4.5/5

This is such a fun, quirky story. Great for those who love Assistant to the Villain. The romance is slow burn, miscommunication but not in the horrible way. It does have a simple world building but the characters are great and a mix of different magical creatures. It's a sweet, low stakes fantasy, that's a quick listen. There is great build up on the romance and the interaction with other characters seems developed it's a super easy read with little spice. Very much loved listening to the story and the narrator does give emotion and voices.

Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to this book.

There was like no world building, supposed to be a bad witch but doesn't do anything bad theirs like no connection between the characters just felt like a knockoff assistant to the villain to me in a bad way.

In Wooing the Witch Queen we follow Felix who after years of being the Puppet leader controlled by his abusive father-in-law, decides he’s had enough and runs away to Kadaric Castle, home of the evil and terrifyingly powerful Witch Queen Saskia. Expecting to be immediately arrested and ready to throw himself upon Saskia’s mercy, Felix finds himself shocked to be mistaken for a dark wizard arriving to the castle to organize Saskia’s library. Donning a mask Felix takes on the persona of Fabian he decides to get to work.

This was a wonderful listen, Felix is an incredibly kind individual who manages to win everyone around him over by just being a caring individual. Saskia who has been portrayed by her uncle as an evil magical person, when it fact she’s a deeply passionate and caring person who is trying to make sure non-human creatures have equal rights to humans. The two compliment each other beautifully and the two characters who both have different yet similar upbringings bring the best out in each other.

Amanda Leigh Cobb does a wonderful job bringing the characters and the world to life along with imbuing a warm and kindness into Felix and passion into Saskia

Cute, cozy fantasy- it’s a time of war and invasion. Three queens come together for an alliance to save their land. One queen, Queen Saskia stole the throne from her uncle who had a harsh and evil rule. Her first challenge is working in her lab to improve her spells and enchantments.

Fabian (Felix) shows up with an offer to work for her and is hired as a librarian. They start to build a connection, but is it genuine ? Fabian is hiding secrets and his true identify from the queen that could impact everything.

This is cozy with some war / invasion tension but not enough to have you sweating, the romance and love is sweet and nice. It was a nice break from more heavy and action packed fantasy and this is a short read (300 pages).

Audiobook narration was good-
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review. Release date 2/28/25.

DNF

It's not you Stephanie Burgis, it's me. It's time for me to admit that I don't like fantasy romcoms. I love romcoms. I love fantasy. But combine them and I don't like it. I like my fantasy kinda dark and my contemporary romances bright and bubbly.

Some of my friends are loving this because it "doesn't take itself to seriously," so if that sounds like something you think is fun, I think you should try it! I'd recommend it to fans of Apprentice to the Villain or Long Live Evil.

ALC Review: Wooing the Witch Queen by Stephanie Burgis
Pub Date: February 18
Narrator: Amanda Leigh Cobb

I mostly enjoyed this one while listening to it but a few weeks later sitting down to write this review, nothing is really memorable for me unfortunately.

I did enjoy the narration by Amanda Leigh Cobb.

Thank you to MacMillan Audio for the ALC.

This was a very cute fantasy love story. The main characters were hard not to fall in love with. If you are looking for a cute cozy love story set in a kingdom with magic and orcs then I highly suggest this book for you.

Wooing the Witch Queen was cozy and sweet, but the relationship and romance between Felix/Fabian and Saskia was a flop.

My thanks for the audio ARC goes to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio. I'm voluntarily leaving a review, and all opinions are my own.

Genre: Romantasy, Fantasty, Cozy Fantasy
Spice Level: Mostly closed door
Language: A bit of profanity (which includes some F-bombs)
Representation: Multiple gay or bi characters. The main romance is M-F.

WOOING THE WITCH QUEEN came into my life at the exact right moment, where I could fall in love with a feisty woman who's jaded and a "wizard" heir afraid for his life.

This book is FUNNY! There are moments when I laughed aloud. The other wicked women are so diverse in their approach to life. And there is a moment when I said, "No, you did not go and do that!" Yes, she did. BUT this entire blip (which I'm avoiding revealing) went an entirely different direction than I expected.

Give me more clever and books that play off twisting tropes!

Happy reading!

I just really couldn’t get into this book. This was my first book by Stephanie Burgis. Her novel as a whole lacked setting of world building. The novel is really hurting because it is deficient in just building a relationship between the characters. It is also contradicts itself by Saskia describes herself as evil and wicked, but we see none of it. The author shows us no reason that Saskia is wicked. Overall, I was just really disappointed.

