The first in a new historical fantasy series that involved a bookish witch queen a secret nobleman masquerading (literally) as a librarian/servant. This was my first book by Stephanie Burgis and I enjoyed it quite a bit for the slow burn, forced proximity love story with betrayal, heat and heart. I look forward to seeing what happens next and enjoyed it on audio. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review! Recommended for fans of books like A study in drowning by Ava Reid.

Whimsical, adventurous, and fun—Wooing the Witch Queen was a great addition to my fantasy reads this year. This cozy fantasy follows an archduke in disguise as a dark wizard and on the run from his past. When serendipitously is confused as an applicant for the position of Librarian at the castle of the Witch Queen Saskia, he throws himself into the job of bringing order to her magical library. Saskia is a queen just trying to protect her people, especially from the encroachment of the humans. Forming a tentative alliance with the other witch queens, Saskia spends hours experimenting with magic to protect the realm, and her new librarian, “Fabian,” seems eager to help. As the two fight their growing attraction to one another, war seems like it is about to come knocking on their door. When the secrets between them are revealed, they will have to decide what matters more—what side of the war they’re on, or what they know of each other.

❤️ What I loved: Great characters, a fun story with high stakes but levity to match, and a super sweet romance. I loved the dynamic between our two main characters and the relationship that grew between them throughout the story.
💔 What I didn’t love: I might have liked a little more of the world-building to see the bigger picture, but since this is a planned series, I imagine we will get more glimpses in the future books.

I highly recommend this book to fans of cozy fantasy and romance, and I am looking forward to the next book in the Queens of Villainy series, which is focused on the Fae Queen and the general!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 (4-4.5)

Acknowledgments & Disclaimers ✨ Thank you to NetGalley, Stephanie Burgis, and Macmillan Audio, for providing an ARC and the opportunity to share an honest review of this book. ✨ All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own. ✨ My reviews and ratings strive to evaluate books within their own age-demographic and genre.

Let me just start off by saying I love witchs and magical libraries! This is my first book from this author so I went in with minimal expectations, thinking it would be a cute romantasy book to listen to while I drive to work. It was exactly what I was looking for, cute slow romantasy where the characters start to slowly catch feelings for each other through proximity. I usually do not like insta-love romantasy, but this was done in a way where you could tell they had chemistry from very early in the book, but they still get to know each other and learn to love each others quirks which is super cute.

Both our main characters were lovely and well fleshed out in my opinion. However, I do not understand really why our Witch Queen was considered evil... like it seemed like a cool premise, but I was thinking she would be a bit evil based on the blurb so I was a bit dissappointed that we did not get our lovely morally grey main character moment. (it is very obvious that she is kind from the get go). However, both the characters were still quite lovely, so even if my expectations weren't necessarily met, I still loved them as individual characters. The relationship and storyline is cozy/cute and comforting so it was exactly what I wanted from an audiobook at the moment.

Saskia is a wicked queen who everyone fears after she took back her throne from her uncle. The only thing she cares about if keeping her people safe and feels as though she needs to spend all her time in the lab working on spells. She doesn't have time to tame the chaos that is her library so she hires a dark wizard to do it for her. Fabian is different then any dark wizard she has ever known, he is sweet and a little nerdy and absolutely loves his job organizing the library. He is actually the archduke from the kingdom she is trying to protect her people from, has no magical training and is on the run. What will happen when his secret finally comes out.

I thought this book was super cute. I loved the relationship between Fabian and Saskia and the pacing was good. I loved how it flipped the gender norms we typically see in fantasy books. I loved seeing how Fabian supports Saskia and wants her to be proud of how powerful she is. I really enjoyed the narration on this book and felt it fit well.

*3.5 stars*

This was a fun magical romance. Although it touched on some sensitive topics (murder, abuse mostly) it didn’t go into detail and was overall a quick fluffy read. I would have liked a little more tension and chemistry between the main characters and a little more world building. Overall this was fun and I’ll probably pick up the next book when it comes out.

