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.

Many thanks to Bramble and NetGalley for the digital review copy of this one, which is out now!

Wooing the Witch Queen Synopsis

This is the first book in Burgis' new Queens of Villainy series. In it, we meet the Evil Witch Queen Saskia, who has overthrown her Uncle to save her kingdom and just wants to be left in peace to figure out how to keep it protected. Meanwhile, Archduke Felix flees from the kingdom where he's kept prisoner, planning to throw himself on her mercy... only to be mistaken for a formidable dark wizard ready to take on the job of castle librarian. What ensues is a delightful slow burn, grumpy/sunshine romance where she's the prickly one.

Wooing the Witch Queen Review

My friends, I have been trying to enter my Romantasy era for over a year, without much luck. But Wooing the Witch Queen delivered for me.

The worldbuilding here is just enough to let us know how magic and politics work, driving the plot without slowing it down. I enjoyed getting to know the world as much as I liked meeting its characters, which isn't always the case.

Speaking of characters, there are so many wonderful side characters to pull at your heartstrings alongside the two main leads. For once, I didn't mind the alternating POV, as the mistaken identity really shone from having both sides of the situation.

The slow burn romance between Saskia and Felix/Fabian was spot on. I loved the slowly building trust and affection, along with the spicy tension. There was so much understanding and mutual respect before we got to the spicy bits, which is what I like in a romance.

Oh, and the plot had a few surprises. Sometimes, Romantasy sacrifices a strong plot to throw in as much spice as possible. Not here. I actually found myself surprised and delighted by some of what happened here, in the best way. We love when a romance still has plot, especially one that keeps you hooked.

Final Thoughts

This might very well be my first-ever five-star Romantasy read. I've read some decent ones before, but none had me hooked and delighted quite like Wooing the Witch Queen. It's a hard recommend for me, friends.

I’d heard Stephanie Burgis recommended fairly often in fantasy romance, so I was excited for this one, and if I’m honest I feel a bit let down. The tone of this book was weirdly inconsistent, which combined with worldbuilding which is imaginative but doesn’t feel fully fleshed out (or is at least not well explained) and some odd pacing issues in both the plot and the romance led the book overall to feel kind of juvenile and half-baked. When I looked the author up, I saw that her middle grade fiction generally reviews a lot better than her adult fiction, and honestly, that absolutely tracks with the writing displayed in this novel. The impression I got from this book was that of a middle grade author who wants in on the adult romantasy train but doesn’t quite have the chops to pull it off. The book did get much more interesting towards the end, but I’m not sure it was enough to save it, and although I really liked the side characters of Morlokk and Mrs. Haglitz, I wasn’t interested enough in the side characters who are clearly meant to be the MCs in the next book to want to continue on. I might still try some of the author’s other works though, just because the premises are interesting to me, and see if maybe those work out a little better.

Representation: bisexual characters

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

Felix is the Archduke of Estarion, but in name only. Count von Hertzendorff, an evil, conniving man, took charge and is ruling behind the scenes. Felix knows it’s only a matter of time before the Count arranges a “accident” that results in his death, so runs to a place where he knows the Count can’t touch him: the Mountains of Kitvaria where the infamous Witch Queen Saskia rules.

Felix intends to throw himself on Queen Saskia’s mercy, but when he arrives, he’s mistaken as the dark wizard they’ve hired to catalog the magical library and Felix doesn’t correct them. He figures he’ll bide his time and explain later. However, Felix falls into his job naturally and befriends the castle inhabitants as well as Queen Saskia.

Queen Saskia wrenched the throne away from her wicked uncle and she’s kept her kingdom safe so far, but trouble is brewing. She knows her uncle is again plotting against her. Saskia must find a way to eliminate the threat for good and so she keeps experimenting with spells to fortify her borders and tasks her new dark wizard to search for anything that could help, too.

For being a supposed “wicked” witch queen, Saskia had a big heart and treated all in her kingdom with kindness and love. Her priority was keeping her people safe. I really liked her! Felix quickly became her confidant and supporter, fiercely protective of her, so that when his identity came out it didn’t blow up like you’d think it would. Their attraction grew as they worked together.

