2/5 ⭐️
I’m so sad that I could not like this book. I LOVED A Far Wilder Magic and the premise of this book was 1000% up my alley, but it sadly fell short me. In complete honesty, it almost felt like the author’s writing retrograded. It felt like an early draft of a first attempt at writing. The worldbuilding was sort of dumped on us and then the characters, especially the main two, felt forced and too much. They lacked the nuance her main characters had in A Far Wilder Magic. Honestly, I DNFed this book back in the summer around the 15% point but with the hope of coming back and trying again. I barely could get through another chapter three months later before I was skimming again cause it made me cringe.
However, I recognize that I’m in the minority when it comes to my opinion. I also am not giving up on this author yet. I know she’s releasing another book soon and I’m equally excited to see if her new one captures the same sort of magic her A Far Wilder Magic did. And no, I did not walk into this book expecting it to be identical to her previous one I read, I did expect though for it to match the same level of writing. I think this was just a flop for me personally.
Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Publishing for providing an advance reader copy of this book for my honest review.

This was my first Allison Saft book and I enjoyed it! A Fragile Enchantment is a romantic, whimsical book following Niamh, a young and talented tailor hired to make the wedding clothes for the upcoming royal wedding. Niamh is especially talented for her ability to weave memories and emotions into her work, a wonderful piece of magic in this world of people with or without "divine blood." She arrives in the capital city to work for the royal family, where she meets a closed-off prince regent and a prickly younger prince, realizes the castle and city are unraveling amidst political unrest, and learns there is an anonymous gossip columnist who is also paying attention to her. As she navigates the discriminatory society, Niamh gets drawn in with the prickly prince and falls for him in a star-crossed-lovers romance.

Niamh is easy to root for as she works to succeed and support her family, and Saft peels back Prince Kit's layers to allow him to grow and be seen for once. The banter and regency-inspired setting were quite fun to read, and I really enjoyed seeing how Saft combined the tropes of historical romance with a fantasy framework. I could easily read another book in this world, exploring another place or facts of this magic system.

Unfortunately, there were two notable drawbacks to me. First was the tone or intended audience: the book felt torn between young adult and adult, and likely would have benefited from being just a tad older, between the relationships it focused on and the politics involved in the story. The second drawback to me was that it was simply trying to do so much: romance, family issues, trauma, political intrigue (based on quite serious fictionalized history and ongoing discrimination). If there had been some streamlining and some aging up, I think it could have focused on these topics more deeply and effectively.

I wanted to love this book so much but it just wasn’t quite there for me. I think it was a case of right book, wrong time because I LOVED A Far Wilder Magic.

I think part of the problem was that I guessed all the plot twists and turns before they happened which greatly impacted my reading enjoyment.

I will definitely be trying Allison’s other and future books though!

Allison Shaft's "A Fragile Enchantment" enchants readers with a mesmerizing tale that seamlessly blends romance, fantasy, and political intrigue. Set in a Regency England-inspired fantasy world, the novel follows the journey of Niamh Ó Conchobhair, a young woman with a magical ability that weaves emotions and memories into fabric, a gift that is both a blessing and a curse.
The world-building in "A Fragile Enchantment" is rich and immersive, transporting readers to a fantasy realm where royal weddings, societal unrest, and clandestine secrets intertwine. Shaft crafts a vivid setting that captures the elegance of candlelit balls and the tension simmering beneath the surface in the working class. The juxtaposition of the fairy-tale-like royal events and the brewing unrest adds depth to the narrative.

Niamh is a compelling protagonist whose determination to secure a better future for her family is both relatable and admirable. The complex nature of her magical abilities and the impending threat to her life add a layer of urgency to her character arc. Kit Carmine, the reluctant groom, is equally well-developed, with his prickly demeanor and the political machinations surrounding his impending marriage.

The romance that blossoms between Niamh and Kit is tender and well-executed, providing a heartwarming anchor to the story. The evolution of their relationship from an unlikely friendship to something deeper is portrayed with sensitivity and authenticity. The chemistry between the characters is palpable, making their love story a central and engaging aspect of the narrative.

