Serena’s Review: “Enchanting the Fae Queen”

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Book: “Enchanting the Fae Queen” by Stephanie Burgis

Publishing Info: Bramble, January 2026

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: Queen Lorelei is a notorious fae seductress, with a trail of broken hearts in her wake. But behind her glamorous lifestyle and sparkling mask lurks a dangerously intelligent woman who’d do anything to keep her people safe, including kidnap the empire’s most famous hero.

The virtuous high general Gerard de Moireul represents all that is moral and true. He has to, after his parents were executed for treason. The last thing he needs is the Queen of Balravia, who showers glitter and rainbow-colored sparkles everywhere she goes without the slightest regard for good taste, decorum, or royal dignity.

They’re opposites in every way, but when they’re swept up together in a grand–and deadly–fae tournament, they discover all of each other’s most hidden truths–and how perfectly they might be suited for each other after all.

Previously Reviewed: “Wooing the Witch Queen”

Review: I really enjoyed Enchanting the Fae Queen when I read it last year. And since then I’ve also read two other novellas by Stepyanie Burgis, which I think I almost loved even more! Add on top of that the fact that I loved brash, brave, and glitter-prone Fae Queen Lorelei in the last book and couldn’t wait to check out her very own story! And this one didn’t disappoint!

This book picks up immediately after the events of the first book. And while it’s not necessary to have read that book, there were definitely references and cameos here that will be better appreciated if you read that one first. Plus, it was a great read, so why not? This book, however, shifts the focus to Lorelei and her enemies-to-lovers romance with her long-time rival, Gerard.

Right off the bat, a lot of this worked for me due to the fact that I really enjoy the basic character archetypes that make up Lorelei and Gerard. Lorelei is a powerful female character who has hidden deep pain from her past in a sheen of carefree revelry, putting on a facade that she cares nothing for others’ opinions or generally takes anything seriously at all. Of course, as this book plays out, we learn more about her history and her reasons for creating this public version of herself. For his part, Gerard is the stoic, quiet, supremely competent hero that I always absolutely adore. Not shocking anyone, it is this quiet confidence and support that, over time, begins to slip beneath Lorelei’s many barriers.

The romance itself also played out in a lovely way. The author does a good job using limited flashback to establish the years of history between these two, and this goes a long way to help support the rather quick progression of their romance in this book itself. While this is about as slow-burn as a romance can be for a single-book love story, I really liked what we got of the “he falls first” trope in their relationship progression.

I was also pleasantly surprised by the fae tournament plot that made up much of this book. There has been a definite over-saturation of tournament plot lines in fantasy and romantasy lately, so you never quite know what you’re going to get when this plot pops up yet again. But here it was done well. We only follow parts of the tournament itself, and while the action was exciting on its own, this entire plot line was primarily supporting the development of Gerard and Lorelei both as individuals and as a couple. In this way, there was just enough action delivered through these competition scenes, but it didn’t take over the entire book in a way that could have felt stale.

I will say, while I enjoyed the general progression of the relationship, there did come a point in the last quarter of the story where it felt like the characters, especially Gerard, almost skipped a step in the process and suddenly were completely devoted, a bit out of nowhere. This wasn’t a horrible misstep by any means, but it was a bit jarring. Similarly, the story also pulls back at this point to the ongoing conflict that is building up throughout this series, and the pacing was a bit jittery getting back into this plot line all of a sudden.

Overall, however, I really enjoyed this read! The book also does a great job setting up the romance for the next book, and I’m so curious to read more about how this will go! If you enjoyed the first book, definitely check this one out!

Rating 8: Some of my favorite character types as well as my favorite romance progression, the slow-burn/he-falls-first love story!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Enchanting the Fae Queen” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Romantasy TBR 2026 and All the New Romantasy Books Arriving in January 2026.