Reviews with content warning for Colonisation - A Fragile Enchantment

Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft

25 reviews

gardens_and_dragons's review against another edition

I think that this leaned to heavily into the romance aspect versus the plot. The main characters have a toxic romance - I know it’s enemies to lovers but I think it skirts a line of abusive behavior from the mmc that the fmc excuses without him ever explaining or apologizing for.

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annie45's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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joygarcialim's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The narrative and prose are enchanting, the characters were well constructed and the first 3/5th of the plot was really good, well on its way to a 5 star rating. However, whatever happened on the last 2/5th seemed kind of disjointed, rushed and unfleshed out and my enjoyment radically declined.

Here are two main characters who were really likeable(maybe not if they were actual people, but the actual character writing is immaculate). The psyche/mentality of these characters, motivations and personality are all extremely coherent with each other and consistent character writing is such a delight, so thank you to the author.

The romance between the two MCs

reached a conflict

, and it seemed glossed over without

any proper conflict resolution other than the characters being way too obsessed with each other.

It would have been a lot more engaging if they

didn't just looked at each other and decided that a fight wasn't worth it.

The author did not give this subplot of having this colonisation stuff going a lot of attention, so it did not resolve itself well imo and also somehow resolved itself without any proper conclusion?? Also there really wasn't any updates on Niahm's friend that was talked about in the beginning, she just kinda MIA-ed and wasn't written about much after, like the author kinda forgot that Niahm has a friend.

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nakole's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective 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? It's complicated

3.5

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)

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niftyreads's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful 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

5.0

Allison Saft has crafted a rich fantasy world with captivating characters in A FRAGILE ENCHANTMENT. I recall stumbling upon a review that likened this book to a blend of “BRIDGERTON and BELLADONNA,” a comparison I found quite fitting. The infusion of social issues with the allure of fashion, the enticement of the gossiping Ton, and the intrigue of magic create a narrative that held me spellbound.

I loved how Saft used many of my favorite tropes in the book—forbidden romance, enemies to lovers—making it a fun read. Niamh and Kit are so good together!! The pining! The banter! Ughhhh, and that ending! I’m so in love!!!

Also, we must talk about Niamh’s magic. She’s a seamstress who can enchant feelings and memories into her thread. What she sews makes you feel things. A dress can make you feel a warm summer day or like a strong fighter. So cool!

This book would have won me over if I wasn’t already a fan of Saft’s writing. Instead, it solidified Allison Saft as a favorite author of mine. She’s so creative; I can’t wait to see what she does next. Until then, I definitely recommend A FRAGILE ENCHANTMENT!

Content warnings: (per the author) discussions of emotional and physical abuse, discussions of colonialism, death of a parent (off page), alcoholism, homophobia

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heathyfox's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

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

3.5

I have many thoughts on this book, which I'll have to come back and write down later.

Right now, though... Reading this book was like listening to a grand symphony of prose, a unique magic system, and charming characters full of potential, and JUST when you think the beautiful, stirring music of all these elements is about to come to an outstanding crescendo... All you're left with is the pathetic, prolonged squeak of a rubber chicken.

I had to seriously adjust my expectations about halfway through the book. This is not the fantasy with Regency romance vibes I was hoping for... This is a Regency romance with fantasy waving in at the window outside, begging to be included in the party.
I still highly enjoyed it, but I am left wishing it was something different.

3.5 stars. ⭐⭐⭐

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not_another_ana's review against another edition

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Painfully boring and vapid, I'm shocked that this is from the same person who wrote A Far Wilder Magic. Once again, Allison Saft uses real life events, existing countries, and religions, and just changes their names and then refuses to do any world building. I wouldn't be so upset if, with that out of the way, she had focused on the characters and their relationships but what we got was so superficial and bland. And the romance was so insta love it had me rolling my eyes.

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vagrantheather's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

Loveable characters? Yes

3.75

A cute sunshine and the grump, forced proximity, chaste romantasy. Nothing explicit. Nice longing and desire. The magic system was not very well developed, but novel. It is perhaps a bit unfortunate that the MC's brand of magic is essentially emotional manipulation. She's a sweet character who isn't using it in a corrupt manner and it still verges on unethical. But that is perhaps too nitpicky.

The political dynamics of the kingdom are thinly veiled remarks on the generation immediately following the English genocide on the Irish.

Parts of it, especially in the first half, made me laugh out loud. I loved the scene with the first coat she made for Kit, and loved the impertinence of their developing relationship.

Lightly addressed living with chronic illness in a way that was not disagreeable.

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nataliealane's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.25

What I liked:

-The friendships

-The romance is so sweet and full of yearning. Kit and Niamh have a lot of personal work to do and trauma to unpack, but that doesn’t mean that aren’t worthy of love or a relationship right now/as they are healing and still messy.

-Niamh’s character. She is clumsy, diehard romantic/idealist, and unapologetically feminine and loves pretty things. She is also loyal (to a fault perhaps) and stubborn, and I love her magical ability. I’ve only read a couple other books that have fabric/sewing-based magic.

What I didn’t like:

-The last third of the book fell flat for me. It seemed rushed, the characters made some really dumb decisions in a last ditch effort to save the day, and everything kind of seemed to magically resolve/tie together nicely with a bow despite that.

-I wanted more magic! I always want more magic though😂 Maybe that’s why romantasy isn’t really my favorite

-Technically, the romance is cheating/an affair as Kit has a fiancée (albeit a purely political match/“marriage of duty”).

Overall, A Fragile Enchantment is not my favorite book from Saft, but it was so fun to read! I read it as an e-ARC, but I do think I will eventually pick up my own physical copy.

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drtx_bwt's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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