This book was light and fun. The narrator does a good job and kept me invested. It’s nothing deep or groundbreaking, but it was fun and I will read the other two.

I thought this was such a fun romantasy to read! It was filled with witty banter, forbidden love and magic! This was a strong start for a series, and I can’t wait to read the next book!

Thank you Net Galley

Wooing the Witch Queen- Stephanie Burgis
Narrated by Amanda Leigh Cobb

DNF at 40%. I liked the premise of the book, but I could not get past the blatant and continuous mispronunciation or the emphasis on the wrong syllable of some words.

3.5/5 stars

I've never read anything from Stephanie Burgis before after this I will. I really liked the writing style, it reminded me of Assistant to The Villain.

This was a great audiobook listen!

This is a fun world of humans, witches, wizards, trolls, goblins and so much more! The overall vibe is more of a cozy fantasy romance but there are also some darker themes which added depth to the story.

I loved our evil witch and duke in hiding! They were both interesting and complex characters and I found myself so invested in both their happiness!

The narration was phenomenal! The intonations were perfect and I can’t imagine this book being done by anyone else!

I definitely be recommending this book and audiobook to friends!

I was looking forward to this book and while I did have a decent time in this story, it was not at all what I expected. It was definitely more quirky and trying to be funny. It did remind me a bit of that vibe from Assistant to the Villain, so if you really enjoy that slap-stick interactions between characters, this might work better for you. I do not think I will continue on. This story does come to a conclusion and the snippet we get for book 2, is it follows some side characters from this book.

Stephanie Burgis never fails me. I love this new series and I cannot wait to read more of it! Felix and Saskia make a great couple and I loved how they handled their secret.

What a fun cozy fantasy book to read over the winter. I adored the audiobook narrators and who doesn't want to read about a powerful queen and a handsome librarian wizard. The MMC gave golden retriever energy and I was so here for it!!!

“Wooing the Witch Queen” features an absolutely captivating storyline—I couldn’t stop talking about it to anyone who would listen!

Queen Saskia and librarian “Fabian” are such unique and memorable characters in this medium-stakes fantasy. The best part? Neither of them realizes that the other’s reputation doesn’t exactly align with reality!

I absolutely loved the warm, bookish vibe of this story. With much of the plot unfolding in the castle’s library, it felt wonderfully warm and cozy—even amidst the political strife brewing both inside and outside the castle walls.

“Wooing the Witch Queen” unfolds over the course of a few months, allowing Saskia and “Fabian” to naturally grow from strangers to friends while uncovering secrets about themselves and each other. The author did a phenomenal job bringing these two to life—I felt such a deep connection to both characters, and I’m not ready to say goodbye to them!!

I received the Audiobook for review and the narration was INCREDIBLE. Amanda Leigh Cobb did a phenomenal job bringing the two main characters to life and I felt like Amanda's voice fit Saskia perfectly. The pacing was perfect and I didn't have to alter the speed in order to have an enjoyable listening experience!

Thank you to netgalley, Macmillan Audio, and Team Stephanie Burgis for this audiobook!

I recommend this book to readers who enjoy:
📚 medieval vibes
✨ witches/wizards
📚 magic
✨ Sci-Fi aspects
📚 royalty
✨ friends to lovers

If cozy romantic fantasies are your jam, then do I have good news for you! This was such a comfy, fun, relatively undemanding story that nonetheless managed to keep my interest the entire time. It's certainly not my normal type of read, but I was pleasantly surprised by just how much I enjoyed it.

Saskia has gained a (mostly earned) reputation as an evil witch queen, ruling over a land protected from outside forces by a magical barrier that she maintains and full of all varieties of different creatures labeled as "lesser" or "wicked" by the wider world. But the reality is more that she retook the throne from her scheming, murderous uncle and inherited the rocky relations with the empire next door. And all of her woes keeping her from her studies can be blamed on the archduke neighboring her land. Little does she know that Fabian, the soft-spoken, gentle dark wizard she just hired to be her librarian is actually Felix the archduke in disguise - on the run from his own murderous in laws and desperate for any refuge.

