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.

Wooing the Witch Queen is delightful and heart warming. It's a story about being cast as the villain and what it means to either fight against it or embrace what they think makes us villains. Is it our power? Is it that we had to fight against tyranny and the murder of our family? We can try so hard to be the hero, that we forget that maybe there's nothing wrong with it? Wooing the Witch Queen also tells a story of challenging our expectations.

3.5 ⭐️

Was so looking forward to this but in the end felt kinda meh about it! Wasn’t necessarily bad but definitely wasn’t blown away by it either 😕

This was kinda like a gender swap of your typical romantasy which I think is a great and decently unique concept. I loved the tropes too - hidden identities, a little miscommunication, forced proximity, and accidental enemies to lovers 👏 However I was never really pulled in by the story and never got attached to any of the characters (except maybe Oskar love that little guy🐦‍⬛)

But because I wasn’t ever really invested in anything, I’m not sure I would’ve finished this book if I had picked it up on my own 🤷‍♀️ I just wish the writing/story was more compelling one way or another

For example, I felt like there was way too much showing rather than telling - like both the FMC and MMC are daydreaming about each other but they barely had any actual conversations to show why they were infatuated with one another

Also… Lorelei drove me up the wall for some reason 😭

Love, love, love. This is the exact type of book I love to read. Doesn’t take itself too seriously but at the same time is able to hit important and vulnerable topics. Also, Oskar!!!

I really loved the idea and concept behind this book and the cover is stunning. I think what I had an issue with is that sometimes I have harder time to connecting with characters that are so young, especially our MMC. I'm only 30 but even still more then half the books I read in adult fantasy no one seems to be over the age of 27. Despite this little hiccup for me the world was built at an appropriate scale for the story that was being told, and the characters were interesting enough to keep the flow of the story going.

I also wasn't a fan of the instant lust. I like a little build up some tension and pining and not the instant "I'm so enamored with this person I would do anything for them". The spice was good and the conclusion felt good as well. Despite some of the hang ups that I had with this book I still enjoyed it and I would read the next ones in the series. All in all a good romantasy to read when you want all the romance and a comfy blanket.

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.