A Fragile Enchantment is a captivating story that revolves around the forbidden love affair between Niamh Ó Conchobhair, a talented tailor from Machland, and Prince Kit Carmine of Avaland.
Niamh possesses divine blood, granting her the ability to weave emotions into her embroidery. Subsequently, she has been selected to craft wedding dresses for both Prince Kit Carmine and his bride. The story focuses mainly on the forbidden love, intertwined with the complex political dynamics between Avaland and Machland.

The characters in the story are skillfully portrayed, each with depth and nuance, adding richness to the narrative.
Niamh is a kind-hearted, naive young woman, always striving to bring joy to others. In contrast, Kit is characterized by his stubborn and abrasive personality. They effectively embody the grumpy vs. sunshine trope. These distinct character traits contribute significantly to the heightened tension between the protagonists. Despite being a standalone story, the romance unfolds gradually, creating an engaging slow-burn romance.

The world-building was intriguing, offering a clear and comprehensive explanation of the Machland and Avaland situation. Additionally, the magic system was introduced straightforwardly, without unnecessary plot holes.

I'm not 100% sure what I was expecting when I requested this but I'm not sure this was it.

There is nothing that I can put my finger on that didn't really work for me... as you can see by my average rating, but I also can't tell you anything that stood out to me either. The characters were okay, but nothing that drew me in or kept me engaged and invested in their story. The plot was also... just okay.

thank you for the opportunity to read this early

Bridgerton, but make it fantasy. Niamh is selected to be the tailor for the royal wedding due to her ability to sew emotions into garments. While this is a blessing to provide for her family, she unfortunately finds herself drawn to the worst person she could pick - the groom. Add in a few fun best friends, family drama, political intrigue, a gossip columnist and potential spy, and you've got all the makings of sweet, but adventurous fantasy romance.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's press for a free e-ERC in exchange for this review!

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of this book.

Now for an honest review.

This book had so many magical aspects to it! Whimsical and fun!
Regency inspired Era with a cute enemies to lovers and forbidden romance. It was cute.

Okay. I wanted to absolutely fall in love with this book. I sat on four stars and kept going back to three stars. It did not keep me up all night in love. Did I enjoy the book? Yes I did and I would recommend this book to someone looking for a regency inspired clean romantic fantasy book. The cover is just so divine and the synopsis just had me head over heals excited to read this. I however for the life of me could not connect and fall in love with the two main characters. It might have been the dialogue between the two of them… or perhaps they just didn’t have strong character development. I did however love Sinclair as a side character he is 5 stars for me. I do love a good solid loyal best friend!

I did love the Regency setting of this book! If I could live in that time era I totally would. I thoroughly did enjoy the romance between Niamh and Kit. There was good representation in this book as well.

If you like Bridgerton and fantasy this book is worth a try! I enjoyed and would recommend to others.

My rating is 3.5 stars ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 💫

This book sounded exactly like my cup of tea! Royals, magic, forbidden love…sounds great!

But somehow it missed the mark for me. Not sure why but it took me forever to get through this book. I had to push myself to pick it up and finish it. There was so much back and forth between characters and there were things thrown into the book that really didn’t help the story develop.

I’m sure a lot will love this book. Just not the book for me.
Thank you for the author and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this as an ARC!

The perfect YA fantasy book for fans of Bridgerton. "A Fragile Enchantment" provides readers with romance, magic, and a little mystery. Characters are well-developed and you are transported into another world. Though at times the plot moved slow, the book still managed to captivate my imagination and I enjoyed watching Naimh and Kit grow into their story. I will purchase this title for my library.

I recieved an e-arc through NetGalley and this is my honest opinion about the book.

I give it 4.5 stars.
Sweet, heartfelt story. If you are looking for a Bridgerton vibe book but ya and with a bit of magic this is for you. The main character is a kind sweet young girl who is out of her element when commissioned to make outfits for the royal wedding. Her relationships that she develops within her time there are wholesome and fun to read. It is the grumpy/sunshine kind of story with the quarky, fun best friend. The story starts off a tad slow and I wish there was a tad bit more character development but overall this is a lovely little romance.

