A Historical, Cozy Romantasy with a powerful FMC x Cinnamon Roll MMC that learn to accept themselves & each other
A Wicked Queen & A Dark Wizard Librarian, who turns out to be a Cinnamon Roll MMC & an Archduke - Follow along in this Cozy Historical Romantasy
“She’d already taken a first step away from those smothering bindings when she’d announced herself a wicked queen, without apology, and then refused to change her presentation despite Mirjana’s urgings. But over the past week of steady, affectionate intimacy with a man who’d never asked her to change, she’d finally begun to wonder: what if she let go of those fears at a deeper, far more vulnerable level? Could she trust any lover to see her true self and not try to shape her into something more palatable?” — Queen Saskia, The Wicked Sorceress of Kitvaria
Book Title: Wooing the Witch Queen
GENRE: Historical, Cozy Romantasy
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.75/5
FORMAT: Physical Arc from Pan Macmillan & Tor Bramble
Would I recommend to others?: Yes, this is a Historical, Cozy Romantasy that addresses heavy topics as well but in a light hearted manner and it is a quick read but a lovely one!
Review:
Wooing the Witch Queen is a Historical Romantasy that basically follows Queen Saskia and a mysterious dark wizard, Felix or Fabian. This story gives the vibes of a powerful FMC who has a kind heart but won’t tolerate any harm to her loved ones and an MMC who is a soft-hearted librarian and a cinnamon-roll MC.
Hidden Cinnamon Roll FMC x Visible Cinnamon Roll MMC:
While I’m usually a huge fan of grumpy x sunshine, the trope of strong MC x cinnamon roll MC is very similar and this story made me giddy throughout it all. Wooing the Witch Queen is also advertised as appropriate for cozy fantasy audience (which I am).
“Was this man ever less than gentle?” — Saskia about Fabian/Felix
The lovely thing about both characters is that they are both cinnamon rolls in their heart but one is a cinnamon roll visibly and one is a hidden cinnamon roll MC. The romance builds in a cozily manner and fashion and is rather comforting:
And how in all the gods’ names was she meant to resist a man who offered her such comfort?
Standing out in the Crowd…Together:
I will say that I rated this book at 4.75/5 as it literally had me binge read it. The pace was perfect for me and seeing Queen Saskia, who is supposedly a “wicked” queen by her reputations turn out to be a lovely queen who will protect all her citizens, human or inhumane. She is known to be strange due to her willingness to protect those who are not human.
With this in mind, a major theme that is addressed in the book is how certain people stand out in the crowd due to being different. We can see throughout the story that Saskia struggles with this concept due to (mild spoiler ahead) her uncle’s false accusations & reputations that has been spread against her throughout her life.
“For once, she truly wished that Mirjana was by her side to interpret social cues for her.”
The way Felix/Fabian yearns for Saskia and appreciates all the things in her is very evident throughout the story:
“Everyone agreed that my scandalous powers were required to seize the throne from my uncle for the sake of the kingdom. Now that he’s gone and I wear the crown, though, the highest Kitvarian nobles and a fair few of my fellow rulers find the thought of a wicker queen… unnverving.”
His head titled. “And do you wish to settle their nerves by hiding your powers and your nature now? I don’t believe the queen of Norrne and Balravia have ever taken that particular approach.”
No, they hand’t, had they? Lorelei and Ailana would laugh in the faces of anyone who asked either of them to fit in and hide their strength.
How the MCs both impact each other positively:
And with Fabian/Felix’s way of loving her and appreciating the things that made her different, Saskia slowly learned to accept herself and protect herself from those who do try to change her (if you read this book, you’ll know who I mean but rather than just a specific person, this refers to all the nobles and royalty among Saskia):
“So you’ll have to decide for yourself whether it’s worth continuing to serve as my first minister even with the understanding that I’ll never become the queen you always wanted.” — Saskia to her First Minister
And finally, we see the impact of Saskia on Felix/Fabian as well:
“Felix had given up, years ago, on making any difference to his nation or his empire. But now in depth of his captivity, he saw the truth at last.
He had never been truly weak at all. He had only been tricked and tortured into thinking so.
Now it was time to save himself and become the Archduke he should have been from the beginning.”
Wooing the Witch Queen is definitely one of my top read in 2025 and with a crossover of historical & cozy fantasy (both my favourite sub-genre), it was bound to happen. I would highly recommend this book to almost anyone but don’t go in expecting high stacks as it is a cozy fantasy book at the end of the day!
Thank you to Pan Macmillan & Tor Bramble for the physical Arc of Wooing the Witch Queen in exchange for my honest opinion.
Do you plan on reading Wooing the Witch Queen? Do let me know in the comments or by responding to my email!
Ooh this sounds like my kind of book! Just put it on hold at the library. Thanks for the rec!