OFFICIAL AUTHOR BIO: Stephanie Burgis is a dual citizen of the US and the UK and lives in South Wales (land of dragons) with her husband, the author Patrick Samphire, and their children. The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart is Stephanie's first (delicious) novel for Bloombsury.
FORMAT/INFO: Wooing the Witch Queen will be published by Bramble Romance on February 18th, 2024. It is 304 pages long and told in third person from Saskia and Felix's POV. It will be available in ebook, audiobook, and paperback formats.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: When Archduke Felix needs a place to hide from his murderous relatives, he figures there's no place safer than the court of the wicked sorceress Queen Saskia. She's no friend to the empire, has a magical wall around her country to keep out anyone trying to invade, and needs someone to organize her magical library. She also, unfortunately, has murderous feelings about the Archduke, owing to the actions of his regent who's been using Felix as a puppet ruler. So when Queen Saskia mistakes Felix for a dark wizard, he doesn't correct her. But the more time Felix and the Queen spend with each other, the more they begin to fall for each other, until Felix realizes that if his identity is revealed, he's risking not only his life, but his heart as well.
Wooing the Witch Queen is a cozy fantasy romance mixed with a healthy dollop of "fight the patriarchy" energy. Queen Saskia brings a take-no-prisoners attitude to the table, willing and able to incinerate condescending wizards and pretenders to the throne. Of course, much of the "wickedness" ascribed to her comes from her insistence on treating non-humans as equal to humans and her refusal to let any man dictate terms to her (though I suppose her fondness for a crown of bones doesn't help).
On the other side of the pairing is Felix, a cinnamon role of a man fleeing an abusive life. He loves books and fountain pens and the extraordinarily powerful woman that is Queen Saskia. While he's a bit of a tempering influence on Saskia's more murderous inclinations, he also fully supports Saskia in her bold, brash ways.
There's a lot to adore about how this couple comes together. There's the obvious flirtations in the library, bonding over a love of books while hands briefly touch. There's the growing respect for each other as they each see the love and protection the other offers to those around them. And perhaps my favorite part of all, Felix's embracing of a Saskia in all her passionate glory.
And for those wondering about how spicy this one gets, I'd classify it as akin to PG-13. Things are more implied than explicit, everything essentially happening juuuust off page.
The one downside to this novel is that it relies fairly heavily on Queen Saskia overlooking some glaringly obvious clues as to Felix's real identity. There are a couple of moments where the leaps of logic she makes are somewhat baffling. It's the kind of contortions that are somewhat common in romance novels to keep the tension going, but some of the explanations offered were a real stretch.
CONCLUSION: Wooing the Witch Queen is the cozy power fantasy romance I didn't know I needed. It's that classic tale of finding a person who accepts you for who you are. More importantly, it's about a powerful woman finding a man who isn't threatened by her power but instead is wildly attracted to it. I had a delightful time with this tale, and I will definitely be back for the next installment of the Queens of Villainy romance series.
FORMAT/INFO: Wooing the Witch Queen will be published by Bramble Romance on February 18th, 2024. It is 304 pages long and told in third person from Saskia and Felix's POV. It will be available in ebook, audiobook, and paperback formats.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: When Archduke Felix needs a place to hide from his murderous relatives, he figures there's no place safer than the court of the wicked sorceress Queen Saskia. She's no friend to the empire, has a magical wall around her country to keep out anyone trying to invade, and needs someone to organize her magical library. She also, unfortunately, has murderous feelings about the Archduke, owing to the actions of his regent who's been using Felix as a puppet ruler. So when Queen Saskia mistakes Felix for a dark wizard, he doesn't correct her. But the more time Felix and the Queen spend with each other, the more they begin to fall for each other, until Felix realizes that if his identity is revealed, he's risking not only his life, but his heart as well.
Wooing the Witch Queen is a cozy fantasy romance mixed with a healthy dollop of "fight the patriarchy" energy. Queen Saskia brings a take-no-prisoners attitude to the table, willing and able to incinerate condescending wizards and pretenders to the throne. Of course, much of the "wickedness" ascribed to her comes from her insistence on treating non-humans as equal to humans and her refusal to let any man dictate terms to her (though I suppose her fondness for a crown of bones doesn't help).
On the other side of the pairing is Felix, a cinnamon role of a man fleeing an abusive life. He loves books and fountain pens and the extraordinarily powerful woman that is Queen Saskia. While he's a bit of a tempering influence on Saskia's more murderous inclinations, he also fully supports Saskia in her bold, brash ways.
There's a lot to adore about how this couple comes together. There's the obvious flirtations in the library, bonding over a love of books while hands briefly touch. There's the growing respect for each other as they each see the love and protection the other offers to those around them. And perhaps my favorite part of all, Felix's embracing of a Saskia in all her passionate glory.
And for those wondering about how spicy this one gets, I'd classify it as akin to PG-13. Things are more implied than explicit, everything essentially happening juuuust off page.
