Wooing the Witch Queen is a fun cozy romantic fantasy perfect for fans of Assistant to the Villain.

Queen Saskia is the wicked sorceress trying to run an evil kingdom. Felix is an Archduke trying to leave an even more evil kingdom in disguise. What could possibly happen besides a magical twisted love story?

Thank you to Tor Publishing Group, Bramble and NetGalley for an advanced electronic copy in exchange for an honest review. Wooing the Witch Queen comes out on February 18th.

Wooing the Witch Queen is my first Burgis novel. I didn’t know what to expect, and I had fun with it! This book would be great for romantasy readers who like romance more than fantasy.

There is not a lot of world-building in this one book. I didn’t expect it since it’s more of a romance. Although there are a lot of different magical creatures and elements, I could have used a little more information. Regardless, it didn’t hinder my experience too much! As I said before, it was about the romance and not the fantasy world. The fact that most of this happens in a library is pretty awesome! I enjoyed how the romance was sweet and slow. They didn’t rush into anything and took time to get to know each other. All to say that it’s not an insta-love situation.

I noticed that this was a series, and we met the women that I think will be the future leads. I’m not sure how I feel about it because some of them didn’t leave the best impression in this book!! On the other hand, there are several supporting characters that I liked! The creatures were also a great addition to the book!

I flew through this book! The author did a great job keeping the pace constant without making me feel rushed. Of course, there are many things that were predictable, but it didn’t bug me too much. It seems there is a lot of that with romances these days.

Overall, I enjoyed my time with these characters. I thought it was the perfect palate cleanser between heavier reads. I can’t wait to see what happens in the next book!

Thank you, Bramble, Tor, and Netgalley, for providing an e-arc! All thoughts and opinions are my own!

Love can be a witch and I, for one, am here for it.

This book is the perfect mix of romantic tension, magical hijinks, and charmingly devious characters. Our Witch Queen heroine is every bit as powerful, stubborn, and irresistible as you’d hope, while the love interest? Oh, he’s a disaster in the best way possible. If you love court intrigue, spellbinding romance, and a touch of playful banter, this book will have you swooning.

✔ Enemies-to-lovers with actual witchy stakes
✔ A swoon-worthy slow burn (that still delivers on the sizzle)
✔ Library, potions, and a little mischief—because what’s a witchy romance without them?

Final verdict: If you’re a fan of cozy-yet-spicy fantasy romance (think T. Kingfisher meets Olivia Atwater), Wooing the Witch Queen is 100% worth your time.

Wooing the Witch Queen is a fun and cozy fantasy romance.

Felix is the widowed Archduke of Estarion, who fled his vicious and controlling uncle. Seeking an ally against his uncle, he travels to the Witch Queen of Kitvaria. But a misunderstanding between Felix and Queen Saskia leads to misadventures, including hidden identities, found family, and romance.

This was such an enjoyable read. The writing was amusing and easy to fall into. The world building was perfect for the book - broad enough to enough to lead to cuter books in the series, but not overly elaborate or dense. The book had lots of cozy fantasy vibes, but we also explore some darker subjects as well such as violence and trauma from past abuses. There’s also a bit of swapping the traditional, gender roles we tend to see in romantic fantasy. Queen Saskia is deeply protective of Felix, and Felix is the one who is in a vulnerable position. The found family element is also really great in this book. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing more in this series.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Tor Bramble for this enjoyable book! All opinions are my own.

Wooing the Witch Queen is the first novel in the “Queens of Villainy” series. Thanks to Netgalley for an opportunity to listen to the audiobook narrated by Amanda Leigh Cobb. It’s a fun Fantasy about an Archduke, disguised as a Dark Wizard Librarian, who falls head over heels for the Witch Queen. Quick read and sure to please readers of Romance/Fantasy.

Here is a copy of my Goodreads review 🙂


This was utterly ravishing.

Firstly, my thanks to the publisher for allowing me early access to the arc and a bonus thank you to Libro for the delicious audiobook. Wooing the Witch Queen wasn’t on my radar until Owlcrate selected it as a monthly pick and I’m so glad they did. This is exactly what I want from my book boxes! Something not on my radar but absolutely perfect.

