Historical fantasy isn't as easy to write as you might think - it requires a careful balancing of elements that don't necessarily sit easily together. While not quite as successful as Saft's previous book, this still does a beautiful job of creating a pseudo-Regency/Victorian world mixed with magic. It's like Georgette Heyer with spells and magic, and I think even Ms. Heyer might have agreed that that's a very pleasant combination indeed.

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

I have now read a few books involving people who can weave magic into fabric, but I will never get tired of it! It's such a cool idea, and Naihm's skills were described beautifully! Overall, this was a quick read, with nice grumpy + sunshine trope mixed in :) The last third of the book had a <i> lot </i> going on, though, and it was sort of difficult to follow everything that was happening. I had to reread a few scenes to truly understand it all, and it just seemed kind of messy.

That said, I think this is a very enjoyable read, if you're willing to not think too hard about it when you get to the end. Naihm was a sweet character, and I liked reading from her POV.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

OMG this book... I absolutely adored this book!! The plot, the characters, the world building, all of it! Great example of enemies to lovers romantasy without being a cheesy trope. I wish I could read this book for the first time all over again! Definitely recommending to others!

Fantasy regency books always hit, especially when they're queer af. I loved the romance, I loved the friendships, I loved the fantasy regency gossip girl aspect; I loved it ALL. A truly wonderful romance with queerness abound...it really is the book of my dreams!

A nicely adequate book. I was excited to read this book because I was drawn in by the regency romance setting and the idea of sewing magic. Other reviews have compared this book to Bridgerton, however the only thing this book has in common with Bridgerton is the regency setting and the existence of a gossip column.

The story is told from the perspective of Niamh, who has the magic to weave feelings into the clothing she sews. A very whimsical idea that I wish was described more – the actual act of her using her magic was sparingly described. She is hired as the seamstress to make Prince Kit and his fiancé’s wedding attire, but in the process she falls in love with the prince. Also, apparently she has a chronic illness that is connected to using her magic and overexerting herself and she may or may not die young? I will touch on this more later.

The word longing was used more often than I actually felt the longing of the characters. The male love interest, Prince Kit, was very hot and cold the entire time. I would call his character a tsundere, but his feelings suddenly turn cold on and off all the way into the final act. The emotional connection created between the two main characters seemed more like a general curiosity about each other that results in them trauma dumping and dueling one liners back and forth about how each of them owns their life and should disregard their duty. Also apparently prince kit has a history of alcoholism that he overcame through pure willpower all on his own? This was concerningly glossed over. Further, WHY did we not get a much larger reaction from Prince Kit when he finds out the person he loves is apparently dying and has an illness with no cure? He’s a prince – wouldn’t he start trying to gather all the doctors and healers in the kingdom to try and find a solution? Like we really casually talked about her dying the entire book without looking more into this.

There are several larger conflicts happening beyond the romance – the King is ill so Prince Kit’s older brother is the Prince regent, the kingdom is bankrupt, the royal family has committed some bad acts against a minority group that Niamh is part of, queer people are accepted in society but also definitely not, Niamh is apparently dying, Prince Kit is engaged (a loveless political marriage), Niamh wants to help her family, Prince Kit and his brother the prince regent can’t communicate…. Do any of these issues really get addressed? No…the book ends with these major issues either getting a halfhearted honorable mention or a “let’s get married anyway and hope everything works out,” which is pretty crazy since we spent most of the book freaking out about how everything is impossible and the entire kingdom is going to fall apart if this wedding doesn’t happen and whatever.

Also, Prince Kit and Niahm get together while he is engaged and I think it’s interesting how everyone for some reason thinks it’s a realistic option for her to just be his mistress after the wedding. Niahm, who becomes somewhat friends with Prince Kit’s fiancé (Princess Rosa), straight up lies to her but of course gets found out anyways and just because Rosa doesn’t care doesn’t make it okayyyyyy. Also odd how everyone is fine if Niahm were to be a mistress but talks so disgustedly about the ill king having mistresses?

Despite my criticisms, I give this three stars because I was generally entertained, I liked the idea of the story, the moments where the clothing was described were nice, and there were some pretty great side characters. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to read something fluffy and easy.

Finally, I would like to petition for a book dedicated to Sinclair, arguably the best character in the book – I want to hear his story, this man deserves love and needs a happily ever after.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me a free eARC of this book to read in exchange for my review!

Reading this book felt like a hug. It was warm and comforting and even when there were moments of tension or upset, the resolution was always satisfying. The stakes were high enough without being painful, and I was thoroughly content with the ending.

This was underwhelming at best. Honestly felt like I wasted my time reading as the big reveal at the end was so not worth the pages flipped. Romantasy needs to be well done from plot to paper and this was not. At many points I was left questioning the magical elements.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I LOVE Allison Saft. Her magic systems are always so unique. A Fragile Enchantment was so romantic and so angsty! I love a moody romance, and Niamh and Kit really came through. This is also a great example of complicated family dynamics, as well as class difference/disputes, with regency vibes and a secret gossip column, giving it some Bridgerton vibes.

This book left me dreaming of magical clothing, but it also left me thinking about how to make the world a better place.

