"No good came from loving fragile things."

A Fragile Enchantment felt like a letter of admiration to Ireland. The inspiration that was taken from the magic & the tales of our lore blended so well with the heartache & sting of the historical turmoil we have gone through. It was sweet & bitter.

It held a whimsical charm to it, and Niamh remained at the heart of it all with her hope and trust. Even when it was scorned or hurt, she stayed true to her wonderful morals & truth. I enjoyed so many of the characters, what they brought to the story, and how they held their own - holding a story of their own within this novel. No characters were left to serve one person but their own.

The love was sweet and regal, much like the era it portrays, and it makes me think of young but true love.
Alison Saft, this is my favourite of your works so far!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books and NetGalley for this E-ARC. These are my own opinions.
This was my first Allison Saft book and will not be my last. This was a lovely historical fantasy. The story drew you into it and made you fall in love with the characters. Even if they seemed hard to love. I loved how she wove in historical events. The only thing I wish the book had was a glossary for all of the Irish/Machland language. I majority of the time could guess what they were saying but it may be helpful to have a guide. This is a solid 3 Stars for me.

Having very much enjoyed [author:Allison Saft]’s [book:A Far Wilder Magic], I jumped at the chance to get my hands on her latest. If you’re looking for atmospheric, magic-driven YA/new adult romantasy, with a dash of politics and family drama thrown in, [book:A Fragile Enchantment] will not disappoint.

When Niamh, a tailor with a skill for enchanting her embroidery with emotions, receives an invitation to make the wedding clothes for the prince of the neighboring Avaland (a magical standin for Regency England) she jumps at the chance to finally give her family comfort and stability after war with Avaland left her home country Machland (standing in for Ireland) devastated 35 years ago. The prodigal young prince Christopher – Kit – is prickly, devastatingly handsome – and wants nothing to do with her. So she’ll just have to prove her worth to punch her ticket to a better life.

At its heart, A Fragile Enchantment is about finding your people, your confidence to be yourself, to believe you are worthy of love, and have the right to live life on your own terms. Along the way, Niamh and Kit must contend with their duty to family and country, a Lady Whistledown-like gossiper amongst the nobility who threatens to reveal damaging secrets if Niamh won’t work to advance the cause of the Machlish lower class, and the dangers their own magics pose if they push themselves too far.

I love the way Saft writes, her clever spins on magic systems, and her ability to write young characters in ways that feel both true to their youth and timeless.

<i>Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.</i>

A Fragile Enchantment was the second book by Allison Saft that I read, and if it is the last of 2023, I'll be more than happy. It was such a captivating and beautiful story that I couldn't stop until I'd reached the end.

This book will just sweep you off of your feet, it was beautiful and enchanting. This was my first book by this author and it was enjoyable. The storyline was great and the writing was on point. The characters were good, sometimes a little frustrating, but overall they were fun to read about and enjoy the story with. Will post more when the book is published!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

A Fragile Enchantment is an incredibly cozy fantasy book that will leave you wanting more with every chapter. I read this book in 2 sittings and that's only because I had other obligations to attend to that I couldn't put off.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC copy to review.

If you like enemies to lovers in royal settings with a dash of fantasy get ready to enjoy A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft.
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Niamh is a kind seamstress whose magical ability is that she can weave emotions into her designs. Kit is a grumpy prince. Niamh’s job is to dress him for events culminating in his upcoming wedding. They clash. They help each other. They discover as much about themselves, as they do each other and what they each sacrifice. Their relationship is a slow burn.
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The side characters were equally interesting. There’s a friendly scoundrel, Sinclair. Kit’s older brother. The bride and Princess Rosa. Whether you perceive some of these characters as obstacles or enemies, you are still drawn into their stories.
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There was some lovely imagery in the story and the cover is gorgeous. I highly recommend it.
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Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books for an advanced copy for an honest review.

This books didn’t feel like it was anything new or extravagant in its telling. But the story itself was written in such a lyrical way that it felt like I was reading a well loved favorite from the get go. And for that I loved it immensely.

Naimh’s ability to weave emotions into the garments she makes has landed her a coveted position as the wedding dress maker for the upcoming nuptials of Prince Christopher and his bride to be Princess Rosa. But in a court where magical blood is coveted above all others, a mysterious ghost writer is putting a kink in everyone’s plans. The prince’s brother is hiding a dark secret and the prince himself is the grouchiest person Naimh has ever met. But the more they get to know each other the more their walls start to crumble. But Naimh has a secret of her own. Because each time she uses her magic, she’s one step closer to death.

This book could definitely be considered a grumpy sunshine pairing. I loved how clumsy Naimh was and how it was integrated into the story beautifully. Princess Rosa was giving me Wednesday vibes the entire time and I loved her. There are so many wonderful characters in this and I love love loved it. I think you will too!

a fragile enchantment quotes
..."although she was secretly convinced her reticule did indeed contain a portal to a stranger realm, filled only with broken pencils and stray pocket change"

Thank you to Wednesday books for an advanced copy of this book!

I've pretty much loved all of Saft's works, and this one is just as excellent as the others. While Down Comes the Night remains my favorite, this one is probably my second. It is absolutely a five star read. One of the things I loved about this book is that it paid homage to Bridgerton as well as real life history, but it also included magic and queer characters. One thing I think that Saft did very well was the world building -- she used what we know of in reality to build her own world atop it. That made for less confusing world building in a standalone, and you could more easily slip into the story without being confused.

It was so well done and I loved the characters in this book. It left me with warm fuzzy feelings all over.

Niamh has quickly become one of my favorite characters of all time, she's spunky, she's adorable and I just love her. I love her to bits. Her development as a character was delightful and her friendships with the people around her were wonderful. I adored her friendship with Sinclair, and I also loved Sinclair's relationship with Kit as well. We also have Rosa and Mirriam, both also characters I adored.

Honestly, there were very few characters that I did not like in this book. Maybe Jack. That's about it.

This is definitely a grumpy x sunshine romance and UGH. Honestly cute doesn't even cut it. I loved how sweet and tender this book was at times, but also how strong it was at others, and it is so hard to explain why I loved it so much other than it left me feeling happy and fulfilled.

While much of it is cute and adorable, there are parts that touch on darker themes such as war colonialization, and decimation of countries, but Saft manages to balance both those things very well. I didn't find it heavy handed or lacking nuance, I felt that it was woven into the story in an appropriate manner.

Her writing is also just a delight. It leaves me breathless, I love it so much. I could keep going on about how much I adored this book, but really, you just need to read it for yourself. I can see this becoming an absolute comfort read for me.

"Your life is yours. It is never too late to change."

The first 60% of this book was really tough for me to get thru. The plot felt repetitive + the "twists" were pretty precitable. I liked the characters, but I wanted so badly to be invested in the plot, but I just wasn't. For me it came together in the end + the last 30% was my favorite part!

I was SO excited to get this eARC. I really enjoyed the other books I’ve read from Allison Saft and the premise of this one sounded absolutely fascinating.

The first half of this book had me completely hooked. The way Niamh’s magic worked was amazing, the tension between her and Kit was so well done, and I was so curious as to how all secrets and political intrigue would play out. It was disappointing that the second half ended up being a bit of a let down. Some of the character’s motivations didn’t make sense, when the truth of the secrets came out they were slightly mundane, and the conflict felt either unresolved or wrapped up too neatly.

Overall, I thought this was a lovely story that had so much potential and I was disappointed that I didn’t love the ending. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Kit and Niamh are my favorite fictional couple of 2023.

I was hesitant going into this, because I had a kind of love/hate relationship with Allison Saft's other novel, A Far Wilder Magic. But the pretty cover is what did me in, and the rest is history, because I really loved this book.

Kit Carmine, as the love interest, was just so swoony. I don't know when the last time I used that word was (or if I've EVER used that word) but it's true. I love how fleshed out his character was: warring between his past and presents self, between his duty to his family and his love for Niamh. If Allison Saft ever decides to write more of these two, I'd really love for her to make it following Kit's point of view.

Then there's Niamh. As a main character, and the struggles she goes through to provide for others, to comfort and love them when she's the one needing comfort and love... that really hit home. If I have one complaint, it's that I wish it hadn't taken her so long to realize that (AKA, kinda got repetitive there towards the end.)

The ending itself was... very quickly paced, compared to the rest of the book, and sort of threw me off a bit because of it. But Allison Saft's writing here was so beautiful, it didn't even bother me.