Allison Shaft's skillful storytelling and the enchanting world she has created make "A Fragile Enchantment" a worthy read for fans of fantasy romance. With its well-drawn characters and intricate plot, the novel earns a solid 4-star rating for its ability to transport readers to a world where love and magic collide against a backdrop of political unrest and societal tension.

Thank you Allison Saft, NetGalley, and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this book!

This is my first time reading an Allison Saft book and I absolutely adored this one!! I'm also new to the regency romance genre and I'm so glad A Fragile Enchantment was my intro into it!

This story is so precious!

I felt immersed in the world and found myself caring for the characters and wanting to know more about them.

The dynamic between the social classes of the main characters with the politics of the worldbuilding's magic system was so intriguing! The twists and mini mysteries also had me wanting to know and learn more about what was happening behind the scenes of each characters' lives.

The emotions that Allison Saft has written for her complex characters to experience really helps make them feel more real even if they do have magical abilities.

The characters themselves and the interactions with each other felt so well developed and natural. They were all misfits in one way or another who were brought together by duty and circumstance and who all gain some sort of sense of belonging and completion by the end of the story.

This book is an absolute gem!

I look forward to sharing my full thoughts on this book once St. Martins and their imprints have taken accountability and address the racist and Islamophobic statements by their employee. Until then, I am in full support of the boycott and will have to refrain from promoting and sharing reviews for any of their books.

What I’ve learned about Allison Saft’s writing from this book and “Down Comes The Night” is her way of writing passionate romances between dynamic characters in a beautifully written setting. The magic and romance, tension and banter, were authentically believable and made me fall in love with the story.

I absolutely loved this Regency-inspired fantasy romance. In A Fragile Enchantment, we follow Niamh Ó Conchobhair, a tailor from Machland who is gifted with a magical talent to weave emotions and spells into her garments. Niamh has been recognized by the aristocracy of the neighboring Avaland, and has been asked by the Prince Regent to design and sew the wedding garments for his brother and his betrothed, Prince Kit Carmine and Infanta Rosa of Castilia. But when Niamh arrives at the palace in Avaland, she finds Kit to be abrasive, rude, and begrudgingly accepting of his fate to marry for a political alliance. Meanwhile, the anonymous writer of a scandal sheet who is sympathetic to the Machland cause seeks Nimah's help to spy on the royal family, as someone on the inside who can help and possibly influence the princes towards the plight and cruel treatment of Machlanders in Avaland. But after spending time together, Niamh and Kit warm up to each other, and feelings begin to blossom. But can they really be together, when Kit's betrothal to Rosa is to secure the future of Avaland, and Niamh needs to provide for her family back in Machland?

This standalone fantasy romance was a lovely story, a sweet romance, with lots of tension and banter. The writing was beautiful and I felt a lot of sweeping emotions when reading. Niamh and Kit are both stubborn and a little prickly, but warm to each other in a very real way. They know they cannot be together, yet they cannot bear to be apart. Niamh is a skilled seamstress, though being an outsider at the palace comes with poor treatment by the courtiers despite her gifts. The book also has some good queer representation including many of the main characters like Sinclair and Niamh. The scandal sheet author was very similar to the Lady Whistledown character in the Bridgerton series, but with the added element of pushing for improved rights and better treatment of the Machlanders. This added political angle was a nice development to the story that moved it beyond a simple romance, as we also now have political and court intrigue and alliances to be made.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I recommend it to anyone who likes Regency-inspired romance with a bit of fantasy and magic. Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books for providing an eARC of this book.

From the first chapter, A Fragile Enchantment had me enthralled.

Saft’s signature rich and dynamic world-building is a skill honed further with each new release. This talent has never been showcased more thoroughly than in A Fragile Enchantment, where the strong sense of place serves as the story’s backbone, allowing readers to immerse themselves completely in the Kingdom of Avaland.

