A review lightly sprinkled with spoilers of the latest YA Romantasy by Allison Saft
Hello and happy Wednesday everyone! Today I’m going to be reviewing one of the ARCs I have in my lovely Kindle library, “A Fragile Enchantment”. This is the first book I’ve read from Allison Saft, but what drew me to this ARC was not only the description, but that gorgeous cover. So bright and shiny and floral!
I’m going to do my best to refrain from major spoilers in this review, because the book only just came out last week and I gushed my pants off during my “Ruthless Vows” review, which meant spoilers for another brand new book. My bad! (I just loved it so.)
Let’s start out with a quick synopsis. “A Fragile Enchantment” follows a young dressmaker named Niamh Ó Conchobhair. She has been tasked by the prince regent to design and make the wedding attire for his younger brother, Kit Carmine, and his betrothed, Rosa. The wedding is obviously politically motivated, and young Prince Kit is not too happy with the way things are playing out. But in the prince regent’s eye, appearances are important; so are political and military alliances. So he begrudgingly keeps his mouth shut and agrees to the marriage. However, there’s just one little snag: Niamh and Kit can’t seem to deny the chemistry brewing between them!
Meanwhile, there’s a reason Jack – the prince regent – wants to show the world everything’s hunky dory in Avaland: because it’s not. There is unrest between the kingdom of Avaland and the neighboring kingdom of Machland, where Niamh is from. Bad blood stirs between them, and it’s only a matter of time before things come to a head.
Okay, so here’s the skinny: I rated this book a solid 3 out of 5 stars. There’s just… a lot going on in this book, but also not at the same time. If that makes any sense.
It took me a while to get into this book. I finished it in about a week, but knowing me, that’s a long time for a YA book – fantasy or not. The pacing felt a bit all over the place, then it went from zero to a hundred pretty fast.
The Romance. I can see Kit and Niamh being an epic couple, but it didn’t pack that punch for me. There were moments were they were very sweet together, but with how Kit was built up (basically being an asshole to literally everyone [and don’t even say I’m being facetious, a character in the book literally says this]) I just couldn’t fully believe in their romance. It felt fast and rather jarring, which sometimes I’m down for, but this time it didn’t work for me. I’m not sure if there’s going to be another book, but I think it could warrant one, especially with how things played out in the end.
The Magic. How magic works in this world, it seems, is that there are “divines” (people who have magic) and then there are the people who are… not “divines.” Not sure if they even have a name? Anyway, the royals have a lot of power, and it was greatly exploited at the expense of the Machlish – many of them died, and they demand reparations from the royal family. Hence the unrest.
This is another place where it felt rushed and more backstory or world-building could be beneficial: Niamh’s magic is being able to “weave” emotions and feelings into the clothing she makes. I really liked this idea, but then the author puts in some sort of caveat of, “Oh, but if she uses too much she’ll die.” Wait, what? Then why is she doing it? Why is her livelihood banking on such a thing that will eventually be her doom? Plus it’s stated that if she uses too much too fast it’ll accelerate the process, then goes to Avaland and is told to make an entire wedding wardrobe by hand for two people in SIX WEEKS? Am I missing something here? I think the readers could’ve benefitted from more information, and not just about this.
Side Characters and Sub-Plots. This is a big one that made me knock off a star and give this book three. I enjoyed the side characters: Rosa, Miriam, Sinclair, and Sofia were fun additions (I couldn’t get into Jack, but that’s not the author’s fault; that’s just Jack). However, again I am frustrated with the lack of story and background. Honestly I would love to have a Rosa/Miriam novella about their friendship over the years. I would love to know more about Sofia and her homeland, and why she’s so sad to be in Avaland. Is it only because of the loveless marriage? Is there more to her relationship with Jack than we know? I would’ve liked to see more meat to these characters.
There’s also a Lady Whistledown- esque character sprinkled throughout the book. Their name is Lovelace and they put out a scandal sheet filled with gossip and talk about the royals and other members of Avaland’s elite. This is another plot I would’ve liked to see fleshed out more. What was the origin of “Lovelace”? What is their motivation? We eventually find out who it is, but it was kind of confusing to me. Maybe I missed something (I do tend to read fast) but I feel like the secret identity didn’t fit well. I would’ve liked to have Lovelace’s identity kept secret the entire time. Maybe I’m reading too much into this, I don’t know. Let me know what you think about the twist in the comments!
I am especially bummed about the ending; it felt like nothing was settled, hence me calling for another book. (Maybe there will be one, maybe not, but the book ends in such a way where that could just be… the end.) The biggest thing that irritated me was how nothing was settled between the kingdom of Avaland and the Machlish people. This was a big plot woven through the entire book and it just ended on a big ker PLUNK. I was not a fan of it ending in such a wishy-washy way. It kind of threw me with out the book just… ended. On top of wanting meaty characters, I wanted a meaty ending. More meaty things, people!
It felt like the book ended in such a way that was only satisfying if you were strictly in it for the romance. I’m a huge romance fan, don’t get me wrong! It gets me through the long, lonely winter nights. But I was also interested in the world; the magic; the civil unrest between the two kingdoms and what that will entail for Prince Jack, Prince Kit, and Company. A Happily Ever After with those love-crazed kids can only do so much for a book.
Overall, I did enjoy most of it. The pacing was hard to get into in the beginning, and the end was lacking, but Kit and Niamh were cute and I hope there will be more to their story; I just feel like they have more to accomplish.
What did you think of “A Fragile Enchantment”? Loved it? Annoyed by it? Still on your TBR? Let me know in the comments below, I’d love to hear from you!
Thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. “A Fragile Enchantment” released on January 2nd, and is on sale now!
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