Such a lovely, heartwarming, cinnamon roll romance with a wonderful found family of fantasy characters!
When Felix, the Archduke of Estaria, flees the abusive oversight of his father-in-law, he doesn't have a strong plan except to throw himself at the mercy of the neighboring ruler, the evil witch queen, Saskia. But a case of mistaken identity means he's given a job, organizing her magical library and assisting her in helping find the missing Archduke Felix! With strong tones of forgiveness, healing from trauma, and finding acceptance, this wonderful story will have you cozying up in your favorite spot with a strong cup of coffee and your favorite familiar! Come for the romantasy, stay for the ogres, trolls, goblins, and crows!!!

This story was so silly and fun and charming. I love our witch queen and our cinnamon roll MmC. The setting is fantastic as well. I love books that have such wonderful setting descriptions because you truly feel so immersed in the story. This is a fun one that’s perfect for spooky season!

A green flag for the guy you like is when he befriends all the crows he happens across...and he is a stationary-obsessed girlie...and a librarian...

Super fun and easy to understand writing with easy to love characters and clever political scheming and plotting...I love some good political drama situations in a fantasy novel.

And of course, we've got quite the cinnamon roll MMC. I've been a big fan of of those lately.

And we've got witches, so reading this in October felt appropriate.

This does feel a bit slower burn though, for those wondering about that part of the romance in this book. These characters don't want to admit to their feelings to themselves, therefore, they actively try to avoid acting on their feelings. And I much prefer a slow-burn to an insta-love!

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

Newly crowned, Queen Saskia is trying to protect her kingdom by strengthening her magical barriers. Archduke Felix arrives on her doorstep seeking sanctuary and is mistaken for a dark wizard and librarian and made to work is Saskia's library. As the two navigate their new realities, they find a true friendship that could be more, if not for the lies and politics that stand between them.

This was a great comedic romance. There is so much character growth in this novel. Felix starts the story very broken and beat down but given space and a chance to explore, he grows into someone with agency. Saskia fights the mold of queen and her need to take care of everything on her own as she learns to trust other people. I loved all the secondary characters too.

Wooing the Witch Queen is a short and sweet cozy romastasy! We have Felix, the gentle scholarly Archduke with no control over his own life, and Saskia, the powerful yet misunderstood witch queen who everyone views as a monster. They made the perfect pair and I really enjoyed the slow burn romance. There’s also a bit of politics, mysteries, past trauma, found family in the form of trolls and ogres, and lovable crow familiars. I’m excited that the series is going to continue and I’ll be looking forward to reading about the other “Queens of Villainy”.

Thank you to Tor and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a quick, fun read. "Wooing the Witch Queen" was an unexpected character driven, cozy fantasy read.

I really enjoyed both our main characters, but particularly our male main character. He was not what I was expecting and I was very glad for it.

I am excited to see what this author writes next. I definitely recommend this book to any fantasy reader or anyone looking for a palate cleanser.

Rated 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC ebook.

This book will have you rooting for the evil Queen (and wanting to be her best friend!)

First of all, the world building and vibes of this book are iconic and irreverent! I was quickly immersed into the world and wanted to soak up every minute. It was impressive how much was packed into a shorter (277 pages) book. Definitely a breath of fresh air compared to some romantasy thick door stops and I never felt like I was missing anything!

Saskia and Felix have my whole heart, The slow burn, he falls first, her ‘I will scorch the earth for you’ devotion…yum yum yum! I couldn’t get enough, although a teensy part of me wanted more steam I also enjoyed what *was* on the page (though I’d say 1-2 🔥🔥 for anyone wondering)

I can’t fail to mention the other Villain Queens that made up the trio and I was THRILLED to find out we get more books with them in the future!

Can’t wait to recommend this to all my customers!

I absolutely loved this book! When I requested this book, I had never read anything by this author, but the description of this book intrigued me. It was an adorable story with two main characters that have trauma in their past. Our (strong) female lead is a witch who has been given a wicked reputation loves her people and wants what's best for them, even if that's using her powers and wicked reputation. Our male lead is a seemingly ordinary human who is gentle and kind, but is still strong and fierce, despite being a lover, not a fighter. The way that their relationship blooms is very well done.

I thought this story well very well done and I'm excited for the next book in this series!

4/5 ⭐️

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! It hit all the right points of a romantasy for me: a decently engaging plot, compelling characters, and fully fleshed out romance. Felix and Saskia worked perfectly for me because they seemed to round each other out in terms of temperament and dynamic. I do wish there was a little more back and forth before they finally got to together but I see why it was done that way for the sake of the plot. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series and will definitely be interested in more from this author in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A cozy Fantasy Romance where our male lead Felix is in distress & runs away from his kingdom where he is basically a prisoner to the enemy's kingdom where our female lead, Queen Saskia, rules. Felix gets mistaken as the new dark wizard librarian & ends up being treated better here as a minion for the "monstrous queen" as he ever did as the Archduke of his kingdom.

