I’m sharing another instalment of my Mini Review Mondays, the most recent of which was last week. In case you haven’t seen any of my previous posts, I do ‘mini’ reviews of books that I’ve previously read and am now ready to share my full thoughts about.
First up, I’d like to talk about A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft. Thank you to Team BKMRK/Hachette Children’s Group for gifting me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
All Niamh has longed for is to be remembered: to create something that will last far longer than she will. For her, that means becoming a renowned dressmaker, using the magic in her blood that lets her stitch emotions and memories into fabric – the same magic that will eventually kill her.
When Niamh is commissioned to design the prince’s wardrobe for a royal wedding in Avaland, she knows she finally has her chance to leave her legacy. But Avaland is far from the fairytale that she imagined. While nobles and the elite attend extravagant balls and candlelit garden parties, unrest brews amid the working class.
Niamh finds herself drawn to Kit, the prince whom she must dress for his wedding, despite his cold, prickly demeanour. And soon, a gossip column reports on their undeniable chemistry between them, threatening scandal. Niamh must decide if reputation should come above all else, whether her magic curse will allow her to experience love, and what cost she is willing to pay for a future she never thought possible…
Publication Date: 4th January 2024
TW: xenophobia, homophobia, microaggressions, colonialism, emotional abuse, physical abuse, alcoholism, death of a parent, self-harm, addicition
My Thoughts:
A Fragile Enchantment is a delicate, romantic and wonderfully layered story. Like Niamh’s stunning creations, this tale weaves layer upon layer of beautiful threads into a emotionally rich and character focused regency fantasy romance.
I adored Niamh as a protagonist – she was determined, driven by wanting to provide for her family and a bit of a daydreamer to boot. There is a sense of naivety that is endearing and allows her to be the reader’s eyes entering this different realm of the court. Her powers were also incredibly fascinating for me and Saft explored them deftly, while also tying them back to her sense of family and identity. They’re a great vehicle for showing the emotional richness of Niamh’s character and how her emotions spill over into her creations. It was revealing and poignant at times.
However, I also really enjoyed how Saft wove in the prejudice against her, her people, her country and her entire culture into the narrative. I certainly recognised traces of it against historical tensions between countries and enjoyed the political aspects of the book a lot. Though of course they have somewhat of a romanticised gloss by the end, it felt like a grounding of all this extravagance against the gritty backdrop of the real violence and marginalisation. It gave the story stakes beyond the individual characters and I particularly enjoyed how it dovetailed with the mystery plotline of who Lovelace truly was. This allowed for some suspense and intrigue.
The central romance was also very enjoyable for me, with some slower burning tension building up into something more. I love a good enemies to lovers trope and this one had some real motivations behind it, which elevated it for me. Their chemistry was palpable and the dialogue flowed naturally. I have to also highlight that it is great to have two bisexual main characters in a romance story!
A Fragile Enchantment was a gorgeously stitched together tale of love, legacy and learning how to stand within your own power.
Next up, I’d like to talk about A Cruel Twist of Fate by H F Askwith. Thank you to Penguin Children’s Group UK for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
And Then There Were None meets The Inheritance Games, with a heavy dash of The Woman in Black, in this gloriously gothic YA mystery-thriller.
When eighteen-year-old Helena is sent to be a governess at Archfall Manor – a beautiful but crumbling manor house, perched at the edge of a causeway in the North Sea – she feels confident she will know how to deal with the esteemed but eccentric Cauldwell family who own it. But it quickly becomes clear that the Cauldwells are hiding more than Helena could ever have dreamed of.
A series of sinister events come to a head with a gruesome death – swiftly followed by another. Worse still, with the path back to the mainland cut off by a terrible storm, and no way to get help, suspicions and paranoia quickly run rampant.
But the Cauldwells aren’t the only ones keeping secrets. Helena has some very important ones of her own – and soon she begins to wonder whether dark powers beyond her control might be forcing her to twist the fate of the family – and her own destiny – forever.
Publication Date: 18th January
TW: death, murder, violence, grief, disappearance, classism
My Thoughts:
A Cruel Twist of Fate is a Gothic, dark mystery with the signature Askwith flair and generic mixing.
