Oh my goodness, I really loved this book! I was a huge fan of Saft's debut, but this book has captured my heart in even more than her first! Highly recommend!

Niamh (Neev) Conchobhair is from Machland. She has divine blood and her magic is creating outfits with special enchantments. Special memories and emotions. But as she uses her magic it's slowly killing her. The prince regent from Avaland commissions her to create the royal wedding garments in Avaland. This is a chance of a lifetime for Niamh and her family. She boards a boat and discovers so much beauty and heartache for the working class.

Not my usual genre but this book captivated me. Romance and magic. I loved it. I had to know what was going to happen to Niamh & Kit. The author does a fantastic job weaving magic into a new world. As the story progressed I kept thinking about the video game Fable. The two princes the older one and the younger one. I really loved all the magic and figuring out what the secret. I'm so excited to read more from this author and more fantasy.

OH MY HEART. What a wonderful story this was. I haven’t read a historical fantasy romance in awhile and this one was just perfect.

The magic system, the characters, the banter, the atmosphere, all of it was beautiful. I loved this book so darn much that I have no doubt it’ll stay with me forever. This is the perfect read for anyone who loves historical romance with a little bit of magic sprinkled in there. This beauty releases on January 2nd so make sure you check it out!

Thank you so much to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the e-arc!

I went into this book already a fan of Saft’s work and expecting to enjoy this one too - which I absolutely did! The romance was as amazing as I’ve come to expect from this author, the atmosphere was lush, and the writing was both beautiful and digestible. It was like a combination of Bridgerton season 2, Half A Soul, and The Beautiful Ones.

Overall, it was a beautiful, romantic, vivid tale that I would highly recommend, that will leave readers swooning and smiling.

"Nothing is guaranteed, Niamh. We all die. You and I are dying right now, but we're also alive. 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."

A Fragile Enchantment focuses on a regency England-inspired world and a whimsical cast of characters with themes of found family and love, in all the different forms it comes in. Niamh, a magical seamstress from Machland (heavily inspired by Ireland), is invited to Avaland to create a wardrobe for the royal wedding. Kit, the second son of the King, is getting married and is a bit surly about it... His mood certainly isn't helped when a gossip columnist starts spreading rumors about Niamh and Kit's chemistry!

I absolutely loved this book and seriously cannot wait to read more of Allison Saft's books; I may have just found a new favorite author! The front cover of this book is also absolutely gorgeous!

The writing was astonishingly beautiful, descriptive and provocative; you truly feel what the characters are feeling, and the descriptions of the environment and the clothing and especially the EMOTIONS just blew me away. I cannot wait to read more of Saft's books purely because of the writing style and prose.

This cast of characters is absolutely my favorite. Every single character has such a different personality, but for some reason they all fit together beautifully. The banter is top-notch, the relationship between each of the characters is so genuine, and the LGBTQ+ diversity in this story is top-notch. "Love conquers all" was the beautiful message that this book really celebrated, love in every form, platonic, familial, and romantic.

The character development was fantastic, extremely believable and just in time for the ending to turn out in the best way possible. The plot progressed at exactly the right pace, with exactly the right amount of tension and anticipation for what is coming next.

If you liked Bridgerton but wanted more fantasy and magical elements, this book is for absolutely for you! If you like fantasy romance and beautifully descriptive writing, please pick this book up!

*I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

This book sang to my inner child that drew fashion designs during school. I loved the universe and the world that Saft created. I was skeptical initially, as I do not normally read regency era works. However, it worked brilliantly for me in "A Fragile Enchantment". I believe this is in part due to the wonderful fantasy world that has been built.
I want Saft to write more books in this world, exploring the universe more in-depth.

I also loved the book because of the lead, Niamh. There is something so special about a protagonist who is not over powered. She has her own strength and power in her ability to wield magic into clothes. She is relatable and lovely. She is protagonist that you do not grow tired of.

I think that this book has something for everyone: a swoon-worthy and forbidden romance, a whimsical fantasy system, a regency setting, queer and chronic-illness representation, and a very engaging plot!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for giving me an E-Arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to Wednesday books and Netgalley for the gifted eARC.

Bridgerton meets fantasy with a dash of magic for good measure. I was really excited for this one, I saw Ava Reid promoting it and I got excited.

I can forgive when a character stumbles / knocks into something once. But when it becomes one of their personality traits I lose interest pretty quick. I think with in the first three chapters Niamh bumped / walked into / tripped over things four times. I really dislike the clumsy awe struck girls in books.

I thought the class division and the lore of this book was interesting. I feel like there needed to be more of it, or have it removed. With what was offered it didn’t feel like enough.

I liked her magic, it was something I personally hadn’t seen before and found refreshing. Weaving emotions / feelings into clothing was pretty neat.

