Allison Saft has a knack for writing romantic tension and complicated character relationships, which is evident in her latest novel, A Fragile Enchantment.

The forbidden love and enemies to lovers tension between Niamh and Kit is exactly what I expected for a romantic fantasy, and the build up of their relationship was well paced for the story. The banter between these two, as well as with a full cast of secondary characters, was a lot of fun and truly kept the story together.

The pacing of the story itself, however, was lacking. It took a while for anything to happen aside from the quick-witted dialogue and obvious pining, and while the concept for the magic system was cool, there were times I felt confused by the explanation and wanted something a little more. In addition, the political drama served merely as a backdrop to the romance and much of the conflict was glossed over near the end and easily resolved.

I’m also not sure how I feel about how terrible Kit acted throughout the book. There were times their relationship felt more toxic than adorable, and I wish there had been a bigger moment of change for both of them.

Based on Saft’s other books, I expected the fantasy aspects to come into play more, but instead, this story is very focused on the romance above all else. Fans of romantasies are sure to enjoy this book more than I did.

I love Allison Saft so much and A Fragile Enchantment was absolutely freaking amazing!!! I seriously could not put this down

Ahh, I really enjoyed this Romantasy book! A great read for vacation. I devoured it very quickly. I liked the characters, the world building, and magic system. I did get annoyed with the main character constantly apologizing but so did the love interest and it was acknowledged within the storyline.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love literally everything about this book! The enemies-to-lovers, the regency romance, the fact that it’s written by Allison Saft! I’ve never read regency era books before and I think this has opened up a whole new world for me. I absolutely love the relationship between Kit and Niamh and I will probably be thinking about this book for way too long. I will forever recommend recommend this book to everyone I know.

Bridgerton + magic + garden vibes
1/5 in spice

Loved the cozy, enchanting, regency era vibes. Our main girl Niamh has the ability to embue emotion into her sewing and embroidery and I thought that concept was so neat. The relationship between Niamh and Kit kept me on the edge of my seat. I love the emotional connection that they quickly built, and gave the foundation for the romance. Niamh and Kit, and even some of the side characters, felt unique and unlike characters I've read before- even if I didn't always fully understand their actions.

I would have loved to see the magic system built up a little more, and some parts of the plot felt choppy (like her friend Erin??). Also I felt that the regency-era setting wasn't committed to enough. Every once in a while the characters would express concern over reputation/status/purity, but then it would be thrown out the window in the next scene. Overall this wasn't quite a 5-star book for me, but it was a very enjoyable and cute read!

I received this arc from netgalley in exchange for my honest review :)

This story transports you to a regency era England filled with magic and romance. I really liked the magic system and Niamh’s powers. She was also a great mc, she was strong, talented, and full of love for those she cares about. One of those being Kit. I loved their relationship so much. They had the great banter of a hate to love with the longing and tension of a forbidden romance. You couldn’t help but root for them and scream at them to admit their feelings and get together. I also really liked the glimpse of Avaland politics in this book and how Kit and Niamh are both pawns in this larger game. But their love is bigger than that.

Overall, I loved the story and the romance and highly recommend!

Read if you like…
•regency era
•forbidden romance
•hate to love
•Bridgerton with magic

A Fragile Enchantment had a lot of potential and the blurb had me very interested, but sadly the story fell flat for me. This young adult fantasy had a bit of everything - magic, mystery, political intrigue, and of course romance. Unfortunately, the characters weren’t especially compelling and I didn’t feel truly invested in the romance between Kit and Niamh. The writing was good and I liked the magic in the world, but the overall pace of the story felt too slow. The big reveals didn’t pack any punch because it was obvious what was going to happen. The ending wrapped up very neatly and a lot of the previous problems our characters faced were glossed over/resolved quickly. There wasn’t anything terrible about A Fragile Enchantment, but there also wasn’t anything amazing about the story either.

The highlight of the book was the narration by Fran Burgoyne. Her performance was fantastic! She voiced each character distinctly and I didn’t have any issues differentiating between characters thanks to the variety of accents and tones used.

