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!

A Fragile Enchantment is a whimsical romance full of all my favorite tropes. Perfect for fans of Bridgerton, A Fragile Enchantment has it all: regency high society, a gossip columnist, and a grumpy prince who claims he will never love.
We watch as Niahm and Kit seem to slowly build this friendship and love that is forbidden and the challenges they face. We get insight on the lives of all these amazing characters and what love and politics can do to people.
A Fragile Enchantment was such a fun read and had me squealing at every page.
I loved it so much I preordered a physical copy!!
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press / Wednesday Books for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

A Fragile Enchantment is a whimsical romance full of all my favorite tropes. Perfect for fans of Bridgerton, A Fragile Enchantment has it all: regency high society, a gossip columnist, and a grumpy prince who claims he will never love.

Niamh is a tailor from Machland who is invited to Avaland to create the wedding attire for Prince Christopher (also known by the totally irresistible nickname, Kit), and Rosa, Infanta of Castilia. Niamh is divine blooded and when she sews, she can work enchantments into her threads, to elicit specific emotions and memories. She can make someone feel nostalgic, or remind them of a warm summer day from their childhood, or even draw upon the sense of loss or longing.

Kit is a disaster of a prince, constantly grumpy and rude. Also of divine blood, Kit has the power to manipulate plants, though his emotions often run away from him, causing disaster to take root. He is your classic traumatized sad boy and Niamh is determined to tear down his walls.

Kit and Niamh themselves at the center of a rumor from a gossip column that may jeopardize Kit’s betrothal to Rosa, and threaten a much-needed alliance with Castilia.

A Fragile Enchantment was such a fun read and had me squealing at every page. Though Kit did seem a little immature, I appreciated his character growth.

The central relationship is M/F, but they are canonically bisexual, and there are other queer characters as well. I also loved how Niamh’s chronic illness was handled—there was not a single point that she was made to be less than because of her health, and no magical cure by the end of it.

If you like cute regency romances with scandals and magic, this is the book for you!

DNF @ 25%

I wanted to love this so bad! The cover is gorgeous & the synopsis sounds like something I would enjoy but unfortunately that wasn’t the case! No matter how hard I tried I couldn’t get into this. The characters weren’t really likable & the pacing was slow. I felt like I was forcing myself to read and honestly I don’t want to do that!. This is getting wonderful reviews so I’m sure this is probably just a me thing. Maybe I will give it another try one day!

4.5/5
This book was such a delight to read! Allison Saft has a way with her writing where it feels like you're inside the book alongside the characters. Niamh was such a fun protagonist to follow, I mean she loves love and was such a ray of sunshine throughout the book while also having such real characteristics of perfectionism and striving to constantly do her best for others. The tension between her and Kit just oozed off the pages, and seeing his thorns slowly unravel around her was UGH *chef's kiss*. Sinclair and Rosa really stole the show for me. I love how Saft just normalizes her characters being LGBTQ+ in her books. I would've absolutely adored more content on Rosa and Miriam! Saft weaves another tale with political intrigue that is not overshadowed by the romance in the book. I wish there was a bit more explaining on the magic system and the various religions/mythologies in the world as it felt that they weren't explained a whole lot compared to my previous read of Saft's book "A Dark and Drowning Tide". There are so many layers to this book, and it solidifies Saft being an auto-read author for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review.

Apparently the theme of 2023 is starting off enjoying a book, strongly feeling 4 stars, you’re giggling and kicking your feet at the romance, and then you watch the story dissolve into something else. I just…the story was focused on too many things. There were so many plot threads that weren’t as interesting as the romance and the two main characters’ arcs, and they were not resolved in satisfying ways, I just wanted more for the characters. And no one was taking the serious aspects of the story seriously enough. No one actually tried to help Niamh with her health even after a character told her there were ways to manage her condition. We just moved ahead and Niamh never thought about the conversation again. The story dragged on and was about as cohesive as this review. The setting was not very strong and the writing didn’t match up to it, the regency era kind of slipped away and everything felt far too modern. Sometimes the characters were just annoying and I stopped caring. I don’t know. I’m sad because I loved the book until I didn’t. And there’s the whole review, I guess.

Wow. This book was beautiful. At moments I felt sad, happy, shocked and In love.

This book is a historical romance book that follows Niahm, a commoner and tailor who is offered a job by the prince regent to make the outfits for the upcoming prince wedding. Niahm is able to imbues feelings through magic in her work. She comes from a very poor family and decides to take this job to help them out even though the more she uses her magic, the sicker she becomes with an unknown illness.

The world building on this book is just perfect and we get to meet a number of amazing characters from Kit, the prince who seems to hate Niahm, Jack, the prince regent who seems to be hiding secrets, Sofia, his wife who seems unhappy. We also meet Sinclair, the prince’s best friend and Rosa, the soon to be bride and Miriam, her helper.

We watch as Niahm and Kit seem to slowly build this friendship and love that is forbidden and the challenges they face. We get insight on the lives of all these amazing characters and what love and politics can do to people.


This book is truly amazing and the romance is beautiful. We also see lgbtq+ in this book that just adds dimension to the story.

I felt myself so captivated in this book and by the end, I was truly sad it was over.

Thank you Wednesday Books for an early copy for review!

