This novel intrigued me because it combines a regency-inspired atmosphere with a mystical element. The plot follows Niamh, a gifted seamstress who can infuse emotions into her embroidery, as she travels to Avaland to work as the tailor for Prince Christopher and Princess Rosa's royal wedding. She quickly finds herself in the midst of political and emotional turmoil, however, as she falls for the reticent and mysterious prince, who has his own secret.

The author does an excellent job of imagining a vibrant and engaging universe, complete with rich details and history. The magic system is exciting and unique, and I loved how it was blended into Avaland's culture and civilization. Niamh and Christopher's romance was slow-burning and swoon-worthy, with plenty of tension and conflict. The minor characters, particularly Niamh's friends and family, contributed humor and heart to the plot.

I didn't give this book five stars because I thought some portions of the plot were too convenient or predictable. The war between the Machlish and the Avalanders, for example, seemed to be settled too simply, and the villain was neither well-developed nor terrifying. I also wished to see more development and transformation in Christopher's character, who seemed to be mired in self-pity and guilt for the most of the novel.

Overall, this was a delightful and enchanting read, with a charming heroine, a brooding hero, and a magical adventure. I would recommend it to fans of fantasy romance who are looking for a refreshing and engaging story.

If love is real, then Fragile Enchantments is proof. This book either had me giggling or screaming. I loved it. PSA: This is definitely for an older YA audience. It was much spicier than I thought it would be.

My one issue is the length. It took too long for the HEA. It was chapter after chapter of the characters dancing around the inevitable.

I don't trust myself not to spoil everything so I'll leave it at that.

4.5 stars rounded up
my biggest gripe with this book was that i wanted more! a fragile enchantment is a perfectly enjoyable standard-issue romantasy, but i found the premise, setting, and characters so fun and intriguing that i wanted it to be a political/court intrigue novel with a romance sideplot.
niamh is a genuinely sweet mc with unspecified chronic illness/fatigue. i loved the descriptions of her magic and the effects it had on other people. it seems like she gets away with a LOT early on in her stay in sootham which surprised me at first, but does kind of get explained later. kit is so prickly that i was worried i wouldn't end up liking him, but of course the man under the grumpy surface won me (and niamh) over in the end. the real standout was the side characters: i desperately wanted more of infanta rose, miriam, and sinclair. there is plenty of bi, gay, and queer rep that i didn't expect but was pleasantly surprised by. from all the people shouting "bridgerton ripoff", i expected lovelace to play a much bigger role in the plot but their column takes a backseat for a lot of the book.
the worldbuilding was also a lot of fun, and i always love it when magic has a cost. the political situation in sootham leading up to the wedding is balanced on a knife's point between avaland (england), machland (ireland), and castilia (spain), which i enjoyed and even would have liked more of. my only complaint is with the historical context mentioned in the book i would place it in 1884-85 which is...not even close to regency era. being fantasy, it slides by without much issue, but "regency era" is working mostly an aesthetic thing.
thank you netgalley and wednesday books/st. martins for the arc!

Allison, wow!! You developed an entire new fantasy! I loved how by the first two chapters I wasn’t confused by the plot line or new world you created! The push and pull between the characters was sensational!! The plot developed into a shocking conclusion and welcoming ending. Niamh’s character development and point of view solidified my love and recommendation of this book!!

This story had such a dreamy quality to it that I never wanted it to end. It felt like Bridgeton met fantasy in this compelling story about a dressmaker, assigned to make a new wardrobe for the prince, only to find she has undeniable chemistry with the prince - who is about to be married.

A blend of beautiful romance, magic, and scandal - this story was everything I was looking for in a romantasy! It even had a great historical romance feel for those who aren't big fantasy fans.

A commoner and magical dress maker Niamh, is invited to stay at a royal palace to make the royals wedding attire. A life changing opportunity for her and her poor family. This leads to her finding love in the least likely of places. She finds herself and learns how to put herself first while making lifelong friends.

If you like Bridgerton, GrumpyxSunshine, and light fantasy/romantasy this is a book for you! The book gives Bridgerton vibes, but is different enough to not be Bridgerton. There is also good representation in the LGBTQ+ community. And well rounded characters overall.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this cute story!

This was a very sweet fantasy romance with major Bridgerton vibes! I am not usually a historical fiction reader but the little additions of fantasy to this book made it super adorable, it's an easy to follow fantasy world that doesn't over complicate the romance plot. The majority of the plot was predictable but that didn't stop me from enjoying it as there were certain details that were very unique, mainly the magical system!

