Hard DNF. At 40% in, the pace was glacial and absolutely nothing of consequence had occurred. It’s a fun premise but nothing more.

A bit of a disappointment.
I was so ready to love this one, but it just felt like a lot of wasted potential.
This one could have been amazing.
However, there was some fun moments and I loved the Bridgeton vibes.

I really enjoyed this book. I hope the author continues to write more books in the future. I can't wait to see what this author releases in the future.

A Fragile Enchantment is Alison Saft's young adult foray into historical romantic fantasy. More specifically, it is a forbidden romance filled with tension and banter. Saft brings a unique perspective into this genre with their slow-build romance but fast-paced novel. The characters have their own intrigue and are believable, the world is fascinating and an interesting touch of a historical. I believe fans of Brigerton will really enjoy this book as it brings everything from captive budding love story between two characters who do not get along, only to find out they have more in common than they realize.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for an arc to review.

The writing was lovely and atmospheric, and I thought the magic system was inventive. I also loved the character development!

I absolutely LOVED this book!! It was a 6/5 star read for me. It had everything I loved…magic, Bridgerton vibes, and fashion/sewing.
As someone with chronic health issues studying fashion, I really felt like I could relate to Niamh, which made me love her so much more. Beyond that, I truly loved all the characters in this book because they felt real. One minute I absolutely loved them and the next minute I was so frustrated with them, but nonetheless, I wanted to be best friends with most of them.
Even though it took me a minute to get into the book, I fell in love with it (I literally stayed up until 3 am to finish it). The romance between Niamh and Kit just gave me all the feels. It was the kind of love story that made me laugh out loud, smile, and kick my feet with excitement. Overall, I just felt so immersed in the story. In summary, READ THIS BOOK!!!

I loved A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft. It's a sweet and magical story with a forbidden enemies-to-lovers romance in a cozy fantasy setting. It reminded me of Bridgerton meets Howl's Moving Castle in the best way. This was my first historical fantasy romance, and it definitely won't be my last. I can't wait to read more by this author as well.

Allison Saft is one of my favorite authors in YA fantasy right now. I really love her worldbuilding and magic systems, and this book was no exception. I loved Niamh's magic and how it played into the romantic, regency atmosphere. The hate to love romance was fun and compelling, as was the court intrigue. A new favorite.

This was a much better book than I expected. I thought the story was predictable, but still incredibly well written and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel. The characters in their own way are all endearing. And to my own surprise, I actually highlighted two quotes that spoke to me and I am not a person to highlight within my kindle books. Niamh Was strangely relatable, and I absolutely adore her as a character, and Kit ended up being so much better of a character than I initially thought he would be. It gave me Cruel Prince vibes, but I enjoyed this book a good amount more.

The book had a great premise but I believe the execution could have been better. While the author gave reason for the political unrest the people's anger and plead for operations wasn't convincing. I feel that this would have been better if it were a duology to flesh out the political background as well as the love story. The book focused too much on the love story but not enough on the racism and the damage that was done to the main characters' kinfolk. I feel that the ending was a little rushed and wrapped in a pretty bow without any real solution taking place. It was a quick and whimsical read but I found it lacking in depth. I wish the main character was able to do more with her powers or show a different facet of her powers that she discovered to solve the political unrest. It wasn't bad by any means just lacking.

Review to come when St. Martin's Press meets with protest organizers. I have read and have a review ready for this book and would very much like to post about it, but I will not cross the picket line.

I absolutely loved these characters and could not get enough of the world and beautiful writing.
What I love
Historical magical fantasy
Enchanting friendships
Dreamy and captivating
Swoony
Lovable characters
Eloquent writing

I have some mixed feelings about this one. There wasn’t anything wrong with this exactly, quite the contrary but try as I might I could not convince myself to love this the way that I wanted to. It’s a low stakes fantasy but for me it felt like a bit too low to the point that I was bored. The characters were lovable but didn’t quite enamor me, I loved the magic system and would have loved more stakes given the parallels to history and the potential of that element but all in all, this was just OK. I do want to give this another go on audiobook sometime in the future.

A wonderfully whimsical Regency romantasy!

When Niamh, whose magic allows her to imbue fabric with memories and feelings, is invited to make the royal-wedding wardrobe for the powerful neighboring country of Avaland, she is determined to work her hardest. She has her family to provide for, and, in Avaland’s royal court, she’s representing the people of her own country, who are marginalized and oppressed under the imperial reach of Avaland. Niamh is also terminally ill—time is not on her side, so she must make her mark on the world while she can.