The audiobook narration was very well done and I enjoyed the narrators style.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ALC of this work. All opinions in this review are my own.

I absolutely loved this book. The narration was excellent and the story was engaging. I feel like MFC was more a princess with magic than a witch. I'm super excited to read more from this author.

I really liked the proposed plot of this book, and I wanted to love the story. Unfortunately, it really fell flat for me. Almost the entire book takes place in one location and characters did not gain much depth, despite the entire plot being mostly conversation and no action. I pushed through hoping for some action later on, but to no avail. I do appreciate the ALC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Wooing the Witch Queen written by Stephanie Burgis and narrated by Amanda Leigh Cobb was a fun tale of three magical queens forming an alliance to protect their land from invasion — enter a dark wizard librarian love interest with a secret identity.

Queen Saskia is a strong FMC.
Slow burn
Enemies to lovers
Hidden identity
Great romance with a little bit of spice

Amanda Leigh Cobb captured the all of the different characters masterfully.

audio-ARC from NetGalley.

This was so cute and fun!

While attempting to throw himself upon the enemy queen's mercy, Arch Duke Felix is mistaken for a dark wizard and hired as a librarian. Maybe the evil Witch Queen Saskia isn't as bloodthirsty and cruel as they say, but how is Felix supposed to tell her he's the Duke she hates so much?

This was super lighthearted. Despite the characters' tragic backstories and overwhelming traumas, they were both just sweet baby angels who loved animals and wanted to protect their people and live peacefully.

The audio experience was great, the characters were lovable, and the ending didn't piss me off.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the alc, all opinions are my own!

Saskia is the witch queen, feared by many and thought to just be wicked and terrible. She has stolen the throne from her uncle and brought on a librarian to help her secure her castle and throne.

A cast of magical characters, golden retriever hidden identity libration, and black cat bi queen. This was a really fun listen and the narrator did a great job portraying the story and bringing the characters for life. This is more of a hazy lens romance. Perfect cozy vibes.

Wooing the Witch Queen by Stephanie Burgis is a fun and easy read about a badaass witch and a cinnamon roll archduke who comes to her castle for help.

The narrator did a fantastic job. She is also the same narrator who read #3 and #3.5 in the ACOTAR series, and she did well in those books as well. I was happy to hear her narrate again.

In the beginning I was impressed with the fact that there was an actual plot and politics. Many times I feel like romance novels forget about the plot and it becomes underdeveloped. Sadly as I continued that is exactly what happened. I loved reading about ogres and goblins and crow familiars. I loved the talk about all races being equal. What politics that was there I enjoyed. I love the cinnamon roll MMC and strong independent FMC. However, I wished to have learned more about.... Well everything. There wasn't enough character development, not enough world building, and not enough the plot to really get sucked in.

I still might continue the series cause it was fun. I just wanted more depth. It wasnt bad but not very memorable.

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I look forward to more of your work.

An enchanting cozy fantasy. Easy to follow low stakes storyline, clean romance. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This audiobook was lots of fun. This book is a cozy romance with a little spice. Really little spice. The archduke runs away from home because he’s been held captive, and things aren’t going well. His uncle has been running his country so he decides to seek the help of the queen in the neighboring kingdom and hopefully maybe take back his rule. However, when he’s mistaken for a dark wizard, he thinks what a better place to hide then with the queen next door. A big Library that needs organizing and a cast of wild characters makes this an enjoyable read. Both good and evil witches, some that sparkle rainbows, and some that are just up to no good. This was thoroughly enjoyable from beginning to end. This audiobook also gives you a preview of the next book that’s out late 2025 early 2026. Yes I do want the next book.

Thank you to Bramble and Macmillan Audio for my ARC copies of Wooing the Witch Queen by Stephanie Burgis which released on 2/18/25!

