This book is a work of joy and love. You can feel it in each page. The world of Avaland is steeped in whimsical magic, but at its heart, this book is a romance novel.

Niamh travels to Avaland at the invitation of the prince regent to weave her magical enchantments into the wedding clothes of the younger prince and his bride. While the nobility respond to her work with awe and wonder, they greet her with a sense of discomfort and condescending surprise. They do not expect her, a commoner and Machlishwoman, to be capable of producing such fine clothing.

Kit, the young prince that she has come to outfit, treats her with outright hostility. He is prickly, rude, and unwelcoming from their first meeting. Jack, the prince regent, behaves warmly toward her, but she is left feeling quite alone.

When Lovelace, the infamous and anonymous gossip columnist, reaches out to her asking her to spy for them, she is tempted, but she decides against it. Without their partnership to shield her, she becomes the subject of Lovelace's gossip and ends up embroiled in scandal with Kit.

The love story that evolves between Kit and Niamh is not a fairytale. They are guarded toward each other, wary of their feelings and deeply fearful of being hurt. But they slowly learn to create space for each other and heal their hurts together.

I enjoyed the way that the author allows each of the characters to grow without trying to force them into a certain mold. Kit's speeches as as awkward as Niamh is clumsy, but their care for each other and their chemistry together are clearly displayed in their actions.

This book will appeal to lovers of regency romance, fantasy romance, and a grumpy x sunshine couple.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Wednesday books for sharing a digital ARC of this book for review.

Thanks to NetGalley I received an advanced electronic copy of the book to read and provide a review.

I really wanted to love this book - I enjoyed the premise and especially loved the magic Niamh and Kit both possessed. The description of Niamh’s gowns and embroidery work combined with the raw emotions that are worked into them was whimsical and wonderful! Same goes for the flowers and vines created by Kit. It was pure magic on the pages and I wanted more.

However, the story fell flat and it was a struggle to get to the end. The world building was lacking, the insta love wasn’t completely believable (I’m still not convinced it wasn’t the handkerchief bringing them together), and the inconsistencies and gaps in the story were too much to reconcile.

It also felt like the author really wanted to make a statement on class disparities and workers rights, but it fell short. Jack and Kit are not likeable enough to forgive them from not paying their workers and the other crimes of their family. And all was forgiven way too quickly at the end with no real work done by Jack. Let me remind you, he’s not paying his workers!

All in all, it’s a story that had promise but wasn’t for me!

DNF - I think it must be a me thing. Reviews are coming in quickly and favorably for this story of Niamh and Kit and their cast of friends/family navigating marriage for political gain with fantasy elements.

But the book felt like molasses to me, and I was drudging my way through it. Finally decided not to finish but others live it immensely, so I guess I'm recommending it still. Thanks #netgalley

Allison Saft's A Fragile Enchantment had a lot of moving pieces that ultimately didn't really hang together for me. There was a little grumpy/sunshine, with palace political intrigue, post-revolutionary social unrest, and a Bridgerton Lady Whistledown plot. And the chemistry just wasn't chemistrying for me.

Saft's writing has real moments of clarity and beauty, which kept me going to the end.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

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.

A Fragile Enchantment is a truly enjoyable read. This is the first book I’ve read by this author and after reading it, I immediately put her other books on my to read list! Saft’s world-building, writing style, and characters all made this a great read.
First off, for a romance book, I was shocked at the level of world-building Saft put into this book. The politics at play between the different groups and the magic system made this a more complex book than I was expecting, but it all worked really well. It brought a great amount of depth to the plot.
Second, I really enjoyed Saft’s writing style. It was very readable and I found it hard to put down the book. The pace of the story worked so that I didn’t feel like there was a lull at any point.
Lastly, I loved all of the characters. There were quite a few characters in the story and they all felt unique and three dimensional. I loved how they interacted with one another and that there was character development in the story. Kit and Niamh had great banter and it was so fun seeing them falling in love. Their interactions with the other characters were also really fun to read.
My only complaint is that I felt the ending was too quick and didn’t wrap things up quite enough. Things didn’t have to be completely resolved on all fronts but I would have liked them resolved a little more than they were. I felt like the author wove a complex story and plot but then didn’t fully pull it together at the end. However, this was still a great read and I would welcome any further books that take place in the same universe as this book.
4 stars

A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft is a cute story that has multiple layers of forbidden love.

Niahm O Conchobhair is a magical tailor who sews enchantments into the garments she creates - she has left her home off Machland to work in Avaland. She has been invited by the royal family and hired to create an enchanted dress for the upcoming royal wedding between Prince Kit Carmine and Infanta Rosa.

There are many differences between Niahm's homeland of Machland and Avalan:

"In Machland, parties were a more intimate affair: fewer people, faster dances, less formal clothes. Here, she imagined the dances were as prim and regimented as everything else, all of the guests twirling on their course like figures in a music box."

