This book was the absolute perfect balance of whimsical storytelling, magic, forbidden romance, and enemies to lovers. I loved the Bridgerton vibes featured in this story so much, and the magic system was so unique and intriguing.

I loved the characters so much. Niamh and Kit’s story from start to finish was so captivating. It was so special to watch their relationship blossom. In addition, Sinclair, Rosa, and Miriam were such incredible side characters and truly added so much to the story.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! This was my first Allison Saft book but it definitely won’t be my last! Thank you so much to the author, Netgalley, and Wednesday Books for providing me with an ARC!

I liked that this book had a new spin on magic. It was very subtle and not the major piece of making this fantasy and it played a minor role in the story, but it was so unique and interesting that it really made this book memorable.

The ability to weave emotions and feelings into clothing is something I find to be incredibly interesting! I love fashion and I think being able to evoke emotion on top of the incredible clothing itself is something I wish I could have in real life!

I loved Kit! I loved how he fought so hard to protect others and was ok with making himself seem like the bad guy. I loved his relationship with Niamh and how he truly saw and understood her and was able to push back and make her want to love herself more.

I didn’t really care for the side friendships all that much with Rosa and Miriam but I did enjoy Sinclair and his surprise role at the end!

Overall definitely enjoyed this book and the character development and would recommend.

Thank you for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book. This is my first read by Allison Saft and I look forward to checking out more of her work. Niamh's ability to sew feelings into her garments is really interesting. It's very reminiscent of how a writer puts their thoughts and emotions into their story. I was really surprised to find out who Lady Lovelace was. I had two theories of who it could be, but they both proved to be wrong. Rosa reminded me a lot of Catherine of Aragon, though I wouldn't say the story is reminiscent of that time period. The story has elements of Bridgerton to it, with magic weaved into it.

“Determination burned up all of her fear, and all that remained, smoldering within her, was the need not only to prove herself—but to prove Kit wrong.”

Thank you so much to Allison Saft for including me on the Avlish Court, the street team for this beautiful book. From the chronically ill protagonist to the prickly withdrawn prince, I felt each character’s pain so deeply, especially their tendency to live for others/duty. The slow burn romance swept me away, and the mysterious identity of the columnist kept me guessing! I teared up quite a few times, with quotes like these:

“She had always believed life was what slipped through her fingers while she was idle. That life was something she wasted, not something she had.”

This story was very sweet! The story is set in a regency-style fantasy world where the main character can sew emotions into the clothes she designs and is swept into court intrigue when she agrees to make the prince's wedding clothes. The anonymous gossip columnist terrorizing the court, and later exposing the growing tension between the main character and the prince, reminded me of Lady Whistledown from Bridgerton if she was focused more on politics. I really enjoyed the tension between the characters and the political intrigue. The LGBTQ rep was also great and I was really enjoying the first half of the book. Most of the second half of the book's pacing felt odd, and it dragged until everything was quickly wrapped up at the very end of the story. It was a little anti-climactic and felt like the author was trying to do too much social commentary and lost the plot a bit at the end. But, overall, I enjoyed the story, and it was a quick and sweet read!

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

If you're looking to add a whimsical forbidden romance, with magic, and Bridgerton vibes look no further.

A Fragile Enchantment is a perfect slow burn romance with political unrest, found family, and the incredibly heart wrenching task of weighing your duty to your family and country to your own personal desires. Both Kit Carmine and Niamh O Conchobhair are struggling behind the weight of doing what is best for their respective families and countries but when they are forced into each others lives both of them realize there is more to life then living for those around you.

The way Saft is able to build such immersive worlds and complex characters in stand-alone novels is an enchantment in itself. If you haven't read her other novels, A Far Wilder Magic or Down Comes The Night I highly recommend both of those as well.

Fantastical! Enchanting! Swoonworthy! Throughout the novel we are enchanted by the budding, forbidden romance with a side of rebellion and intrigue.

*Received as a free ARC*
Extremely fabulous! I came for the magic and left delighted by the representation. While not a queer normative setting, it's discussed as very present and the main pairing is casually bi4bi. Additionally, our heroine has a magical autoimmune disorder which is portrayed accurately and thoughtfully. And of course the magic system was innovative and wonderful. Hands down, would recommend.