She arrives in Avaland to find that she’ll have to work directly with the groom, a prickly prince named Kit with secrets of his own. As if her growing feelings for the grumpy and very-engaged Kit aren’t bad enough, Niamh must also navigate high-society scandal, a mounting rebellion, and her own inner conflict at working for the monarchy that’s oppressing her people.

A FRAGILE ENCHANTMENT will appeal to anyone who loves:
- Bridgerton, but wishes it had a dash of magic
- Kyo Sohma from Fruits Basket
- Practical magic systems (like in Tamora Pierce’s Circle of Magic quartet)
- Sunshine x grump
- Yearning and angst!
- Whimsy!

While this book’s plot is led by the romance, it doesn’t fall into the trap I’ve sometimes seen in romantasy where the story suffers at the expense of building the romance. Rather, the story and romance are inextricably woven together. The political intrigue is not simply historical window-dressing but grapples with colonialism, class politics, and critiques of monarchy.

I loved that the entire friend group (!) was queer, and that Niamh and Kit bonded over their shared sexual identity. The relationships in this book are all intricately crafted, from the romance between Niamh and Kit to their friendships with Sinclair, Rosa, and Miriam, and the sibling dynamic between Kit and Jack. One relationship I really appreciated was the one between Kit and Sinclair—it was such a lovely example of a male friendship that we need more of! These layered, nuanced, and very real relationships brought the book to life.

While there is certainly lots of forbidden love and angst—and both Niamh’s and Kit’s internal journeys and healing processes were truly moving—there are also so many sweet, cozy, and wholesome moments throughout the book. I can’t recommend it highly enough!

Really enjoyed this book. It was imaginative and swoonworthy. The characters were charming, the magic systems were amazing. The plot was well timed and overall this was an enjoyable book. I would gladly read more from this author.

Allison Saft has crafted a rich fantasy world with captivating characters in A FRAGILE ENCHANTMENT. I recall stumbling upon a review that likened this book to a blend of “BRIDGERTON and BELLADONNA,” a comparison I found quite fitting. The infusion of social issues with the allure of fashion, the enticement of the gossiping Ton, and the intrigue of magic create a narrative that held me spellbound.

I loved how Saft used many of my favorite tropes in the book—forbidden romance, enemies to lovers—making it a fun read. Niamh and Kit are so good together!! The pining! The banter! Ughhhh, and that ending! I’m so in love!!!

Also, we must talk about Niamh’s magic. She’s a seamstress who can enchant feelings and memories into her thread. What she sews makes you feel things. A dress can make you feel a warm summer day or like a strong fighter. So cool!

This book would have won me over if I wasn’t already a fan of Saft’s writing. Instead, it solidified Allison Saft as a favorite author of mine. She’s so creative; I can’t wait to see what she does next. Until then, I definitely recommend A FRAGILE ENCHANTMENT!

Content warnings: (per the author) discussions of emotional and physical abuse, discussions of colonialism, death of a parent (off page), alcoholism, homophobia

4.5
WHAT AN UTTER DELIGHT THIS WAS. I LOVED IT.
I am slowly but surely building a collection of the exact kind of romantic fantasy I love and this is well up there.
Magic and romance, tension and banter, an authentically believable world and real stakes, and of course characters I love.
Allison Saft has done it again and proven why she's an instant auto-buy author.

Thank you for the early copy, but I did not finish this one. I made it about 30% but this one just wasnt for me. Which is a huge bummer because I love Saft’s previous books.

Oh, such fun. This historical romantasy features a slow burn grumpy/sunshine pair and a protagonist who finds herself in unexpected circumstances yet adapts. Fashion, and magic, and Regency romance, oh my! Deft writing and fully realized characters add to the appeal of a strong main pairing, and a plot that manages to cause anxiety even though it's all clearly going to work out in the end...somehow. Utterly solid, hand to anyone who likes Regency romance, from P&P to Bridgerton.

Allison Saft is one of the authors that I always have on my radar. This is a regency style romantasy and it's so sweet. Grumpy sunshine and royalty commoner are two tropes that I gravitate to often. Saft's writing is beautiful and so descriptive you get transported to that world. There's politics, scandal, and a lot of other things going on. For me I think streamlining some plot devices it would've hit me more and I would've given the story a higher rating. Overall, I enjoyed my time with this and wouldn't mind a re-read to see if my opinions have changed.