This is a delightful cozy fantasy romance with very little spice (1.5/5). The mutual pining/he falls first was exactly what I needed to perk myself up during this less than fun winter.

Saskia is fierce, loyal, loving, and still traumatized by the loss of her parents while trying to run a kingdom with her rather grating ex-girlfriend.

And Felix? Oh my that man has been through the ringer! He’s faced a lot of physical and emotional abuse from someone who should have loved him, while also dealing with the loss of his wife and best friend.

It’s heartbreaking how much these two have lost and gone through and yet they keep coming together. The supporting cast is absolutely fantastic, if a little bonkers (yes, I am looking at you Lorelei).

If you’re looking for something similar to Assistant to the Villain or You Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea then this is perfect for you.

Queen Saskia is a wicked sorceress rumored to be an absolute monster. However it seems that was just a vicious rumor spread by her murderous uncle. Now that she has removed him from what was her parents throne she has been successful ruling with a household staff that has become her found family. While in search for a dark wizard to man her library she employed Fabian a wizard who might have more power than he thinks and who might be the answer to the spell of finding she has been searching for. To locate the imperial archduke who is approaching her borders and set to take over her land.

A very solid and enjoyable read! I really loved all of the characters and the general cozy feel of the book. I love anything involving a castle library and this delivered! The ravens were a nice touch as well. It was a mix of witchy dark and cozy happiness that worked well for my tastes. I will say that the ending all tied up a little too well…it made it feel more simplistic of a story when it had potential to go deeper.

4.75

Saskia, an evil witch queen, hires a shy, cinnamon roll librarian who is secretly a dark wizard. As their relationship develops, secrets and tensions rise, all while a cozy, low-stakes plot unfolds.


Tropes to expect:

Bi4bi

Cinnamon roll

Companion / familiar crow

Female friendship

Evil witch queen

Found family

Secret identity

Touch him and die


I loved how the romance between Saskia and her librarian built up slowly, with lots of sweet tension. The found family element was one of my favorite parts, especially the way Saskias staff truly cared for her. The story wasnt heavy on high drama, but it was the perfect mix of magic, mystery, and heart. The ending left me eager for the next book, and I'm definitely looking forward to it!

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

"𝒾𝒻 𝑜𝓃𝓁𝓎 𝒮𝒶𝓈𝓀𝒾𝒶 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝓉𝓊𝓇𝓃 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎 𝒾𝓇𝓇𝒾𝓉𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝒾𝓃𝓉𝑜 𝒶 𝓂𝑜𝓊𝓈𝑒, 𝓁𝒾𝒻𝑒 𝓌𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝒷𝑒 𝓈𝑜 𝓂𝓊𝒸𝒽 𝑒𝒶𝓈𝒾𝑒𝓇"

The above is exactly how I felt anytime anyone would interrupt me as I was reading this because it was such a cute and wholesome fantasy read. I enjoyed the much-needed escape from the world, and I devoured this in basically one sitting.
The characters are lovable and the development we see along the way was relatable and inspiring. There were so many powerful messages throughout such as inclusion of all, being yourself, and the power of women. The staff in the castle, the mysteries of the library, and the crows really made this such a fun and heartwarming read where many lessons could be applied to how we live today.

𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝓁𝑒𝓉𝓈, 𝒸𝓊𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒷𝑜𝓃𝑒, 𝓈𝒽𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝓌𝑒? I am very excited to see where the rest of this series goes because I am hooked.

"In a Gaslamp-lit world where hags and ogres lurk in thick pine forests, three magical queens form an uneasy alliance to protect their lands from invasion…and love turns their world upside down.

Queen Saskia is the wicked sorceress everyone fears. After successfully wrestling the throne from her evil uncle, she only wants one thing: to keep her people safe from the empire next door. For that, she needs to spend more time in her laboratory experimenting with her spells. She definitely doesn't have time to bring order to her chaotic library of magic.

When a mysterious dark wizard arrives at her castle, Saskia hires him as her new librarian on the spot. "Fabian" is sweet and a little nerdy, and his requests seem a little strange - what in the name of Divine Elva is a fountain pen? - but he's getting the job done. And if he writes her flirtatious poetry and his innocent touch makes her skin singe, well...

