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tobereadbookshelf's Reviews (935)
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not pulling any punches on this one, this was awful.
The only way I can make any sense of the current 4 star rating is that I think only super fans are making it this far. Finishing this was pure torture. I began this book mistakenly thinking that it was the final book in the series and that I could finish it out, but it turns out there are at least two more and I NEED to stop myself from going any further.
Ms. Fortuna has terrible instincts and zero forethought and the author tries to sell her as a badass. Everybody and their mom is out to kill her and she just tramps around without backup or telling anyone where she’s going on the regular. It’s no surprise that she is captured (sometimes multiple times) in literally every book. 🙄 Main character’s in captivity is my LEAST favorite fantasy plot point by a mile. It is so boring and pretty much guarantees that nothing interesting will happen for like 200+ pages.
Fortuna seems much more interested in choosing a love interest than in solving any of her literal life or death problems. She collects men like they’re Pokemon in pretty much every paranormal variety. We have not one, but two former Fae Kings that were directly or indirectly dethroned because of her, a vampire and a wolf that are bound to her (just friends, but still - where are the gal pals?), and my personal favorite, a man who is a literal figment of her imagination. Homegirl is unhinged. The only females in this series are either barely mentioned or the “bad guys” and then of course we have Gwen who is also now bound to her that Fortuna felt the need to kiss because three love interests just weren’t enough.
I think what it comes down to is that I just hate Fortuna. Her powers are likely headed in an interesting direction, but the author should have gotten there like 2 books ago because she has lost my interest.
Someone yell at me if I start book 5.
The only way I can make any sense of the current 4 star rating is that I think only super fans are making it this far. Finishing this was pure torture. I began this book mistakenly thinking that it was the final book in the series and that I could finish it out, but it turns out there are at least two more and I NEED to stop myself from going any further.
Ms. Fortuna has terrible instincts and zero forethought and the author tries to sell her as a badass. Everybody and their mom is out to kill her and she just tramps around without backup or telling anyone where she’s going on the regular. It’s no surprise that she is captured (sometimes multiple times) in literally every book. 🙄 Main character’s in captivity is my LEAST favorite fantasy plot point by a mile. It is so boring and pretty much guarantees that nothing interesting will happen for like 200+ pages.
Fortuna seems much more interested in choosing a love interest than in solving any of her literal life or death problems. She collects men like they’re Pokemon in pretty much every paranormal variety. We have not one, but two former Fae Kings that were directly or indirectly dethroned because of her, a vampire and a wolf that are bound to her (just friends, but still - where are the gal pals?), and my personal favorite, a man who is a literal figment of her imagination. Homegirl is unhinged. The only females in this series are either barely mentioned or the “bad guys” and then of course we have Gwen who is also now bound to her that Fortuna felt the need to kiss because three love interests just weren’t enough.
I think what it comes down to is that I just hate Fortuna. Her powers are likely headed in an interesting direction, but the author should have gotten there like 2 books ago because she has lost my interest.
Someone yell at me if I start book 5.
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Of the 3 books by Saft that I have read, this one was my least favorite. The characters were very likable and well developed and for a standalone book, I thought Saft did a great job with world building, but the overall plot just wasn’t that interesting. There were also a few things that happened that had me rolling my eyes. Like Wren, sweetie — if you’re on the run in a life or death situation, DON’T hide in the one place everyone would think to look for you. 🙄
Loved Hal & Wren. Loved the gothic vibes. The book however, was just okay.
Loved Hal & Wren. Loved the gothic vibes. The book however, was just okay.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is one of the most overrated series out there. The writing is muddy and overly descriptive. The storyline and world building are unique so I’ll give it that, but unique does not equate to good. Nothing about this world pulls me in. It frankly seems like a terrible place to be and I am baffled by how many bookstagrammers act as if they would happily bargain with the “fates” to visit it. I’m invested now so I’ll have to read book 3, but this is definitley one of those instances when I wonder if we’re all reading the same book.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I could have described the events of this book with shocking accuracy without ever reading a page. The few surprises were not positive ones. This one was a miss for me.
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I enjoyed this much more than serpent & dove but I still can’t get on board with a gal from Indiana adding French in all willy nilly like this. It feels like lazy world building to me. I liked the premise of this book, but I wasn’t happy with the ending. The things the main character says at the very end really rubbed me wrong and I don’t see how the author could walk them back.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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:
Complicated
Insta love can get annoying, but I was equally bothered by his repeated mentions of her not being beautiful. Him pursuing the other girl in town added to the plot in important ways, but also made me doubt his sincerity once he finally found his way to Margaret. He convinced me in the end, but I would have been just as cautious even without all of Margaret’s abandonment issues. I am chasing the Fragile Enchantment high, but I think I may have started with her best work. 🤷🏼♀️
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There are books with beautiful prose and then there are books like this one with lines like “In this crowd, his help would be as welcome as a turd in a hot tub.” 😅 This was a fun read but the writing was kind of bizarre. The authors clearly let all of their intrusive thoughts take the reins. Honestly, I guess I’m kind of here for it. Do your thing girls. Let your freak flags fly.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“I think I understand for a fleeting moment why everything that’s bad and painful and sad is worth it if you love someone, because I’ll remember how he’s looking at me now forever.”
