3.75/5

Niamh (pronounced NEEV), a commoner with a unique ability to enchant her work, has been hired to work on the wedding outfits of the king's son, Kit. The enchantments on the clothing she creates makes the wearer and the people around them feel and remember different things based on the emotions and memories she magically infuses her work with as she is sewing.

Niamh has always wanted a fairytale story with romance and love, but she knows that is not something she will ever get the chance to experience. She is a Machlish commoner with an illness that she believes will take her life before she will have a chance at love. When she comes to the castle to work though, she finds herself falling in love with the last person she should, the soon-to-be wed Kit Carmine.

I really thought I was going to love this book based on the premise and the cover. It is a historical fantasy romance with a unique magic system, but it fell a little flat for me. However, this is my first novel by Allison Saft, and I may give one of her other books a try because I did love the beautiful written descriptions of the world and magic. I believe this book will be well received by many people, but in the end it was not for me.

What I did enjoy:
-Secret letters
-Beautiful descriptions
-Intriguing magic system
-The gorgeous cover
-Supportive and fun side characters

What I did not enjoy:
-Too much like Instalove
-Felt like there were a few things not fully explained at the end
-How the love interest was hot then cold over and over with the FMC

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and Wednesday Books for providing me with an e-arc copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review!

I loved Saft's previous books and had high hopes I would love this novel as well. A Fragile Enchantment fell short for me and I ended up not finishing it. I did not feel like I was as attached to characters and their motivations as I wanted to be. Our library will still likely purchase this book but personally I would recommend Saft's prior titles instead of this one.

A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft is a captivating novel that skillfully intertwines the allure and ardor of a romance with a touch of enchanting magic and whimsy. This delightful tale is achingly romantic, brimming with heartfelt emotions that will surely captivate readers.

*I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity*

Niamh Ó Conchobhair has taken it upon herself to defy fate. She will not allow her family to starve in their war-torn homeland of Machland and works herself to the bone making a name for herself as a dress maker. Her gowns, thanks to her magic of imbuing clothing with emotion and skill as a designer, become so highly sought after she is commissioned by the Prince Regent of neighboring Avaland to create the wedding wardrobe for his younger brother, Kit Carmine. After her journey to the new land, Niamh has only one plan-- make it through the wedding season with her health intact and her pockets lined with enough coin to open her own dress shop and support her family. However, Niamh soon finds herself in over her head as she starts to look past the shiny veneer of both Avaland and its Prince Kit.

Brimming with delicious longing and magic, A FRAGILE ENCHANTMENT captures the spirit of Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle with all the frothy delight of a regency era romance. Its representation of the queer community and mental health is commendable, and Saft did a marvelous job of creating a truly stunning and enchanting world rife with political intrigue.

This was such a good story, and it was the first one that I have read by Allison Saft! First, the cover is just gorgeous! More importantly though, is the wonderful tale by the author. It is a forbidden love trope (a prince and a commoner) with some magic woven into it. The beginning was a bit slow for me, but it quickly picked up pace and drew me in so that I didn’t want to put it down. I have to say that I’m looking forward to reading more from Saft and I think you will too!

A big “Thank You” to NetGalley, St. Martins Press, Wednesday Books and Allison Saft for allowing me to read an advance copy in return for an independent, honest review.

I was originally drawn to Allison Saft’s A Fragile Enchantment in my search for a lighthearted fantasy, and while I certainly got a lighthearted novel, it can hardly call itself a fantasy. The character’s powers were so inconsequential and rarely employed that it felt as though the author sometimes forgot they had powers at all. As for the characters, I found it difficult to get invested in any of them and they didn’t seem to be invested in each other. Furthermore, the plot was very lacking. In fact, it felt like reading Niamh’s blog. Every time I picked up the novel, it was just “see which event Niamh is at now!” or “watch Niamh go shopping!” or “who is Niamh enjoying a stroll with now?” Niamh seemed to be the side character of her own story. There were major events unfolding regarding the Machlish rebellion, but Niamh was merely a spectator and, frankly, she didn’t seem to care. Ultimately, if you’re looking for outdoorsy summer vibes with a sprinkle of magic, then this novel is for you, if purely for the atmosphere. Thank you to NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review <3

A Fragile Enchantment is the third full-length novel from Allison Saft. It is set to release on January 23, 2024, but I couldn't wait any longer to pick it up. I have read all of Saft's novels now and IMO, they just keep getting better and better. I'm so drawn in by her writing and dazzling, gothic-feeling atmospheres.

