Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillain Audio for sending me an early copy of this book! All opinions are my own!

This was such a gorgeously cozy world filled with characters that couldn't do anything other than touch your heart, and I loved every second of it! I think my favorite part is just how cozy the world and the magic are, while there is still high stakes and lots of political intrigue to be on the edge of your seat over.

My one issue was that the switch from enemies to lovers felt fairly abrupt to me, but I did enjoy Kit as a character and thought that he was such a sweet love interest. His intentions and motivations made the book so much more interesting at every turn. I really loved the way he ended up fitting with Niamh and her spirit.

This was an incredibly cozy book that was perfect for a rainy day and warm feelings. If you're looking for a fantasy book to brighten your day, look no further!

A Fragile Enchantment
By Allison Saft (a new to me author)
Publication date 1/2/24

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ALC! I voluntarily give my honest review and all opinions expressed are mine alone.

The narrator is Fran Burgoyne with all characters read by 1 person. I believe the voice fit the characters with standouts of Niamh and Sinclair. Their voices were the most distinct because of the accents, but I could easily tell the difference between all characters. The reading style brought the story to life and the pacing was great and flowed easily with the story. The narration and the author were in sync, and they fit together perfectly.

The audiobook's flow was pretty good. The narrator paused and announced every time a new chapter started. The audiobook didn't have a table of contents but I used bookmarks so I wouldn't lose my place.

Niamh Ó Conchobhair (18) has a gift designing clothes and stitching her emotions inside. She is tasked with travelling to the kingdom of Avaland and dress Prince Christopher "Kit" Carmine for his upcoming nuptials to La Infanta Rosa. Kit and Niamh don't get along because of his bad attitude but as they get to know each other they become more than friends. There is plenty of political intrigue, class struggles, and magic in this YA, regency, romantic, fantasy.

Overall, the romance was slow burn with plenty of outside forces against Kit and Niamh. Kit's older brother Prince Regent "Jack" Carmine, King Felipe(Rosa's father) and Lovelace (think Lady Whistledown) disapprove of Niamh-a commoner-taking Kit's attention and causing a scandal. Kit stands up to everyone and does something for himself-love Niamh.

My recommendation is to read the audiobook because you can adjust the speed, skip parts easily (if desired), and picture the characters more vividly.

Wow, this is the first Allison Saft I’ve read and I will be immediately looking into her backlist. This is the exact kind of cozy historical fantasy I enjoy. Niamh is a commoner seamstress who can weave emotions into her garments. Kit is a reluctant second son of a King who is back in his homeland after years of absence to forge a political alliance through marriage. The plot focuses on the relationship between Niamh and Kit, and the forbidden romance that blossoms between this grumpy/sunshine duo (he’s the grumpy). While the romance is the main thread line, the story also incorporates serious topics including Niamh’s chronic illness and Kit’s addiction, in addition to political strife as Jack struggles in his role as Prince Regent. The secondary characters that Niamh befriends, Kit’s best friend Sinclair, his betrothed Rosa, and Rosa’s lady’s maid Miriam, all add to the story and I found myself wanting even more time with this little group. Overall this book was an incredible listen, with the narrator’s accents for each character bringing them to life. I will also be looking up more books read by this narrator!

This book is perfect for fans of Bridgerton (for the gossip column) and Half a Soul (for the bits of magic in an historical setting).

This was like Bridgerton meets Divine Rivals. I love the overall idea of the book, but it just felt so slow to me. I could zone out for several minutes and still know what is happening…which isn’t how I prefers my fantasy books. It was fine.

Withholding my detailed review for A Fragile Enchantment as part of the Saint Martins Press Boycott until the demands of the boycott are met. They are as follows:

1. Address and denounce the Islamophobia and racism from their employee
2. Offer tangible steps for how they are going to mitigate the harm the employee caused
3. Address how moving forward they will support and protect their Palestinian, Muslim, and Arab readers, influencers, and authors in addition to their BIPOC readers, influencers, and authors.

I really enjoyed this book. It was romantic and magical, with a sunshine x grumpy character dynamic. It's a very easy read, with likeable characters and an enjoyable plot that keeps you interested. My only complaint would be certain portions of the romance were a bit cringy or embarrassing, where the writing feels uncomfortable or silly, but that's to be expected in a romance novel especially with those aimed at a slightly younger audience.
For a young adult book, it did get a little spicy at moments, but then the chapter would end before it got explicit.
I listened to the audiobook version and I cannot recommend it enough. Fran Burgoyne did an incredible job with voicing the audiobook, with incredible character accents and emotions. I cannot recommend the audiobook version of this book enough.
I would also like to thank netgalley for giving me access to this book and audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

4.25+ stars

It was originally the gorgeous cover and fun title that attracted me to this book, so enjoying the story as much as I did was really just an added bonus. The plot itself was reasonably compelling, but what I really appreciated was the inclusion of several fairly well-rounded queer characters. That was a pleasant surprise as it’s still a bit rare (in my reading experiences, anyway) to have queer characters in fiction with a more historical setting, even when coupled with fantasy elements. I quite enjoyed this book (and am still completely captivated by the cover art!).

I also received an e-arc, so this review will speak only on the narration -since I got to experience both listening & reading on my own.

The narrator did such a fantastic job. As an Irish girl, I think the accents and voices were done very well. I appreciated that, primarily when I've heard some terrible Irish accents from narrators before, so I'm usually very sensitive. But Fran Burgoyne was an excellent choice!
Carried the charm, wit & heart of Niamh so well.

4 Stars
I adored the romance between Niamh and Kit - their forbidden love story was everything (though it did feel a bit like "insta love" at times). The side characters were great in this too (I loved Princess Rosa) and I really liked the Bridgerton feel in this (the reveal for Lovelace shocked me). The ending was predictable but very sweet and overall I enjoyed this historical fantasy romance!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, & Macmillan Audio for the ARC!

This book was lovely and delightfully queer! From main characters to side characters! I really liked the magic system as well as the politics, though I could have used a little more detail about the politics in general.

I think standalone fantasies are hard to do in terms of world building and plot/resolution but I was really satisfied by this book!

It did get a bit YA-dramatic in the third act but I loved the ending - there are a couple of times in the last act that you wonder how our characters are going to get their happy endings, but rest assured that they do!

I really liked the narrator for this - I don't think I've ever listened to anything narrated by her before but I will absolutely be keeping my eyes out for other books narrated by her! She gave different voices to each character which can sometimes feel gimmicky to me but in this case, I think it added so much to this story.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the ALC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is a great audiobook for someone who loved Pride and Prejudice or who just love a regency slow burn. I thought the narration was very strong and helped the story to flow and be more immersive.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #MacMillian for granting me access to an advanced reader copy of the audiobook.

The cover of this book is beautiful and intricate and the story is exactly the same. The fantasy world is unique and really interesting to learn about. The struggles of the characters and the world they live in feels real. The plot is exciting and keeps you wanting to read more. The cast of characters feel diverse and representative. The audiobook is wonderfully narrated so please give it a listen I’m sure it will be worth your time.

This audiobook was amazing. I love how they found a narrator with an accent. It made the story telling more well rounded and made it easier to follow. The story it self I gave 5 stars. I can’t wait to pick this book up in stores!

Listening to the audiobook has made me fall in love with this story all over again. The narrator did amazing bringing this lovely story to life. I enjoyed reading the ebook but this was the cherry on ice cream, I loved it.

Sorry but honestly discussions on being “colonized” within this book made me a bit uncomfortable. It felt like it attempted too much and really could have been a lighter book (which is what I expected). Unfortunately, it didn’t work for me. I tried to find the positive but there were too many components that just didn’t work for me.

This is a perfect low-stakes love story of a magical dress-maker hired at court to tailor for a Prince and his arranged marriage.

Elements you might like:
- Court intrigue / politics
- a gossip tabloid
- uncommon magic
- queer representation
- forbidden romance
- hidden identity
- found family

Narration:
There was a single narrator throughout the story who used different voices / accents for each character so it was easy to differentiate who was speaking. The narration gives a sense of “fairytale” vibes that fits very well with the book being YA and the main characters personality. At times I felt the narration was a little too young/niave, but this may be the authors intention as a YA book and it still left mystery and plot twists to be a surprise.

Pacing / Flow:
The story was paced mostly well. The first 25% we learned a lot about the world and were quickly swept into Niamh’s story. It was hard to gauge where the plot was going about 40% in, and the middle dragged on a bit. I had to pause listening around that point, but after continuing it later with refreshed ears the rest of the story picked up and stayed interesting until the end.

Overall thoughts:
I enjoyed this story a lot as a cozy read. The characters are all lovable and I would enjoy reading spin offs of the side characters. The romance was everything I hoped for and more. There are some very, very, sweet relationships (and friendships) in this. The overall plot was pretty predictable, but there were side plot twists and events that surprised me and kept the story enjoyable. The world building, magic, politics, and history in this were well explained as a background for the plot, but it remained as a backdrop, and I do wish we got a little more into fixing the political issues. Maybe that will be explored in sequels if this is continued.

3.5 stars for the story, 4.5 stars for the narration / audio book. I would recommend the audiobook for those that like low stress plots / less complex worlds but still want lovable characters and a sweet romance.

A very fun and adorable romance, it does give off Bridgerton vibes in the best way, but what I found I loved the most was the magic that the main characters have and how understated but important they were to the story. Very fun very good.

This was a delightful tale of a penniless nobody with the ability to make gorgeous, breathtaking magical garments who falls in love with a prince and changes the fate of a kingdom. It was romantic and fun and heartbreaking and heartwarming in turns.

I loved Niamh's endearingly clumsy charm and the way she befriended everyone she met. All of the characters were compelling and made me love them. I especially enjoyed the trio of Niamh and Kit and Sinclair. I would have loved even more scenes of the three of them getting into mischief. I also loved Rosa and Miriam and Sophie and wish they had had more screen time with Niamh.

I also loved that Niamh has a chronic illness that causes her to sometimes be bedridden for days at a time and has no cure and that she expects will one day kill her. I really identified with her because of this. Chronic illness rep is rare to find in books (though becoming a little more common) and I always love it when I find it.

If I were to choose one word for this book it would be romantic. Kit and Niamh's developing relationship is incredibly romantic. I like the way it all resolved (although there are certainly a lot of questions left at the end about how the kingdom is going to recover and pay its debts). It ends with hope though, which is always my favorite.

The audiobook was performed wonderfully. It was easy to listen to and each character had a unique and recognizable but still easily understandable voice. I was swept away in the story and I think the audiobook aided that (not least in keeping me from getting distracted in questioning how to pronounce Niamh's name).

*Thanks to NetGalley, Wednesday Books, and Macmillan Audio for providing an early copy and early audio copy of this book.

I enjoyed the audiobook of this charming love story filled with magic and romance and the narrator, Fran Burgoyne, does a beautiful job of bringing this fantasy to life. Niamh and Kit are delightful together and I loved following along in their world as they gradually fell in love despite their stations in life. There are many humorous moments and many swoon-worthy as well, and I fell in love with this book as I lived them all through the enchantment of this author's words.

This was an absolutely enchanting read. A Fragile Enchantment skillfully blends fantastic writing, a mesmerizing setting, and a truly heartwarming romance between Niamh and Kit. The rich and romantic world-building serves as the perfect canvas for an extravagantly dramatic and engaging story, making it a must-read for historical romance enthusiasts who appreciate a touch of magic. Allison Saft masterfully threw in so many tropes, including Royal x commoner, grumpy x sunshine, forbidden romance, found family, and "hates everyone but her," without it feeling forced or gimmicky. This book was so delightfully dramatic featuring duels, interrupted weddings, tragic rainstorm scenes (Mr. Darcy who?), and intricate political maneuvering, holding my attention from start to finish.

However, I would have preferred if more of the romance unfolded later in the book, as the climax occurred around the 50-60% mark. This early peak led to a somewhat uncertain pacing towards the end, where it felt like the author struggled to determine the appropriate conclusion. While several moments could have served as better stopping points, the story continued beyond them. Readers who dislike predictability should be cautious, as the "reveal" of the columnist is discernible in the first few chapters of their introduction. While this may not diminish the overall enjoyment, it lacks the element of surprise. Despite these shortcomings, A Fragile Enchantment remains an endearing and magical journey well worth the time for genre enthusiasts.

3.5 Stars