I also loved the royal setting and found the romance very adorable and believable. I do wish more of the side characters were a bit more fleshed out, mainly Sofia and Rosa because they both really intrigued me, however the main characters were all very well-rounded and I loved getting to know Naimh and Kit both as individuals and together!

This book had a very fun, light and whimsical feel to it, it made me smile and left me absolutely loving the little magical world that the author created!!

This story dissolved like cotton candy on my tongue in that excessively sweet, pastel-colored, melt-in-your-mouth way.
A Fragile Enchantment is light-hearted and a touch dramatic, but in that ‘no plot, just vibes’ way that I needed.
I am convinced Miss Saft’s gift is her ability to spin the most decadent atmospheric melodrama into every single scene she writes, because wow. It truly was a fairy tale.
The characters were a delight, though my favorite, by far, was Rosa. I deeply appreciated the Wednesday Addam’s persona she embodied amid all the roses and sunshine and decorum. The ending was satisfactory, if not predictable, but I think that adds to the appeal of this genre of book—you know exactly what you’re getting into and there’s 0% anxiety over what might happen, because it’ll be a happy ending, regardless.
I’m thrilled for what’s next on the horizon for Miss Saft and can’t wait for more from one of my favorite romantacy writers.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an eARC of this book.

Regency romance and fantasy are the perfect combo in A Fragile Enchantment. Allison Saft delivers a beutiful story that sucked me in from the beginning. This book is a definite must read for cozy fantasy lovers.

This one ended up being just meh for me. I thought I'd highly enjoy it but it just came in at an average rating for me. I found the characters to b on the bland side.

the same magic that allows niamh to make such magical outfits will kill her one day. so, when she’s offered the job of making the attire for the royal wedding’s bride and groom, she wants to focus on her work to ensure she leaves her family secure. however, she begins growing closer to the groom, until she gets hit with a columnist threatening to expose them if she doesn’t reveal the royal family’s secrets.

WE NEED MORE MAGICAL DRESSMAKERS. i can literally only name ONE other book with this aspect which should be a crime. i loved how niamh’s magic was described, both the good and bad parts of it.

i also loved the romance, which is good since this book is pretty romantic. there’s just something about royalty x non royalty🤌

i will definitely be reading more of allison saft’s books!

4.5 stars

It is a gift to possess divine blood, to be blessed to have a magical ability find its way from your ancestors to you, and Niamh is one of the last in her family to have the skill. She is a seamstress, and her garments are extraordinary — each one magically radiating different emotions and memories, stitched from bits of herself. When she receives an offer to design the wardrobe for a royal wedding, in the neighboring country that once controlled her own, she can only accept. It is a job that could provide security for her family, even though each magical item she creates consumes a bit more of herself.

The city and the court, however, are unlike anything she has ever known — not to mention the complicated royal family she finds herself entangled with. There is turmoil in Avaland, not just around the errant Prince Kit and his arranged marriage, but running even deeper in the country's politics and class divides. Niamh finds herself, to her surprise, being drawn ever closer to the young groom-to-be and ever into the mess of power plays at work. 

This is a sweet and engaging romance. 

I adore fairy tales, and this book certainly felt like one at times. It's the story of a selfless girl who finds courage, and understanding, and love. I understood Niamh to her core and grew to love all the characters; my investment in the main relationship grew as the love between our two main characters did. The character dynamics are fun and real, and the relationships, both queer and not, are rich. Not many books recently have been so pleasant for me to read. I was truly contented at the end, in the way that I was eager to pick up something else right away to continue my reading journey. 

(The one thing that pulled me completely out of the story for a bit was the part that was beat-for-beat a scene lifted straight from Pride and Prejudice, which is a lovely trope, but as it was almost word-for-word, I couldn't take it seriously.) 

Truly, though, an enjoyment of a read — something sweet, and magical, and full of charming love with just a little bit of spice. 

Thanks to NetGalley and the editors for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A Fragile Enchantment was the most pleasant surprise. Allison Saft has created a fantastical, historical romance world for a YA audience. She gave such grace to Niamh that I have to go find Saft's other work.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for providing an eARC for an honest review.

A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft is a fantasy novel about a young woman, Niamh, who has a magical gift of embroidering emotions into clothing. She is hired to make clothes for the Avaland prince's upcoming wedding. She travels from Machland to the royal residence. She meets the Prince Regent, Jack, and his younger brother, Kit.

