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A review by sianiebananie
A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft
3.5
'A Fragile Enchantment' is a mishmash of Bridgerton and These Hollow Vows and with every turn of the page I enjoyed it more. At the beginning I thought it might not be for me but, slowly and steadily, it grew on me.
The characters were all complex, with character arcs that developed well throughout the book. Reading from Niamh's perspective was a delight.
The pacing was great, keeping me appropriately engaged at all time.
This is exactly how representation should be handled and spoken about within fantasy. Discussions of queerness, gender and chronic illness were given time and respect within the story, only adding to the complexity without overwhelming the plot and making it feel like a modern social studies essay.
The way that the author incorporated the plot lines that were inspired by The Famine/British occupation of Ireland was interesting and tasteful. I understand why the more heartbreaking parts of what British colonialism did to the countries they occupied was downplayed.
Living in the world for a little while felt like a warm hug. A Fragile Enchantment was written like a fairy tale. Low stakes fantasy worked well to highlight the romance and the discussions on politics. For those who don't love "cozy fantasy" but would like a break from the ultra serious high fantasy, I would really recommend this one.
My one criticism was that there be more attention focused on the world building as there were a lot of aspects that I felt could have been fleshed out, I also would have loved to see a greater focus on the politicking - characters such as Rosa had potential for greatness but often felt slightly underused.
Otherwise, the pacing was great, characters were unique and the themes were interesting. A highly enjoyable read.
The characters were all complex, with character arcs that developed well throughout the book. Reading from Niamh's perspective was a delight.
The pacing was great, keeping me appropriately engaged at all time.
This is exactly how representation should be handled and spoken about within fantasy. Discussions of queerness, gender and chronic illness were given time and respect within the story, only adding to the complexity without overwhelming the plot and making it feel like a modern social studies essay.
The way that the author incorporated the plot lines that were inspired by The Famine/British occupation of Ireland was interesting and tasteful. I understand why the more heartbreaking parts of what British colonialism did to the countries they occupied was downplayed.
Living in the world for a little while felt like a warm hug. A Fragile Enchantment was written like a fairy tale. Low stakes fantasy worked well to highlight the romance and the discussions on politics. For those who don't love "cozy fantasy" but would like a break from the ultra serious high fantasy, I would really recommend this one.
My one criticism was that there be more attention focused on the world building as there were a lot of aspects that I felt could have been fleshed out, I also would have loved to see a greater focus on the politicking - characters such as Rosa had potential for greatness but often felt slightly underused.
Otherwise, the pacing was great, characters were unique and the themes were interesting. A highly enjoyable read.