I can’t remember what it was I read, but I do remember loving the way story just sucked me in and would not let me go. There was suspense, intrigue, adventure, and romance all rolled into this story and it kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what will happen next.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for this e-ARC of A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft in exchange for an honest review. This book was charming and I honestly wished I had kept this until after the Bridgerton season 3 premiere because this would have helped the hangover.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, though there were a few odd things about its pacing, especially towards the final quarter of the book. But let’s start with the all of the good stuff. First of all, I love Saft’s style of writing. It’s approachable, engaging, and I very quickly felt attached to the characters and plot. The dialogue was also capable of delivering laughs just as much as conveying the more emotional, romantic scenes. It was a very smooth reading experience, and, like I said, for the first 75% of the story, I was zipping along without a care in the world. I also enjoyed the world-building and magical elements. Nothing was overly complex here, but it also all felt complete enough that I felt solidly placed within the world and understood how the magic worked.

This book is really delightful. It's Regency romance meets magical fantasy, and it's a perfect combination. A plucky seamstress who sews magic into the clothes she makes is hired to make the wedding clothes for a prince who's about to enter an arranged marriage. He's grumpy and she's sunshine, and they're a really fun couple. There's also magic and political intrigue and it's a really great story. I highly recommend it.

I received a digital ARC from the Publisher via Netgalley though all thoughts are my own.

I was really excited when I first heard about this book and overall, it was an enjoyable read. It was a meet disaster of sorts with Niamh and Kit as Kit came across as being very arrogant though over time, it's revealed why Kit acts in such a way.
I love that Niamh and Kit's magic is unique and also complements each other. I also loved seeing their friendship blossom and how supportive they were especially during difficult times. I found it sweet that Niamh was able to make friends with Kit's friend group, including someone his big brother is determined to have him married to.

I would love if there was a sequel though it ends in such a way that I can see it being a standalone as well.

Trigger warnings: illness, death of loved ones

This was a cute book! It’s not something I would have picked up at the bookstore but it was still a really cute story!

This was so magical and whimsical and unique! I absolutely loved their romance and the characters. Read through it in one sitting.

2.5 stars.

A Fragile Enchantment is a book following our FMC Niamh using her tailor magic to earn a better life for her family. The description really appealed to me and I liked the idea of her magic flowing into her gift of tailoring and stitching emotions into the items, totally intriguing premise! Niamh was just a little too bland for my liking and the pacing for the first half, 2/3rds of the book was really slow so it made it really hard to get into the book.

Although I didn’t love this book I do have high hopes for this author and I’m excited to see what else she comes up with!

I went into this not sure how I was going to like it because it came off very "magical realism" to me but not a sort of regency novel. That made me nervous but honestly as I started it this became a book that I just wanted to read.

Niamh was such a powerful character because she was doing what was best for her family by taking the job that had been offered for her. Despite being from the part of the kingdom that had been oppressed by the crown she went into it with hopes that it wouldn't be that bad. As she gets to know Kit (who she's making the wedding wardrobe for) she begins to see that the royals have just as much to lose as Niamh.

I found myself rooting for Niamh and Kit early on and I loved that she was wanting the best for the troubled royals. She saw them as people and not just these people who have done her wrong nor did she see them as these great people who were just looking out for Niamh's people. It felt like she saw them for who they actually were and that was refreshing to see in a royal's type book. I enjoyed the magical realism aspect of this with people having gifts but them not being hard magic. It made the magic feel so believable.

I want to thank Netgalley, the publisher, and author for my advanced copy of this book.

Special thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Content Warning: This book includes: on-page alcohol consumption, sexual content: (Insinuations and jokes, tension & loads of pining, and romantic and sexual thoughts and scenes). A several on-page swears, lots of familial issues and referenced child abuse, mentions of murder, war, grief, and panic attacks.

I was super excited when I saw this book on NetGalley because the vibes sounded immaculate and I was NOT disappointed. This book is definitely Bridgerton with magic. The characters are funny and relatable. The story kept me captivated and overall I was very entertained. Historical fiction is something I’ve grow up reading and Saft did a fabulous job creating a realistic and intriguing court.

The cover alone sold me on the book, but Niamh and Kit kept me there. I loved the banter and chemistry between these two and everyone else. The found family and various friendships in this book are also some of the best I’ve read in awhile.

I would recommend A Fragile Enchantment to anyone who loves Young Adult romantasy. Recommended reading would be Saft’s other works, like A Far Wilder Magic and Down Comes the Night. I would also recommend Belladona by Adalyn Grace (Historical fantasy), Once Upon a Broken Heart series by Stephanie Garber (Fantasy/soft & romantic heroine), for older readers Bridgerton by Julia Quinn would obviously be a great rec too.

I wasnt as obsessed with this as I wanted to be. It is definitely more of a cosy fantasy feel and I was expecting more of a fantasy book. I also didnt really like the romance. Definitely seemed very toxic. I just had a hard time getting into the story. It wasnt bad, just not what i was in the mood for.

I love Allisons writing and this book was another amazing read! She writes such unique characters and sweet romances in her books! I can't wait to read more books from her in the future!