In the end though, it’s was not Saft’s gorgeous world-building, but her characters, who cemented A Fragile Enchantment as a five star read in my mind. Our heroine, Niamh, and the often humorous and positively undeniable chemistry she shares with her love interest, Kit had me completely hooked. These two and their unique worldviews; shaped by experiences with class, oppression, politics, complex familial dynamics, and chronic illness will stick with me long after the final page was turned. For those craving stories led by characters with distinct worldviews and unique voices, look no further than A Fragile Enchantment.

A Fragile Enchantment is such a great fantasy romance. I really loved Niamh's magic, it was so unique, and how the garments she makes carry her emotions and memories is amazing. Kit's magic is equally cool and can manifest itself in such neat ways. The romance between the two is a slow burn and works perfectly. You will root for Niamh and get frustrated at Kit for his stubbornness. The other plot elements work well, especially the problems that Avaland is facing. I liked the Lovelace reveal, I had pegged someone else for it at first. I really loved the writing style and the ending was perfect. This is such a great story, I did not want it to end.

Romance! Beautiful, descriptive settings! Characters that stay with you!

I absolutely love the way this book was written. The setting of each scene always pulses with magic- a gracefully done and important park of this book - no matter what is happening, be it a scene of action or respite.

Each and every character, including an endearing cast of side characters are so beloved to me. The main characters themselves instantly appeal to you and make you want to root for them, as well as make them tea and envelope them in a warm hug.

Simply cannot recommend this enough.

This is the year all my favourite books seem fall into the YA historical fantasy romance genre because this book swept me away. I loved it!!

Set in an England inspired fantasy regency era, it gave impeccable Bridgerton vibes but with a fascinating magic system weaved in.

The story follows Niamh, a common girl, who has the ability to stitch emotions and memories into fabric, but at a cost. Niamh is given the chance to use her magical talents for the upcoming royal wedding. Despite the risk to herself using her magic, she is determined to provide a better life for her family. Her arrival at court is anything but the fairytale she envisioned, and her blossoming friendship with the groom to be could just ruin it all...

The tension and longing triggered that warm fuzzy feeling, and I legit had butterflies. The banter was fantastic!

Not only is the romance the absolute sweetest, but we also get some well developed characters, who all feel every authentic and relatable. The political climate of the story was well done, and this was just an overall very satisfying read. I look forward to reading more from Allison Saft.

Unfortunately this book wasn’t pulling me in. The magical element really appealed to me but I’m not big on historical fiction or fiction having to do with royalty, so the writing, the language and the conversations and interactions between the characters didn’t appeal to me. I didn’t like how the love interest was downright mean and nasty. I’m sure this will be loved by many but it’s just not for me.

This is the second novel from Allison Saft that I have read, and unfortunately had I not read and loved the first I would not have picked this up again. Firstly, the author is an excellent writer. I love her prose and descriptions. However, this just does not at all compare to A Dark and Drowning Tide.

The two books are fundamentally different, and I started this one, dnf’ed it, read A Dark and Drowning Tide, and made myself pick this one back up.

There is exactly one sentence that made me dnf it the first time, which is trivial and harsh, but at this time I didn’t know the author’s work well enough to know if it was a one off or not. Near the beginning of the book the FMC is describing what she gets out of being the tailor for the royal wedding. She says,
“Tailoring the royal wedding would give her the clout to open her own shop in the heart of the Avlish capital”

The use of the word clout absolutely launched me out of this book. I know it’s really silly, but it was actually enough for me to worry about the quality of the rest of the book, because I am not a fan of current slang in regency inspired books. Thankfully, I read her other book, which made me pick this one back up, and there aren’t really any other instances that threw me out of the story.