I really enjoyed Felix and Saskia's slow-burn romance and rooted for them to prevail against their enemies! I liked the little twist with Felix at the end. I look forward to the next installment which centers on Queen Lorelei.

I LOOOOOOVE the dynamics in this romance. You have a Witch Queen and her gentle librarian. GENTLE LIBRARIAN?!?!? Swooooon. I love watching these two amazing characters come together and fit in all the right places. The journey and growth they both go through. Learning to trust each other and be strong for one another. <3 The slow burn is chef's kiss.

Wooing the Witch Queen is a cosy fantasy romance delight, with found family, multiple queens of villainy and a sweet slow burn romance.

We were delighted to interview Stephanie Burgis for Episode Five, Season Eight of the SFFRomCast, about Wooing the Witch Queen! You can check out our discussion via the SFFRomCast on YouTube, Apple, Spotify and other podcast distributors.

Rating: 5/5
I received the eARC for my honest opinion.

I loved this book so much, it was romantasy, but it was also like a historical with a good mix of fantasy in it as well. I loved that even though you have fantasy book this has more romance in it. This book also has action, drama and a lot of laughter. In this book you will meet Felix who is the Archduke of Estarion but he really isn’t he is just the figure head. He has been abused by his regent and father-in-law. You will meet Saskia who is a fierce, loyal and caring even though she knows that she is powerful, and she knows when to use it. They meet when Felix runs away to her kingdom looking for help but when he gets there, she is too busy in her potion room and mistakes him for the new dark wizard. He has the challenge of helping her get her library organized, and he takes it and learns that he will have to hide his identity.

This was a such a cute romantasy with a little (a very little) of spice. I loved that they were both falling for each other, but it was of course he falls first, and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. You will get to watch these two heal each other’s emotional abuse and even some physical. You will see these two learn to grow and understand themselves and want they want in the end. I found Felix to be such a sweetheart even though he has been through hell and back. He soon realizes that his father-in-law has ruined his reputation as the Archduke. He wants to make changes to his life and how his people see him in his area and the other areas as well. He is misunderstood, and I wanted to wrap him up in a cozy warm blanket and hold him for hours. I loved that Saskia is so fierce, and caring even though she has been through the ringer as well. Her parents’ loss was traumatizing to her and how her uncle treated her afterwards. She doesn’t trust right away but if you gain this queen trust you will see how far she will go to protect her friend/family. The side characters were well built, and you can see their stories coming alive in this book and I can’t wait to see what the next book will bring us.

I also received the audio of this book and wow. Amanda Leigh Cobb did a wonderful job bring the characters to life, as well as the book. You can tell that she really cared to bring the readers the best audio.

I want to thank NetGalley and Tor for the opportunity to review this book.

This story was incredibly charming. I loved how our hero was gentle and kind, drawing strength from his queen and future partner. This book was enjoyable and entertaining. The romance was simply enchanting. Wooing the Witch Queen is a kind of romance that skillfully weaves in its fantasy elements while giving us adventure, found family and magic! I'm excited to see more from this author and the series.

Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

I adored this! What a lovely, sweet romance with a tender relationship between traumatized characters finding their own strength. I had such a great time with this one and absolutely can't wait for the next in the series--while Wooing the Witch Queen more or less can stand alone, I am desperately eager for the next queen's story.

Thank you to Bramble for the beautiful arc! Opinions are my own.

This book was given to me for a honest review from Netgalley. Thank you.

This book is currently available for purchase

Wooing the Witch Queen is romantasy because of the blossoming romance and the fantasy elements such as magic.

This book is about a queen trying to protect her heart and her land. Her kingdom is vulnerable from a neighboring kingdom what wants to invade and conquer and Saskia is in an alliance with two other kingdoms to prevent this.
She is recovering from a breakup and a death in her family. She has a reputation as not being kind and she is feared. No one really knows the queen as she stays behind her magic wall in her castle.

There is a new mysteries librarian Saskia hired with his own secrets as she thinks he is a dark wizard but he is not. Felix is in charge of the library as Saskia would like him to organize. As Felix gets to know the queen he realizes her reputation is not exactly what he thought. Will she forgive him when she learns the truth of why is is in her castle, will she use him for her further gain? There is a book two and I am excited to see where this story goes.

