Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - A Fragile Enchantment

A light hearted read that whisked me away to a magical past. I enjoyed the banter and friendship among the characters. Also, Kit and Niamh were so fun to read about. Both have some character development and grow. I loved how Kit teased Niamh and how she could see through the walls he put up.

One complaint; sometimes Niamh would mention the Fair Ones. There wasn't a whole lot of explanation about the fair ones. I think they're where the magic comes from?? Then, for the marriage, their vows involved a bishop and were under God. I guess the magic/religion bugged me because I don't feel like it was explained enough.

Overall though it is a very pleasant book that left me with happy feelings.

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bujo_bellel'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

4.5

This was absolutely beautiful, I'm very tempted to buy a copy for myself because of the story and the beautiful cover!! I really liked reading Niamh and Kit's love story, I liked reading about the politics and also really enjoyed the magic system in this book. I really liked the writing and how it's closed door(I think it's implied). The characters are well thought out and I really like the addition of Rosa and Miriam would LOVE to read about their story (talking to you, Author). Rosa and Miriam are so cute together and I really want to see how the rest of their story unfolds and what happens with the politics. I really hope that Jack and Sofia fall in love so they won't be in a loveless marriage and also be able to share their burdens with each other. I think Jack and Kit's relationship although is complicated, but after knowing the reason why both sides react that way, you can't help but see that they love each other, just that they don't know how to express it properly due to their upbringing. I hope to see in the next book (hopefully there is and is focusing on Rosa and Miriam) that we get to see how being married to Kit has affected Niamh and her family and their business which Miriam also works at ( i think). Really enjoyed this book and went in almost blind and I was not really expecting to enjoy it this much because I didn't really enjoy A Far Wilder Magic that much.

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narsere's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.0

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queen_melliott's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

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

4.25

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briannad4's review against another edition

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

4.0

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folkofthebook's review against another edition

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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

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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

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