Reviews

A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft

injennaral's review against another edition

1.0

GOOD GOD THIS BOOK WAS ATROCIOUS. 370 pages of NOTHING. The characters were awful, the pacing was awful, the plot was awful.
Please give me my time back, thanks.

aggressive_nostalgia's review against another edition

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

1.75

Thoughts that have been bouncing around in my head since I finished this yesterday:

• Plot threads just got dropped. (Niamh is dying? Except maybe it’s treatable and she isn’t? This is used for a couple of dramatic heartstring-tugging conversations and then never resolved!) // (Niamh wanted to make a better life for her family but in the end she’s semi-estranged from them and that’s fine I guess…?) // (Whatever happened to Erin? She abandoned her job and goes back to Machland but the tension Niamh felt about it for half the book just fizzled?)

• The speed at which things happen (relationally and especially politically) strains credulity. Impossible to be invested in any of it when nearly everything gets resolved (relatively) quickly and it turns out there are no people acting in bad faith at all except everyone’s terrible absent dads. It feels like the author wanted to rush ahead to the payoff but failed to lay enough foundation for it, so the reader can’t properly enjoy it.

• I was confused about the princes’ backstory. I didn’t really understand why their relationship was so strained or their communication was so bad, why Kit stayed away from court for so long (he mentions that after his mom’s death, people expected him to snap, so he did? But he never says what that means or exactly what happened?). Kit and Niamh would have these emotional conversations and act like they’d had some relational breakthrough, but I didn’t understand what was actually being communicated?

• According to Niamh, Machland “doesn’t have anything for us” - everyone is poor and sad and is either leaving or wants to leave - not just small rural towns, but the whole country?? The “best” thing is for Machlish people to move to Avaland even though they just fought a war to be independent and the people in Avaland treat them with racism and contempt and they’re second-class citizens??? …wtf?????

• This was a mild annoyance by comparison with the plot/character issues (since it’s a fantasy and not a straight historical novel) but if you’re looking for Regency period vibes, this is not it. Class divisions were supposed to be a significant part of this plot, but it was incredibly loosey-goosey. Everyone’s on a first-name basis and no one stood on formality. Propriety was a suggestion rather than a rule. On top of the slangy dialogue, it felt incredibly modern with some superficial Regency-inspired trappings. The historical inspiration was clearer in the plot than the atmosphere. 

This feels almost like a rough draft. Obviously it was edited for structure, grammar, et cetera - but the plot and pacing are not nearly as coherent as they should or could be. Ideas are stuck into the story and not fleshed out. Really disappointing. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Terminal illness and Classism

Minor: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, and Pandemic/Epidemic

melaniedumont's review against another edition

emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

We love a good ETL magical YA romantasy! I love everything Allison writes, and this one was a fun and almost lighthearted change of pace. My only real complaint was the constant self-sacrificing of the main character was a bit heavy-handed. 

raecat23's review against another edition

4.0

Actually read in April 2024!

Actual rating: 4.5 stars. This took me a bit to get into but after about 40% I genuinely couldn’t stop reading. I LOVED watching Kit and Niamhs relationship grow, as well as learn more about their magic and the system as a whole! It’s such a unique magic system and I love the way Niamh wove her enchantments in. I’m so happy with the ending and I will DEFINITELY be reading more Allison Saft!

pawisbang's review against another edition

hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.5

It was a nice cozy read. Neither the magic system or the world were explained in detail, so it is more of a light fantasy romance. If I had to compare it to another book, it's like Bridgerton but with magic and a fantasy world. It reminded me of An Offer from a Gentleman. 

erin0999's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

mychemicalseal's review against another edition

3.5

it was a good chill read, but i wasn't particularly drawn into the romance and i would have loved to see the magic of the world expanded on and explained more. 

sunwhoohoo's review against another edition

4.0

what a great way to start the year off. this was such a cute romance book and I loved so many of the characters that were present. while the premise of this book deals with some serious matters it also makes it somewhat lighthearted which was perfect easy read for me. the characters were all loveable and i loved the banter between the two main characters. all in all a very easy relaxing read which is exactly what I needed with the start of a new year. 

__meganmercado's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.5

kcwolper's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0