This book is also in two of my special edition book subscriptions and I can't wait to get my physical copy!

If you like books like Assistant to the Villian, then you will like this book!

Wooing the Witch Queen by Stephanie Burgis is the inaugural installment in the captivating Queens of Villainy series. This spellbinding tale is brimming with charm, wit, and enchantment, featuring two impeccably crafted main characters and a romance that will leave readers swooning. It is truly irresistible and I found myself thoroughly enjoying every moment of it.

This was very fun. I liked that the usual trope of the third act breakup doesn't really happen and that the Witch Queen is actually smart and strategic and didn't fall to the usual tropes of the genre. I think it was great theme of not listening to the narratives controlled by powerful people and instead finding the courage to come forward with the truth when sometimes hiding behind the mark is easier...both physically and metaphorically for these characters. I'm very intrigued to read the next in the series!

I thought this was a lovely and sweet light romance. Well, as light as a romance involving dead parents and hostile takeovers can be. Felix is such a simp for Saskia and I am here for it. I love having a heroine who need to learn how to be emotionally vulnerable while the hero is a soft sweethearts. And they're both competent and complement each other's strengths and flaws beautifully. I love the world building and I'm very much looking forward to future books.

I was impressed by the richly atmospheric and magical world we encountered. The diverse magical systems and complex politics were thought-provoking. While certain elements of the story were foreseeable, the reading experience remained delightful. Slow burn romances are a favorite of mine, and this narrative meets my expectations. The hero, mistakenly identified as an enemy by the heroine, is in fact seeking her protection. Having overheard her disparage the Arch Duke, he opts to maintain his disguise and enter her service.

This is one of my favorite reads of the year so far, I truly had such a great time reading this book, it hit all the right vibes for me. My bookstore just got a few copies of this in, and it went RIGHT to my staff picks shelf.

Ahoy there mateys! This was a romantic fantasy about an "evil" queen who hires a dark magician to organize her library.  Queen Saskia is actually highly loyal to her country and friends.  The dark magician is a case of mistaken identity.  Felix is an archduke on the run from his minister who has abused him his whole life.

I am normally a huge fan of this author's work but have to admit that this one was not to my taste at all.  Surprisingly, I had problems with the characters and the world building.  Everything seemed too simplistic.  The romance was too much of insta-lust.  Even though the queens are supposed to be the focus of the story, we got a lot more of Felix being the central character.  Saskia felt immature and threw temper-tantrums.  Even the plot was just okay.

I did like the bats.  I don't have a lot more to say given how little this worked for me.  I will not be reading the rest of the series.  I am in the minority though because other fans of the author are loving this.  Arrr!

3⭐️ Normally, I’m all for a more cozy fantasy read. This likely was a timing issue more than a story issue. There are cute moments. Queen Saskia has a notorious reputation to be very evil. As a powerful sorceress, she was used by her uncle for her power. Now, it’s her time to poor into her lab a strength her spells. Not for evil though. She is genuinely caring. Fabian is her new librarian. He’s nerdy and Saskia can’t help but be attracted to him. But he has secrets she will eventually find. Will it work out or will they crash and burn.

Thank you to @netgalley, Stephanie Burgis, and Tor Publishing Group for the advanced reader copy.

I did like the strong female lead. I also enjoyed the premise of the story but I was not convinced by its execution.

So here are my issues with the story.

World Building? Where was it? Did I miss it? I felt like I was quickly thrown into a world that I had to completely imagine on my own which means it became visually in my mind, a Disney princess villain. I am sure that was not the intent but without the world building this is where my mind went with evil villain/witch. Speaking of evil queen, I am not sure the author ever convinced me that Saskia was evil. Yes she did almost kill someone who was attempting to harm Felix/Fabian first but how is that evil? Instead of evil I just saw her as an introvert who preferred being alone vs entertaining pointless conversation. Until Felix/Fabian of course. I also would have expected Saskia to be clever enough to figure out who Felix/Fabian is sooner. I just got the vibe she was intelligent and not so easily swayed.

Over all this was not a bad read, just not for me. I can see it’s appeal though. If you enjoy a slow burn romance with magic this may be the read for you.