A Fragile Enchantment - Allison Saft

Niamh Ó Conchobhair has never let herself long for more. The magic in her blood that lets her stitch emotions and memories into fabric is the same magic that will eventually kill her. Determined to spend the little time she has left guaranteeing a better life for her family, Niamh jumps at the chance to design the wardrobe for a royal wedding in the neighboring kingdom of Avaland.

But Avaland is far from the fairytale that she imagined. While young nobles attend candlelit balls and elegant garden parties, unrest brews amid the working class. The groom himself, Kit Carmine, is prickly, abrasive, and begrudgingly being dragged to the altar as a political pawn. But when Niamh and Kit grow closer, an unlikely friendship blossoms into something more—until an anonymous columnist starts buzzing about their chemistry, promising to leave them alone only if Niamh helps to uncover the royal family’s secrets. The rot at the heart of Avaland runs deep, but exposing it could risk a future she never let herself dream of, and a love she never thought possible.

Transporting readers to a Regency England-inspired fantasy world, A Fragile Enchantment is a sweeping romance threaded with intrigue, unforgettable characters, and a love story for the ages.

When it comes to fantasy, most books I read are definitely not cozy. There's usually a war going on, battle between good and evil, the MC is a thief/assassin/spy, lots of action etc. That's why I decided to be on the lookout for some interesting cozy fantasies. This one popped up on some "2024 releases" so I decided to try it.

First of all, yes, I did feel the cozy vibes, mainly from the setting and the main character. The story is set in an imaginary kingdom and most of the plot happens at the palace and surrounding gardens. Which is super cozy and cute.

Then the main character - I LOVED that she was this relatively chill person, not feisty, a bit clumsy, very caring and emotional.

* TINY SPOILERS AHEAD*

There was this one point in the story where a mysterious person asked her to be a part of the revolution and spy on someone and guess what? SHE SAID NO ♥

*END OF SPOILERS*

She's also a dressmaker, but not an ordinary one. Her magic is basically enchanting the clothes she makes with a certain type of emotion. Her dresses can make you feel invisible, happy, brave etc. That was all lovely, but the magical system wasn't actually explained. There's a guy who controls plants, a woman who controls the weather...there wasn't much sense to it.

One other thing I disliked was how the plot was sort of "a dream come true/ fanfiction type of thing." What I mean is, this girl who's supposed to be from a people no one cares about and actually considered "less" than, is invited to create clothes for the royal wedding. Fine, her clothes are popular, you can sort of understand. BUT the whole time, the prince regent and his wife constantly invited her to be with them at certain important parties, they spoke to her casually, gave her carriage rides, the revolution member also contacted her...basically it was all too easy. She was obviously the Special Main Character.

If I had to sum up, I'd say this was mildly fun, but not polished enough. It needs more detailed world-building and characters that don't make stupid decisions that could jeopardize the lives of everyone in their kingdom because they are in love 😂