Audiobook Review
Overall 3 stars
Performance 5 stars
Story 2.5-3 stars

CW: financial issues, political turmoil, war (past), alcoholism/recovering alcoholic, child abuse/physical abuse (past), disowned by parent/family due to sexual orientation (past, secondary character), classism, homophobia, chronic illness

*I voluntarily read and listened to an advance review copy of this book*

Allison Saft is an autobuy author. Everything from her lush, beautiful worldbuilding to her lovable characters is so perfectly my vibe. I'm not usually a historical girlie, but I loved this Bridgerton-inspired world. Kit was such a prickly, interesting love interest and the entire cast of charcters was so compelling.

**3.5 STARS**

Content Warning: self harm, alcoholism

+ Okay I said maybe I’m over historical romances, but I think if it’s a historical fantasy romance like this particular book then I’m not over it at all. I definitely like how this story had the drama of a gossip sheet (like Bridgerton), the balls, a royal wedding, a romance and a rebellion going on.

+ There’s magic in this book and Niamh’s craft is sewing. I thought it was pretty cool how she could create fashions that evoke emotions. Other characters have magic too like but not everyone has it. It definitely made the story feel enchanted with the element of magic that certain characters could wield.

+ This story has a strong cast of characters from the main ones Niamh and Kit to the rest of the group which consisted of Kit’s future wife, his best friend and his family. I like the LGBT+ representation, Niamh and Kit are both bi-sexual, and other characters are queer as well.

+~ Speaking of romance -I love a good enemies to lovers romance and there is a lot of tension between Niamh and Kit which for the most part I enjoyed. But there was something about their romance at times that frustrated me also maybe it’s the times he’s being rude – but his grumpiness is supposed to be attractive? I just felt like he was being a brat at times.

~ The political conflict in the book didn’t feel solved at the end, and honestly I think Jack and his wife could have their own book where they fall in love with one another and he figures out how to become a better leader.

My Thoughts:

I enjoyed this book and loved that it was historical romance with magic elements I thought the writing was very lyrical and made the story enchanting.

I really enjoyed this book. I thought Niamh was a really lovely, and relatable, main character. The regency setting with the unique magic system made for a really fun read. I thought the pacing got a little slow in the middle of the story, but I really liked how everything played out.

Allison Saft, you can do no wrong. This is your third book that I've gotten and devoured, the prose is whimsical - I've been reading what feels like more contemporary novels recently and forgot how beautiful writing can be. Saft's writing is immersive, suiting the regency-fantasy world it is set in. I feel like I'm so used to Saft's characters being relatively alone that this friend group caught me by surprise but the dynamics were so fun! I fully thought Rosa was not going to be an enjoyable character considering she's engaged to Kit but she was!! I really wanted more from the book, I felt the ending was a little rushed (or maybe I just felt like that because I didn't want it to end), but that isn't enough for me to round down to a 4/5, maybeeee a 4.5/5 or like,,, a 4.8/5. But I wholeheartedly enjoyed and loved this book. This recurring theme of doing what is expected of you vs what you want to do was prevalent in all of the characters, everyone felt fleshed out. Kit and Niamh you deserve the world.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Quick Summary: A fantastical NA regency experience

My Review: A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft is a "Regency England-inspired fantasy" novel. It is marketed toward teens and YA.

About the Book: In a tiered class system, a magical dressmaker finds herself caught up in a struggle between the haves and have nots. All is not as it would seem, as more is at play. Relationships, political machinations, scandal, brokenness, and heavy burdens weigh the leads down. Love lifts them up.

My Final Say: This was a highly interesting story. There was so much more to it than I expected. It had diverse characters who shared a sameness, in a sense. It also had an ugly-beautiful quality to it, in terms of the oppression of some (although it could be said of all), the dysfunctional society of people, the need for justice, the embracing of the forbidden, and the individual moments of growth and actualization. There were dangling threads, however, in the scheme of things, it did not lessen what ultimately transpired between Niamh and Kit.

Other: Because of the nature of much of the content in this book, I would suggest it be marketed as a NA versus a YA/teen read. It would be more appropriate.

