The Story
A FRAGILE ENCHANTMENT
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 gossip 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.
The Review
I absolutely love Allison Saft’s A Far Wilder Magic. With lush prose, the characters unforgettable, and the story imbued with a kind of magic that leaves you with an ache for more. But for me A Fragile Enchantment wasn’t that. It fell short when compared to A Far Wilder Magic.
I love the idea of A Fragile Enchantment. Where a young woman will do anything to save her family from destitution by using her divine magic that is somehow slowly killing her. We never get a concrete reason why the magic is killing Niamh. It’s something we have to accept and hope she doesn’t keel over and die by the end of the book.
As for the characters themselves, I never felt any real connection, where I needed to be glued to each page so that I wouldn’t be able to miss a single moment of what these characters could do. I didn’t have that mama bear instinct, desperate to keep the main characters safe, wanting to hold them close, away from the authors pen and ink, while rooting for them to have their happy ending.
A Few More Thoughts
For the story, it felt like a patchwork of under developed opportunities that could have been something exceptional. The slow-burn, forbidden romance, worked, but there was too much melodramatics between Niamh and Kit that readers may lose interest. I ached for my senses to be flooded, to smell the rich fragrance of Niamh’s divine magic threaded into a coat designed for a prince. Feel the anguish in falling in love with someone who felt just out of reach.
I wish A Fragile Enchantment was for me, but even though it wasn’t, I wouldn’t give up on Saft’s books in the future. I still think she’s a talented author with a gift at writing historical-fantasy romance.
If you enjoy historical-fantasy romance, brimming with a magic, and a forbidden romance check out A Fragile Enchantment.
Happy Reading ~ Cece
RATING: 
– Adequately Inked
publication details
| Pub Date | ISBN | Page Count | Publisher | Age Group | Source & Format | Review Posted Online |
| 30-Jan-24 | 978-1250892836 | 384 | Wednesday Books | Young Adult | NetGalley, Digital ARC | July 9, 2023 |
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Welcome Reader!
I’m Cecelia and I’m so glad you’re here! You’ll find honest reviews, book recommendations, along with other bookish essentials. So happy you stopped by!
– C
ABOUT THE CREATOR
CECE BECKMAN
Cece holds a Bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing from California State University, Long Beach. She lives in California with her husband and children. When she’s not reading or writing reviews she can be found wandering book aisles at local bookshops, drinking iced cold lattes with cold cream foam, or passing the time with her cat.
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