Niamh Ó Conchobhair is commissioned by the royal family of Avaland to tailor the wardrobe for a royal wedding. Niamh has a magical ability to sew memories and emotions into her designs, thus causing the wearer to have a magical experience. But Avaland is far from the fairytale that she imagined. While young nobles attend candlelit balls and elegant garden parties, unrest brews amid the working class. The groom himself, Kit Carmine, is prickly, abrasive, and begrudgingly being dragged to the altar as a political pawn. But when Niamh and Kit grow closer, an unlikely friendship blossoms into something more—until an anonymous columnist starts buzzing about their chemistry, promising to leave them alone only if Niamh helps to uncover the royal family’s secrets. The rot at the heart of Avaland runs deep, but exposing it could risk a future she never let herself dream of, and a love she never thought possible.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this audio e-arc.*

Narrated by Fran Burgoyne

Genre: YA Fantasy Romance (closed door)
Regency inspired fantasy

Niamh Ó Conchobhair has a gift. She’s a dressmaker who can weave emotions into her clothing, creating magical masterpieces that transcend the ordinary. When the Prince Regent invites her from her native Machland to the royal palace in Avaland to serve as tailor for a wedding wardrobe to his younger brother Prince Christopher Carmine, she jumps at the chance to make not only a name for herself but to send money back to her family. Kit Carmine isn’t what she expected - he’s surly and crass, and absolutely wants nothing to do with a wedding or his bride or even his tailor - but Niamh wants to see beneath his thorns (figurative and magical) to his true character underneath.

This was an absolutely charming and utterly sweet book with fairy tale vibes. It’s a standalone book that borrows from Regency England for a baseline worldbuilding. The political landscape is familiar, with Ireland (Machland), England (Avaland), and Spain (Castilia), and the exploitation of the lower classes and in particular the Machlish servants who have been carrying the oppression and poverty caused by a Blight brought on by Kit’s father, the Mad King. Saft is able to give us a light-touch magic system - those with magic have distinct powers - that feels wholly relevant to character development and plot.

A Fragile Enchantment is YA only in the sense that the characters are on the younger side and in the perfect simplicity of the prose. The inner monologues feel age appropriate but not immature, and the overall plot kept me - distinctly not a YA reader - engaged. Allison Saft’s writing style is gentle and moving. She also brings charming and delightful LGBTQ+ representation: both main characters are bi, and there are other queer characters throughout, both touched by scandal and transcending it.

I switched back and forth between the audiobook and ebook versions of the book. I absolutely loved Fran Burgoyne’s narration and highly recommend listening to her lilting Irish accent for Niamh, which somehow brought even more magic to this fairy tale.

The fact that I stayed up until after 1am, running on 3 hrs of sleep to finish this, should speak for itself.

It was a slow start, and I definitely prefer the audio format, but once I got the Bridgerton vibe, I was hooked!

Hey. You. Come here. Come closer.

You know how Anthony and Kate in Bridgerton did that thing where they have a prickly beginning but fall in love any way despite their best efforts not to, and everyone but them knows, and then one of them is actively going forward with an unwanted wedding to another person because of 'duty' and what will make the other person happy but they're actually both just idiots?

Yes, that. But with magic. And it's PERFECTION.

Allison Saft has my whole heart and wallet at this point.