and I'll always be the biggest fan of Saft's prose but I didn't like how the country's finances were never really solved. If this was SUCH a big issue, why was it never addressed beyond "eh we'll use investments to fix it".

Additionally,  Jack (the King) is very kind to her throughout the entire book UNTIL he finds out she's involved with his brother and suddenly he becomes this massive villain - berating her status and heritage. This complete switch wasn't something I saw coming and it wasn't addressed enough in the story because after this I only saw him as a villain. Alas, this wasn't my favorite of her books.

rep// side wlw, chronic illness, bi MC

cw// alcoholism, homophobia, microaggressions, colonialism

Thank you to the publisher for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked it, it's a book that reads quickly, and hooks you from the beginning!🤍
The plot is not complicated, and it is very entertaining. I also liked the plot twist, it surprised me haha.🙈
I love Kit and Niamh, I loved them since they met and they didn't like each other haha, it's like grumpy/sunshine. They are very cute, I love them.🥹🤍
Also the group of friends that are them, Niamh, Kit, Sinclair, Rosa and Miriam, ARE BEAUTIFUL, even though “they couldn't stand (some of) each other” haha, it was very nice to see how they developed.🥹🤍
In conclusion, I loved it and I HIGHLY recommend it!! I love you Regency Fantasy.🛐

Lgbt rep
Regency/Historical fantasy
Grumpy-Sunshine
Royalty / commoner
Slow burn
Young Adult
Dressmaker / Prince

Thanks netgalley for the arc

This was an enjoyable read, my first of Allison Saft’s, but it had a few ups and downs. Let me explain.

Let’s do bad news first. Cons: this book starts SLOW, and I mean really slow—other reviews echo this sentiment, but it truly did not pick up or get interesting to me until about 50% of the way through, which feels like a long way to read for the book to get good; at times, the whiny self-loathing of all of the protagonists got a bit old. I understand the need to have messy and imperfect characters, but the reader needs to be able to root for them, and there were moments where I was almost praying on the characters’ downfall, because they were so eager to deny and actively hurt themselves. Come onnnnnnn.

Pros: intriguing fantasy and deity worldbuilding, related to Irish and Spanish lore. I don’t know much about either, but loved the way they were both represented through the setting and the characters’ backgrounds. There were also a slew of queer characters, ranging from lesbian to bisexual to potentially pansexual identities—the text never names any of these labels, obviously, but the representation of different romantic interests with such regularity was refreshing and lovely. Lastly, the intriguing twists and turns, including a Lady Whistledown-like character, added some good plot shocks throughout the novel that kept me invested.

Given all of the above, this gets 3.5⭐️, rounded down to 3 on Goodreads. I enjoyed it, and would read another of Saft’s novels, but a preparation for a slower read seems to be a requisite prior to sitting down with one of her texts.

*Thank you again to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

Thank you netgalley for the arc! Shut up. I love this. I was so worried we were gonna have a sad ending but I can safely say this is a HEA. I love these characters. GAYS FOR EVERYONE! I loved A Far Wilder Magic but this may be my new favorite of Saft's. I love her worldbuilding. It's not so farfetched that you can't parse it out and you can easily see the parallels to the real world but the way the magic is just makes me happy. It's not overly convoluted. It's just fun and charming and lovely.

Allison Saft delivers yet again. I was captivated by this story from start to finish. I had so many "but wait, what if..." moments throughout this story. The twist had my jaw on the floor. The writing, as usual was beautiful and the romance had me hooked from the very beginning.

Allison Saft truly writes romance like no one else! The intensity of it really leaves me breathless with every book she writes, and this was another BANGER!