Overall, this book is fine. It’s fun and quick. It’s enjoyable to read. It was a bit insta-love for me, but that’s okay. I really liked the side characters in this. Rosa is so interesting, honestly would have loved a book about her. Sinclair was super well fleshed out. Honestly, the side characters are probably the best part about this book. I think it fell into being kind of a mash of tropes. Clumsy FMC with a heart of gold meets grumpy prince who’s chronically misunderstood and secretly super nice but they can’t be together because reasons. There were so many more intricate relationships and politics happening in the background, that the romance honestly fell flat. I would have happily read this with way more politics, a romance subplot, and absolutely ate it up.

I think this book is fine. If I were to recommend one book by this author, A Dark and Drowning Tide absolutely blows it out of the water. It isn’t completely fair to compare the two, but ADADT was so magnificent that this just didn’t hold the same wonder for me.

Overall, 3.5/5 stars

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to netgalley for this book in exchange for an honest review.

It was an easy read, but not captivating at all. I could have stopped at 50% and not feel like I missed anything.
If I had stopped I probably would have given it a higher rating.
The characters are so bland. They never say anything interesting. I just didn't care to hear from them.

I will be happy to provide a full review of this novel once Wednesday Books and St Martin’s Press address the racist behaviors of their member of staff as well as the very valid criticisms coming from booktokers of color. Until then, I will be boycotting any purchases by this publisher.

The star rating reflects my honest opinion of the novel, and, in an effort to support the author who is not at fault for SMP’s behavior, I will be posting a full review with the boycott information on storygraph.

Here's the deal if you're the type of person who struggles with the miscommunication trope and find it frustrating when two characters won't take 10 minutes just to talk to each other about the important things affecting them this book is not going to be for you. You will spend the entire book yelling, "Just ask him!" "Just talk it out with him!" This isn't even necessarily in relation to the main romance but all of the main characters at various parts of the book. That said it isn't something that bothers me all that much, but I do know it becomes a big issue for some.

I really enjoyed all the characters in the book, many of the main characters were queer and I always love a good big queer friend group. It was great to see them support each other and just really embrace my favorite trope, found family. I think the world in this was interesting as well. I'm not super well versed in history but my brain supplied this as fantasy Ireland and England around the time/slightly after the great famine. I really liked the magic though I do wish some of it would have been explored a bit more. I always like seeing how different authors explore the cost that comes with magic and it's done in a very interesting way here, especially with our main character, Niamh.

One of my biggest issues with this book came from the romance. I really wanted to buy into the romance. I loved the characters so much but I just struggled to see the chemistry or even see where feelings of passion came from. Which was disappointing, I think, because I did genuinely like the characters so much I wanted to be all in on their romance that's a big draw of this book, after all, and it just didn't do anything for me. The cover for this book is absolutely glorious though, so I'll likely still be putting a preorder in so I can have that beauty on my shelf.

This was my first book from Allison Saft, and unfortunately it just fell a bit flat for me. The writing was good, and quite whimsical which I did enjoy.

I just think the execution was a bit too young for me, and some characters made choices that confused me, and made me shake my head.

All that being said, I do believe that lots of people will enjoy this!! Especially fans of cozy fantasies. Also the cover is stunning!

A Fragile Enchantment ends up being more than just a whimsical, magical regency romance. At its heart, this is a story about people struggling with duty and self-sacrifice, and all of the themes were tied in beautifully. As a lighthearted yet surprisingly poignant standalone fantasy romance, it's just quite lovingly crafted.

And if you like your Mr. Darcy-type awkward broody LIs, this one's for you.

5/5 stars

This book was so charming. This is a romantasy book, featuring tense political intrigue, a swoony-worthy forbidden romance, and beautiful gowns. The characters and plotline were unique and the fantasy world was dynamic and captivating. Think Bridgerton, but with magic and intense politics. There is even a character reminiscent of Lady Whistledown. Allison Saft also incorporates representation of mental health issues, chronic illness, and LGBTQ communities, and highlights challenges faced by marginalized communities.

read if you love:
Enemies to friends to lovers
Forbidden romance
political intrigue
fantasy worlds
magic
chronic illness rep
mental health rep