This book was just so comfy and soft! While there is a plot and some sense of urgency surrounding it, it certainly was not the main focus of the story - instead being centered entirely on our two leads. I was anxious going in about a story centered on the misunderstanding/lack of communication about Felix's identity, but it was just SO good. For two characters who trust so few, Felix and Saskia genuinely bond and start to let down their walls, flirting over poetry and bouquets left in shared spaces and the recent invention of fountain pens. And crow familiars. Seriously, so sweet.
And the cast of secondary characters, including Saskia's castle employees (and found family), are all delightful. I have a partial soft spot for Crack the goblin. I wasn't quite as sold on Saskia's friendship with her two fellow evil queens, Lorelei and Ailana, but I'll be curious to see how that is fleshed out in the sequel focusing on Lorelei - who was my least favorite of the three. Maybe her book will convince me otherwise!

Amanda Leigh Cobb made for a wonderful narrator, bringing so much nuance to each of the characters to make them distinctive pieces in the story!

First off, thank you to Macmillan audio and Netgalley for this audio copy!

Unfortunately, this story just isn’t quite grabbing me. The stakes don’t feel high enough, but it also isn’t landing the same way my favorite low stakes cozy fantasies land. I think it might just not be the right time for me, but I’m suspecting it’s just not my fantasy sweet spot.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC audiobook for early review!

This isn’t my type of romantasy. The tone of this iaudiobook makes the book feel snarky and the humor within just didn’t click with me. I believe someone who reads a lot of romantasy would really enjoy this as a palate cleanser. Not for me, but pretty good all together.

A fun and cozy slow-burn romantasy! Queen Saskia is a strong-willed ruler with an incredible heart for her people. However, political tensions increase at every corner when the archduke of an enemy country has disappeared. Unbeknownst to her, the wizard she recently hired to organize the castle's library is the archduke in disguise. How long will the archduke be able to keep up his charade?

Amanda Leigh Cobb narrates this cozy fantasy read. Cobb seamlessly switches between characters making it easy for the listener to stay engaged in the book.

I'm looking forward to book two!

Special thanks to Netgalley and Macmillian Audio for an advanced listening copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wooing the Witch Queen by Stephanie Burgis is book one in the Queens of Villainy series. I had an ALC of this book and I really enjoyed it - I gave it 3.5 stars. Thank you to #netgalley and MacMillan Audio for my advance listener copy. The narration on this audiobook was by Amanda Leigh Cobb and she was fantastic. Okay, this book hooked from it's opening line: "It was a cool rainy evening in Estavial City when the Archduke decided not, after all, to give his in-laws the gift of his own early demise." I mean? The Archduke is a widower, and the loss of his best friend and wife, has him questioning things. He realizes his in-laws may decide to do away with him without his consent, so he sneaks away and decides to throw his lot in with the Queen. When he arrives at her castle, he is mistaken for a dark wizard they are expecting. This is an engaging story and there is slow burn romance developing between the Queen and the Archduke/dark wizard that I found really enjoyable.

I loved this first novel in The Queens of Villainy series! Wooing The Witch Queen is a delightful low-steam, slow burn romance between Saskia, a beautiful witch who recently deposed her scheming uncle for the throne of her country, and Fabian, a mysterious wizard, whom she hires to organize the royal library.

Of course, Fabian is really the “evil” Arch Duke who Saskia fears but Fabian is just running away from the true villain, his father-in-law, (Fabian’s wife is sadly deceased) whose political machinations place the blame for all that is bad in his country as Fabian’s fault.

What he truly is is a sweet cinnamon roll of a librarian who talks to his books and promises to protect them **swoon** and also develops protective tendencies toward Saskia and her crows. More Swoon! :)

Anyway, this is a fun read with charming world building and quirky characters and I’m looking forward to the next books that tell the stories of the other two Queens of Villainy!

The audiobook narrator gives an excellent performance and I would recommend this to anyone who loves romantic stories involving hidden identities and found family set in a lovely fantasy world.

Queen Saskia is a supposedly “evil” witch with a heart of gold, who is just looking to protect the people (of all species) in her kingdom from the bigoted neighboring kingdoms that are trying to conquer hers. When her enemy, the Archduke and the puppet ruler of one of the neighboring kingdoms, arrives at her door looking for sanctuary, she mistakes him for a dark wizard and gives him a job as a librarian!

