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A review by mckays
A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft
4.0
2024 is the year for cozy fantasies. This book is so soft, romantic and magical. Every element of this book is just so well thought out, and executed so delicately. I feel like this book had the potential to be very tropey, because it does feature a lot of currently popular ones, but Allison Saft's writing saves it. She layers her story with themes of colonialism, abuses of power, chronic illness, mental health and addiction to make it a really complex story.
This story is very British/Irish history coded. It is a totally new world, and is definitely a high fantasy book, but it just reminded me of this part of the world. Unlike a certain other author who bungled the use of Scottish culture (no shade, but total shade), Allison Saft draws on this inspiration in a way that felt meaningful and respectful.
Anyway, this book just hit all the right notes for me. It gave Howl's Moving Castle meets Bridgerton. I swear, I heard instrumental music every time I opened this book. I just absolutely adored it.
This story is very British/Irish history coded. It is a totally new world, and is definitely a high fantasy book, but it just reminded me of this part of the world. Unlike a certain other author who bungled the use of Scottish culture (no shade, but total shade), Allison Saft draws on this inspiration in a way that felt meaningful and respectful.
Anyway, this book just hit all the right notes for me. It gave Howl's Moving Castle meets Bridgerton. I swear, I heard instrumental music every time I opened this book. I just absolutely adored it.