Wooing the Witch Queen by Stephanie Burgis

TL;DR: The cozy fantasy romance I didn’t know I needed
Source: NetGalley and my own purchase. Thanks me! And thank you to the publisher!

Plot: Archduke Felix flees an abusive relationship for the Witch Queen’s tower, but he hides his identity and manages to fall in love in the process.
Characters: Absolutely delightful, every last one of the. I’d even read about the goblins we saw occasionally. Give me more!
Setting: A dark sorceress’s tower – but really a cozy home for her family and friends.
Romance/Fantasy: The fantasy is pretty standard as is the romance it’s just written and so fun I ate it up.

Thoughts:

Was this the best written and freshest, newest take on a fantasy romance ever? Nope. But was it fun and cozy and made me laugh and kick my feet a little? Yes, yeah, 100%. Archduke Felix runs from his abusive father-in-law to the ‘evil queen’ Saskia’s tower. Once there he hides his identity and takes up a job as a librarian. Unfortunately the two are drawn to each other and feelings happen.

I loved so much of this. It hit that perfect pitch of cozy that I’ve been looking for since Legends and Lattes, but it had a delightful romantic plot in there as well. We even get the introduction of ‘new inventions’ with stationary items (a fountain pen!), like L&L’s coffee and treats. Saskia and Felix were both strong characters, Felix a pure sweetheart and Saskia a strong woman who is trying her best. The side characters were also a delight, along with our primary characters. My goal in life is to be like Mrs. Haglitz – I want to be a gnarled old troll with mushrooms growing on me while I take care of my family. PLEASE. For the length of the novel we get quite a bit of plot as well, setting up a larger world plot very well that will carry on into the next novels.

I cannot wait for the next books in this series, I’m mad I have to wait. I really recommend this for cozy fans, fantasy or romance. Romantasy fans in general will probably also love it as well. This is a big Yes from me, and I will recommend this for a long time.