This was my first novel by Burgis, and I fell in love with her smart, witty dialogue, and cozy found family vibes. This is book 1 of a new Queens of Villainy series, which will connect with readers who enjoy the vibes found in the Assistant to the Villain series, or anyone who has ever truly loved a new fountain pen!

Queen Saskia is known as a wicked sorceress, feared by all, but she'd much rather work on her spellcraft than be bothered by the boring administrative tasks of running a queendom, or organizing her library. When Fabian, a dark mysterious wizard, arrives at her doorstep, Saskia hires him to put together her library while also searching for a unique spell that will assist her in locating her enemy, the Imperial archduke. Fabian is running from his own secrets, including his identity as the archduke Saskia seeks, but the longer he works for Saskia, the more he falls for her, while exploring his own magical identity.

You can expect:
Hidden Identity
Magical familiars (Oskar the crow!)
Hurt/comfort; finding safety in a partner after abuse
Cinnamon Roll MMC/Black Cat FMC
Slowburn romance (all the whimsical gestures.... "You deserve poetry.")
Bisexual representation
Political intrigue and twists

Narrator Amanda Leigh Cobb did a wonderful job capturing the variety of characters, including the troll housekeeper, and bringing Burgis' irreverent writing style to life. From the nuanced poetry of sweet, gentle Felix, to Saskia making a grand entrance wearing a crown of bones, Cobb delivered the ups and down of the action perfectly.

This is my first book by Stephanie Burgis and I was pleasantly surprised. This book sucked me in a lot faster than I expected. But what's not to love about an MMC that is a cinnamon roll librarian?? Saskia, the FMC, is fantastic. I loved everything about her. She the queen and she'll protect her land but that's not her passion in life. She's an academic, just like Felix, and I respect that. Considering this is the first book in a series, the world building is superb. It was already very full and cohesive. I can't wait to read the next books!!

ALC 🎧 Book Review 🤍

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🫑

This was such an entertaining story!! I loved our MCs, but even the side characters were full of personality. A very cozy fantasy w/ just the right amount of tension. The world building was semi minimal- I did like the plot? But it wasn’t like, out of this world lol. It was def a fun 🎧 through though & I’m excited to see how to next book develops. I love that we’re moving onto a different character- Esp since the three Queens of Villainy were so fun together.

I love these characters and their found family so much. Bisexual queen and her dark wizard librarian is an absolute must for a cozy fantasy! I highly recommend if you just need a cozy fantasy in your life.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced listener copy of this book. I did happen to listen to this book while still in a reading slump so again I don’t think my rating fully shows how much I actually enjoyed it. It also doesn’t help that I do not expect the story to be so cozy and so I think that kind of threw me off too even though I love cozy fantasy. in the story, we basically have hidden identity on accident. We have Felix, who is fleeing his abusive family, and then comes into the witch queen‘s castle and accidentally gets mistaken as a black wizard. He decides to go with this and to see what happens. We also get to meet our witch queen and find out that she really just wants to be able to work on spells and not be bothered by all the politics that she has to take care of. I will say this is very much a slow burn and I think it was like 70% until we got something. This book also with spiciness is not that high. We get told a lot of things but we don’t see a lot of things. Like most romance series you definitely know who the next couple is going to be and I’m assuming this is going to be a trilogy where we focus on the three witch queens.
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Wooing the Witch Queen is a unique blend of magic, romance, and just the right sprinkle of chaos. The story’s got that cutesy charm with playful banter and heartwarming moments that’ll make you grin like an idiot. It wraps you in a cozy world full of enchanting vibes and quirky characters, perfect for curling up with on a lazy day. Honestly, it’s just plain fun—the kind of read that doesn’t take itself too seriously but still keeps you hooked. If you’re into magical mischief and sweet slow-burn romance, this one’s got your name written all over it.

Wooing the Witch Queen was a satisfying quick read that I really enjoyed. Burgis writes loveable characters who grow and shine throughout the story, she weaves a world that is vibrant and diverse. I can’t wait to see what she writes next.