Niamh and Kit got together quickly and it didn’t feel like a powerful enough event happened to bring them together and for Kit not to continue to dislike her? It just felt a little off. Maybe it just happened too quick? Them together / their interactions were not my fav. Overall this book was a miss for me.

This book has such a beautiful cover. It immediately drew me in and made me want to read this book without even knowing what it was about. Unfortunately, the story didn't quite live up to the whimsical, gorgeous cover.

Nothing much...happens in this one. The plot centers around court politics and Niamh sewing wedding clothes for the prince and his betrothed. Then the romance develops, and the plot centers around that. Sometimes that really works for me in fantasy, but I couldn't bring myself to truly care about Niamh and all the other characters. I wanted more intrigue, more high stakes, more tension to balance out the coziness of the romance. I ended up speed-reading most of the second half of the book, and I feel like I didn't miss anything major.

I think this book was just more cozy than I was expecting, so it didn't work for me. But I can see how others would love this book! This is my second "meh" book by Allison Saft, so I don't think she's the author for me.

Writing Aesthetic/Style: 4
Plot/Movement: 2
Character Development: 3
Overall: 3

Thank you, Wednesday Books, for the arc!
Releases Jan 2, 2024

Trigger/Content Warnings: parent death, abandonment, and cruelty recounted; smoking and drinking; swearing; one fade to black scene

A Fragile Enchantment is like if Bridgerton and a magical fairy tale had a cute little book baby. Niamh is a magical seamstress commissioned by the royal family of Avaland to design a wedding wardrobe. The groom, Kit, is the grump to her sunshine, but as Niamh spends more time with him, she discovers the layers that lay beneath his prickly (but very attractive) surface.

The beginning of this story enchanted me, as the magical elements were introduced, but as the plot progressed and more political and fantastical elements were introduced, I found myself losing interest. Niamh is an endearing and well-formed main character. I think you will enjoy this book if you like:
- grumpy/sunshine
- forbidden romance
- themes of sacrifice and family
- exploration of class systems in a fictional society
- political manipulations
- a lovely fantasy world filled with magic

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for gifting me with an ARC to review! All opinions are my own.

This was so beautiful, the writing was lush and immersive, and I will definitely be looking into more of Allison Saft’s work!

Allison Saft has been on my radar for awhile now, but this is the first time that I have carved out the time to read something from her. I’m ashamed to say that it was specifically because I got an eARC of this novel from Netgalley. I suppose this is where I mention that all thoughts in this review are my own. With that out of the way, I thought this was a lot of fun to read. There were a lot of really great aspects to this that really worked for me, but there was something lacking that kept me back from giving it a five star rating. So, it’s a strong four from me.

A few of the things that really worked for me were the world-building and the characters. This was a regency era romance with heavy Bridgerton (the t.v. show) vibes. We’ve got the party season, with balls and parties, a royal wedding, and our lovely magical seamstress. We’ve also got a scandal sheet writer with a secret identity being critical of the crown. Niamh is tossed into the season to create the most beautiful wardrobe for the wedding, she’s clumsy, funny, sunny, and selfless. She would be the sunshine in a somewhat grumpy x sunshine relationship. Kit, the prince, is a bit abrasive, but mostly to protect himself. He’s a softy at heart. Joining them are an actual grumpy x sunshine sapphic pair and a disgraced friend of the prince. Basically a fun little group giving found family vibes sat times. Niamh and Kit are giving bisexual vibes too. Maybe pan.

I enjoyed watching these characters grow and interact over the course of the book. Kit and Niamh balance each other so well and their vibes gave off Darcy and Elizabeth vibes at time. However, Niamh is a little too sweet generally for that. There’s a lot of funny banter and situations throughout the book. There is, of course, a will they won’t they aspect, but more so there are some fun “are they going to get caught crossing the lines of propriety” moments. You know, ladies virtue and all that jazz. They were all just so cute and fun together. There was some attempts at more serious topics, but those are the ones that fell flat for me.

There is this major plot line involving Avaland (our fantasy England) and the country that is like a fantasy Ireland. It basically echos the potato famine, and then Irish workers moving to England as hired help, and the poor treatment. There’s a war of Independence and a lot of people die and there is talk of reparations because the Crown let them die of starvation. It was meant to give us a more serious note, but it couldn’t really deliver because Niamh wasn’t that involved in the fight to better the lives of her countrymen and Kit had been removed from royal life for awhile so he didn’t seem to know all the ins and outs. It fell flat for me, but I suppose they needed some sort of external conflict.

Overall, I would recommend this for readers that like regency fantasy novels, queer romance, found family, and grumpy x sunshine books. I think that there are a lot of fun things going on in this novel, I think you should read it for fun and not for themes. I think if you like characters that can sew this could be a good pick for you, it’s not as detailed as like Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim. The characters sort of float in that between age where they aren’t young young adult, but they’re not quite adult adults either. But I wouldn’t categorize this as new adult, because it isn’t that spicy. Just have fun with it. I’ve got a few more of Saft’s books on my TBR. I’m going to be reading at least two next year and I hope they’re as successful as this one.

