3.5 ⭐

Wooing the Witch Queen was a quick, cute and cozy fantasy romance. The whole set up is a little silly when archduke Felix turns himself over to evil Queen Saskia, but she mistakes him for a dark wizard under the alias "Fabian" and hires him to organize her magical library.

(Personal note: My best friend's brother's name is Fabian, so that took me out of the romance a bit. 😅)

A lot of this I really enjoyed, including the quirky side characters, library setting, crow familiars, and a bi main character! The dynamic between grumpy Saskia and soft Felix felt fresh, and they both made me giggle as they danced around their feelings for each other.

The ending felt a bit rushed and convenient, and I did not feel satisfied by the political storyline. I had not been expecting the set up for a second book, but that was fun, if not a little random. The writing style was also not my favorite, and I struggled with the overuse of ellipses.

Thank you, Bramble and NetGalley, for the advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

<i><b>“She’d burn down the world for any of us—but she’ll never, deep down, believe she deserves any real happiness of her own. And that’s what you need to understand about Her Majesty.”</b></i>

Wooing the Witch Queen was a cute slow-burn romance perfect for readers of cozy fancy!

I had a difficult time at first getting into the story but I did fall in love with the characters! The relationship of the main were to die for. The crows were my favourite! It had everything from slow romance to twist leaving you wanting more!

<b>Thank you to Stephanie Burgis and NetGalley for the chance to read and review this e-arc in exchange for an honest review! All thoughts and opinions remain my own.</b>

This was such a lovely and engaging fantasy book. I love books in which you are actually rooting for some people might consider to be the villain. The romance itself was lovely and the pros is well written.

Thank you to Tor for this eARC!

this was adorable and cozy and enchanting. I giggled my way through the whole thing 🤭 Hidden identity, a hot and nerdy librarian, an “evil Queen” who has a soft spot for her motherly housekeeper, a crow sidekick, trolls and ogre castle staff? all of it was delightfully fantastical.

I loved the slow budding romance between Queen Saskia and “Fabian.” they were both reluctant to give into the attraction they felt, each for their own reasons, but their chemistry was undeniable. the poetry? swoon. her “silencing him” (iykyk)? hot.

the romance doesn’t overtake the plot and is paced so well. it’s easy to follow and jump into this magical world without feeling overwhelmed. and while the ending took me surprise, it wrapped up so well without feeling rushed. overall, a perfect low stakes romantasy!

I love magical worlds and realms full of magical creatures and secret identities. I LOVE these characters - so much. The found family in this book was absolutely everything and then so much more. The fantasy vibes were cozy and the stakes never felt too high - there was always this undercurrent of strength and resolve and kindness. The gentle librarian and his love for fountain pens stole my heart and well - can I have his nerdiness forever? The romance was beautiful!

Absolutely loved this one and so grateful to NetGalley and the publishers for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

This is 1st in a romantasy romp series depicting three magical Queens of Villainy - Saskia, Lorelei, and Ailana. Sorceress Saskia (Witch of the East) used her talents to dethrone her wicked uncle, but her realm is under threat from the neighboring Archduchy of Estarion.

There, young Archduke Felix has been isolated, controlled and beaten by his regent all his life. He was married young to his only childhood friend (the regent's daughter) who recently died. His brother-in-law controls the armies and, now that Felix is too old for a regent, it seems that his own demise is imminent. Felix runs to Saskia, but hides his identity.

Of course you can see where this is heading and it's an entertaining journey. Lorelei and Ailana play their parts as a relationship between Fabian and Saskia matures, and the drums of war beat ever louder. If you're ready for a light, escapist read, try this one!

4.5. I enjoyed the gender-flipped grumpy-soft dynamic between Saskia and Felix; their relationship is also well-balanced and established with plenty of respect, which I loved. The world and political alliances are also fascinating. I look forward to reading the next book in the series (even though Lorelai annoyed me in this one).

"Wooing the Witch Queen" by Stephanie Burgis was a fun and delightful romantasy featuring a bisexual witch queen and her dark wizard librarian. I enjoyed the well-written characters, simple world-building, and slow-burn romance. The presence of mystical creatures like ogres and goblins added an enchanting touch to the story.