Little does Saskia know that the "wizard" she's falling for is actually an Imperial archduke in disguise, with no magical training whatsoever. On the run, with perilous secrets on his trail and a fast growing yearning for the wicked sorceress, he's in danger from her enemies and her newfound allies, too. When his identity is finally revealed, will their love save or doom each other?"

I adore the worlds that Stephanie Burgis creates, and come on, a sexy librarian love interest? Oh yes. I can't wait to add this to my bookshelf.

I'm going to preface this by saying I hate the vast majority of cozy fantasy and a great deal of the romantasy that's been dominating the market in the last couple of years--not that I don't understand the cultural forces at play in recent genre trends, because of course I do, I just find most of it much too twee and plagued by even worse worldbuilding than a lot of the books churned out to meet the post-GoT demand for high and epic fantasy a few years back--but there are exceptions and Stephanie Burgis is one of them. It helps that she's always written light romantic fantasy and has always had a great voice for it, going all the way back to her Jane Austenesque-with-magic 2010s middle grade/YA roots, but her experience and talent for this type of book pays off here as she shows a deft hand mixing fantasy, romance, and comedy, along with satisfying meta-commentary on various genre tropes. If only all cozy romantasy could be this well-done! But I'll content myself by recommending this one to my fellow haters who wish more of them could be like this, and will eagerly await the next book in this trilogy.

When I requested this one, I expected a fairly straight forward fantasy romance story. If I was lucky, I was hoping the humor would click and this would nail down the “fantasy romcom” vibes that it was giving off. Not only did those things turn out well, but the book actually explored some really interesting ideas regarding gender roles and romance.

As that’s the most interesting commentary I have to offer on this book, let’s jump straight into it. It wasn’t until about a third or maybe even halfway in that I really began to hone in on the approach the author was taking in her depiction of these characters and the roles they played with regards to one another. It was incredibly subtle, but as I read, more and more I became aware of the fact that Saskia, in particular, was being presented through the lens that we are more accustomed to seeing the romantic hero through.

When thinking of Fabian, she (rightly) sees her self as the more powerful of the pair, thus often focusing on the protective feelings she has towards him. And, similar to the romance heroes we all know and love, she would often internally and out loud make threats to any who would attempt to harm him. Even down to smaller concerns with regards to his feelings and the way others treat him, she very much takes on the role of guardian. Further, when thinking of Fabian, while appreciating all aspects of him, she regards his physical form with the same sort of interest and regard that we expect to see from the male POV more often than not. For his part, Fabian plays a much “softer” role, often focused on caregiver roles, like ensuring that Saskia eats when she gets caught up in her magical work.

Interesting, this role reversal carried over into the spicy scenes as well, with Saskia taking on the more more “dominant” (though I’m not sure that’s quite the right word) role. I won’t go into details of how this all presents, but it’s the kind of thing that you’ll definitely notice if you’ve been catching these gender role swaps throughout the book earlier.

This was such an interesting take on a romantic pairing and really made me think about the sort of actions, behaviors, and even thoughts that I typically think of as “male” in romance novels. Nothing Saskia or Fabian say or do has anything to do with their sex, but it’s also clear that, as a reader, I’m used to seeing certain behaviors from only really the men and others from only really the women. Again, the biggest props of all goes to the subtly with which the author explores these themes. It’s entirely possible to read this book as a fun, romantasy romp and thinking nothing of any of these topics because the story is fun and the characters still read as completely natural and fully fleshed out.

As for the rest of the story, the other big pro that stood out was the humor. I really enjoyed the balance of the comedy with the love story and action portions. It was sprinkled into the story at just the right moments, and I feel like the tone of the comedy worked perfectly with the sort of twisted fairytale we were getting.

Some of the larger plot points were perhaps a bit predictable and derivative, but as the story doesn’t set out to be an overly complex fantasy world, I was happy with what we got. I was also interested in the two other “evil” queens we met. There were moments in this book where I found both to read a bit like caricatures (easy enough to happen with side characters who get very little ultimate page time), but there were also hints to more complexity to be found there once we get to their individual stories. We even get a mini look at what’s to come in the next book at the very end of this one, and I’m definitely looking forward to checking that one out!