I love a good fantasy book, and was super excited to get a copy of this upcoming read for review. A Fragile Enchantment Niamh, a Machland girl who has the ability to stitch emotions and memories into the clothing she creates. Not coming from much, when offered the chance to create the wardrobe for the royal wedding of the Avalon prince and his future bride, Niamh takes the opportunity to provide a better life for her family. However, when she arrives, she finds a grumpy (spare) prince, Kit, political unrest that is being ignored by the crown prince, Kit’s brother, and an anonymous gossip columnist who is there to stir the pot in favor of their political agenda. However, as time goes on, Niamh develops a friendship with Kit and others within the castle, and soon some royal family secrets are on the precipice of being exposed, with Niamh in the middle of it all.

I honestly adored this book. I loved the combination of fantasy and Regency England royalty. I thought the characters were simply divine and so engaging, and the relationships were exceptionally done. I loved Kit and Niamh, but I especially loved the friendship between Kit, Niamh, and Sinclair. There were so many moments where I found myself smiling and giggling about their shenanigans.

But, on top of a wonderful love story, there was a lot of depth to this book as well. It dealt with issues of class and nationality, as well as more personal things like self care. Niamh’s story was one which pushed readers to see that you cannot live your life for everyone else, and that you cannot pour from an empty cup.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was funny, sweet, and romantic, which also bringing some real thoughts to the forefront beyond those things. I gave it a solid 4.75 stars.

I was super interested in the idea of this and wanted to love it but wasn’t able to get hooked. DNF at 20% but I’ll probably try again at a later date because I partially think I wasn’t in the right mindset going into this book.

Thank you to the author Allison Saft, St. Martin’s Press, and Netgalley for providing me the eARC in exchange for my honest review.
Release Date: January 02, 2024

3.5 STARS

Niamh, a seamstress with magical abilities, leaves home when she gets a commission to create designs for the upcoming royal wedding. Upon entering Avaland’s royal court, she encounters unfamiliar aristocratic expectations, prejudice, and her own unexpected attraction to the grumpy and soon-to-be-wed prince, Kit.

It seems the author has woven English-Irish relations (here, we have the Avalish and Machlish) and particularly the Great Hunger (i.e. Irish Potato Famine) into the history of this world. Such a (albeit light) context for the story enriches the cultural immersion or clash of cultures experience our protagonist undergoes. Our heroine responds to her new environment in what feels like a realistic way. Niamh does her best to fit in and present herself “respectably” by court standards so that she can complete the job, make a good impression for (future) business, and go home with plenty to feed her family. On the other hand, Niamh maintains her convictions and personal views. She doesn’t let the glitz and glamour of the palace cause her to forget the starvation and hardship her own people have suffered at Avaland’s hands.

A Fragile Enchantment left me feeling conflicted and a little disappointed. The first third was top tier setup. The last third was all fireworks—high drama veering on melodrama. The middle was just a bunch of NOTHING.

Although I love the ballroom aesthetic and spectacle, this book let the ball drop on the political plot it set up. An anonymous gossip columnist for The Tattler by the moniker Lovelace criticizes the crown prince and reaches out to Niamh as a possible ally. We do see that plot point pose temporary risk to Niamh’s peace of mind and position at the palace; however, the external plot fizzled out until its hasty resolution at the end of the book.

Then the romance is slow burn. It starts out with Niamh’s attraction. Long stretches go by without any progression of the romance. There was even a point in the book where I wasn’t sure if I even knew what the HEA pairing was. We definitely get less interaction between the pair than is needed before the relationship has advanced to true love and marriage.

I needed more civil unrest, court intrigue, and romantic sizzle in the middle third of the book. The end result was that I thought this book was poorly plotted. Neither the romantic or political tensions gradually heightened over the course of the book to my satisfaction.

I do appreciate that the author avoided ruining her FMC with tired tropes. Niamh doesn’t come out of the gate overconfident, OP, and ready to slay. Her character does not match the typical YA sci-fi/fantasy protagonist with an all-too prevalent snark, defiance, and superwoman abilities.

Comparisons: Regency England with a society gossip columnist was serving a hint of Bridgerton. Due to the young woman caught in the midst of power politics and treacherous royals, I also got a dose of Reign (my shameless CW fave series back in its day).

Okay, this was absolutely delightful. I was pretty much sold at the promise of a regency-era fantasy romance and this did not disappoint in the slightest. I was roped into the story from the very first page and was pleasantly surprised when each chapter got better and better. There was romance, magic, and so much drama. The magic system was fascinating, and I would've have enjoyed a deeper dive into it, but it was perfectly sufficient for a standalone book. I wouldn't be opposed to another book by Saft in this wonderful little world she's created. I loved the romance (classic grumpy/sunshine, rich/poor, prince/commoner) with tropes that just never get old. There was a little mystery going on that was pretty obvious to me but was still great for tension and had a climatic reveal. And the characters! I truly do not want to let them go. I think my only complaint would be that the language and vibe didn't necessarily fit the regency era, but since it's fantasy it didn't bother me so much.

Overall, highly recommend to all of my fantasy readers. With so many long fantasy series' surrounding us, it's also satisfying to find a good standalone.

This was my first book by Allison Saft and I can't wait to read more!

dnf at 17%.

the fmc in this book acted so dumb i simply could not continue. she gets this great opportunity to make some money in order to help her family out and what does she do, she was blatantly rude and insulting to her own customer. and don’t get me wrong the customer was the prickly mmc but for goodness sakes is the fmc wants to provide for her family why would she be blatantly rude to her own customer, several times.

the fmc even had the audacity to think “even though he started it.” like are you kidding me right now.

maybe this was just too low of a ya book for me but the characters were 18, i’m not saying they should be at the height of their maturity but i was expecting a little more.