3.5 stars, rounded up - This was a really fun, magical book. I enjoyed all the characters and the romance between Niamh and Kit. It probably would be helpful to tell the reader the pronunciation of a few names, especially Niamh. I’m familiar with it from other things, but someone who’s never heard the name would probably never guess it. I felt like the first 30% of the story was especially good. It really got me excited for the story and the romance unfolding between the two main characters, but the next 20-30% dropped off a little. The tension and intensity doesn’t build quite as well as I was hoping. I was still pretty invested in the story, but maybe not as much as I could have been. The fox wasn’t quite as strong and compelling for a bit. I wished I could have had more of the two main characters falling in love. I still feel like most people will love the vibes- especially if they like the book cover.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me access to this eArc for my honest opinion!

This was so so so good!!!! I loved the world building and the atmosphere! I got major Bridgerton with magic vibes, and I absolutely loved the characters!!!! This story was so sweet, and so well written. Nothing felt overdone, while also not feeling too complex. I wanted a fantasy read while still wanting a romance, and this did exactly what I needed it to do!!!

I love young adult fantasy romance, including this novel. The story is unique and entertaining with an original magic system. The characters are complex and easy to root for.

Lovely read and will be recommending this to my audience.

Thank you to NetGalley for this arc of “A Fragile Enchantment!” I’ve read “A Far Wilder Magic” by this same author and was very excited to read her latest, as I love fantasy court plots and enchanted dressmaking magic. Also, I absolutely adore the cover art!

The story follows Niamh, who posses the magical ability to imbue her clothing creations with her feelings and has been invited to be the dressmaker for an upcoming royal wedding. She soon develops feelings for the curmudgeonly prince whose wedding cloak she’s been hired to design and must also maneuver court drama and a labor class dispute.

As a humongous Project Runway fan, I loved the descriptions of fashion and Niamh’s magical dressmaking abilities. I would recommend to fans of Elizabeth Lim’s “The Blood of the Stars” series and to anyone looking for a light, sweet fantasy read that feels like spring. The world building is a fantasy version of England post Irish famine and deals with the labor class going on strike.
I liked this element, as it added some depth to the story.

All the characters were loveable and multi dimensional, even the antagonists. The side characters at times threatened to steal the show: Rosa the princess who wants to wear black to her wedding, Miriam the sunshiney lady’s maid, Sinclair the quippy and larger than life friend of the prince, and Sofia the mournful Princess Regent.

I am rating four out of five stars and would re-read this. I think this will appeal to a lot of readers looking for a low stakes plot, uncomplicated magic system, and a Bridgerton like setting.

well that was a sweet ending! I will say that 2nd half was certainly much better than the first half, but otherwise i found myself not really being completely drawn into the characters or their troubles?

If there's something the author did very well in it was how dramatic everything was which i actually liked and found funny because it fit the vibe of the story (although there were also many occassions of second hand embarrassment)

Also Niamh was surprisingly quite a relatable character in her thoughts and a very sweet person. Kit on the other hand... yes he has his moments but i genuinely do not even care the soughtest about him. If anything the side characters shown much more imo and i found them a lot more intriguing (especially Rosa!). I would say I'd definitely read a book about her and some of the others but im not that interested🙈

Otherwise, this was a pretty solid read but for sure not something I'd purchase a SE of so I'm glad i read this before i chose to buy it😂


Thank you to Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 Stars
I adored the romance between Niamh and Kit - their forbidden love story was everything (though it did feel a bit like "insta love" at times). The side characters were great in this too (I loved Princess Rosa) and I really liked the Bridgerton feel in this (the reveal for Lovelace shocked me). The ending was predictable but very sweet and overall I enjoyed this historical fantasy romance!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, & Macmillan Audio for the ARC!

DNF @ 40%

I had high hopes for this story, but unfortunately, it just wasn't for me.

After a 5-second interaction, FMC Niamh decides that Prince Kit Carmine is the most disagreeable man she has ever met... and from there I just couldn't really get behind the possibility of a romance between these two characters.

The initial set-up of political conflicts and Naimh's declining health due to her unique magic was interesting, but I found myself not really invested in the world as I listened to this story. Also, the traits and personalities of the characters are not my cup of tea, and I knew that if I continued with the story, I would only be rage reading.

Again, I was excited for this title because I have enjoyed other novels from this author, but this story was just not for me.

Subjectively not what I'm currently enjoying, this is very historical feeling high fantasy. I seem to have missed that.