First of all, I am obsessed with this cover. It is beautiful and it does a great job at portraying the main characters.

I am sucker for romantasy and when I saw this book, I knew that I had to read it. The story revolved around the regency era, so it gives a lot of Bridgerton vibes (which I love).

Our female main character, Niamh, is a magical dressmaker and she gets hired to be in charged of designing the wedding clothes of the prince, Kit, who is set to marry another woman. Kit is a grumpy man and when he meets Niamh, he isn't the most charming person. However, as time passes and they start to develop a relationship, they start to catch feelings for each other. It has forbidden romance, lgbtq representation and chronic illness representation.

I loved the writing and how the relationship between Niamh and Kit evolved. The chemistry, the banter and the tension was making me blush constantly and I ended up really loving this book.

My only critique is that since this is a fantasy, I would've liked to see more aspects to the magic system / world building because I feel like it was explained enough and it ended up making me lower my rating. However, I really enjoyed this and I would 100% recommend it 🫶🏻

Allison Saft’s “A Fragile Enchantment” is a fantasy romance story set in a regency era with Irish/English inspired war & class disputes and a promise of forbidden love woven together with beautiful, flowing prose.

Niamh is a seamstress from a country that has been war torn by the very royal family offering the opportunity of a lifetime, to be the seamstress for a royal wedding. Niamh is hoping for a fanciful time tailoring magical outfits in exchange for the wealth and freedom to provide for her ailing mother and grandmother. What she finds is a prickly prince, a kingdom and ruler falling apart, and a heart aching to really live.

I love fantasy romance and regency romance, so I was clearly excited for a little genre mingle. However, the regency portion of the book reminded me mostly of Bridgerton and seemed to wax and wane in appearance and importance. The fantasy portion was intriguing, but not fleshed out enough or used enough for my tastes. The romance was insta-love, didn’t feel too connected, and I didn’t feel too invested in it.

This book lacked tension. Sexual/romantic tension. Plot/conflict tension. There were many scenarios set up for angsty, tense situations (class war, family dynamics, grumpy/sunshine, forbidden love) that felt lackluster and rote. I was intrigued for the first half of the book, but then it stalled out and by the end I didn’t care much about any of the plot lines other than the sweet second romance.

Things people might want to know:

Spice: Fade-to-black
LGBTQ+: Background
Ethnic Diversity: Vague

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the digital ARC.

✨💜 🪡 𝓐 𝓕𝓻𝓪𝓰𝓲𝓵𝓮 𝓔𝓷𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓽𝓶𝓮𝓷𝓽 𝓑𝓸𝓸𝓴 𝓡𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀 🪡💜✨⁣
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I had the immense honor and pleasure of being selected for Allison Saft’s street team for her next release and it has been such a joy! ⁣
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I was fortunate enough to receive an arc copy as well my first ever from an author/publisher. Thank you so much to Allison and her team! 🥹💜⁣
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As for the review, I found this book to be so delightful and fun! I knew this would be right up my alley as its a regency era romance with a little dash of magic and a grumpy x sunshine dynamic. We follow Niamh as she lands the job of seamstress for the royal wedding in the land of Avaland. Niamh herself is a Maclish, essentially this worlds gypsies, a people with magical powers but who have been discriminated against for centuries and without a true home. Niamh moves into the palace in order to design the clothing for the wedding and of course enchant them with her own exquisite powers. For this reason she has become quite the sought after seamstress.⁣
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From here she meets Kit Carmine, the prince regent’s brother, who on his own is a magnificent and brooding character I absolutely fell in love with. Their first meeting is entirely electric and the romance that develops from here is delicious, sweet, a soul-worthy match for these two that will absolutely bare your soul. Aside from Kit, I found the entire cast of characters in this story to be truly amazing. I found myself absolutely caring for all of them and investing myself in their own personal stories. One thing Allison does well is create a full and rich world with vibrant main characters with their own fully fledged arcs, but also side characters that have their own stories and their own arcs in the short time we spend with them in the one book. ⁣
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I was truly entertained from start to finish with all of the different plot string being woven about and all the character arcs. Not only is there a worthy romance in this book but we also see the conflict between the Maclish and Avlish people get faced head on throughout this story. ⁣
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I could go on and on so please check out ny goodreads in my story links and highlights for my full review. Thank you once again Allison for giving me this amazing opportunity!! I absolutely loved this book and cannot wait for its release.

So I tried to give this one a shot. It sounded like it was going to be really good. But I am not a fantasy reader and this had to much of those vibes for me. I just did not really find the story all that good.