Kit is contemptuous of her, and her abilities. Jack is welcoming and gives her the details of her contract. Kit is engaged to infanta Rosa. Each country will gain from the marriage.

As Niamh works, she is drawn into political situations and her magic proves useful to reduce some conflicts. Kit's best friend, Sinclair, befriends Niamh, helping her navigate through the pitfalls and prejudices of the nobility.

My overall impression of the book is good. The characters are interesting, and the family dynamics clearly shown. As the book progresses, the relationships grow and shift realistically.

I gave the book 4 stars. I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

However, Niamh tells Sinclair that she fancies lasses, yet becomes enamored of a man. This niggles at me as the romantic relationship develops. Because the book seems to be set in the 1800s, some language is anachronistic.

I would consider this a romance book with a fantasy setting. The characters were interesting and likable, but I felt like the plot and writing style was too predictable and trite. The unknown Lovelace character who sends anonymous letters to the nobility was very reminiscent of Lady Whistledown in Julia Quinn books. This was a light romance read with some decent worldbuilding. The sex scenes in the book were not overly graphic. A Fragile Enchantment may appeal to YA readers.

I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars! I think the story was really good, but I believe that there’s always room for improvement. Certain aspects within this story were super unique. A Fragile Enchantment is about a girl named Naimh, who has the ability to weave emotions into thread and sew that thread into beautiful fashion garments. When people wear her pieces, the clothes themselves exude the emotions, so other people can feel the emotions that they’re trying to convey with the outfit. It was very intriguing to me to see how Niamh can make so many beautiful outfits with so many different emotions. In one instance, she makes a jacket sewn with the type of emotions that could hide a person in plain sight, so people’s eyes gloss over them and don’t notice them, which was really cool. I liked that whole aspect of the story, but I felt like the reason why I said that there was a little bit of room for improvement in this book was because it was a tiny bit predictable. So, Naimh has this magic power, she’s an up and coming fashion designer in her small town where everyone is poor/lower class as opposed to the kingdom where the royal family lives. Naimh gets hired by the Prince Regent to create an entire wedding wardrobe for his younger brother Kit and his future wife. There’s a pretty basic enemies to lovers plot in this book and its pretty easy to see where that’s going. So to me, that whole thing was a bit predictable, but besides that I really enjoyed the book. I enjoyed the royal aesthetic of it, it was very romantic, and it you enjoy fantasy books or cute romance books you will probably enjoy this. I recommend that you read this book because it is a book that is very enjoyable and it’s also not going to be one of those dark/heavy/traumatic fantasy books, its definitely a lighter/whimsical/romantic fantasy book and that is exactly what you need sometimes. I will be picking up a copy of this book once it’s released!

Another unfortunate ARC disappointment. I was excited about this one. They're marketing it as teen Bridgerton with magic, but it only really wants to be that. The plot is so dismally slow that I found myself actually thinking about other things while reading. (Hmmm.. I have to pay that bill, don't I?)

The magic system just is without much of an explanation. There are plot points I still don't fully understand. The characters are mostly flat (Kit) or over the top (Niamh). (I think most of her dialogue ended in an exclamation point. In which case I groaned each and every time.) There are one too many anachronisms to make the setting believable. And the clothing descriptions aren't even interesting. The premise of this book IS actually interesting, so I'm not sure where this went so wrong. I just didn't care about a single thing here.

I might need to lay off the ARCs for a while. Zzzzzz.

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.

This book was extremely tough to get into! Most of the names are absolutely ridiculous and make it even harder to get into.
Niamh Ó Conchobhai -irish (Prounced Nieve, Neve, or Neave--which I would NOT have gotten without YouTube.)
Caoimhe o Flaithbertaigh
Domhan Siorai
Then we're bringing in Rosa/Castilla - spanish
Cant forget Kit - the easiest proper noun utilized in the novel.

There was just such a lack of an interesting plot for SO long. And to get to it you have to muddle through these names. I think this definitely takes away from being a young adult book.

Others may be able to get into this much easier than I could but it just wasn't for me!

Thank you for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book is a captivating journey through the depths of imagination. Its rich storytelling and well-developed characters kept me engaged from start to finish. With its thought-provoking themes, it transcends genres and offers something for every reader. A must-read for anyone seeking a literary adventure.