I’ve come to the conclusion that the trick to enjoying these books is to think of them like Shakespearian style tragedies. I’m not implying that it was a retelling, but the vibe of book two reminded me strongly of the 1996 Romeo & Juliet film featuring Leonardo DiCaprio. I much preferred reading about Daisy as apposed to Magnolia. Sorry to say that I strongly dislike Magnolia as a character and am over her nonsense. Anytime she was mentioned, the book temporarily lost a star 🤣. I am amazed by this authors ability to write so many self sabotaging characters with such similar faults and inclinations that somehow all feel so incredibly unique. Magnolia Parks had a lot of beautifully written passages and the author delivered on this again in book two. I could easily include 20 more quotes but I’ll keep it to two. I would be interested to read something by this author with a slightly less modern focus. I think she could pull off one of the great novels of our time if she chose the right content. As is, these read more like telenovelas—fun, but also a little frivolous. I’ll leave you with some words of wisdom from Christian. 😉
“It’s a hard thing about relationships, isn’t it? Doesn’t matter what type it is, if it’s worth keeping, sometimes you have to say shit you don’t what to, pry it out of your mouth and toss it over a fence your mate’s building now because that’s what people do when you hurt them—build fences, raise walls, dig ditches, pitfalls, etc. If your the one making the first move towards reconciliation, you sort of have to just stand there and see if their head pops up over the other side of the fence, see if they’ll toss the ball back.”
I’ve come to the conclusion that the trick to enjoying these books is to think of them like Shakespearian style tragedies. I’m not implying that it was a retelling, but the vibe of book two reminded me strongly of the 1996 Romeo & Juliet film featuring Leonardo DiCaprio. I much preferred reading about Daisy as apposed to Magnolia. Sorry to say that I strongly dislike Magnolia as a character and am over her nonsense. Anytime she was mentioned, the book temporarily lost a star 🤣. I am amazed by this authors ability to write so many self sabotaging characters with such similar faults and inclinations that somehow all feel so incredibly unique. Magnolia Parks had a lot of beautifully written passages and the author delivered on this again in book two. I could easily include 20 more quotes but I’ll keep it to two. I would be interested to read something by this author with a slightly less modern focus. I think she could pull off one of the great novels of our time if she chose the right content. As is, these read more like telenovelas—fun, but also a little frivolous. I’ll leave you with some words of wisdom from Christian. 😉
“It’s a hard thing about relationships, isn’t it? Doesn’t matter what type it is, if it’s worth keeping, sometimes you have to say shit you don’t what to, pry it out of your mouth and toss it over a fence your mate’s building now because that’s what people do when you hurt them—build fences, raise walls, dig ditches, pitfalls, etc. If your the one making the first move towards reconciliation, you sort of have to just stand there and see if their head pops up over the other side of the fence, see if they’ll toss the ball back.”
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Two of the most childish characters I have ever read. If the author was striving for witty banter and sexual tension, she seriously missed the mark. The main character did nothing but sit on her high horse and jump to conclusions for the first half of the book. Ever heard of a conversation friend? Could solve half of her self created problems in 5 minutes. I also do not enjoy overly modern language in books. I have no desire to read things like “big facts,” “no lies detected,” and “she was on her hot girl party sh*t” on every other page. This probably should have been my first DNF of the year but for whatever reason I feel I have a duty to the public to properly review the terrible books too.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
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
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
A Fragile Enchantment was well titled because “enchanting” is truly the word that best encapsulates my feelings towards this book. This was my first book by Allison Saft and her writing is nothing short of beautiful. She does such a wonderful job of balancing whimsy and relatability when describing and developing her characters and as a reader, I could not help but fall in love with them. From a King to a commoner they all felt so perfectly imperfect and I found myself rooting for each of them as if they were the main character. I highlighted more lines in this book than almost any other and I am a little sad now to not be able to share them on goodreads since I was not reading the finalized copy. I was a little underwhelmed by the ending but that could have more to do with my love for a good series. I always want more or the characters I love and Niamh and Kit definitely fall in that category. I waffled between 4 and 5 stars but ultimately landed on 5 because of the way this book made me feel. I know I will look back fondly on this one and it will be a story that stays with me. Looking forward to reading more of Saft’s work. ✨
A Fragile Enchantment was well titled because “enchanting” is truly the word that best encapsulates my feelings towards this book. This was my first book by Allison Saft and her writing is nothing short of beautiful. She does such a wonderful job of balancing whimsy and relatability when describing and developing her characters and as a reader, I could not help but fall in love with them. From a King to a commoner they all felt so perfectly imperfect and I found myself rooting for each of them as if they were the main character. I highlighted more lines in this book than almost any other and I am a little sad now to not be able to share them on goodreads since I was not reading the finalized copy. I was a little underwhelmed by the ending but that could have more to do with my love for a good series. I always want more or the characters I love and Niamh and Kit definitely fall in that category. I waffled between 4 and 5 stars but ultimately landed on 5 because of the way this book made me feel. I know I will look back fondly on this one and it will be a story that stays with me. Looking forward to reading more of Saft’s work. ✨