Amanda Leigh Cobb's narration was engaging, giving each character a unique voice. While the stakes were high, the story felt cozy and low-pressure. Overall, this was a fun and charming audiobook that left me looking forward to the next installment. I felt like this book had the same fun magical vibes as How to Summon a Fairy Godmother by Laura J. Mayo, so definately reccomend if you enjoyed that one (or reccomend that one if you enjoy this one 😂).

I did really enjoy this one. I loved the library as a setting and seeing our curmudgeonly main character finally get the love they so deserves. Overall such an atmospheric, engaging read!

Stephanie Burgis is an instant buy for me when I see a new book, so much so that I even joined her Patreon for more!

Wooing the Witch Queen is a story of falling in love, magic, and libraries! Stephanie Burgis takes her time with her stories, which creates an environment (or setting) perfectly suited for cozy fantasy readers.

I recommend Wooing the Witch Queen to anyone who loves a misunderstood witchy woman and a bit of romance.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review Wooing the Witch Queen (:

This book was an amazing read after reading so many high-stake books in a row. It was sweet, conforting and a fresh of breath air (: I loved cinnamon-roll Felix and protective Saskia and will be on the look out for book 2 <3

3.5 stars rounded down.
Partially open door spice level.

I think if you enjoy The Spellshop, you'll like this one. I really enjoyed Saskia as a character, but I had a hard time connecting to Felix. He really just didn't have too much of a personality and I needed more from him as a character for the book to work as a whole.

I loved the addition of the crows and the other little side characters that were loyal to Saskia. I also like the setup to have another two books with those following the other two evil queens. I think that's really fun and will be a nice expansion on the world.

I will say the first 40% of the book was a bit dry and hard to get into, but it got so much better as the book went on. If Felix had been a bit more developed with more character, this could have been a 5 star.

4.5 stars
After sorceress Saskia finally wrests control over her kingdom from her evil uncle, she believes that she can relax into the magical experiments she's doing on behalf of her people. However, her minister tells her that she'll need to make speeches and (gulp) go to parties and all sorts of other things in order to convince the world she's not quite as evil and villainous as she's been made out to be. Fortunately, she's assisted in this endeavor by two fellow queens, both as magical and nefarious as Saskia. Saskia has also recently hired a dark magician to organize her library in the hopes of freeing up more of her time. What Saskia doesn't know is the dark magician is actually a runaway archduke, and his discovery may lead the entire continent to war. The author is well-versed in writing combinations of political intrigue, fantasy, romance and humor and it shows. This is a charmer of a romantasy and I'm fully onboard for book two!

This was such a breathe of fresh air! Having a gentle, crow-loving hero really won me over.
I don't read a lot of cozy leaning books, so I wish Queen Saskia was a bit more villainous. I did love how protective she was over her friends, staff, and anyone she perceived to look to her for protection.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc of Wooing the Witch Queen!

(3.75 stars)
Wooing The Witch Queen was a lovely story with a slow-burn romance, which I believe will delight readers of “cozy fantasy.”

Saskia is a young queen who has a reputation for being really evil. (But she’s really not.) She’s trying to protect her kingdom from the schemes of a neighboring kingdom, supposedly ruled by Archduke Felix, but really ruled by his cruel relative. Saskia took over the kingdom from her own cruel relative, so Saskia and Felix actually have a lot in common but they don’t know it.

Felix manages to escape somehow and finds his way to Saskia’s castle, where he hopes to seek shelter/asylum. But she thinks he’s a dark wizard answering her ad for a librarian to organize the totally unorganized magical library she inherited. Felix says his name is Fabian and wears a mask to conceal his famous face (it seems that wasn’t usual for a dark wizard?).

Saskia is a powerful witch and Felix/Fabian has no wizarding skills, but he works hard to read and categorize her collection of magical tomes and miscellaneous spell papers. Most of the book centers on the growing relationship between these two. It’s sweet to watch them gradually fall for each other - but of course Saskia doesn’t know who Felix/Fabian really is.