This is an excellent all-inclusive fantasy novel that talks about heavy topics in an easy way. I love that Saskia’s mother was an anthropologist who taught Saskia to treat everyone equally, regardless of race, species, or magical ability. The contrast between Saskia’s views and the views of the other kingdoms shows the reader exactly how someone even a little bit different than the societal norm can easily be perceived as “evil.”

The slow-burn romance element was sweet. I enjoyed that they got to know each other well before they got together. The banter was excellent. The crow companion was aa absolute hoot!

DNF at 66%. This book is definitely within the cozy/goofy fantasy realm, and i think it will absolutely appeal to readers if “assistant to the villain.” It is deeply unserious, and the audiobook narration reflects that sense of silliness. It’s such a slow burn, but with so little going on in the plot (i have listened to these people basically move about a castle with no conflict or any romantic activity) it is outrageously boring. I never needed or wanted to hear so much about a fountain pen.

3.5 ⭐️

After reading a previous book by this author, I was eager to try Wooing the Witch Queen—a cozy fantasy romance that delivers on its charm, even if the worldbuilding still feels underdeveloped. The story follows Queen Saskia, a powerful and feared witch, and Felix, an archduke on the run who takes refuge in her castle by posing as a dark wizard librarian. Unbeknownst to Saskia, Felix is tied to the very people she’s fighting against, but as they grow closer, their relationship shifts from reluctant trust to genuine affection.

Felix is instantly lovable—nerdy, gentle, and kind, a perfect foil to Saskia’s fiery temper and prickly exterior. Their romance is a slow burn, built through trust, meaningful gestures, and mutual protection. It’s refreshing to see a fantasy romance where the female lead is the assertive one while the male lead brings the softness. Their dynamic has strong “golden retriever boyfriend and prickly bi-girlfriend” energy, which I think a lot of readers will enjoy.

The book shines in its cozy atmosphere and found-family elements, with Saskia’s magical non-human companions adding warmth and humor. Oskar the crow, Mrs. Haglitz the troll housekeeper, and the formidable yet supportive Queens of Villainy, Lorelei and Ailana, make the world feel lived-in. However, I do wish the world itself had been explored in greater depth. The stakes—while present—never feel particularly high, and the pacing at the beginning moves too fast, not allowing enough time to establish the characters before they meet.

Despite these drawbacks, Wooing the Witch Queen is an enjoyable, feel-good fantasy romance with a fun hidden-identity twist. If you’re looking for a whimsical and heartwarming love story with magical elements, this is definitely worth picking up!

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the copy of Wooing the witch queen by: Stephanie Burgis, in exchange for an honest review.

This started out great and was giving me Assistant to the villain vibes but somewhere around the 30% mark I started losing interest and really did not find myself connecting with the characters and wishing for some slow burn/tension. Felix’s obsession with fountain pens definitely gave the golden retriever vibes, but I found it a little eye twitchy with how much it got brought up, literally like a dog’s obsession with a ball, ha! There were some snarky comments, but overall I did not get evil witch vibes from Saskia and found her friend annoying.

Overall this had an interesting premise by reversing a usual male villain as the center point and instead making the villain female, but ultimately the story lost my interest and just wasn’t for me. There is definitely a fan base for this one but that person is not me unfortunately. I will say the narrator, Amanda Leigh Cobb did a great job and I was able to differentiate between the characters voices.

Wooing the Witch Queen was an absolute delight to read. It’s a gaslamp fantasy that may now be one of my new favorite things. I really enjoyed the humorous and cozy undertones to this story as well as the black cat/golden retriever energy between the FMC and MMC. Speaking of the MMC, Felix is easy to adore with his fountain pen obsession and gentle nature. I also enjoyed how layered the FMC was with being the ‘evil sorceress’ on the surface until you get to know her more. I also felt the romance was believable and developed organically between the two. Found family is one of my favorite tropes, and it was used so well in this book. I also felt it was fairly faced paced making it easy to stay focused and enjoy the plot. The audiobook narration was incredible. Amanda Leigh Cobb excelled in this role and brought all the vibes and energy needed to make this an hit to listen to. I had no issues paying attention and loved every minute of the audio. I can’t wait to see where the series goes next.