Book Review: Wings of Starlight by Allison Saft

February 20, 2026February 14, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 400 pages
Author: Allison Saft
Publisher: Disney Press
Release Date: February 4th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Brimming with magic and romance, a young fairy queen must form an unlikely alliance or risk an unspeakable danger destroying all she holds dear in this standalone YA novel from New York Times bestselling author Allison Saft.

It’s been centuries since a warm-season fairy in Pixie Hollow has crossed into the Winter Woods, and while most fear the legends of monsters lurking in the frozen lands, Clarion, can’t help being intrigued by Winter’s stoic beauty. But under the watchful eyes of the current monarch and the court’s seasonal ministers, Clarion has little time to dwell on daydreams while the days to her coronation dwindle away.

That is, until reports of a monster crossing from Winter into Spring make their way to the palace. Clarion sees defeating this threat as an opportunity to prove that she is worthy of her new role. But instead of finding a monster at the edge of Winter, she finds Milori, a young guardian of the Winter Woods. Together, they form an unlikely bond as they race to save their lands.

But as their alliance warms to something more, they will discover there is a reason a warm-season fairy and a winter fairy must not be together. And the cost could be just as deadly as the monsters that prowl the Winter Woods.

Discover the origin of the sweeping, star-crossed romance between the queen of Pixie Hollow and the lord of the Winter Woods.

NOT WHAT I WAS EXPECTING?

I can’t call this a romance based off of how the ending came about, unless this wasn’t a standalone?? But apparently this follows a movie?? So I honestly don’t know what to think. I am not a Tinkerbell fan girl so I don’t know much about her story or anything.

This book was perfectly fine, just never engaging. I didn’t feel much of anything listening. I liked the plot set-up and the characters were fine, but I want the emotional attachment too.

Overall audience notes:

YA Fantasy
Language: none
Romance: kisses
Violence: mild

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Book Review: A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft

January 2, 2024November 19, 2023 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 384 pages
Author: Allison Saft
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Release Date: January 2nd, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In this romantic fantasy of manners from New York Times bestselling author Allison Saft, a magical dressmaker commissioned for a royal wedding finds herself embroiled in scandal when a gossip columnist draws attention to her undeniable chemistry with the groom.

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.

Thank you to Wednesday Books for the eARC.

I’LL CALL IT ENCHANTING.

The first half of this one took me a bit to grasp. For a standalone fantasy I thought some of the world building wasn’t as complete as I was hoping for and I didn’t quite follow everything that was happening.

What I did love from the beginning (and throughout) was the fashion content. I loved all of Niamh’s magical sewing and seeing how she wove her thoughts and feelings into real life pieces. And I did like Niamh and Kit as the main characters. The second half really showed off their chemistry and I do admit to being smitten with them by the end. I will also mention, this is NOT young adult in regards to romantic content (though writing style wise it does feel younger YA?).

I did like how most of the story was wrapped up by the end. And I really enjoyed the soft moments between Kit and Niamh. This absolutely has Bridgerton vibes with the drama and scandal and a few other things in between. Combining this was the fantasy world was fun and ultimately I did like this book a lot.

Overall audience notes:

NA Fantasy Romance
Language: low
Romance: 1 vague open; 1 fade to black
Violence: moderate

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ARC Book Review: Down Comes the Night by Allison Saft

March 1, 2021September 25, 2020 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Young adult fantasy romance
Length: 400 pages
Author: Allison Saft
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Release Date: March 2nd, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A gorgeously gothic, deeply romantic YA debut fantasy about two enemies trapped inside a crumbling mansion, with no escape from the monsters within.

Honor your oath, destroy your country.

Wren Southerland is the most talented healer in the Queen’s Guard, but her reckless actions have repeatedly put her on thin ice with her superiors. So when a letter arrives from a reclusive lord, asking Wren to come to his estate to cure his servant from a mysterious disease, she seizes the chance to prove herself.

When she arrives at Colwick Hall, Wren realizes that nothing is what it seems. Particularly when she discovers her patient is actually Hal Cavendish, the sworn enemy of her kingdom.

As the snowy mountains make it impossible to leave the estate, Wren and Hal grow closer as they uncover a sinister plot that could destroy everything they hold dear. But choosing love could doom both their kingdoms.

Allison Saft’s Down Comes the Night is a snow-drenched, gothic, romantic fantasy that keeps you racing through the pages long into the night.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for the eARC. All opinions are my own!

GREAT ATMOSPHERE.

I’m grateful I got an ARC for this one, because reading it in September with all of the fall, spooky, and Gothic vibes was the perfect combination. The atmosphere of Down Comes the Night was written beautifully.

I loved Wren as a main character. She was emotional, brave, intelligent, and devoted. I really loved her compassion for others and the fact she was emotional. It’s okay to feel things and to show those feelings and I loved knowing and seeing that in a character.

Her relationship with both Una and Hal worked amazingly in this standalone. It was somehow a love triangle, but not. Just a movement and progression of Wren’s relationships as the story grew. I thought the way it worked out with Una fit well, and appreciated that it wasn’t some blown out of proportion break-up, but an acknowledgement of where they both were in their lives. And moving with Hal felt right for the now, and he was just SO PRECIOUS. I love a brooding guy with a soft heart.

There’s a LOT of medical terminology used. More so than I’ve seen in any book I’ve read in a good long while. I do have a background in this kind of medical jargon so I didn’t mind it and kind of enjoyed this different addition to a young adult fantasy book. Wren works as a healer and whenever she explains something she’s trying to do, it’s in a more medical based format.

Our villain is a little roll your eyes worthy, but they have a flair all their own that was very creepy and fit into this entire setting well. I wish the story wasn’t confined to essentially one location, but there was enough overall to influence the narrative. Adored the ending and there’s plenty of highlight worthy quotes in here about choosing peace. Definitely a must read!

Overall audience notes: