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A review by abookapothecary
A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft
5.0
This is a perfect low-stakes love story of a magical dress-maker hired at court to tailor for a Prince and his arranged marriage.
Elements you might like:
- Court intrigue / politics
- a gossip tabloid
- uncommon magic
- queer representation
- forbidden romance
- hidden identity
- found family
Narration:
There was a single narrator throughout the story who used different voices / accents for each character so it was easy to differentiate who was speaking. The narration gives a sense of “fairytale” vibes that fits very well with the book being YA and the main characters personality. At times I felt the narration was a little too young/niave, but this may be the authors intention as a YA book and it still left mystery and plot twists to be a surprise.
Pacing / Flow:
The story was paced mostly well. The first 25% we learned a lot about the world and were quickly swept into Niamh’s story. It was hard to gauge where the plot was going about 40% in, and the middle dragged on a bit. I had to pause listening around that point, but after continuing it later with refreshed ears the rest of the story picked up and stayed interesting until the end.
Overall thoughts:
I enjoyed this story a lot as a cozy read. The characters are all lovable and I would enjoy reading spin offs of the side characters. The romance was everything I hoped for and more. There are some very, very, sweet relationships (and friendships) in this. The overall plot was pretty predictable, but there were side plot twists and events that surprised me and kept the story enjoyable. The world building, magic, politics, and history in this were well explained as a background for the plot, but it remained as a backdrop, and I do wish we got a little more into fixing the political issues. Maybe that will be explored in sequels if this is continued.
4.5 stars for the story, 4.5 stars for the narration / audio book. I would recommend the audiobook for those that like low stress plots / less complex worlds but still want lovable characters and a sweet romance.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing the audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Elements you might like:
- Court intrigue / politics
- a gossip tabloid
- uncommon magic
- queer representation
- forbidden romance
- hidden identity
- found family
Narration:
There was a single narrator throughout the story who used different voices / accents for each character so it was easy to differentiate who was speaking. The narration gives a sense of “fairytale” vibes that fits very well with the book being YA and the main characters personality. At times I felt the narration was a little too young/niave, but this may be the authors intention as a YA book and it still left mystery and plot twists to be a surprise.
Pacing / Flow:
The story was paced mostly well. The first 25% we learned a lot about the world and were quickly swept into Niamh’s story. It was hard to gauge where the plot was going about 40% in, and the middle dragged on a bit. I had to pause listening around that point, but after continuing it later with refreshed ears the rest of the story picked up and stayed interesting until the end.
Overall thoughts:
I enjoyed this story a lot as a cozy read. The characters are all lovable and I would enjoy reading spin offs of the side characters. The romance was everything I hoped for and more. There are some very, very, sweet relationships (and friendships) in this. The overall plot was pretty predictable, but there were side plot twists and events that surprised me and kept the story enjoyable. The world building, magic, politics, and history in this were well explained as a background for the plot, but it remained as a backdrop, and I do wish we got a little more into fixing the political issues. Maybe that will be explored in sequels if this is continued.
4.5 stars for the story, 4.5 stars for the narration / audio book. I would recommend the audiobook for those that like low stress plots / less complex worlds but still want lovable characters and a sweet romance.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing the audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review!