I adored the way Askwith brought in some unexpected elements to a fantastically plotted mystery in A Dark Inheritance and she pulls it off again with aplomb here. It is such a wonderful way to explore grief and forever wanting to be able to revisit the moments of our memories – to talk to that loved one again. Also, it is an ingenious addition to a classic murder mystery plot with the abandoned, crumbling and cut-off Gothic mansion to boot. The writing thrives on the chilling atmosphere of it all and sends shivers down my spine. Right from the first page, you know blood will be spilt and you are invested in uncovering the truth hidden within this intriguing mystery.
Also, I really enjoyed Helena as a protagonist. Above all, she just wants to save her mother and has experienced some dire circumstances. That will to survive is embedded deep within her, yet there is still such a lightness and sense of hope around her. That positivity in the face of adversity is admirable, as is her dogged search for the truth amongst the lies. Her motivations are sometimes slightly more muddied, but always reasonably understandable. You can see exactly why she has had to make that choice, but I loved that Askwith ensures that actions have rippling consequences though and there is always a price to pay. Not all is as it seems at Archfall Manor and the incoming storm will bring death and destruction but it will also reveal all.
A Cruel Twist of Fate is a perfect read to curl up with through the dark wintry nights. Let Askwith transport you to the dingy decrepit halls of Archfall Manor and unveil the secrets buried within.
Finally, I’d like to delve into The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland. Thank you to Hot Key Books for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Zara Jones believes in magic because the alternative is too painful to bear—that her sister was murdered by a serial killer and there is precisely nothing she can do to change it. If there’s anything Zara cannot stand it’s feeling powerless, so she decides she will do whatever it takes—even if that means partaking in the occult—to bring her sister back from the dead.
Jude Wolf might be the daughter of a billionaire, but she is also undeniably cursed. After a deal with a demon went horribly wrong, her soul is now slowly turning necrotic. Flowers and insects die in her wake and monstrous things come to taunt her at night. If Jude can’t find the right someone to fix her mistake, she fears she’ll die very soon.
Enter Emer Bryne: the solution to both Zara’s and Jude’s predicaments. The daughter of a witch, Emer sells spells to women in desperate situations willing to sacrifice a part of their soul in exchange for a bit of power, a bit of magic to change their lives. But Emer has a dark past all her own—and as her former clients are murdered one-by-one, she knows it’s followed her all the way to London.
As Zara and Jude enter Emer’s orbit, they’ll have to team up to stop the killer—before they each end up next on his list.
Publication Date: 30th January
TW: death, murder, grief, violence, injury, injury detail, self harm for magic, misogyny, animal abuse, abusive relationships
My Thoughts:
Sutherland did not come to play. The Invocations was a wicked, witchy and wonderful YA fantasy thriller packed to the brim with tricks and twists.
In 2023 and going into 2024, there have been a lot of books I have read that are soaked in the fire and fury of feminine rage. This is one such book – scorching hot with the kind of anger that bristles under your skin and bubbles up from the inside, spilling over into wonderfully written narratives like this. Sutherland’s horror here is so effective because it plays on the exact scenarios we recognise. For example, the scene of a woman walking home alone at night instantly sent shivers through my body. Yet Sutherland plays with this and upends your expectations. This is a story about confronting that anger within and seeing the potential of darkness within yourself. It is concerned with vengeance, retribution and how to redirect that anger. However it does not minimise that anger – it wields it as a weapon throughout.
There were sequences in this book that have not left my mind since I turned the final page. This is effective, chilling horror. Some of the most powerful were reading from the perspectives of the victims, but it never felt sensationalised – rather just tragic losses of lives cut too short in a violent manner. Jude, Zara and Emer were also all extremely compelling characters with their narrative voices feeling distinctive and heavily laden with their own emotions and trauma. They all offer differing perspectives on magic and the murders – allowing for character growth and development over the course of the book. Also, the romantic threads were a lovely source of light amidst the darkness, while definitely not taking away the focus from Sutherland’s impactful storytelling.
The Invocations was an intense, fast paced read dripping with blood and bile at a world that seeks to crush power it does not understand.
A Short Book Lover 
3 thoughts on “Mini Review Monday #131”