I want to thank NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

Rating: 4.5/5
Format: Audiobook

A huge thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Stephanie Burgis for providing me with the opportunity to listen to this ALC. This book was an absolute delight, and I eagerly anticipate the next book in the Queens of Villainy series. After listening to this audiobook, I’ll definitely be picking up a physical copy to enjoy again!

Amanda Leigh Cobb’s narration was a perfect fit for the story. She brought the characters and story to life in such a captivating way that I was completely absorbed from start to finish. I couldn’t listen to it at work because I felt I wasn’t doing the story justice and needed to give it my full attention.

Stephanie Burgis's writing in this book is a true delight. As someone who typically doesn’t enjoy overly descriptive writing, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I LOVED her style.

I fell in love with the characters. I adored the female main character—she’s bi, and I appreciated how Burgis handled this aspect of her identity. It felt natural and well-integrated into the story, not just thrown into it (Which is a huge bookish-ick of mine). I also enjoyed the various creatures. Plus, the world-building is great. I would happily live in Queen Saskia’s castle, spending all my time in her amazing library drinking Troll Coffee. This book literally made me create my own book cataloging system (thank you, Fabian)!

If you're in the mood for a cozy, witchy romantasy that you won’t be able to put down, I highly recommend this one. It’s an amazing book that’s sure to captivate readers who enjoy stories with loveable characters, cozy vibes, and magic.

This is a surprisingly sweet (but also somewhat spicy) romantasy featuring a “villainous” witch queen and her apparent political rival. Saskia possesses immense magical power and has built a fearsome reputation, but is actually a lonely and heartbroken person. It was nice to see her find someone she could trust with her vulnerabilities. I loved Felix as a character. He was raised as a political puppet and suddenly finds himself stumbling through life outside of court. It felt so rewarding for him to find his footing with the help of the library he cares for. I chuckled at the series of coincidences that landed him the librarian gig and appreciated the way those circumstances were eventually explained. I loved his friendship with the crow Oskar. Felix is mostly free of toxic masculinity, which I loved. He is content to let Saskia fight her own battles and make her own decisions. He also won’t hesitate to fight alongside her if that is what she wants.

Overall, I thought this was a charming romantasy and a quick read. I’m looking forward to the next book.

The audiobook is narrated by Amanda Leigh Cobb. She did a lovely job, but I do wish there had been a separate narrator for Felix’s chapters.

Note: This is the first book in the Queens of Villainy series, but can easily be read as a standalone.

Rating: Really Enjoyed It, 4 stars

I had a fantastic time with Wooing the Witch Queen! It is a cozy romance in which an archduke, Felix, runs away from his abusive family to seek asylum with the wicked Witch Queen, Saskia, who is actively resisting his country's attempts to take over her kingdom. However, there is a bit of a misunderstanding when he arrives. Instead of throwing himself at her mercy, he finds himself mistaken for a dark wizard who is hired as a librarian librarian. He is tasked with getting the library of magical texts in order to free up her time for experimenting in her laboratory as she looks for a way to protect her people. The only problem is that he doesn't know a thing about magic, and she enters into an alliance with two other magical queens who enlist her help to find the archduke.

Overall, this was a super fun, cozy romance in a fantasy world. It's a slow burn as the two get to know each other and slowly start to trust each other. There are stakes that are set up (even if they never really feel particularly high stakes), and there are little side quests, and a lovely little found family that is established. I loved the crow familiars, and the golden retriever/black cat energy of Felix and Saskia. I was rooting for them as a couple, and loved seeing them get together.

The only thing that didn't really work for me is that the external conflict that is set up at the end was resolved so easily and quickly that it sort of took me out of the story. There was also a lot of cheese at the end, which wouldn't have bothered me so much, but neither of those things felt appropriate for the fantasy world that was set up. So that took me out of it a little bit, but it was still a lot of fun and one that I really enjoyed!

Overall, I really enjoyed the audio version of this. The narrator did a really nice job, and I enjoyed it. My only complaint is that the voice she does for one of the other queens was really obnoxious. It wasn't terrible in this installment, but I believe that she will be the main character in the next one, so I don't think I will be doing that one via audio.

Thank you to Netgalley and MacMillan Audio for an early audiobook copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Wooing the Witch Queen releases on February 18, 2025.

Unfortunately this just didn’t work for me. There was a serious lack of both world and relationship building. I have no idea about anything in this world - magic system, political system, terrain, what any of the settings looked like. I could not immerse myself in this. For example, there are crows the FMC is bonded to- but we never find out how, why or what this connection is. Another example, one of the main villains of the story, the emperor, has no page time. I could not understand what his role was in the world nor what the actual political structure of the world is.