The one downside to this novel is that it relies fairly heavily on Queen Saskia overlooking some glaringly obvious clues as to Felix's real identity. There are a couple of moments where the leaps of logic she makes are somewhat baffling. It's the kind of contortions that are somewhat common in romance novels to keep the tension going, but some of the explanations offered were a real stretch.
CONCLUSION: Wooing the Witch Queen is the cozy power fantasy romance I didn't know I needed. It's that classic tale of finding a person who accepts you for who you are. More importantly, it's about a powerful woman finding a man who isn't threatened by her power but instead is wildly attracted to it. I had a delightful time with this tale, and I will definitely be back for the next installment of the Queens of Villainy romance series.
3:00 AM | 
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Caitlin G. |
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Book Review: The Husbands by Holly Gramazio
Official Author Website
Buy The Husbands here
Buy The Husbands here
OFFICIAL BOOK BLURB: You wait ages for The One . . . then 203 come along at once
One night Lauren finds a strange man in her flat who claims to be her husband. All the evidence – from photos to electricity bills – suggests he’s right. Lauren’s attic, she slowly realises, is creating an endless supply of husbands for her. There’s the one who pretends to play music on her toes. The one who’s too hot (there must be a catch). The one who makes a great breakfast sandwich. The one who turns everything into double entendres (‘I’ll weed your garden’). And the one who can calm her unruly thoughts with a single touch.
But when you can change husbands as easily as changing a lightbulb, how do you know whether the one you have now is the good-enough one, or the wrong one, or the best one? And how long should you keep trying to find out?
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: The Husbands by Holly Gramazio was a solid read. It’s not just solid, it’s an exceptional one.
Our protagonist Lauren comes home from a girls night out and is greeted by a stranger who claims he is her husband. Her house is not exactly as she remembers it, and this person has apparently been around for a while, and the people around her are very familiar with their history. She discovers her attic is functioning/malfunctioning and gives her a steady supply of husbands – every time the present one walks into it, a new one comes out.
The way she deals with this situation is downright hilarious, but also opens up a lot of questions. As Lauren tries to work through how the attic might be doing this, and goes through her seemingly unlimited husband buffet, the author spectacularly examines the paradox of choice where the abundance of husbands makes her more picky, choosy, and irritable. A lot of the fun was in her increasing desperation to get reluctant ones to climb up into the attic, and I have them bookmarked to read again and again. The fun part aside, there’s also a heavier side to the story which examines the loneliness she faces being the only one who is in on this truth, and the lengths she would go to to kind of convince herself that she should keep one or another husband. This slowly takes her on a journey of self-discovery that makes the story relatable in more ways than one.
CONCLUSION: In short, this book is right up there with the freshest, funniest, and most thought-provoking books I’ve read. I don’t recall another book making me crack up like this one did, and at the same time had me marvelling at how clever it was. Highly recommended.
Our protagonist Lauren comes home from a girls night out and is greeted by a stranger who claims he is her husband. Her house is not exactly as she remembers it, and this person has apparently been around for a while, and the people around her are very familiar with their history. She discovers her attic is functioning/malfunctioning and gives her a steady supply of husbands – every time the present one walks into it, a new one comes out.
Official Book Blurb: The eternal light keeping demons at bay has been extinguished and Eidyn’s last bastion is under brutal siege. Aranok and his allies draw the final battle lines as the war for the kingdom nears its end. With death threatening from every shadow and truth itself at stake, Eidyn’s defenders must put aside their grudges and come together. But is it possible to save everyone when some prefer the lie?
The art is by Jeremy Wilson and cover design is by Lauren Panepinto.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: ADRIAN M. GIBSON is a Canadian speculative fiction author, podcaster and illustrator (as well as occasional tattoo artist). He was born in Ontario, Canada, but grew up in British Columbia. He studied English Literature and has worked in music journalism, restaurants, tattoo studios, clothing stores and a bevy of odd jobs.
In 2021, he created the SFF Addicts podcast, which he co-hosts with fellow author M. J. Kuhn. The two host in-depth interviews with an array of science fiction and fantasy authors, as well as writing masterclasses. (But don’t worry, it’s not overly serious—there are also plenty of shenanigans to be had.)
Adrian has a not-so-casual obsession with mushrooms, relishes in the vastness of nature and is a self-proclaimed “child of the mountains.” He enjoys cooking, music, video games, politics and science, as well as reading fiction and comic books. He lives in Quito, Ecuador with his wife and sons.
Find Adrian online: website
As avid fantasy readers, we love discovering new voices and hidden gems. SPFBO contest gives us such a possibility, and we’re thrilled to participate in it for the tenth time.
The first stage of the contest has just ended, and ten blogs have picked their champions. We’re excited to read all of them and would love to encourage you to do the same.
Here's GR LIST with all finalists. We encourage you to add them all to your Want to Read shelf.
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