It is a fun reversal of the typical trope of the female lead being abused & running away to the "evil" enemy ruler under a disguise/ mistaken identity.

When a bisexual villainess witch queen accidentally hires her political rival to be her librarian, they cannot help but fall in love. For years, the Imperial archduke, Felix, has suffered under the control of his regent. With the death of his wife, he has nothing left to lose, so he decides to run away and ask the witch queen for her protection. Unfortunately, Queen Saskia mistakenly assumes Felix is the dark wizard she hired to organize her library and he will not be the one to correct her — especially after he discovers she is looking for him. Fabian is just an adorably kind poet librarian with an excellent crow wingman who is slowly falling for the impressively dangerous witch queen before him. Who can blame him?

I really enjoyed the Gaslamp element, it was everything that I enjoyed about the fantasy genre. The characters were everything that I wanted in this type of book. I loved that the wicked sorceress was trying to keep her kingdom safe, the rest of the cast worked well overall and enjoyed how they worked in this world. It was everything that I wanted and was glad I was able to read this. Stephanie Burgis has a strong style for this type of book and can't wait to read more.

A fluffy and amusing romance with tropes of secret identity, found family, and politics. I particularly enjoyed the non-human characters.

Wooing the Witch Queen by Stephanie Burgis is a charming and magical romance. With witty dialogue and lovable characters, it’s a lighthearted, enchanting story that leaves you smiling. A delightful, feel-good read!

I loved this - I was really hopeful going in and wasn't disappointed. The writing is so fun and I loved the characters and their political scheming. The Queen's of Villainy are such a fun girl gang and I can't wait to read the rest of their stories!

The romance was so so sweet I was squealing - I love a cinnamon bun MMC who stands up for his girl.

The vibes actually reminded me alot of Dreadful, which I loved - just villainous castle shenanigans with the best found families.

I eat up books with a male love interest that isn't the gruff alpha bro type. Give me all the nerdy awkward love interests! This is a very cozy and sweet story following a "villianous" witch queen and (by way of several misunderstandings) her archenemy turned wizard librarian.

While the plot doesn't do anything extremely original, I had a great time and flew through it. I would say that some people may be turned off by a story pulled along by a series of misunderstandings, as the majority of the plot relies on assumptions and miscommunication.

Besides that, I think anyone looking for a cozy fantasy romance will be very satisfied with Wooing The Witch Queen.

5 Stars, hands down one of the best books I’ve had the pleasure of reading this year. Wonderful characters and story, and a romance that absolutely made me melt. Longer review to come on my blog - I truly cannot recommend this book enough!

What an absolute delight this book was, and oh, do we need more gentle heroes! This lovely new story from Stephanie Burgis features a rakish Queen of Villainy and her gentle librarian--who harbors some serious secrets. If you love hidden identities, slow burn romance, and learning to face the ghosts of your past--by learning to draw strength from those you love--then this story is for you.

Burgis turns so many stereotypes on their head, but by far the one I loved the most was what makes us strong - or weak. Gentleness as strength. Radical kindness. Loving and leaning on someone allowing you to find your own strength and stand strong. What a beautiful story! And don't be confused--the true villains certainly get their just deserts, but figuring out what that is and how to go about it is also part of our characters' arc, and I loved that.

This is an adult romantasy, and it certainly hits the expected romance notes within a fabulously fantastical world, but there are also plenty of twists to keep you intrigued, and so much heart. Also! Crow friends, our hero nerding out over fountain pens, a troll housekeeper and the absolute best found family! What more could you want?

Highly recommend!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy!!!! As a librarian, I always love a book with a librarian that is trying to be dark and mysterious for his evil (who really isn't evil) queen while actually being a cinnamon roll.

A tasty fantasy romance amuse-bouche. The focus here is more on the romance than the plot but there's enough worldbuilding to set up the series. The romance itself is a lovely change of pace from some of the more common romance-novel couple dynamics. Felix, Archduke of Estarion, is a bookish and sensitive man that's been corralled into passivity by his overcontrolling father-in-law. He runs away, seeking asylum or death from Saskia, the titular Witch Queen. Saskia, meanwhile, is torn between playing into the lies told about about how wild and uncontrollable and monstrous she is and the pressure from her First Minister (and ex-girlfriend) to tone down her power and be a more respectable ruler.
A misunderstanding results in Felix posing as Saskia's Dark Wizard and librarian. As they get to know each other as people, they both help each other begin to find a way forward in their respective journeys.
Plus there are plenty of shenanigans and a fun supporting cast.
I generally prefer a little more plot in my fantasy romance but I'll definitely be picking this one up for my 'feel-good reads' list.