The MMC is a duke with a horrible reputation, but again we see none of this- it’s hard to connect the dislike Saskia, the main character, has for him because his time as a Duke being controlled by his father in law is never shown- only told.
The FMC is known as evil witch queen with incredible power- however we only see very rare glimpses of her actual power. She continually describes herself as evil and wicked, but again we see none of those traits actually displayed.

It also felt as though the relationship builds out of nowhere. There is barely any on page conversation between the 2 main characters, and then all of the sudden they are in love. Also the entire miscommunication trope was a no for me- if the FMC only would have let him speak twice we could have avoided the whole thing! And once the truth was revealed it was just magically resolved with no conversation or deliberation.

One positive, I did like the portrayal of a softer, kind and respectful FMC.

Overall, sadly this was a miss for me.

ARC Review: Felix knows that any day his stepfather is going to assassinate him and take his place as archduke, instead of puppeteering Felix as he has been. Felix decides to escape to his neighboring enemy kingdom and offer himself as hostage in exchange for keeping him alive. When received by the evil witch queen, Saskia, she mistakes him for the dark wizard she'd hired to organize her library. Felix goes along with this despite lacking any magical ability, and begins to see Saskia as much more than his employer and political enemy.

Hmm. I enjoyed this quite a bit while reading, but once it ended it didn't really leave much of an impression.

The romance is sweet and this is absolutely a cozy fantasy. There are stakes but it never feels like there's any true conflict or danger. Felix is a thoughtful, kind man that is not threatened by Saskia's power. As the more powerful of the two, she saves him a handful of times and at one point he nurses her back to health. I really appreciated the role-reversal from what I'm used to seeing.

I think what's missing from this book is that real feeling of yearning and angst from the main couple. I could tell, on paper, why they cared for each other but I didn't really feel the chemistry in the build up. I wanted to see more YEARNING.

Overall, this was an enjoyable quick read and I'll likely be picking up the next one when I just want to give my brain a break.

A witch queen with an evil reputation and her hot dark wizard librarian who is actually her greatest foe! Saskia and Felix were amazing together, and I loved that he was gentle and kind. The crows were a nice touch along with the wonderful found family elements. Some of the extra trope-y scenes fell a little flat for me, but overall this was an adorable romantasy. Excellent bi rep from Saskia and I loved their dynamic!

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for early access to this audiobook.

Amanda Leigh Cobb's energy was perfect for this fantasy that struck me as both cozy and high stakes. Loved her acting and voice differentiation, including the preview of who I assume will be the other FMCs in the series? Excited to look for more books narrated by her!

This was a fabulous listen! The story was all about found family, the underdog getting the girl, and a badass main female character. The main male lead, Archduke Felix Augustus von Estarion (aka Fabian), is an absolute cinnamon roll who runs from an abusive family and accidentally ends up in an "evil" witch queen's hands, only to have a misunderstanding land him a job and a found family along the way. The female lead, Queen Saskia, is a badass, too-powerful witch who constantly worries about her kingdom and the safety of all those who reside there (especially those who aren't human and need that extra protection), not really leaving room for self-love, who finds herself falling for the new "dark wizard" librarian in her employ despite her best efforts not to. I felt enchanted the entire time, and the slow-burn romance between Felix and Saskia made the relationship feel hard-won rather than instant love. Their interactions with each other and those around them made this book feel "lived-in" in a way not all authors are able to portray.

The narrator wasn't my favorite, as I felt the male and female voices tended to be very similar, and for longer speeches, accents were lost. I still enjoyed it, though, and would readily suggest it to anyone wanting a cozy, slightly steamy romance with gentle political intrigue! The sneak peek of the next book that we got to hear at the end has me desperate for the next book! I wasn't chomping at the bit for Lorelei of Balravia's story, but that little bit of it changed my mind!

Thank you, NetGalley, the publisher, Macmillan Audio, and the author, for providing a free copy of <i>Wooing the Witch Queen</i> in exchange for an honest review.

At first I was struggling with this book because the narrator was hard to get used to. I love to speed up my audiobooks but I couldn’t really do it with this one because she was already a fast talker and just had extended pauses between words. HOWEVER, I was able to eventually adjust to her style of reading. Also, at about the 45/50% point of the book, the storyline REALLY started picking up and it was too enjoyable to be bothered with the narrator. I ended up really enjoying the story and narration. If you have a similar trouble in the beginning, don’t give up because it gets really good! Be sure to finish!

Looking at the cover, I assumed the MMC would be the one attempting to seduce the witch, but that wasn’t the case, and honestly, that’s perfectly fine—it just didn’t align with my expectations. He’s also a total cinnamon roll, which, while adorable, made me realize I tend to prefer my MMCs to be morally gray (definitely a "me" problem). The story is told in third-person POV, which isn’t my favorite, but the narrator did a great job bringing it to life.