This is a cozy fantasy/romantasy that I recommend for readers of Rebecca Thorne's Tomes & Teas series.

As the first in the series, "Wooing the Witch Queen" is a low-intensity fantasy story that spends time developing the characters and their roles, as Felix (aka Fabian) has taken up a position for the most powerful Witch Queen in the realm. In both cases, their reputations proceed them but with Felix hiding his identity and the Queen's preference to keep people at an arm's length, they do not have the opportunity to learn that directly.

I enjoy that this book focuses on character development, and the overarching plot is not so high stakes, yet. The narrator did an excellent job with both points of view and I will continue the series. I recommend this for fans of cozy fantasy.

This book had all the ingredients I love in a fantasy romance—clever banter, secret identities, a wickedly sharp heroine, and a delicious slow-burn connection. Queen Saskia and her “librarian” Fabian had fantastic chemistry, and their dynamic brought a fun, flirty energy to an otherwise politically tense, magic-laced plot.

While the story itself was engaging, I did find the audiobook narration a bit difficult to connect with—at times, the delivery felt too flat to match the emotional beats of the story, which made it easy to unintentionally tune out. I imagine this book would truly shine in print, where readers can savor the wit and world-building at their own pace.

Spice-wise, it's on the lighter side (1/5), making it a great option for those who enjoy romantic fantasy with slow-burn tension and Gaslamp vibes. Overall, a fun and imaginative read with strong potential for future installments—I’ll be curious to see where the story goes next.

Thank you to Stephanie Burgis and Macmillan Audio for the ALC!

WOOING THE WITCH QUEEN is a historical romantasy with cozy fairytale vibes. The feared Queen Saskia recently reclaimed her queendom from her murderous uncle, and now rules over a realm filled with magical and non-magical beings. Only she’d rather spend her days studying magic in her laboratory than on the throne. When Felix, the Archduke of a rival kingdom, arrives in disguise and on the run, Queen Saskia mistakes him for a dark wizard seeking a job as her royal librarian.

The heart of this story shines brighter than the plot. The found family dynamic between Queen Saskia, Felix, Mrs. Haglitz, Morlokk, and the goblins is genuinely heartwarming. While the romance takes center stage, it leans toward predictable tropes and carries a slightly juvenile tone. If you’re looking for something whimsical, light, and easy to follow, this would be for you.

What truly sets this book apart is the audiobook narration. Amanda Leigh Cobb delivers an exceptional performance, breathing life into every character with distinct voices and clear personality shifts. She makes navigating the large cast effortless and engaging. Her narration elevated the entire experience. If I had read this one with my eyes and not my ears, I probably would’ve DNF’d. The audiobook is where this story truly shines.

Pick up WOOING THE WITCH QUEEN if you are a fan of:
- cozy, low stakes fantasy
- whimsical, magical worlds
- a not-so-evil Evil Queen of Villainy
- tender-hearted Archduke in disguise

Thank you Macmillan Audio for providing this audiobook for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This was a fun, fantastical book full of witches, wizards, and forbidden romance. Saskia, a very powerful witch, is the one they all fear. She is looking for a wizard to organize her library and find a specific spell, so when one falls at her door, she instantly takes him in to do the job. Little does she know, he is not a wizard, but her enemy, the missing archduke Felix. Felix has his own reasons for being there and only knows that if Saskia finds out who he is, then he will be in mortal danger.

I enjoyed this fast-paced story. While there is some world-building to the fantasy, it was never too dense or overwhelming that I felt like we lost the budding romance between Felix and Saskia. Felix is a cinnamon roll of a hero and Saskia is a female power. Plus, there is a great list of side characters that become found family. The backstories were interesting and the world they lived in was intriguing. The pages kept my attention throughout. The audiobook is well done. The narrator handles both points of view well.

If you enjoy a cozy fantasy with the slightest edge, this would be a great book to try. I adored my time with Felix and Saskia and believe you would as well.

This is a cozy fantasy that I absolutely loved! It had intrigue, a villain, a hero and I gobbled it up. I wish that it had come out during the fall because I would have preferred to have read it then. I highly recommend!

I think the way that this story starts and focuses on Felix is wonderful - while it is multi-POV, I enjoyed the change. The plot was great and did get me to care about the characters. The world-building was done smoothly over the span of the book, and I feel prepared to move forward in the world with book two. It felt relatively low stakes for some reason, but I didn't mind. I still was invested in the story. I will say that the audiobook narrator was great, but the transition between characters for chapters was hard to determine at times.

Thank you to Stephanie Burgis and MacmillianAudio for the ALC!

This was such a fun Audio. It felt unique for the fantasy space. I loved Saskia and "Fabians" meet cute.

Perfect for fans of Apprentice to the Villian!

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this eARC & ALC in exchange for an honest review!

The dynamic between the main characters was so cute. They were literally a golden retriever wizard MMC and the grumpy black cat witch FMC. He is literally a simp from the every beginning and I loved his inner monologue. Saskia is a badass and full of feminine rage. She would do anything for her people and those she loves.

There were times that the plot nearing the end of the book seemed rushed but overall it flowed pretty well.

This book is definitely the start of a series. And like the start of many series it needed a little time to get going. In fantasy you anticipate some world building and there was enough world building without letting it take over the entirety of the book.

This book was a little hard for me because I did not feel especially invested in the couple but to me this felt like one of those romance series that will have a different book for every couple and I can tell even though I didn't feel as connected to this couple that I enjoyed the writing enough to know that my couple was coming. Because that preview for the next couple ... GIVE ME MORE!! I was all about them. The banter, the tension, the drama. Yes! that is what I will be interested in reading. This book set the scene built the world and I know these characters crawled so the next ones can walk.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this story. And PS Please remember me for the next book in the series.

A neat romantasy that focuses on a witch queen with trauma trying to hold onto her power, and the man on the run who's trying to pass himself as a dark wizardly librarian, and how their paths cross as she tries to protect what's hers from her shitty uncle. Plays around with tropes but stands well on its own as a romance and a fantasy, deals with emotional trauma and its aftermath and not running, and fun, hot sex scenes while we're at it. And the narrator does some great things with the characters voices, and does really well with the romance and sex bits. Definitely worth your time.

I thought this was such a great story and I also enjoyed listening to the narrator.. Ordered both the physical and audio books for our readers. Thank you for the eARC.

A really unique addition to the romantasy genre. He escapes his cruel advisor who has used abuse to take control of the throne. He runs to his enemy in the hope of allying with her. She assumes he's a dark wizard there to assist her.
Through being himself, they fall in love.
One of the few "he's keeping a secret and reveals too late" trope stories that MAKE SENSE, and I'm like, yea okay fair.
A great fun time that I highly recommend to anyone looking for a lighter fantasy. Veyr excited for the next book!

Great fantasy romance about a "wicked" queen and librarian.
The crows, fountain pens and found family made for a great story.

DNF @60%

I kept forgetting that I was reading this book, and when I did remember, I didn't feel compelled to pick it back up. I can live with not know how it ends.

In my opinion, the vibes are like every other romantasy out there. I think I need to take a break from the genre because the monotony is getting to me.

Charming, witty, and with an excellent case of mistaken identity at its core, Wooing the Witch Queen is a romantasy with a delightfully Gothic flavor, as our titular enchantress rules over her castle of goblins, ogres, and other supposed monsters with curmudgeonly care. The budding romance between her and the incognito archduke posing as her librarian is sweetly believable, as is the conflict between their kingdoms keeping him from revealing his true nature to her. Short but fun, and I have a feeling I'm going to be just as entertained by the spin-off novel.

This review is based on the audiobook gifted to me through an ARC from NetGalley!

What an unexpectedly fun ride this book is in a slightly steamy, genuinely cozy, fun romp of darkness. We meet Saskia, the Witch Queen herself and Archduke in Disguise, Felix. Looking to seek asylum to break from those actually running his country, he is mistaken for a dark wizard and set to task on managing the mess of a library Saskia inherited. Grateful for somewhere to hide, Felix takes it upon himself to do his best - as man who is absolutely, definitely not a dark wizard they anticipated him being for the job - to do exactly what is expected of him. Along the way, we get a lovely slow burn between Felix and Saskia as they deny feelings, get close, then pull away again. It is teasing and delicious and at one point, I even threw my Kindle down out of shock!

What unfolds is fun and witty, a myriad of close call reveals, and lots of twists and turns with a touch of a cliffhanger ending - and thank goodness this audiobook came with a few minutes of a preview for the next book, because you will be left wanting more! I had high hopes for this one and Burgis delivered. I really enjoyed learning about the other witch queens and am curious to see how things hopefully continue to unfold with their stories!

I also thoroughly enjoyed the narrator, who did a wonderful job speaking for all the parts. Narration can be tricky with books, but Cobb is a master at their craft! They spoke with beautiful inflection, pacing, and diction. Often, I find that I have to listen at 2x - or faster - but with Cobb, I just needed to bump it to 1.25, but it was otherwise crisp and well paced for my ADHD addled brain!

I think this was a perfect cozy fantasy romance! I am excited for the next book in this series. It does have a little bit of spice, but not too much. I also love that the MMC was the damsel in distress. The pacing was good and the fantasy world was easy to follow. The audiobook was a great listen!

A young man, rumoured to be a bloodthirsty, untrustworthy monster, and a young woman rumoured to be a bloodthirsty, violent monster, are put together, and very quickly their perceptions of one another are turned on their heads, in a delightful, swoony, cozy story of two hurt souls finding their soulmates, and preventing the misuse of their names and power by nefarious others.

The two leads are sweet and kind, and have been used egregiously by parental figures who claimed to have their best interests at heart. Yeah sure. More like the parental figures had their own best interests at heart!

