Reviews with content warning for Violence - A Fragile Enchantment

𝓕𝓻𝓪𝓰𝓲𝓵𝓮 𝓔𝓷𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓽𝓶𝓮𝓷𝓽
By: Allison Saft
Contemporary Regency Romance

𝒪𝓋𝑒𝓇𝒶𝓁𝓁 3.5/5
𝒮𝓅𝒾𝒸𝑒 1/5

JUNE BOOK CLUB PICK

𝑅𝑒𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌: This book was pretty good, it was giving major Bridgeton vibes. I was giggling and kicking my feet at points. There were a couple plot points that just didn’t give everything they could have. For one Niamh’s friend was really hyped in the beginning and we more from/about her maybe once or twice. Also the fact that Niamh’s magic will eventually kill her, which is made to seem really important in the synopsis, just kind of is and that is it. Also Rosa was my favorite character and I can’t actually give you a concrete reason why.

𝒜 𝐹𝒶𝓋𝑜𝓇𝒾𝓉𝑒 𝒬𝓊𝑜𝓉𝑒:
“I’m all thorns.”
“I don’t know about that. I think you’re more like a weed.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
“Yes! Weeds are…tenacious. They survive against all odds, wherever they land, no matter how many times you cut them down. And sometimes they can be quite beautiful.”

𝒯𝓇𝑜𝓅𝑒𝓈: GrumpyXSunshine; Enemies to Lovers; LGBTQIA+ Rep; Slow Burn; Forbidden Romance; Forced Proximity; Regency Era; RoyalXCommoner

𝒯𝓇𝒾𝑔𝑔𝑒𝓇 𝒲𝒶𝓇𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈: Terminal Illness; Chronic Illness; Infidelity; Blackmail; Death of a Parent; Alcoholism; Xenophobia; Sexual Content (minor)(consensual);Violence (minor); Child Abuse (minor); Colonization(mentioned)

Content Warnings

mels_reading_log's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

This book really surprised me with how great it is, because I have not heard anyone talking about it. It is Bridgerton with a little bit of magic. Niamh is a seamstress who is able to magically embed feelings into her embroidery, making her designs not only gorgeous but breathtaking. She has been hired to create the wedding looks for the youngest prince and his soon to be wife. Years ago her people were taken over and they suffer to this day of poverty and racism, so not everyone is happy that she was brought to the palace for this esteemed job. The first time she meets the prince to discuss his wedding attire he is rude and does not seem interested at all. But maybe that is just because he has grown used to feeling empty and she makes him feel more.

Content Warnings

bree_h_reads's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This was a bit of a let down from A Far Wilder magic.

It was fine, but I wasn’t super taken with Kit as the love interest. I felt like the middle was the strongest and the beginning was pretty decent. It was just as it started to build towards the end it started to fall flat.

I did enjoy Kit and Niamh’s softer, more romantic moments. And I felt like every character felt well-rounded and unique. It was just the plot itself that wasn’t speaking to me. It didn’t feel very well paced and once I hit the end it felt rushes and ill-planned.

The themes the characters explored, the world building, the dynamics, and the foreshadowing I loved so much from A Far Wilder magic were there. Which was mostly what kept me reading. The plot just felt somewhat convoluted, like it was reaching to play out specific regency setting tropes/was taking a lot from Jane Austen and Bridgerton. It felt like it wasn’t sure if it was trying to make a political statement and tell that story with the romance or play out a more traditional regency romance.

Overall I’m not super sure how I feel about it. It’s not bad, but it’s not great either.

Content Warnings

scarlett_f's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Most unusual, disjointed romance I think I've read. Whiney, repetitive protagonist. Boringly clumsy. Skip this for a better read.

Content Warnings

bookish_cam27's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

My start with this book was slow, but somewhere in between page 50 and 100 I was hooked. I was initially bothered by the formatting of my edition—closely packed words that were very large— but I got over that quickly as I found myself falling in love with the characters. The story revolved around their individual flaws and what that meant for their relationship. I wasn’t expecting to get called out the way I did by this book. It had an incredibly beautiful— and surprising— message about taking life slow and enjoying the time you have and the people around you.

Content Warnings

becca_w_'s review against another edition

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emotional funny mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

littleflowerly's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

mbomersheim's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

ARC Review: I don’t know why I had such high hopes going into this book, but I was thoroughly disappointed.

A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft is a hate-to-love romance story following Niamh, a magical seamstress from a different country who can imbue her projects with emotions, who gets brought to the palace for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create the garments for the prince and his betrothed for their upcoming wedding. However, when she slowly falls for the prince her feelings become more complicated. Simply put, I had issues with this book. I think this book was trying to do a bit too much, and the anonymous gossip writer gave me too much Lady Whistledown vibes. It was attempting to comment on racism and homophobia with the underlying political plot in addition to providing the actual romance plot line and because of that, the love aspects fell a little bit flat. Much of the in-between times and mundane tasks that could’ve been elaborated on (like working on the clothing, growing flowers, etc.) were skipped over, which I think was a missed opportunity for character development. Also, there were a few times when the plot was a little bit messy to the point that I was confused about the ordering of events. Ultimately, the main thing for me is that I wanted more of the cozy romance with a hint of magic vibes and instead got politics.

Spoilers ahead, tread with caution:

One of the biggest issues I had with the book is that nothing really gets resolved besides the main romance plot. The country is still homophobic and racist. There is still an economic crisis going on. And the country’s international relations are by no means promising. I feel like it was just kind of a sloppy ending. Also, the prince and the protagonist don’t spend that much quality time with one another; it just seems fast. Unrelated, but I am not a fan of the fade-to-black scenes in this book. I’m not opposed to them as a concept, but I don’t understand why the author would choose to show fingering in detail and her *climaxing* but not the intercourse. It just seemed funky. Needless to say, I wouldn’t recommend spending your time on this book.

This ARC was received courtesy of NetGalley and was published on January 2, 2024.

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