Loved this book! A Fragile Enchantment is the story of Niamh O' Conchobhair, a seamstress with the magical talent of stitching memories and emotions into her exquisite creations. This gift is responsible for her commission to design the wardrobe for the upcoming royal wedding in neighboring Avaland. Even though her gift is killing her slowly, the magic depletes her life force, she wants to use the situation to provide a better life for her mother and grandmother. She is surprised to learn that life in Avaland is not the fairytale she imaginied. The royal city is the seat of unrest, the unhappy working class demanding fair treatment long overdue. The Groom is chafing against his royal duties and the Prince is weighed down by managing his unruly brother and his unruly kingdom. Niamh is surprised to learn she will be kept close to the royals to show their willingness to treat their servants well. As she uses her talent to make beautiful, rebellious, creations for the unhappy groom and his equally uncomfortable bride to be, her friendship with the groom to be and his friend grows and she learns more about herself and her idea of life in the process. This book was so much fun to read. Allison Saft is an excellent world-builder, the plot was very well-paced, and the characters believable and entertaining. I was reluctant to finish the story, I hope the author continues with these characters. Fans of young adult fantasy/romance and good storytelling will love Fragile Enchantment. Many thanks to Net Galley for the opportunity to read the ARC.

Pride and Prejudice vibes but make it chaotic bi disaster children and magic. Also, a prickly personality that might be a little too literally prickly. I was actually highlighting things as I read and cringing because I felt called out a few too many times. 10/10 recommend. I might even love it more than A Far Wilder Magic. ❤️ I am absolutely an Allison Saft fan for life.


I received an advance copy from the publisher, all opinions are my own and a review was not required.

For a YA fantasy read that was marketed as the fantasy version of Bridgerton, this had everything I wanted! I had fun with this read!

A Fragile Enchantment brings readers into the world of Avaland, a world based off regency era Britain, the through the eyes of Niamh Ó Conchobhair, a Machlish (Irish) tailor with a divine gift. Magic is rare these days, so Niamh is determined to make the most of her gift, the ability to enchant feelings, memories, and emotions into the clothes she creates, and provide for her family, even if it takes a tole on her body. When Niamh is commissioned to create the clothes for the Royal wedding of Prince Kit Carmine and Infanta Rosa, she finds herself thrust into the society’s season with a grumpy prince, a prince regent whose hiding something, a society prejudiced and hard set against rising tensions between Avaland and Machlish, and a gossip column seemingly interested in pulling her into the mix of it all. This story of duty versus desire is perfect for Saft’s established fans and new readers alike.

If Saft’s A Far Wilder Magic was the perfect fall atmospheric book, this book is the perfect spring atmospheric book. It feels like tender new flower blooms, rainstorms, and dewy mornings cast in warm sunshine. Saft knows how to write a beautiful story that pulls the reader in and makes them feel!

This book is first and foremost a romance. While there is a magical element ~ and it’s an interesting, well thought out, and unique magical element that does influence the plot ~ the fantasy is far secondary to the romance. And the romance was WONDERFUL! Kit Carmine is the epitome of grumpy. A wayward prince, returned from a forced absence, and not interested in the role of prince or rules of society. Very much a “he’s grumpy and grim to everyone except you”. I loved Niamh and Kit’s love story and it was surprisingly tension filled and steamy for a YA story.

The secondary characters in this book were also wonderful. Complex, loving, and well thought out, none of them or their stories felt out of place or casually thrown in.

Overall, I really really enjoyed this one and think this will be perfect for fans of Saft’s previous books or fans of books like Rebecca Ross’s Divine Rivals. It comes to about a 4.5 stars for me, because just like with A Far Wilder Magic, the “fantasy world” so closely mirroring real historic events but with some modern day phrases thrown in, had the propensity to take me out of the story every now and then.

Fantastical and magical.

The characters bring to life the unimaginable question of what if I could to life!

Great read.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the free ARC for a honest review.

Naimh is a lowly,. talented seamstress who can enchant her clothing with her magic. Kit is a testy tempered prince who is getting married for duty. This books is a beautiful historical-fiction with just a touch of fantasy. I have enjoyed thoroughly the development between the main characters. The growth with Naimh is great and I love the banter she has with Kit. I love a sunshine and grumpy trope and this book was wonderful to say the least.

This book just wasn't for me. Name one reason the fbomb should be dropped in a YA book?

I stopped at 26%

Not for me.
But thank you netgalley for the arc nonetheless!

this book is a captivating tapestry of romance, fantasy, and political intrigue, masterfully written to keep readers hooked until the very last page. It offers an enchanting escape into a world of magic and love while also addressing relevant and pressing issues. I wholeheartedly recommend this novel to anyone seeking an immersive and thought-provoking reading experience.

I thought this was such a sweet romance and I love the historical fantasy setting. The characters are very charming and even the side characters are given a lot of depth and personality. I'm personally impressed with the characterization of Kit. I've seen a lot of characters somewhat like him before, but never liked them in romances. They are so grumpy to a point of just being cruel. But the audience is able to audience why Kit has a grumpy personality and it is balanced with all his kind actions.

Overall I really enjoyed this story. If lost a star because a few subplots never fully got developed and the ending felt so of rushed because of it (for example, Niamh relationship with her family, how her magic affects her health).

2.5 stars I don't know why but I went into this book with the wrong idea of what it was going to be about. I thought that it was going to be similar like TID a historical setting with magic and battles and quests but it was not it. It was more like a historical romance let's say like The Bridgertons but with magic. The main plot is the challenges and problems that main couple faced while they are trying to get together.

This book had so much potential, why include characters with magic if your are not going to make it part of the main story, why not exploit it, they had magic but it was limited to cheap tricks, if there was no magic in this book it would not make any difference in the story and in the contrary it would had been more fitting for the type of story the book would still had a seamstress and a prince falling in love and facing obstacle to their love. I could not connect with the characters at all and tell me how the main character felt in love, when did this happened? I felt that their interactions had zero chemistry.

The book was way to long too many unnecessary descriptions just to filled the book. And the ending was somewhat unbelievable, and resolved to easily.

I really enjoyed this story. I liked how magic was a part of the story, but not the point of it. It was there, but it wasn't overwhelming the personal narrative between the characters. A tale of internal and external struggles with those we care most about. I also like how there isn't really an evil or bad character, just flawed humanity and how looking out for everyone else can sometimes lead us astray.

Anyone who swooned over Anthony and Kate in the Bridgerton series will absolutely love this book! It had all the knees-turn-to-jelly attraction, bickering, and electric chemistry that I love from a romance novel with an appropriately brooding love interest.

I do wish that we got a better look into the side characters and B-plots—Allison Saft has created such a vivid world, I would love to take a deeper dive inside of it! Rosa and Miriam are characters who will definitely remain stuck in my head for a while.

In addition to this, I found myself wishing for some more openness on Kit's side. While I adore—and prefer—single POV stories from a FMC's perspective, I had trouble guessing what was happening in Kit's head and the reasoning behind his actions and mood swings.

"A Fragile Enchantment" by Allison Saft stitches together a charming tale where magic weaves through threads of romance, intrigue, and secrets. Niamh Ó Conchobhair, our gifted dressmaker, is a needle threading emotions into fabric—until she becomes entangled in a scandalous tangle of her own.

Saft's narrative is like a fine lace, intricate and captivating, as Niamh and Kit Carmine, our brooding groom, embark on a journey that's as enthralling as a Regency-era ballroom dance. The chemistry between them is like a secret whispered at a masked ball, both tantalizing and forbidden.

As an anonymous gossip columnist stirs the pot, you can't help but wonder if Niamh and Kit's love will unravel like a snagged hem or flourish like a blossoming rose. "A Fragile Enchantment" offers a blend of magic and mystery that's sewn into the very fabric of this enchanting world, promising a love story as enduring as a well-crafted gown.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books via NetGalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.