In this story we follow a magical young seamstress, Niamh, who gets called to the castle to create the wedding day wardrobe for the Prince and his bride-to-be. This is putting it simply, but that is the basic set-up.

As Niamh arrives at the castle and is introduced to court life, it's clear she's a fish-out-of-water. Coming from the country, she's never experienced court politics close-up. Nevertheless, she feels blessed to have the opportunity and even though her people aren't big fans of the monarchy, she's determined to make the most of it.

The Prince, Christopher, Kit to his friends, is the younger of two Princes. His brother, Jack, is functioning as monarch. It was actually Jack who arranged Kit's engagement, as well as Niamh's services. When Niamh meets Kit, she's a little surprised by how abrasive he is. It's clear he's not overjoyed about his upcoming nuptials. The wedding isn't one that will be based on love, but rather on political advantage. So's the way of court life, Niamh supposes.

The bride-to-be has now arrived at the kingdom, along with her father, and it seems she is just a pawn as well. With a dark personality and darker fashion sense, Niamh finds herself puzzled by the Princess, Rosa. Nonetheless, she finds herself drawn to her and her charismatic lady's maid, Miriam. Along with Kit's childhood best friend, Sinclair, the five unlikely allies end up forming an entertaining friendship group.

Niamh is starting to feel like she belongs, though she never would have thought it possible, and the more time she spends with Kit, the less she is able to deny the chemistry crackling between them. Unfortunately, she's not the only one who has noticed the sparks and soon Niamh and Kit are the fodder of the anonymous gossip columnist, Lovelace. Will Lovelace's rumors and insinuations ruin everything for Niamh, or will she be able to survive the scandalous court life unscathed?

Y'all, I thought this was fabulous. It kicks off so quickly. Saft wastes no time getting Niamh to the kingdom and enmeshed in the complicated palace lifestyle. I loved that she was an outsider taking it all in for the first time. Additionally, I really loved Kit as a character. He had some depth to him and I feel like Saft spent enough time building-out his character, so that his caustic personality truly made sense.

I love a prickly, abrasive man, so his entire demeanor definitely worked for me. I enjoyed watching Kit's relationship with his older brother, Jack, and learning a bit about their family history as well. I was definitely picking up William and Harry vibes there.

Further, I enjoyed the friendship group that formed between Niamh, Rosa, Miriam, Kit and Sinclair. I was able to glean a lot of insight from their interactions and I felt it helped to better develop each character. The political intrigue really amps up in the second half and I felt that was exciting and extremely well written by Saft. There were some scenes, as we raced towards the conclusion, where I was at the edge-of-my-seat, biting my fingernails, just hoping for the best for the characters I had come to love.

Speaking of characters I loved, Kit's betrothed, Rosa, was such a fun character. All I could picture when reading about her was Wednesday Addams. She was bringing all that morose, gothic energy. As mentioned above, I started getting really tense towards the end. I figured, objectively that things would probably work out okay, but getting there sure was emotional!

Overall, I had such a great time reading this. Saft's writing is accessible and fluid. It's magical and enchanting, but without feeling over done. The plot never gets drowned out by flowery writing. It's easy to follow along and become emotionally attached to her characters.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Wednesday Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review.
Saft has quickly become a go-to YA Fantasy author for me. I look forward to following her career for a long, long time.

This is a book that I picked by the cover. The cover art had me entranced. Ias fairy tale romance vibes and I love it. I would call this book a magical realism historical fiction Fantasy if that makes any sense. It was like Bridgerton the show but with Magic crossed with a fairy tale. The world unfolded as your read and you are engrossed in the wedding planning of Kit and Rosa. Niamh is commissioned to make a wedding outfit for Kit. Her magical abilities allow her to impart feelings and emotions into her sewing. When she meets him it is a true enemies feeling. Hate at first site.
As Kit and Niahm are thrown together more and more and they unravel the political unrest of the kingdom, they fight the attraction they hold for each other knowing they can't be together. A star crossed lover type vibe but he is also engaged gives you all the forbidden love vibes. The story moved through parties and balls, dinner parties and even has a crochet match alla Bridgerton.
There weren't any huge surprises but it was a lovely story and the writing was beautiful and easy. The story gave me sunshine feels of a true fairy tale. I would recommend to anyone that like fairy tales, forbidden love, worlds where magic is real and love overcomes all.
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Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy.