Author Stephanie Burgis brings Archduke Felix and witch queen Saskia together, and because Saskia mistakenly believes Felix is her new dark wizard she hired to organize all her magical texts in her library, Felix gets to hide his identity (and face behind a mask) and the two get to know each other without the burden of their reputations. Felix sees how generous and compassionate she is with her staff/friends, while she sees how gentle and kind he is (you know he's kind when a young, adorable crow befriends him immediately).

There are two other witch queens who decide to ally with Saskia, as they know that an alliance of not terrible magical users, i.e. , them, is needed to protect their respective lands.

This is very much a slow burn romance, as Felix and Saskia learn to trust each other, and gradually fall for each other, and discover that their reputations were fabricated by their parental figures for political gain. Saskia is very much a good person, wanting rights for all in the land, not just humans, and Felix wants nothing more than to be kind and care for others.

I enjoyed this story a lot, and loved Saskia and Felix together. Burgis has more coming in this world, and it looks like she'll be focusing on the other two witch queens in the remainder of this series. Can't wait!

I listened to this story, and liked voice actor Amanda Leigh Cobb's work bringing the characters to life. Felix's gentle tones, and Saskia's personality come through, and I really enjoyed Cobb's voicing of Saskia's troll butler/major domo/second in command.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Macmillan Audio for this ARC in exchange for my review.

(3.75 stars)
Wooing The Witch Queen was a lovely story with a slow-burn romance, which I believe will delight readers of “cozy fantasy.”

Saskia is a young queen who has a reputation for being really evil. (But she’s really not.) She’s trying to protect her kingdom from the schemes of a neighboring kingdom, supposedly ruled by Archduke Felix, but really ruled by his cruel relative. Saskia took over the kingdom from her own cruel relative, so Saskia and Felix actually have a lot in common but they don’t know it.

Felix manages to escape somehow and finds his way to Saskia’s castle, where he hopes to seek shelter/asylum. But she thinks he’s a dark wizard answering her ad for a librarian to organize the totally unorganized magical library she inherited. Felix says his name is Fabian and wears a mask to conceal his famous face (it seems that wasn’t usual for a dark wizard?).

Saskia is a powerful witch and Felix/Fabian has no wizarding skills, but he works hard to read and categorize her collection of magical tomes and miscellaneous spell papers. Most of the book centers on the growing relationship between these two. It’s sweet to watch them gradually fall for each other - but of course Saskia doesn’t know who Felix/Fabian really is.

This is the first book in a series and it seems that the rest of the books will focus on the other “queens of villainy.” These women provided some comic relief, as did Saskia’s First Minister. There are two major non-human characters who serve Saskia: Morlokk, her majordomo, an ogre, and Mrs. Haglitz, her housekeeper, a troll, both of whom were wonderful characters, as were the castle’s crows, especially Oskar.

Note: There is a bit of steam in the later sections of the book. And there are references to physical punishments inflicted on the two main characters in the past.

I mainly listened to the audiobook version, which was beautifully narrated by Amanda Leigh Cobb. It kept me entertained on a long flight.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to a review copy of this audiobook and to Bramble and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Wooing the Witch Queen by Stephanie Burgis is a blend of cozy fantasy, romantasy and trope-humor. Queen Saskia successfully took the throne back from her evil uncle in order to protect her people, and now has to deal with neighboring kingdoms that do not appreciate having a powerful sorceress on the throne. Felix is the runaway Archduke of the neighboring rival kingdom, masquerading as a dark wizard and a librarian (despite being neither) in order to escape being a figurehead in his own country. Of course, he can’t tell the book-loving Saskia who he really is, since their kingdoms are at odds, and of course, this means they will fall in love.
Stephanie Burgis crafts a captivating world with a sweet, sensitive hero and an introverted, yet powerful, heroine. Saskia, the Witch Queen, is a refreshing character (and bisexual FMC), trying to balance her duties with her desire for peace and magical research. Felix, disguised as a librarian, is a charming and calm hero, whose quiet courtship of Saskia is really just… cute.
The story is rich with found family, alliances between "evil" queens, and a looming threat from an Empire determined to eradicate magic. Burgis seamlessly weaves humor and whimsy into the narrative, while also addressing themes of inclusivity, acceptance, and the importance of freedom. Despite some darker undertones in Felix's backstory, this book will appeal to a wide range of readers. The romance is heartwarming, and the light political intrigue gives it some depth. I particularly loved the personal touches Burgis incorporated, from Felix's love of fountain pens to the crow that adopts him.
The writing is straightforward but has an almost Pratchett-like sense of humor, in that “dark queen” elements like ravens and flaming skulls are used, but they are turned on their head a little, and Saskia is more than aware of the irony of using such things herself. This kind of humorous writing isn’t my favorite, but will definitely appeal to fans of Assistant to the Villian, by Hannah Nicole Maehrer and Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis.