Reviews with content warning for Colonisation - A Fragile Enchantment

Thank you for providing me an ARC on Netgalley. I didn't get to it before its time ran out, but I'm glad I read it!

So this book is not for me. Literally. It is an unapologetic teenage-brained story. I still loved it! I'd say there are two major factors for how hard this hits; how appealing you find Romantic Fantasy (the fantasy-historical romance genre popular in Korea), and how compelling you find young adult stories about big teen emotions.

A Fragile Enchantment's setting is an allegory for Ireland and the British empire, where the colonized Machland have fought to earn their freedom from Avaland 35 years ago. The devastation Avaland's colonial oppression and isolation of Machland has wrought - the magical equivalent of the Irish famine included - means that even though they're a free nation, they are pulled into Avaland in search of work to support their families. The main character, Niamh, is one such hopeful, using her divine magic of stitching emotions into her creations to create clothing for the second prince's wedding.

A note: the reason I say this appeals more to Romantic Fantasy SPECIFICALLY than anything else is because in Romantic Fantasy, you do not need to know the rules of this fantasy world, only that it is fantastical and internally consistent. Golden-blooded individuals with magic powers are born sometimes. Anything more is irrelevant to this romantic arc. "It doesn't have enough worldbuilding" is like asking for the hard magic system of a fairy tale.

Best parts: I think the opening and everything after the back half of act 2 is impeccably paced. Everything pulls together very neatly, and when you figure out the actual conflict, it only serves to build tension. Niamh and Kit are adorable and compliment each other wonderfully; Niamh is obviously just attracted to him because he's beautiful, but she puts honest work into understanding Kit, and the origin of Kit's pull towards her is heart-aching. And oh god, oh GOD the sibling drama. I loooooove a good angst about siblings.

Also, surprise! This is a very queer book. The main characters are bi, the supporting characters are gay, and their romantic entanglements colour how they engage with one another and the nobility. It's implied Kit is so attached to Sinclair because they're both interested in men and found solidarity in one another despite not being romantically interested. Genuinely shocked me.

Downsides...

Oh, I cannot go any higher than 4 stars, and I think I'm being a little generous. The plot around 3/4 of the way in has precious little follow-through, paced like a sequence of scenes necessary to make the romance make sense, and otherwise poorly tethered to the rest of the narrative. It's not until the last of these awkwardly paced moments, the latter half of the visit to the Hall, that things kick off and go at a tight pace that doesn't let up. It is...serviceable, I guess.

This book also has a sort of...not therapy-speak, but impatience with its own characters. These characters who met like last week are capable of pinpoint accurate psychoanalysis of people who have dedicated their entire identity to hiding how they feel, because that analysis is necessary to trim the pacing down. Characters will sometimes just narrate their entire character arc too. It's not "show don't tell" - it very much shows that these traits exist before they look directly into the camera and explain their narrative arc - but it feels crude, unrealistic, and patronizing. I felt insulted that the story could not spare even the slightest bit of messiness on any of these character details.

And these characters have big, crazy Romeo and Juliet Twilight New Moon emotions. This aspect isn't bad, it's just young adult. Not for me. Where it gets a problem is the end of act 2, where...like, you know where I said they can't be spared messiness? The whiplash I experienced was unfathomable. These are 2 Big Emotion moments that make sense on their own, but together they just feel ludicrous and unfocused, undermining the impact of both. It didn't help that despite repeatedly telling us Kit used to be violently mercurial, he's mostly just been grumpy, so it came off as deeply silly.

And the way the plot comes together feels as if events just sort of fell in that direction. Things are escalating, but everyone involved struggles with autonomy in the narrative. They do not ruminate or struggle with plans or express themselves clearly; we only have Niamh, where she's miserable and awash with emotion, and not much else. The pacing is good, sure, but it doesn't prioritize the right information as it breezes through and left me unsatisfied.

Less relevant but kind of a summation of these issues; we're introduced early on to the concept of her friend going missing, and that plotline meandered into the background so thoroughly I almost didn't realize that it actually got explained. In fact, there are two explanations, neither of which are the definitive answer because it was backburnered so intensely. Incredible to witness, because this subplot was what drew me into the story.

Overall: I think it's very important that the central relationships in a romance book are functional, and the setting introduces intrigue. Both of these are true, so it is greater than its flaws. It was a nice read.

Content Warnings

alexijai98's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.5

A predictable and lighthearted read, if a bit repetitive. The main characters were pretty flat and I found myself skimming the last third of the book just to get to the conclusion.

Content Warnings

shadowinferno's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful 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

4.0

Despite some questionable world building choices, I really loved this book thanks to every single one of the characters (and the plot going harder than it really had to). It made me deliriously happy. Real kicking my little feet in the air vibes :)

Content Warnings

ceruleanshelves's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

“Is this a dream?”
“I don’t know,” he said huskily, his eyes aglow. “Let me kiss you until dawn, and I suppose we’ll find out.”

fantasy romance with chronic illness rep, magic, queer MCs & side characters, political unrest subplot, whimsical details, and bridgerton vibes.

after loving my arc for a dark and drowning tide, i was eager to jump into this; what i hadn't expected was to love it even more!

firstly, i love how allison saft takes real history and brings it into her fantasy worlds. i'm pretty sure the setting for this book is inspired by england's (in the book, avaland) occupation of ireland (machland) and the famine (the blight). there is tense political unrest that brews in the backstory, a slow simmering boil of the machlish people, tired of being exploited by avaland and taking a stand. i admittedly have limited knowledge of the real-life events of the famine, the troubles, etc. but i was fascinated by this aspect of the story and was intrigued not only by how it would play out, but how alike it was to its real-life counterparts.

i loved the cover and artwork of the main couple, niamh and kit, even before reading but their romance put me through the gamut of emotions in the best way. from their first stilted, tense meeting to the slow, hard-won moments of vulnerability to the angst of a forbidden romance, i shipped these two so hard. and they're both sexually fluid??? ok bi4bi !!! there are also 3 queer side characters. yas found family vibes.

first of all, kit is always blushing - do you KNOW how much I love a mmc that blushes?? 🥰 i thought kit's earth magic was complementary to niamh's whimsical enchantments. we don't see usually male characters paired with a power that feels softer. from the start i could see that kit's brashness was a defense, someone who doesn't know how to sit with his vulnerability, and it was wonderful to see his defenses slowly go down for niamh. there is also his relationship with his brother jack, the prince regent. the two have issues to work through, but jack isn't an unlikable, flat character. even though we see him making poor choices, we come to see where he's coming from and understand it.

i thought the aspect of lovelace was quite fun. the main element that brings in the bridgerton comparison, lovelace is a lady whistledown-esque gossip column writer - though they have a political agenda to their schemes, rather than solely focused on scandals of the romantic sort of the elite class (though those can be involved too). i had fun trying to guess who was behind the pen. it would have been kind of cool to see niamh more involved with them as a spy.

saft's writing never fails to make me want to sit down with a cup of tea while i read to be transported to an otherworldly place. her vivid imagery of picturesque settings, lush florals, descriptions that blend the senses, lavish parties, and, particularly with this because of niamh's enchantment skills, fashionable outfits with meticulous details. the whimsical natures of niamh's embroidery enchantments were delightful - affecting not only the wearer but those close in their presence, the spells were an array of entertainments from calling up beloved summer memories, being invisible, appearing more beautiful, and more.

unfortunately, her own enchantments also take a toll of niamh. having a hereditary chronic illness, overdoing herself with work and magic can cause not only flare-ups for her, but start to steal more time from her life. this is represented with the visual choice of a gray streak in her hair, which grows into more of her hair as more time is stolen. ngl it made me NERVOUS for her! i felt sympathetic but also a frustration with the injustice of life that the thing niamh loves doing can also hurt her (but i guess, isn't that true for all of us?).

besides the classism, elitism, (i think we would call it xenophobia? towards the machlish from the avaland citizens), even anti-semitism has it's place in saft's social commentary in this tale. alcoholism, parent/child abuse, homphobia, and disowning are also heavier topics dealt with in this book, though in minor details.

overall, i LOVED this book. the romance was delightful but i also enjoyed the political subplot.

allison saft has already provided me with two of my favorite reads so far in 2024 and i can't wait to see what else she comes up with!

Content Warnings

jennanaps's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing 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

4.0

Content Warnings

mybookthrone's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Content Warnings

ellejo3's review against another edition

Go to review page

This is a colonizer/colonized romance where the colonized FMC is working herself to death to support her struggling family. I couldn’t get past it and would’ve DNF’d it if it hadn’t been an arc.

The fact that she’s working herself to death never changes either. For all we know, she could die the day after the book ends. It seems like Saft is trying to treat this like a terminal illness, but the fact that it’s only happening so she can support her family who’s struggling due to the effects of colonization left a sour taste in my mouth.

There’s also a lot of homophobia, which is unnecessary and tiring in a fantasy world.

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me an arc in exchange for my thoughts.

Content Warnings

More...