After reading Allison Saft's a Far Wilder Magic last year I was excited for the chance to read her next release. While a little different, less remote, more explicitly a romance, this had the same lovely descriptions and light magical systems as her last. The use of emotional magic, a softer magic than most flashy fantasies (and other characters in this story), was a nice change. Making a living off of sewing magic impressions into clothes - love it.

The political intrigue of the story is a bit oversold by synopsis. It's more of a romance - and a slow one. The questions around the problems of the kingdom, while popping up early on, don't get the team up, answer searching by the two mc's until close to the end.

The bridgerton vibes and sweet side characters were pleasant surprises.
In the end, I enjoyed niamh, if she would just stop being so clumsy. I liked her try hard, people pleaser love style. And kit was grumpy and sweet and totally messy.

There's a happy almost unrealistic ending but it was great.

Highly recommend for cozy fantasy lovers, ya/bridgerton fans and grumpy/sunshine lovers.

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martins Press/Wednesday Books for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Writing this review pains me a little as I really wanted to love this book. I was reeled in by the cover and synopsis but it didn't deliver for me. It was an okay book but I'm sure there will be people who will love it.

I love a dialogue heavy book and there was so much information in between the dialogue, I found myself losing interest throughout the book.

The story follows a tailor as she gets hired by the prince regent to make his brother's clothes for the season as well as his wedding cloak. She has a magical power where she can sew enchantments into her garments to invoke feelings and memories to those that wear them. She is an outsider doing her best to fit in.

For me, there were plot holes and things that were left unresolved or things that weren't explained well.

I've read that this book is Bridgerton-esque but the only similarities are the anonymous gossip columns and a competitive game of croquet.

This book has forbidden love, political unrest, family issues, amd magic.

I'm sure this book will be popular but it wasn't for me.

I really enjoyed this book. It pulled me in right away and I fell in love with all of the characters.

All of the characters (main and support) were flawed, but their flaws are what gave them depth and brought them to life.

This book to me is a cross between the Brigerton books and the Cursebreaker books.

Niemh (pronounced NEEv) is a common girl who is brought to another land by the Prince Regent to use her talent and magic to make exquisite clothing embroidered in magical enchantments for his brother and his bride to be.

Kit (the brother who is getting married) is very aloof and angry at first and appears to want nothing to do with Niemh. He could not care less about what he wears to his arranged wedding.

In time, Niemh and Kit see both the best and worst in each other and in spending time together grow very close. However, he is a prince who is betrothed to another and she is a commoner from another land.

Is this arranged wedding all it is perceived to be? Will the wedding proceed? Will true love prevail?

I would recommend that you read the book to find out.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for this review ARC!

I gave this book 2.5 stars, but it's a benevolent rating. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy it, but I did feel that it fell flat in some ways. My personal rubric:

*diversity: .5 -- on the surface, the characters were diverse (from different countries, LGBT rep, religious differences, different powers), but as I continued to read it felt a little bit like romcom diversity, where they were just attributes and didn't actually play into the story

*writing style: 1 -- no complaints here.

*character development: .5 -- there was an arc, but it didn't always feel natural

*impact: 0 -- great in terms of readers who want MORE of something, but it didn't really bring anything new to the table for me

*investment: .5 -- I was up and down on this one. At times, I couldn't wait to get back into the story, but at others it slogged along and I wasn't super interested. Kit and Niamh's relationship wasn't super compelling to me, and I found that I more wanted to find out about the tailoring and magic system than the characters. (I was disappointed to find that there wasn't much in that respect)

Now for the qualitative thoughts:

A Fragile Enchantment is a historical fantasy romances with elements reminiscent of Bridgerton, Howl's Moving Castle, Sorcery of Thorns, and The Paper Magician. Themes of trust, duty, oppression, politics, and following one's dreams are present, as well as representation for mental illness, chronic illness, and LGBT relationships. I appreciated the parallels between the Avlish/Machlish conflict and real-life British/Irish prejudice (reminiscent of some of the court difficulties in Outlander), and the way the plot tied up in the third act, which was very true to the genre -- lots of whirlwind schemes, miscommunications, uncovering of intrigue, etc. Think Pride & Prejudice (2005) with the scenes involving Lady DeBourg, Pemberley, Lydia/Wickham and the meadow. The writing was soft, dreamy, and atmospheric, and the characters were charming. I would be very interested in reading more Allison Saft in the future!

HOWEVER. I wasn't a fan of the instalove between Kit and Niamh. Another reviewer said that their relationship felt toxic in a way that wasn't fun or interesting and I agreed. I also noticed a handful of threads that got left untied, for example, Niamh being bisexual (her relationship with Erin hinted at in the beginning) but then had nothing to do with the story. I also wish there was more attention paid to the magic system; I wanted to know more about how Niamh's powers worked. In this respect, it was a lot like the Ghibli Howl's Moving Castle adaptation, where several details of the world/plot that are explained in the book are just hinted at visually and never delved into in the movie.

All in all, I'm not sad that I read this book, I didn't feel that it was a waste of time and I enjoyed it overall! But I don't have a crush on it, the characters, or the world as much as I could have if there was more dimension to have a crush ON.

Thank you again!

Kit is such a complex character, and his love interest, Niamh, is equally intriguing. Niamh is on a mission, and she's unwavering in her determination.

Now, I have to take off one star for a few reasons, and they all seem kind of tangled up together. Niamh takes this job to save her family, but we also discover that her magic is slowly killing her. There's this deep-seated hatred between Kit's clan and hers, rooted in a war from years ago. Plus, there's a lot going on with Jack's rule over the kingdom, causing all sorts of unrest. I mean, if all of this is mentioned in the blurb, it's got to be essential to the plot, right?

Well, some of these threads get tied up really quickly or are never mentioned again, and when I finished the book, I was left with all these questions like, "Wait, what happened to this and that?" or "Is this issue still unresolved?" It left me feeling a bit unsatisfied, and I was tempted to give it three stars. But I settled on four. Maybe fanfiction can fill in those gaps and expand on these aspects. Or who knows, maybe there's a sequel in the works? 😉

Thank you to NetGalley for an E-ARC of this book.

This was quite an enchanting story full of magic, forbidden romance, political intrigue, and scandal. Sometimes it made my heart race, and sometimes it made me feel all cozy inside. I think it’s a good standalone novel.

The MFC, Niamh (I had to google how to pronounce her name), is a magical dressmaker who is a kind, hard-working, and compassionate person. She is easy to root for and overall a very likable character. She’s like a ray of sunshine, but she is also not afraid to stand up for what she believes in. The MMC, Kit, is the grumpy one. In his defense, he is being forced into a royal marriage for political reasons. He often comes off as cold and prickly. Kit goes through character growth, but he still isn’t my favorite character. He grew on me a little bit toward the end, though. Niamh and Kit are complete opposites and can’t help but be attracted to each other. I did enjoy the banter.

The plot is definitely intriguing. However, the execution of it fell a little short with me. The good thing about the book is that it’s pretty fast-paced since it’s a standalone. There are some interesting scenes, but I don’t feel like everything flowed together, as they were jumpy at times. Something I think that helped, though, is the interesting dialogue.

I think the world the book is set in is really interesting. The unique magic system allows Niamh, whose magic is in her blood, to stitch her emotions into the fabric of the clothes she makes. Some other characters have magic in their blood as well. I do wish the world-building was a little stronger. The book is in a Regency setting, but I did not feel that vibe while reading this book. However, I did feel the royalty aspect of it.

Overall, this book was enjoyable for me. I do have a few minor issues with it, but I would consider reading it again in the future. I do recommend this book to fans of fantasy and romance.

A Fragile Enchantment was a touching tale about learning to trust and to put your own happiness first. While the magical elements were unique, the characters felt more "show" than "tell."

This was a charming read! The relationship arc was set at exactly the right pace, prose was lovely, and the fairytale vibes were there throughout. It hooked me almost immediately!

___
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an e-arc of this title. This review contains my honest thoughts.