Overall, if you’re looking for a fun romantasy read that hits your “Wicked”-deprived heart, this is definitely one to check out!

Rating 8: If you’re having withdrawals from “Wicked,” have I got the book for you! Swoon-worthy and laugh-out-loud funny, this book is a perfect fit for romantasy readers looking for a great twisted fairytale!

Link will go live on Feb. 19 on The Library Ladies.

As always, thanks to Bramble for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC!
This was a fantastic cozy romantasy with a sprinkle of political intrigue! The troll housekeeper was my absolute favorite character, very much like Mrs. Potts from Beauty and the Beast. If you want to step into a fantasy world but don't want to start with an action packed story with confusing terms and tongue twisting names, this is the perfect stepping stone into this genre. You get wicked witches, trolls, crows, magic and a happily ever after!

Felix is a sweet boy that must be protected at all cost (and Saskia is more than willing to do so). Get yourself a kind librarian guy to put your life back together ♡

Release Date: Feb. 18 2025
Rating: 4/5 ⭐️
Spice: minimal :(

This is delightfully lighthearted and in the same vein as Assistant to the Villain. Villain that is actually a good person and severely over-protective of their friends/family? Check. "Good guy" empire/kindgom that is actually perhaps super evil? Check. Loveable side characters that I couldn't get enough of? Check check check.

There wasn't anything super shocking in this story, but I don't think it needed a wild reveal to be a good time. Both Felix and Saskia get to have a safe space to be themselves with teasing, interrupted kisses, and maybe a little bit of poison.

The familial vibes at Kadaric Castle are very highly rated for me. I love a good side character that takes everything as an insult and is ready to throw hands over it. Oh you don't want to stop working to eat? WHY? You think our food isn't good enough for you??

I am hoping for more unhinged Lorlei in the sequel with the golden boy of the empire. (And maybe more spice, but that's just me).

Thanks to NetGalley & Bramble / Tor Publishing for providing an eARC of Wooing the Witch Queen!

Thank you Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the e-copy in exchange for an honest review. I will preface this by saying that I wasn't expecting cute and cozy and was thinking it was more of a romantasy with spicy. There is a little open door simply described scene but not much besides that. I think If I had expected the cozy and wasn't expecting more, I might have liked it better.

This is a cute cozy little romance, Witch Queen just wants to work, Librarian wants to fix the library, they fall in love, secrets here and there. Super cute, medieval fantasy vibes. Was it my favorite no. Was it worth a read yes. Especially if you like cute/cozy. I love the LGBTQIA+ Representation in this! Another reviewer put it quite aptly: "This is very much golden retriever boyfriend and prickly bi-girlfriend energy." - Beautifully Bookish Bethany and it was a nice read. If you are in the mood for that type of read this is for you!

4 stars

An extremely cute romantasy about two people recovering from abusive caretakers, both of whom are widely misunderstood by a misled world, who come together in highly humorous circumstances.

The very beginning felt a little clunky, as Stephanie Burgis attempted to both introduce us to the fantasy world she has created and establish her characters as fully-fleshed misfits within it. My first introduction to our ‘witch queen’ Saskia did not impress me, as she seemed flighty and inept, but over the course of the book I grew to really like her; I just wish the first chapter from her PoV had been given a little more time in editing so I could have understood her better. Felix, the novel’s hero, is a polite, bookish feminist and I absolutely adore him. He is the embodiment of “stand by your woman” and makes a wonderful male lead.

Special mention must go to the side characters, magical non-humans who are discriminated against in this world yet to whom Saskia has granted equal citizenship status in her queendom. Her nonhuman castle staff are fantastic and I loved having them onscreen.

While this is much more romance-heavy than fantasy plot heavy, I do look forward to returning to this world for the promised future books featuring fae and ice queens, which I will 100% be reading. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys cozy romantasy, pure whimsy, and powerful women.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and it definitely delivered!! I am a sucker for stories with a strong female lead and the author outdid herself with our main character. She is a person who stands her ground and is smart when it comes to getting what she wants. Also, the romantic tension between the two characters was beautifully written! I love a wonderful fantasy world with a dash of romance and this book pulled through on all those fronts. If you are a romantasy lover, then this is a book to really keep an eye out for.

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.