Will I love Wooing the Witch Queen?

This was my favorite book of recent memory. It’s my personal sweet spot of a solid external plot, a strong romance, appealing characters, and a world with enough depth to set a decent backdrop without requiring a 50 page glossary. Queen Saskia feels believable. Her character has real depth, a backstory that’s a little dark and challenging, but not to the point of miserable and depressing. She’s a caring person with interests outside the romance. Felix was a bundle of fun, breaking with some of the more typical MMCs of fantasy romances. Yes, he was an arch-duke. BUT he had… show more.

I love fantasy but find it stressful to read so-called dark fantasy or stories with a lot of trauma and evil. On the flip side, a lot of cozy fantasy focuses on setting and vibes, with less action or plot conflict. Wooing the Witch Queen is a perfect mix. Felix is tired of being a pawn for his family and runs away when he suspects they plan to murder him; with nothing to lose, he heads for the castle of the sorceress everyone fears, Saskia. When he arrives, she assumes he is a wizard responding to her job posting for… show more.

This is an adorable love story between a nerdy queen with magical powers who wants to be left alone in her laboratory to work on spells to protect her people, and a passive archduke who’s been used as a pawn by his in-laws.

The queen hides behind a persona of being evil, such that even the archduke’s in-laws won’t mess with her. When the archduke finally escapes his home, he decides to go to her castle and beg for help—only she mistakes him for the dark wizard she advertised for and hires him to organize her library.

Most of the… show more.