When I saw that this book was a regency romantasy, I was immediately intrigued. The beginning of the book was very promising! I liked the magical elements and the banter between Kit and Niamh. Unfortunately, the book started to go downhill for me. I thought the pacing was inconsistent and the magical elements were underdeveloped. I also had a problem with the writing. Some passages would read historically while others felt modern. Overall, this story fell flat for me. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

Kit and Niamh, wow! I love them so much. This book was like a warm cup of tea on a gloomy rainy day, next to a crackling fire. It was truly captivating. I am a total swiftie and I kept finding myself imagining the folklore and evermore albums while reading The Fragile Enchantment.

I loved the influence of Irish words and names. I did have to look them up and the pronunciation, but I felt like it was really well done. The character were well-developed. The plot was built fabulously. I never felt like I lost information. It was beautiful and balanced. Tremendous!!

As for the romance, I usually read smut. I LOVED this book. It was tasteful and so delicious!! Thank you for this ARC. This was my first Allison Saft novel and I basically just put all her books on my TBR.

Allison Saft has such a magical, comforting style of writing that immediately captivates you and makes you want to never leave her world.

After reading A Far Wilder Magic and Down Comes the Night, I was in awe of the author’s ability to write such well rounded characters and love stories. A Fragile Enchantment exceeded all of my expectations!

Niamh is a dressmaker of divine blood that can magic various enchantments into her client’s pieces. All her life she’s aimed to please the people around her and support her mother and grandmother. So, when she is invited to the kingdom of Avaland to design the prince’s wardrobe for his royal wedding, she jumps at the opportunity.

Prince Kit is not what she expected - he is abrasive, and prickly, and seems to hate her work. Yet, the more time they spend together, the more they realize how much they have in common. As their friendship blossoms into something more ahead of the royal wedding, Niamh fears what she could be missing out on. Would a future be possible for a commoner and a prince? Especially when there is so much political unrest in the kingdom?

I absolutely loved all the friendships that were forged in this book between Niamh and Kit, Sinclair, Miriam and Rosa. They were all such exceptional characters with backstory and heart, I almost wanted this to be a series so we can learn more about them.

The bond between Niamh and Kit was so lovely and the best parts were when they let down their walls and allowed themselves to be vulnerable with each other. They both struggled with the idea that they were allowed to find happiness and kept wanting to push each other away. This made their relationship so much more special to me when they did find their happy ending.

Things I loved:

👑 Regency-England Inspired Fantasy
👑 YA Fantasy
👑 Political Intrigue & Gossip Columns
👑 Balls, Gowns & Magic
👑 Enemies to Friends to Lovers
👑 LGBTQ Representation
👑 Grumpy X Sunshine
👑 Forbidden Love

Thank you, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley, for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for choosing me to review this eARC!

I gave this book a 4.5/5 star read and this is my first Allison Saft book and I am in love. The writing was whimsical and I could not stop reading.

We follow our main female character Niamh Ó Conchobhair and she has magic to stich emotions and memories into any fabric she makes. She is an amazing seamstress and loves creating clothes. Though the downfall of using her magic will eventually kill her but she doesn't care because she wants to provide for her family. Given the opportunity to design the wardrobe for the royal wedding she doesn't hesitate. This is where she meets Prince Kit Carmine and they are at each others throats immediately. Anytime the two of them was on talking I was squealing and was so happy. This is a perfect romantasy and I adored the love story.

This is great for anyone who loves Historical Romance, delving into fantasy for the first time, or Bridgerton vibes. Highly recommend.

4.75 stars!

The pining! The magic! The found family! The banter! The slow burn! The enemies to lover angst! The grump/sunshine! I read my first Allison Saft novel "A Dark and Drowning Tale" through NetGalley and fell in love! So when I saw this I knew I needed to read it! Somehow the author manages to stuff all the best tropes in one book and it works out beautifully. Also love the gossip girl vibes I get from the column!

This is a delight! Cozy and warm, this fantasy story has just enough political intrigue to add far-reaching stakes to the romance at the heart of the book.

Niamh is a member of a persecuted race who gets an opportunity to better her family when her dress designs attract royal attention. She travels across the ocean to sew enchanted clothes for the wedding of Prince Kit. But when she meets Kit, he's prickly, rude and devastatingly handsome. As Niamh's naivete honesty and lack of court decorum break through Kit's defenses, Niamh gets to see another side to him. But falling for the groom is the last thing a royal wedding seamstress is supposed to do.

