This book was not for me. I'm not sure who it's for honestly. I really hate when a main character is so incredibly naive to their own world. I know it's a way to world build without being as info dumping but in my opinion it comes off so poorly and makes the main character seem stupid. For this reason the female main character was unreadable for me.

I enjoyed it! A light fantastical romance that also touches on colonialism and class struggles. The magic system was unique and left me wanting more. It's also nice to see a m/w pairing in a definitely queer book.

ugh this book was so stinking cute. it was definitely slow going in the beginning which is why it gets 4 stars but i honestly loved the dynamic and relationship between Kit and Niamh. their banter was hilarious and i found myself laughing and chuckling to myself so often. i enjoyed the magical aspects and i wish there was more of it! i loved the brooding demeanor of kit mixed with the sweet sunshine of niamhe. it definitely reminded me of Bridgerton which made me enjoy it even more. i thought the writing was beautiful and the way Niamhe thought and spoke about kit made my heart swell. her love for him was so pure and heartwarming, but more spice plz. overall, i really enjoyed it! 4/5
thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this e arc in exchange for my honest review!

I feel so conflicted about this review, I thought the concept had so much potential but it didn't live up to that.

Let's get into the troupes and plot points that drew me to this book.

-Enemies to Lovers
-Forced Proximity
-Regency Romantasy (Forbidden)
-Bridgeton with Magic
-Lower stakes
-Loosely based on the Irish Potato Famine

These ideas were so exciting to me, it's everything I love about a book. It just fell flat. The plot is that Niamh, a Machlish woman with divine blood, has a unique talent to sew feelings and emotions into garments but at the cost of it slowly draining the life out of her. She has been picked by the Prince Regent of Avaland to provide the wedding garments for his brother, Kit's soon to be wedding. She chooses to go to support her family, even though they don't like Avaland and its royal family.

I was bored for the first part of the book, I was trying to figure out the magic system and world building but this was where it was lacking. I wanted more. Why did Niamh have magic? Why does her magic have to do with memories and feelings while others are plants, and weather. I thought the writing was almost all over the place with a ton of ideas but none of them really fleshed out deeply.

Once the book got going after about 100 pages it was much better. Once we figured out what was actually going on in Avaland, things moved quickly but again I wished there was more There was gossip column that was basically Lady Whistledown's Society Papers from Bridgerton. Which was a fun add to everything but again it didn't feel full fleshed out, it could have almost been added more into the plot.

I thought the romance was pretty good. The enemies to lovers transtion was pretty good. it and Niamh had some really sweet moments but I wanted more from Kit, I felt like there was a lot of movement on Niamh but not as much from Kit. In the third act I was actually confused on the coldest that was occurring, maybe I just needed some more of the inner monologue on why.

*Thank you to NetGalley, Allison Saft, and St.Martin's Press for sending me an ARC to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.*

A Fragile Enchantment follows a girl who can stitch emotions into the clothing that she makes and she's caught the attention of the Royal family who wants her to make the wedding outfits for the Prince. Now, mind you, the kingdom she'll be making the outfits for is the conquering kingdom of her own, so her mother and grandmother aren't thrilled about this, which is something we're repeatedly told, but don't ever really see. Anyway, N, our main character, goes to this other kingdom, and has an interaction with the Prince that has her deciding he's terrible. So right away, we've got a great set up for an enemies to lovers situation. However, there is somehow no tension. Like, of any kind, throughout the entire book. There's conflict in this book and there are things that had me like, "seriously?" But... honestly, this book just never became compulsively readable. I could have set it down a page before the end and been fine with never finishing. It's completely fine. And I want to tell you that I'm not the target audience and all that while putting myself in teenage me's shoes, but honestly, if there's no tension? It's hard to blame myself for that. Anyway, it's a beautiful cover, beautiful book. The narration was lovely. I just ultimately found the inside to be a bit of a let down.

The cover of this book is absolutely stunning! I love how whimsical it is and you can feel the longing between the two characters truly. For some reason this book just didn't work for me - I think it fell flat right away and didn't keep my interest. There's so many great tropes and I love a good romantasy and the cultural origins are so interesting to me. I will have to revisit this at another time and give Kit and Niamh another chance to tell me their story.

A really good YA fantasy novel, and the cover is very pretty!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

This book had so much promise but I just didn't love it. It was ok in parts but overall, just a miss for me. The cover is pretty though.

[First, I’d like to say, thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to review this ARC with honesty.]

I’m going to be honest. I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this story. There was this weird vibe of a little too YA that I kept feeling in the beginning. I will say that some of the characters were a bit immature but again, if I’m not mistaken (which I could be) this is catered to YA. That being said, I didn’t let it effect my enjoyment of the book which turned out to be a fun albeit drawn out read. There were times I felt it could have been trimmed down and the story not so long to get to the point however, I think the author may have been trying to give a bit of a profile to each character (as there is a bit of mystery throughout the plot) to help give the reader chances of guessing

Overall, I did enjoy this and the characters. I had fun watching them as they came to realizations and declarations. The vibes were there and the cuteness as well. The main character honestly gave me an impression of a certain character in the manga/anime Fruits Basket.

My Rating: 4 Stars

I wanted to enjoy A Fragile Enchantment. This is normally a book I would have loved and given a 4 or 5 star rating. I just could not get into the story. I am not sure if it was the pace or the writing style. I tried to read it again after publication using the audiobook and still could not get into the story.

There were a lot of elements I really liked about this novel. The intrigue was great. The world building was wonderful. The characters were lovable and showed plenty of growth and development. The romance was... okay? It wasn't the most endearing romance novel I've ever read, but it didn't feel unnatural or forced. The themes of finding belonging and love conquers all are not overwrought; they're well done and it feels natural. The prose was beautiful, and there were a few quotes I highlighted because I really loved them and wanted to sit with them a few minutes.

There is one really big issue with this book. The queer rep feels very performative. Most of the prominent characters are queer; however, this does virtually nothing to drive forward the plot. You could easily change their previous relationships to heterosexual relationships and mostly have the same result. The two main characters (male and female) bond over their mutual queerness and then wind up falling in love with each other. I am bisexual, so I understand the importance of good bisexual representation, but this is not it. None of the queer relationships are shown on page, and they're all discussed in very vague terms. Most characters are either closeted or ostracized due to societal homophobia. Only one of the queer relationships is shown on page, and that's very late in the book and it's two very brief moments. This book has been marketed as having queer representation, but it feels like a bait and switch. If you're going to claim queer rep, I expect to see queer relationships played out on page and to see the characters encounter the struggles and triumphs that come with being in a queer relationship. This book was a huge disappointment in this area, and I spent half the book wanting to DNF because it felt like queerbaiting but I really wanted to see how all of the relationships played out before I wrote a review to that effect. Needless to say, the novel did not subvert my expectations, and mostly, I wish I had DNFed to spare myself the disappointment.

This is a beautiful book that will hit with fans of romantic fantasy and bridgerton. The banter between the characters was top notch and I felt myself engrossed in the world. While it did feel a little predictable at times, I still thoroughly enjoyed reading it and was enchanted by the book. I will definitely be picking up more books by this author.

I received a copy of this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest and fair review.

I am always so excited when I see a new book from Allison Saft. I have been an avid fan since her first book. This book was another beautiful fairytale romance that had so much to love from start to finish.

This is a novel about love and what we are willing to do for it. Niamh has a beautiful magic: she can weave magic into the gorgeous clothes that she creates. As a talented tailor, she is contracted by the royal family to create clothes for the upcoming wedding of the prince. This is a big opportunity to help her family, which is always her primary concern. The first time she meets the prince, Kit, she is underwhelmed, because he's a jerk, but as Niamh gets to know him, she realizes there's a lot more to him than she initially thought. As she is swept into palace intrigue and drama, she realizes that she has never put her self first, and her own happiness has never been her own priority--and now is the time to finally take charge of her life and fight for what she really believes in.

This was a beautiful, romantic story with drama and mystery. There was a lot of heart and some truly heart-pounding romantic moments. Allison Saft wrote another incredible novel.

I have realized that I have outgrown YA Romantasy set in a Regency setting. This is at NO fault of the authors which is why my review is a little skewed.

I really don't want to post anything negative about this book because I feel it would just be my own personal feelings on how I view regency style books.

I feel if you like Regency Romance, you like Bridgerton, you want to dive into a unique YA Romantasy, I would strongly suggest picking this up because you will probably love it!

