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vagrantheather's review against another edition
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness
Minor: Biphobia, Colonisation, Classism, and Homophobia
nataliealane's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Colonisation, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Ableism and Sexual content
Minor: Biphobia, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Child abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, Death of parent, and Self harm
bookboxbabe's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-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? Yes
3.5
*thank you netgalley and the publisher for sending me an arc copy in exchange for an honest review*
to start off, i was SO excited for this book. when i got the email for it, i squealed. alas, this book fell flat for me a bit.
to start off, the romance was very insta-lovey and i’m not the biggest fan of that. she didn’t really have a reason to like kit at the start except that he was pretty. he was super rude to her countless times and i just kept saying “why do you still like him?”
i also didn’t really understand the plot with the protesters? it felt like it was written to give some tension to the story but there’s never really any explanation as to what exactly they were upset about or why there was an old war in the first place.
now, onto what i did enjoy.
it was cute. this was such a sappy and sweet story that felt super cozy at times. most of the characters were also amazing.
sinclair, miriam, and rosa needed their own povs because i just loved them and their complexity.
overall, this is a very low stakes, low fantasy book that while it didn’t blow me away, does have good elements and it was an enjoyable read
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Racism, Homophobia, Biphobia, and Lesbophobia
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