From Rosa, the sarcastic, bored princess and future bride; to Sinclair, the disgraced best friend with a heart of gold; to Jack, the prince regent with a secret who seems more interested in running his household than his kingdom, these characters bicker and banter their way into your heart. Some of the characters are queer, though the romance at the heart of a story is between a boy and a girl.

Against the backdrop of a protest against chronic oppression, this royal wedding serves up all the drama: two reluctant future spouses, a gossip columnist who knows more than they should, and a romance that threatens to upend the delicate balance of everything.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance review copy of this book.

Bridgeton but with magic.
I enjoyed this book. If you like Bridgerton and like magic this book is for you. Secrets a tangled love store with a few twists thrown in.

-Netgalley Arc Review-

Fans of Regency genre remixes rejoice! Another contender for an excellent fantasy book has entered the ring.

This gave me all the heartwarming feelings that the work of Charlie N. Holmberg does with the worldbuilding of Olivia Atwater.

Though I thought it a tad strange how obvious real-world counterparts of each fictional country are, the magic system and the alternative views of the origins of magic were clever!

I like how magic wasn't just a singular understood concept throughout the world. Each place had its own reasoning for it.

*Magic affected by emotions, my beloved*

Also the romance was just too good- no spoilers here though.

What a wonderful delight this was! The representation of chronic illness and mental health issues was so greatly executed! And I get my favorite tropes!!! With enemies to lovers, grumpyxsunshine and some forbidden love!! Ugh I am SWOONING! I canNOT wait to own a physical copy of the book when it comes out! And this was my first from this author so I am also excited to read more from them!

Oh, I loved this! It included all of my favorite tropes and this would be perfect for fans of Bridgerton! I adored the romance and had a ton of fun reading this book. I would absolutely recommend this.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

My Rating: 5/5
One thing you have to know about me-- I am an Alison Saft fan!

This book has everything I love in it: an interesting magic system, a strong ( in an interesting way) female character, a brusque but charming love interest, and a found family trope.

Not to mention how beautifully it was written! I was drawn into everything, the environment, the romantic scenes ( i kicked my feet and giggled to give you some insight into the fluff), and the magic. I loved how Niamh's magic was written, it was flowery but not overly so and had meaningful repercussions on the clothing and Niamh.

Niamh was strong but not in the stereotypical way, no she was strong in the way so many real women are. She shouldered the familial burden, took on too much, and denied herself too much, but she was still lovely, girly, and sensitive. I loved her! I will have to say I identified with her love interest Kit more though. As someone who can be a bit blunt and shuts down when hurt-- i loved the representation in Kit lol.

It was a heart-melting romance in my opinion as they went from "enemies" to friends to lovers. I say enemies loosely as they were never "I'll kill you" but more normal , in real-life type enemies. Their transition to friends in their own found family is what really sold me.

Thank you netgalley for the ARC

First, a huge thanks to NetGalley for an e-Arc of A Fragile Enchantment.

When I saw this and read the blurb I immediately wanted to get it. This was like a YA version of Bridgerton but with the addition of magic and way more world building. Lovelace reminded me of Lady Whistledown I’m not going to lie.

Niamh (our magical seamstress) was a bit naive and dreamy FMC which made her seem younger than she was. Took me a bit to care for her but I loved her. She stood her ground on what she believed was right and fought/pushed back when called for. She was curious about everything because let’s face it, she was out of her depth and it was a learning curve but my girl persisted.

Kit was an ass to Niamh in the beginning and while I understood why he was mad at everything and everyone it doesn’t excuse his behavior towards Niamh. He did get better and his character had so much growth that I ended up just adoring him.

Kit and Niamhs story was beautiful plan and simple. It was slow and I liked how they became friends first before anything else.
Everything about them had me swooning.

“Don’t deny me only for the sake of denying yourself”.

One of my favorite things throughout the story was the group of friends. It was so well done and thought out. Miriam, Rosa, Sinclair, Kit & Niamh were so good 😊 together and everyone was crucial and added more to the story. The book wouldn’t have been the same without the little friend group.

I will need a book on Sinclair though!