Special Remarks: I had the pleasure of being able to read a digital copy of this work, as well as being able to listen to an audiobook of it. While I enjoyed both experiences, I preferred the audio. The e-ARC dragged a bit in some spots, which made my interest wane at times. The audiobook kept the character play fresher, which caused me to be more engaged with the process.

Rating: 3.75/5
Recommend: Yes
Recommended Audience: NA
Status/Level: 💬

Appreciation is extended to the author, to the publishers (St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books, Macmillan Audio, Macmillan Young Listeners), and to NetGalley. Thank you so very much for providing access to this title in exchange for an honest review. The words I have shared are my own. I am grateful for the opportunity I was given.

This slowly grew on me the more I read it. I sometimes struggle with Romantasy because I always wish there was more fantasy than romance, but this one is one of the best that I've read. It's very cozy and the magic vibes were well thought out. I'm really hoping this is actually the Jan pick for Owlcrate!

Not giving a star rating. (Unfortunately with NetGalley, I have to leave a rating. I won’t rate the book elsewhere.)

Use of modern slang in a fantasy world.
DNF for me as it completely takes away from the world building.

Thank you Wednesday books for the e-ARC. I’m sure it’s a great story for those that can get around the slang.

4.5 stars! I absolutely adored this book!

A Fragile Enchantment is a heartwarming historical fantasy that will captivate you with its tenderness and charm.

The regency-esque setting and grumpy x sunshine romance is perfect for fans of Bridgerton and Pride and Prejudice, complete with a magical twist.

First and foremost, I loved the characters. Niamh and Kit will forever have my heart. Their banter and repressed pining gave me life and I loved them together from the start. Their enemies to friends to lovers relationship was so perfectly crafted - it had me feeling all of the feels.

I also enjoyed the side characters (Sofia, Rosa, Miriam, Sinclair.. even Jack). They were all well developed, and each had their own perfect place in the tapestry of this story. The friendship group that formed was a sweet touch as well and I loved seeing them all interact.

Secondly, I greatly enjoyed the magic in this. It felt very whimsical and fairytale-esque. Niamh's ability to weave emotions (enchantments) into clothing was unique and just overall super cool to read about. And Kit's plant powers reacting to his feelings involuntarily? /swoon. The magic system itself wasn't gone into in depth, but I didn't feel like the story suffered because of it.

And for those of you looking for more than just a romance, there are various levels of politics prevalent in the story also. These affect all of the characters at one point or another (in different ways) and add a layer of realism to the world.

This was my first time reading something by Allison Saft and it has fully convinced me that I need to check out her other work! I look forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

*Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc in exchange for an honest review.*

Naimh is just a commoner who has never done a selfish thing in her life. She was hired by the prince regent to be a tailor for the wedding of his younger brother. Naimh took the job so she could provide for her mother and grandmother. However, she didn't know what she was getting into or who she would ultimately fall for.

I related so much to Naimh. She's always felt like taking care of her Gran and her mom was her responsibility and duty since she has only so much time left to live. She loves to create things that make people happy and feel good, and I think many readers/writers can relate to that as well.

Right off the bat, I wondered if Jack would be the love interest, but once I found out he was married, a loveless marriage or not, I hoped that that was not the direction the book would go. I also did not like him, right from the beginning he came off as smug and condescending.

After I wrote Jack off, I was so excited for Kit to be the love interest, but then we found out that Kit and Naihm both bat for the other team. I found myself hoping that they were on both teams.

I fell in love with Kit immediately. Naimh saw him as cold and mean and broody, but I knew that underneath it all, there was the sweetest man.

I loved the magical aspect of this book. Not everyone has magic, but those who do have a wide variety of abilities. I thought Naimh's ability was so unique and fun and very fitting for her and her personality.

This book did a great job of showing what it would be like to be a member of a royal family—the pressure, the expectations, the eyes that are always on you—and how they can affect different people differently. Just in this book, we saw someone who was crushing under the weight of everything, someone who turned to alcohol as a vise, and someone who has accepted their due diligence, and it left me wondering how I would handle being in their positions.

If you are a fan of forbidden romance, this book is for you. There is forbidden love everywhere you look.

I adored the way this was written, the way they, especially Naimh, spoke really made it feel like a historical fantasy. I also loved the Kit was less polished and put together as it was fitting for his character and personality.

The only thing I would have liked done differently is I wish Naimh would have done a little spying. It would have given the book a little extra angst and betrayal. However, overall, this was such a cute and fun read.

📖 𝘼 𝙁𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙀𝙣𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙗𝙮 𝘼𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙎𝙖𝙛𝙩

“𝘐𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘴—𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘹𝘺.“

I ate this book up! Seriously this was such an intriguing story, from the unique types of magic to the history between the different kingdoms.

The Story:
In a ruined kingdom called Machland, Niamh has a special generational magic that allows her to stitch enchantments into the clothing she makes. She can help you feel a certain way or invoke memories in you. Using her gift takes a toll on her body that will ultimately kill her one day. Nevertheless, she works tirelessly trying to help others with her gift in order to build a better life for her family. When she receives a summons by the Prince Regent of the Avaland kingdom that caused the blight in her homeland, she accepts. She is asked to create clothes for the regents younger brother, Prince Christopher “Kit” Carmine, who is to wed a princess from a neighboring kingdom. Niamh’s first encounter with Kit leaves much to be desired and the two continue to clash throughout the Season. Behind the scenes, political unrest boils as the Machlish demand retribution for their suffering. Can one Machlish seamstress turn the head of a prince and help her people?

I can’t tell y’all enough how much I enjoyed this book. The story deals heavily in the past transgressions against the Machlish kingdom and its people that are still suffering the residual effects. The political unrest and the suffering of prosecuted people simply because they were different from others, can very much transmit into the real world.

The characters in this book were well developed and lovable! Kit was a complex character. Throughout the story you got glimpses of the man beneath the thorns he was shrouded in. Niamh was also a strong character that evolved so much throughout the course of the book. If you are a fan of forbidden love, this is definitely a book you NEED to read!

Tropes:
🪡 Historical Fiction
💔 Forbidden Love
🫶🏼 Enemies to Lovers
👑 Prince x Commoner
✨ Magic
💞 LGBT Representation

A Fragile Enchantment releases on January 2nd! Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my eARC and audiobook so that I can share this honest review!

"𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮?" "𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸," 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘺, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘸. "𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘥𝘢𝘸𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘦'𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵." 🫠

I wanted to start by thanking NetGalley for the eARC of this book. I was enchanted by the premise of this book and I was very excited to end up with an advanced copy.

There were many things that I enjoyed about this book. I liked the magic system and while it was simple, I think it made for more interest that magic itself was so rare in this world. The descriptive writing made me feel like I was in every room and created a lovely picture. I was hooked from the beginning! I think the FMC magic was unique and fun and that aspect was very enchanting.

I did find some things problematic. I wouldn't call it bad there were just several elements that pulled me from the story with either confusion or lack of follow through. For starters, it was never entirely clear what the problem/ obstacle was.

The book did start off having Bridgerton-like vibes but it became clear quickly that the columnist wasn't central to the plot, which I thought would be the focus of the turmoil. In a way I am glad that it departed from Bridgerton, but it made the story kind of shaky in regards to understanding what the obstacle was.

I also think that (besides the closed door spice scenes) this book is best for a younger audience. The characters are all a bit immature, which is fine for a YA novel but the spice had no place, given the maturity of the rest of the book (and I say this as a spice girly).

The character developments worked for Naimh, a young naive girl who has never left her homeland, but were underdeveloped for other characters. People were introduced that seemed so interesting and nothing ever came of them. Rosa came off that she was scheming her own plans when really she was just following orders like everyone else. Sinclair was probably the best side character but even his involvement wasn't consistent even though (slight spoiler ahead) he was supposed to be courting Naimh for show. I felt like there was so much potential to weave these characters into the plot in more substantial ways and I was left wanting more.

