A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft

A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft

Published by Wednesday Books on January 2nd, 2024

Genres:  Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Romantasy, LGBTQ+, Fiction

Pages:  373

Format:  eARC/Audiobook

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★★★

🌶/5 spice

In this romantic fantasy of manners from New York Times bestselling author Allison Saft, a magical dressmaker commissioned for a royal wedding finds herself embroiled in scandal when a gossip columnist draws attention to her undeniable chemistry with the groom.

Niamh Ó Conchobhair has never let herself long for more. The magic in her blood that lets her stitch emotions and memories into fabric is the same magic that will eventually kill her. Determined to spend the little time she has left guaranteeing a better life for her family, Niamh jumps at the chance to design the wardrobe for a royal wedding in the neighboring kingdom of Avaland.

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.

Transporting readers to a Regency England-inspired fantasy world, A Fragile Enchantment is a sweeping romance threaded with intrigue, unforgettable characters, and a love story for the ages.

I really wanted to love this one - the premise itself is perfection (magical dressmaker falls for prince who's about to be married in a forbidden love tale). But unfortunately it just was okay to me. It was a bit slow and took me a minute to understand the worldbuilding since we are just thrown into the world.

There's so much more than a love story in this novel and I think others will really enjoy it. There's drama in the kingdom, a sneaky gossip columnist, friendships and a beautiful historical setting. I did really enjoy how Niamh's powers worked and I wished we would have gotten to see more of Kit's. I also loved the LGBTQ+ elements that were put in this when we normally don't see a lot of that in historical fantasy.

I am glad I ended up picking up the audiobook because the narration was great and for some reason I followed along better than when I tried reading it. Also I would have absolutely BUTCHERED Niamh O Conchobhair if I tried to pronounce that in my head. THANK YOU AUDIOBOOK NARRATOR.

But for me this was just a little too slow. I stopped and restarted at least 3 times before I made it through. But I know other's will love this one (and have loved it) more than I did. It was good but I feel like it was easily forgettable in the world of romantic fantasies that are out now. It would be a good young adult romantasy because there is minimal spice mostly just general talk around the subject and maybe like 1 semi spicy scene but no crude language was used.

A 3-star read for me but if you are a fan of romantasies set in historical settings and a lot of tension with forbidden love then check this one out!

Big thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Allison Saft & NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions!