A review by kevinscorner
A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

A Fragile Enchantment is a period fantasy romance between a magical dressmaker and a prince. Naimh is a dressmaker whose magic allows her to weave emotions and enchantments onto the clothes she makes. When she is commissioned to make the wardrobe for a neighboring kingdom’s royal wedding, it is an offer she cannot refuse. Stepping foot into the palace, she finds Kit, the abrasive prince begrudgingly being dragged to the altar in an arranged political marriage, and a kingdom in the verge of a sociopolitical conflict. Complicating matters is the blossoming romance between her and the prince/groom-to-be and a gossip columnist who isn’t above a little blackmail.

I don’t know what it was about the book, but I was just instantly charmed by it. This is first and foremost a romance, and I thought it was quite a charming enemies-to-lovers romance between a simple commoner and the prince of a previous colonizer’s kingdom. Added onto that is the social and political consequences of the two country’s not-so-distant past. The history was complex, but the solution convenient and objectively easy. But given that this is a romance, I can forgive it that. The magic is both deeply integrated, but not necessarily a crucial aspect of the story (some minor rewriting can make this a non-fantasy, straight-up romance).

I liked Naimh with her self-aware innocence and naivety and tendency to look at the positive side of things. She blissfully speaks before she thinks and goes around hoping for the best, which may not be feasible, least of all to deal with a gossip columnist determined to recruit her as a source for the inner workings of the palace. She certainly had moments of daring for someone so meek. In contrast, Kit is the typical grumpy counterpart with a sensitive interior and a tragic background that explains it. I quite liked him. Their initial thorny interactions were actually quite cute and endearing while the torrid affair they actually commit (on-page) was surprise given the somewhat proper Regency setting and the otherwise tame (non-spicy) fantasy setting.

A Fragile Enchantment is a cute and charming fantasy romance.