I also personally don't love instant attraction but I felt this book did a good job with it at the start, since both parties were trying to fight it. I do think there wasn't a lot of substance between their blossoming friendship and it skipping straight to love. I just didn't believe it given the interactions I saw. Again, its very YA so that's okay, just not my personal cup of tea.

About the 60% mark the obstacle then became their love for each other and how it would never work because they came from different stations, etc. Which also is a fine obstacle to overcome, considering he was engaged, but it was all very back and forth. He wanted her no matter what, she pushed him away. Then she interrupted his wedding to give him another chance to chose her? I think the follow through on this could have been done differently with more impact.

Then the ending? Everything just fell into place without consequence? Ehh. I would have liked to hear more about how the FMC and MMC union helped solidify peace or that the king reagents backers pulled out because of it. It all felt very head in the sand happily ever after. Why introduce those issues and then not bring them up again? Maybe I just read too much high fantasy and was expecting more plot heavy solutions.

Overall it was a fun and light story that would be a great pallet cleanser between heavier fantasies or just something quick to read when you don't want something heavy.

My thanks for the ARC goes to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books. I'm voluntarily leaving a review without compensation.

Genre: Romantasy, Romance, Fantasy, Historical Fantasy
Spice Level: Med (Mostly kissing—then a fade to black scene)
Language: Medium (surprisingly there are some f-bombs)
Representation: Gay relationships are mentioned and are interwoven into the plot

The world entranced me from the opening. A FRAGILE ENCHANTMENT is solidly in the romance fantasy genre. Niamh is our main character—she'll sacrifice anything for her family. And Kit (nickname for Christopher)—he avoids everyone, even to his detriment.

I enjoyed seeing parallels to our world: prejudice (unfounded), navigating the domination of one country over its neighbors, family relationships gone awry. I'm seeing England, Scotland, France, and Spain—you can read and see if you thought a different country was represented in this story.

Other romance tropes that are fun: forbidden love, grumpy/sunshine.

As the story ramped up to the climax, I was anxious to see how the problems were solved. And I felt pretty satisfied. The story harped a bit on living for yourself and pooh-poohed on sacrifice, and I get why, but I see sacrifice as part of love for others. (Seriously, parents sacrifice for their kids all the time.) With the plot, I still don't know how the prince regent is going to solve his country's major problem, but at least he now has more people on his side.

This is a fairly light romance and very enjoyable.

Here's the final cup of tea:
A FRAGILE ENCHANTMENT is being promoted as YA. But once there is the implication of sex, I'm not comfortable with that for multiple reasons. Mostly the fact that teens are still children and their brains aren't developed. I personally would put this in the category for adults. That's why I'm knocking off two stars.

Happy reading!

3.5 rounded down⭐️

Having read a couple of these regency fairytales now I have an idea of what to expect and there’s a lot to like here. I personally think some elements of this one miss the mark, which pulled down my overall rating. In A Fragile Enchantment, we follow Niamh, a magical seamstress, as she navigates the country that oppressed her people and tries to win a place among the nobles, ultimately falling in love with the Prince, Kit.

The pros: the magic system is simple but elegant, when the romance is firing on all cylinders it’s pretty enjoyable, the conflict between the primary countries and characters discussing elements of their oppression/occupation was an interesting addition, the depictions of chronic illness was a nice inclusion, everyone is LGBT, like everyone, and as always, I like a snarky prince.

The cons: we’re kind of following a bit of a formula here (aka nothing is ground breaking) and there is a “misunderstanding” trope at play, the dialogue is pretty stilted in parts and the “banter” borders on Kit just being immature, not particularly clever and honestly a jerk sometimes, and Niamh unfortunately suffers a bit leaning into the emotional, accident-prone, flip-flopping protagonist space that YA can sometimes flock towards.

Overall, the book was enjoyable but not a game changer for this type of story. Won’t be my fave of the year but glad I read it and think it’s certainly worth a pick-up. On a side-note, wildly confused about the cover art. Assuming that’s Kit and Niamh but Kit has dark almost black hair…? So…? *shrug*