Recently I read A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft (Author of A Far Wilder Magic and Down Comes The Night) and absolutely loved it!

A romantic fantasy, the book follows Niamh, a magic welding seamstress from the country trying to carve a better life out for her family, as she navigates working for the royal family during political unrest.

I love almost anything set in the Regency era and the addition of magic just added even more appeal to me!

This book was nearly lyrically written and so beautiful. It made me laugh and cry, and had such wonderful queer and chronic illness representation.

I enjoyed the side characters just as much as the main two! So many great and unique personalities and friendships.

Rosa and Niamh's shared experiences of the female experience and discussion of love vs duty had me sobbing. The descriptions of the garments Niamh made were just beautiful.

I found myself holding my breath even with the rational understanding it would work out in the end. Such a dreamy, emotional and whimsical read this was!

A Fragile Enchantment will be published on January 2nd , 2024 and I highly recommend adding it to your TBR if you like Romantasy!

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the free digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Absolutely loved this. So I’ve been on a long stretch of embarking on huge fantasy series journeys, some have been amazing and some have been lots of details and getting lost in over complicated political dynamics, etc. If you are a fantasy reader you know what I mean. I enjoyed this so much because it was exactly what I was wondering if such a thing existed- a medium stakes standalone romantasy in a simple enough world to be built and explored in a single book while still having a complete plot from start to finish. This has everything! This is my first by Allison Saft and I can say she is a talented writer.

I loved the magic system. I felt that it was explained sufficiently. There is what felt like to me no info dumping. I loved that there was political intrigue but in a dramatic twisty way that I could easily comprehend (political & military are not favorite subgenres of mine) and no drawn out war or set up for a huge series, etc. Each twist and turn I felt like I was on par with the FMC in that I never knew more than she did so it kept the action going and kept it engaging.

This FMC, Niamh, I loved for all what could be perceived as flaws, she’s emotional, scatterbrained, clumsy (but not really in a “cute” way like in an actually self-destructive way), and best of all she knows she’s these things and is just as exasperated with herself. That is relatable AF. It did take me awhile to warm up to the MMC, Kit, and I’m not sure I was totally into him by the end but it’s fine, not every romance needs to be a self insert and I was satisfied enough in their specific dynamic and relationship that I did feel like romance developed. You’ll definitely learn more about the FMC in this though as the MMC is a possibly a bit static. I loved the side characters in this. Rosa is a particular favorite.

The YA aspect of this was the perfect balance of something I absolutely enjoyed as an adult but also this is a book I wished I had when I was a teenager. I could really see myself making this my whole personality if I had read it then. It’s queer friendly, sex positive (there are about 2 scenes that are fade to black & characters are 18+ for those who are curious), and has imperfect characters that all have things to learn from each other. I also loved the medium stakes balance of this. Nothing gets too dangerous but there is still emotional pull and I couldn’t put this down.

Thank you to Wednesday books, SMP for this ARC. I absolutely recommend this.

This book was so good! The writing was so addictive. The romance was perfectly done. And I loved the world building.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishers for this Advanced Readers Copy of A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft!

I love Allison Saft's specific perspective on historically-inspired fantasy. She takes actual events and cultural constructions (e.g. Catholicism, Protestantism, Judaism in A Far Wilder Magic) and weaves them into a fantasy world. Because she is working with recognizable structures, but in a fantastic way, she is able to use the reader's preconceived ideas as a starting place for her world building. In A Fragile Enchantment, she combines the potato blight in Ireland, the madness of King George III and the Regency era, and even a little bit of Lady Di and the royal family's struggle with the papparazzi. At the same time, the book has its own plot; none of the characters are 1:1 representations of historical figures, and even world geography has changed.

What can you expect? The book revolves around Niamh, a Machlish (quasi-equivalent to Irish) tailor, who is hired to create the wedding trousseau of Kit, the younger prince of Avaland (~England), and his fiancee, Princess of Castilia (~Spain). Niamh is magically talented, so she can weave emotions into the clothes that she creates. Her presence in Avaland is also politically motivated: the Prince Regent can use her as proof that the Machlish don't feel oppressed in their unequal relationship with their former colonizers. Turns out that Kit and Niamh might be each other's perfect match... except for the fact that their relationship would ruin her career, his reputation, and the future of Avaland, itself.

This is a YA romantasy in the best way: the fantasy is grounded in well-developed world building, and the relationship is depicted in an age-appropriate way. One of the most refreshing parts of the book was how well developed every single character was: of course we can expect complex characters from our leads, Kit and Niamh, but the Prince Regent and his wife, Kit's fiancee and her lady-in-waiting, and Kit's BFF are also well-drawn and compelling. There's not a single one-dimensional villain. Everyone has good intentions, although the results of those intentions don't always turn out the way they want.

This was a delight to read, and I'm looking forward to more from Allison Saft!