This is the first book in a series and it seems that the rest of the books will focus on the other “queens of villainy.” These women provided some comic relief, as did Saskia’s First Minister. There are two major non-human characters who serve Saskia: Morlokk, her majordomo, an ogre, and Mrs. Haglitz, her housekeeper, a troll, both of whom were wonderful characters, as were the castle’s crows, especially Oskar.

Note: There is a bit of steam in the later sections of the book. And there are references to physical punishments inflicted on the two main characters in the past.

I mainly listened to the audiobook version, which was beautifully narrated by Amanda Leigh Cobb. It kept me entertained on a long flight.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to a review copy of this audiobook and to Bramble and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I feel hoodwinked! The way the blurb reads it's as if the Archduke knows he's being deceptive and is trying to influence his way into the evil queen's good graces, but rather, he bumbles his way into it and just "doesn't correct her". It's miscommunication at its finest, which I rather loathe, especially if but literally removing his hood it could have all been explained. The interactions between the two were fun, but the whole time it's the waiting for the show to drop, and I HATE third act conflict that solely revolves around unintentional eciet because someone was to chicken shit to just speak up.

Overall, the book was fine, but that's what it was, fine.

Thank you, Tor Publishing, for the review copy.

This was just okay for me. I like my fantasy to be more high stakes and typically avoid cozy fantasy. You will love this if you're a fan of a cozy vibe, slow-burn romance, and a softer golden retriever MMC.

What a delightful read! This was an excellent fantasy-romance with loveable characters, a good joy of political intrigue, and a whole lot of cozy relationship building. The writing was great and the worldbuilding was just enough to fill out the story and allow for readers to fill in any blanks they may have. Always appreciate a lighthearted romance with a bisexual lead.

A romantasy, but Stephanie Burgis–style. In other words, make it sweet (no major angst, kind and loving main characters, light on the spice, heavy on the yearning), great secondary characters who'll get their own stories, and mostly external conflict. The de facto librarian MMC was great, as was his raven familiar, but Ailana the eminently practical ice queen was my favorite and I'm looking forward to her (sapphic!) romance in book 3.

Amazon and Barnes & Noble review submitted
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**TL;DR**: The cozy fantasy romance I didn’t know I needed
**Source**: NetGalley and my own purchase. Thanks me! And thank you to the publisher!

**Plot**: Archduke Felix flees an abusive relationship for the Witch Queen’s tower, but he hides his identity and manages to fall in love in the process.
**Characters**: Absolutely delightful, every last one of the. I’d even read about the goblins we saw occasionally. Give me more!
**Setting**: A dark sorceress’s tower - but really a cozy home for her family and friends.
**Romance/Fantasy:** The fantasy is pretty standard as is the romance it’s just written and so fun I ate it up.

Was this the best written and freshest, newest take on a fantasy romance ever? Nope. But was it fun and cozy and made me laugh and kick my feet a little? Yes, yeah, 100%. Archduke Felix runs from his abusive father-in-law to the ‘evil queen’ Saskia’s tower. Once there he hides his identity and takes up a job as a librarian. Unfortunately the two are drawn to each other and feelings happen.

I loved so much of this. It hit that perfect pitch of cozy that I’ve been looking for since Legends and Lattes, but it had a delightful romantic plot in there as well. We even get the introduction of ‘new inventions’ with stationary items (a fountain pen!), like L&L’s coffee and treats. Saskia and Felix were both strong characters, Felix a pure sweetheart and Saskia a strong woman who is trying her best. The side characters were also a delight, along with our primary characters. My goal in life is to be like Mrs. Haglitz - I want to be a gnarled old troll with mushrooms growing on me while I take care of my family. PLEASE. For the length of the novel we get quite a bit of plot as well, setting up a larger world plot very well that will carry on into the next novels.

I cannot wait for the next books in this series, I’m mad I have to wait. I really recommend this for cozy fans, fantasy or romance. Romantasy fans in general will probably also love it as well. This is a big Yes from me, and I will recommend this for a long time.