This book was a balm to my soul! I enjoyed the romance so much, and the ending was perfect for this book. I would say though, that it is ideal for the upper YA crowd, just because there was one intimate scene in the book. I would say 16+ for sure.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

didn't quite live up to my love for Down Comes the Night, but still a solid romantasy from Allison Saft!!! I did love the vibes of this book!!!

I really wanted more from this one. I felt like it started off really strong and then gradually fell flat. The plot and characters had promise but weren't fleshed out by the end. I wanted more from the romance as well. I love a good slow burn but there is a limit on the amount of time it takes to get there and this one just went a bit too long.

Overall, the vibe is good but the story and romance was lacking for me. It could have been my mood or the fact that I had high expectations given the hype but it just didn't do much for me.

The audio was well developed and the narration good. I would recommend it for those who prefer to listen.

Niamh has been hired to be the seamstress for the royal wedding.
Determined to change the life for her and her family, she is determined to create the best wedding costumes, even if it kills her.

Kit, the reluctant groom, seems to be determined to make Niamh's life difficult. But against her better judgement even Niamh can't deny the chemistry she feels with the regent prince.

Unfortunately this chemistry has not gone unnoticed by others in the king's court, and Kit and Niamh might find themselves called out in a "lady Whistledown-esq" article if Niamh refuses to help the elusive and mysterious writer take down the royal family.

This book had a great premise and I was so excited to read it, but the execution left a lot to be desired.
It felt like nothing really happened throughout the book, and I didn't really understand the big "reveal", it just seemed like regular politics to me, not something so monumental it would take out the royal family.
I found the magic aspect interesting but underdeveloped.
Niamh's 'illness' was interesting, but also didn't go anywhere.
The ending left a lot to be desired with no update on some of the characters.

I was all for this forbidden love romantacy, but in the end it wasn't for me.

Niamh Ó Conchobhair is born with a magic in her blood with which she can imbue the clothes she makes with emotions and memories. This magic also draws death ever nearer. Having no hope for her own future, she accepts the invitation to produce the wardrobe for a royal wedding in a neighboring land and provide enough for her mother and grandmother to live out their days at ease.

A far cry from her humble home in Machland, Avaland is not the perfect, fantastical land she expected. The class disparity is coming to a head, the engaged royal couple is comprised of two unhappy pawns, and an anonymous gossip columnist keeps stirring the pot. Oh, and Niamh and the prince, Kit, strike up a friendship that has the potential for more...if she wasn't dying and he wasn't engaged.

The ties to Regency England in this YA fantasy are strong and with it come a lot of the usual plotlines and tensions we see in Regency romance. If you can't get enough of that, this book will satisfy. The magic was interesting but didn't add much to the plot itself. It did however strengthen the imagery and stakes for characters as it tended to be linked with emotions.

All of the main characters had visible growth throughout the book, which is quite the feat as there are a lot of them! Each was pushed and challenged and forced to reckon with themselves. Niamh's arrival seems to break down a lot of the walls that had been built around each of them as she doesn't fall into the norms of the nobility she find herself surrounded by.

If you love Regency era fiction with romance, intrigue, wisps of magic, and the disruption of nobility, you will likely enjoy this book!

I love the way Allison Saft writes. This was such an atmospheric book, and I liked the descriptions throughout. It’s a stunning read visually; however, I wanted a little more out of the plot.

My first thought is progression of the story is a bit oddly paced. For example, we see characters do and start things that don’t get mentioned again until much later. This disrupts other events and elements in the story and makes them look more like an afterthought than intended. The disruption causes an almost event-based plot that means some aspects get dragged out until some big event is supposed to happen, followed by everything happening in a rush.

While the characters are likable and fun, the rush to have them learn, accomplish, and experience what they need to leaves more to be desired out of the political intrigue and Lovelace letters/column. They feel the most like afterthoughts in the story since they’re not addressed nor appear often enough to have them feel really necessary to the story.

The magic was gorgeous and reading about the romance was so cute, so the ending does redeem the book, and it is reminiscent of several exceptional classics in the writing and some elements. Almost everything is tied up and readers are given what they want from the book.

Ultimately, I liked it and would recommend it, though. It’s cute and fairly straightforward. Perfect for fans of Pride and Prejudice or Bridgerton.