4.5 stars

Niamh comes from a poor family of tailors. She has the ability to imbue her work with emotions, and her ability is the strongest in her family, which means that she is the major breadwinner and has the stress that comes along with it. Her mother and grandmother are getting older, and she feels an intense pressure to take care of them and improve their lives.

Niamh is chosen to be the tailor for an upcoming royal wedding. She's excited, dreaming about the opportunities this will bring, but her grandmother considers this a betrayal as the royal family is the very same that subjugated Niamh's people. This book is described as a Regency England-inspired, and that was fairly clear in the plot in terms of the different countries. Niamh's people are mostly servants in Avaland and generally looked down upon.

Niamh has always thought of Avaland as glamorous, but when she gets off the ship, she is met with the reality of the working poor and sees firsthand the juxtaposition against the excesses of the elite. She's meant to tailor the prince's wardrobe for several social functions leading up to, and including, his wedding. She is determined to do this and display the best of her abilities, but she's a bit dismayed when she realizes that the prince is kind of a petulant asshole. She also has to deal with a lot of prejudice and general shit treatment because of her heritage.

People are comparing this to Bridgerton, which I can see because they are of a similar time period and both contain a gossip columnist with a secret identity, and the way they write is very similar.

I found this to be a quite enjoyable read. The only thing I didn't like was that Niamh seemed to make really stupid choices in terms of the magic she imbued the clothing with. However, she is 18 and shown to be quite fiery and impulsive, so I could forgive that. Still, I generally dislike main characters who do stupid things. For someone so concerned about her reputation and doing a stellar job in order to bring her family up out of poverty, she's pretty reckless and foolish with her magic.

The romance was a bit of a slow burn enemies to lovers type situation. I felt it was handled well. The pacing was good. There are intimate scenes but they're not graphic at all. The magic was interesting, and I wish it was explored in more detail.

It's a whimsical, magical, fantasy romance with a bit of a Bridgerton flare. Do recommend if you're into that kind of thing.

I love the idea of a YA fantasy romance set in the regency era. I think the concept of this story is great but overall I struggled to get into this book. I thought the magic system and character development to be a bit too simplistic for my liking. I usually enjoy YA books but this might be geared towards a younger audience than I was originally expecting. 

I love the enemies to lovers trope but found the first 30% of the book to be lacking in romantic tension. Kit was a hard character to like in the beginning for me. 

Although it missed the mark for me, I think this would be a great book for a young teen audience. I appreciate the authors ideas and concept of this story and have heard great things about her other books that I may check out soon. 

Thank you for Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A Fragile Enchantment is a unique twist on a fairytale romance. With magic, mystery, royalty, and revolution, the characters have their fill of conflict. Although some aspects of the plot fell flat--specifically the overly simplistic resolution of the conflict for the Machland people--the story itself was a quick, escapism-type read. Overall, I liked it. Thanks Netgally for the ARC.

'A Fragile Enchantment' by Allison Saft is a fantasy novel combined with a bridgerton-esque plot and setting. Niamh is seamstress with a gift of sewing things containing enchantments that allow the wear-er to feel whatever emotion is desired. She is commissioned to come to a neighboring country to sew the ceremonial
and dress clothes for an upcoming royal wedding. Niamh becomes fast friends with the engaged prince, and many others in the lead up to the wedding and is contacted by the author of a scandel column similar to lady whistledown of bridgerton.

The storyline of the book is very familiar, probably because there are so many similarities to aforementioned tv show season 2. I wish there were some more distinct differences, or maybe the gossip author could have been more malicious and that we would have been able to see more of the columns. We got about 2 columns, and instead of being a menacing villain, the author was requesting help, and when that wasn't given completely backed off. And the rumors that were being spread that we saw were hardly damaging. I just think there was so much more potential but it fell a little short. And the whole pacing of the book felt off, very slow in areas and then incredibly fast in others. I do wish that some of the side characters we were introduced to had more development.

I also would have liked if the resolution of the story was more clear. I felt like there were a lot of loose ends, and I would have appreciated a clear path forward in regards to the solutions, everything just tied up so easily and the unanswered questions were left hanging. I also think that Niamh was meant to have more of a chronic disease aspect, but it was mentioned just a few times and then completely forgotten by the end of the story. I do hope that if there is a sequel that the disease is more focused on.

Thanks to Netgalley and St Martins press for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review!