Niahm is a relatable character - she's a dreamer with her head in the clothes and she has deep love for fashion and beauty. She's part of the common folk -- which is part of why a mysterious character called Lovelace looks to Niahm to help blackmail and expose the royals of Machland for their mistreatment of the staff...however, Niahm is torn between exposing these truths as an informant or continuing to work diligently and keep her mouth shut.

This story reminds the reader how important it is to take risks and go after what we love even if it is risky and far fetched. My favorite quotes that stuck with me were:

"When you're on your deathbed, do you think you're going to reflect on how proud you were to put everyone's needs before your own? Do you think you'll wish you'd given up more?"

"Because it's not meaningful to kill yourself little by little to make people happy!"

"Nothing is guaranteed, Niamh. We all die. You and I are dying right now, but we're also alive. Love is what makes life worth living. Love is what makes us act when we most need to. That's what your legacy is. It's how you love the people around you, not how much you sacrificed for them."

Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an ARC in return for honest feedback. I look forward to reading more from Allison Saft!

This was so charming and cozy! I loved the historical setting and the Bridgerton vibes. The grumpy/sunshine relationship between Niamh and Kit was my fave - Niamh is a selfless magical seamstress with dreams of a comfortable life for her family, and Kit is a troubled prince with a prickly outside and a heart of gold on the inside.

There was plenty of drama including a gossip column about the nobles as well as political conflicts but nothing too crazy, so this is perfect if you’re looking for something easy to cozy up with. I liked the magical elements as well and I thought Niamh’s gift was unique, although I was hoping for more of a resolution to her condition. This was my first book of Allison’s and I’ll definitely read more in the future.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

TW: homophobia, microaggressions, colonialism, emotional and physical abuse, and alcoholism.


A Fragile Enchantment is my third Allison Saft book and I am thrilled to say that she never disappoints.

In A Fragile Enchantment we follow Niamh Ó Conchobhair, a dressmaker hoping to improve her family's life when she is invited to create the wardrobe for the royal wedding in Avaland. However, she is not just a dressmaker. She has magic and she can infuse it into her stitches, she can make people feel happy or sad just by looking at her creations.

Niamh is a dreamer and Avaland is far from what she imagined. From the discrimination she faces to the insufferable groom, she never planned to be pulled into Kit Carmine's web. Especially when he is the one getting married.

Allison Saft has the magical ability of transporting the reader into the story, with an enchanting tale, loveable characters and a mesmerizing atmosphere. It's impossible to not walk alongside them, help with the coats' stitches and feel the rain of the storm on your fingertips.

More importantly, this is not another story. This is a story of hardship, the sacrifices one is forced to make and the acceptance of love because everyone deserves a happy ending.

I would highly recommend this for cozy fantasy and romantic readers. Especially if you're a Pride and Prejudice fan.

I wish I could explain more thoughtfully my opinion, please know I adored this and I think you could too.

Allison saft is one of those authors that I decided I needed to own every single one of her books before I had even read any, even though id already purchased all of them. That being said, this one the first book I've read of hers and to say the least, I am not at all disappointed! I will say it started off a bit slow for me but that may have to do with me being a mood reader and not a big fan of period pieces like this and less to do with this story as a whole. I fully believe this was a cute, magical story and once I got into it finished in one day. The writing is so beautiful, the story was inclusive, which was such breath of fresh air for a period piece and it was overall such a fun read. I'm glad I started with this book and I can't wait to read her other books!

★★★★.5 /5

everyone… for a minute there, i was sincerely worried that i had no heart. no romance book stirred me much in the last half year, no screaming and kicking my feet up in the air, no nothing. this book CHANGED that. kit and niamh made me FEEL, dare i say way too much for my little heart. the tension, the banter 🤌 *chefs kiss*

this was such an adorable, cozy, whimsical fall read that left me with tummy-fuzzies, but don’t let it fool you completely. beyond the romance, it included poignant moments regarding generational trauma and immigrant child guilt (or something akin to that) that DEEPLY resonated with me. saft captures realistic facets of both these issues within kit and niamh and addresses them in such a gentle way that made the story all the more painful, but healing for me. [reminder to everyone to take time for yourself. you deserve to be happy, first and foremost ❤️]

i also LOVED that the side characters actually had distinct personalities and lives that went beyond supporting the main characters and storyline! saft really made sure that my heart would lurch for EVERYONE in this book 🥲 – that’s a plus in this case ☝️ another plus: the magic system. how cool and unique is magical clothing that is woven in with the designer’s own emotions?? – honestly about 75% of the reason i picked this book up (should be 75% of the reason you pick it up, too 😉).

final bit: there’s a backdrop of colonialism that sent me down a deep dive of irish-british colonial history, upon which the AFE world is based. while it isn’t a major focus of the story, as this is a character-romance driven story, i still greatly appreciate that saft uses this setting to convey an important message about due reparations from countries benefiting from past/current imperialism. cough. some people could take pointers from kit 👁️👅👁️

if you want a low-stakes, fluffy, regency era read with a fascinating magic system and well-written characters, READ THIS 💕

thank you netgalley, st. martin’s press, and wednesday books for this arc!

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this early. To begin I deeply enjoyed this book. It was easy to get into and lost in the story. It was definitely a good Romantasty escape type novel.

However I will say I wish there was more time with the characters and the romance relationships. Like Jack and Sofia, even though they were side characters I felt their relationship could be explored more. Did they repair their poor communication etc. Also more of Rosa and Mirium would have been AMAZING.

But the ending was sweet and I personally love a good happy ending. Allison made good use of their time but hopefully we will get too see some of these characters again.

An adorable romance reminiscent of Harry x Megan set just after a fantasy version of Ireland’s Great Famine that made me finally understand why people love grumpy x sunshine. Kit is precious and I LOVED how Saft did not back down from his prickly, anger-oriented personality just because he fell in love.

If you love fantasy and you love regency romance novels, this is absolutely for you. I only love one of those things, and I thought the fantasy would say the slow slow slow slow slow burn of this book but it just didn’t. I can’t do regency books.
A couple of dangling plot holes, but otherwise a good story.

Thanks to the author and publishers for the ARC!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review. The following opinions are my own.

I think I expected a lot more from this and that's on me. I did not like the main characters and their relationship. It was just extremely toxic. If I had known this before reading it I likely would not have picked this up. This was definitely not for me.

This was my first read by this author so I didn’t really have any expectations when I started it.

This story follows Niamh (no idea how that should be pronounced) a young woman with magical abilities (she weaves emotions into clothing) who comes to the King Regent’s palace to make several outfits for the King’s brother Kit, who is engaged to be married.

This is a very low stakes story. It has been described as a fantasy take on Bridgerton (which I have neither read nor watched) but I guess that comes from the politics and gossip. The story was quite instalovey and it didn’t seem that the grumpy Prince would open up that much to Niamh that quickly. It also seemed to take the story quite a while to get going. The pacing was pretty slow. For those who enjoy low stakes fantasies, I’d recommend this one.

This was such a lovely story -- I adored these two characters and watching them fall in love was a delight. The magic system was also very interesting... Niamh's gift is dreamy! I also loved how complicated Kit the MMC seemed to be with his internal battles and how he fought his feelings...gotta love it when the guy falls first... The whole story felt very romantic and angsty... Certainly serving Bridgeton vibes.

Nianh is a dressmaker who can stitch emotions and memories into fabrics. She makes the wardrobe for a royal wedding but she grows close to the groom, Kit. An anoynymous columnist agrees not to expose them only if she helps to uncover more royal family secrets.

I really enjoy the political intrigue and court politics. Reminds me a bit of Bridgerton if Bridgerton has magic. The romance is sweet and I love the ending.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

I’m so sad I didn’t love this book as much as Allison Saft's previous one.

A Fragile Enchantment was very long for a book with so little plot. I had the hardest time getting a clear visual sense of the characters and the places despite the extensive descriptions. The pacing of the romance felt off as well: this was supposed to be a slow burn, but Niamh forgave Kit really fast for being extremely rude and hurtful during their first meetings. Their next 'get to know each other' interactions didn’t really progress their romance or their character arcs. And then boom, they were in love. There was a bit of hand wringing about the fact that she was a commoner and he was a prince, but not enough imo considering the consequences of their entanglement.

On a similar note, the discrepancy between Kit and Jack’s royal status and the way they talked and behaved kept jarring me out of the story. For a buttoned-up crown prince inordinately concerned with appearances, Jack began confiding in Niamh awfully quickly. I had a hard time believing that a prince would even know who Niamh was, let alone open his heart to her and tell a common seamstress about his innermost worries, when he’d only known her for a couple of days. The same went for Kit, who fell in insta-love with Niamh and not once balked at their difference in rank and power. Considering the historical realities of common girls who caught the interest of men in power, this wasn’t addressed enough and it made me uncomfortable through the book.

Overall, the novel felt both too long and disjointed, like some plot lines had been tacked on much later: the side plot with Lovelace and the Macklish protests didn’t really bring anything to the story; the romance(s) felt rushed; many side characters lacked a purpose or personality. I thought the magic system was very cool, but regretted that it wasn’t a bigger part of the plot. The same story could have been written without magic if, say, Niamh was ‘just’ the best designer/seamstress in the country. Magic didn’t really have any bearing on the plot.

I will still happily read Allison Saft’s next books when they come out. Her writing is lush and has a lovely gentleness to it. That said, if you’re looking for a place to start in her bibliography, I’d recommend A Far Wilder Magic over this one.

**Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!**

4.5⭐️

This made me laugh, cry, kick my feet in the air. I had an absolutely wonderous time with this novel. The magic that Niamh possesses is so unique and I loved how it was integrated into the plot.

The yearning and longing this book embodied for the romance was so powerful, I could feel it myself. A Fragile Enchantment was a truly magical read and I cannot wait for it to come out so I can buy it.