The Somewhat Wicked Witch of Brigandale
by C.M. WaggonerAlso by this author: The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry
Published by: Ace on March 17, 2026
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Humor
Pages: 212
Format: Hardcover
Source: Library
Rating:
A practical witch must sabotage her beloved son's ascension to the throne in order to keep the kingdom from ruin, in this delightful cozy fantasy from the author of The Ruthless Lady’s Guide to Wizardry.
Once upon a time, a somewhat wicked witch named Gretsella lived in a cozy little cottage in the Dark Forest of Brigandale. She dispensed herbs and tinctures at reasonable prices, met with her slightly oddball coven on a regular basis, and had absolutely no need of any further company whatsoever, thank you very much. But then one afternoon, Gretsella came home to find a screaming infant on her doorstep.
Against all her better judgement, she took the baby in. She named him Bradley.
Eighteen years later, Bradley has grown into a bafflingly likable young man under Gretsella’s extremely tolerant—one might even say doting—eye. But the witch’s hopes for an unremarkable yet fulfilling life for her son are shattered when small woodland animals start prophesying that he is the lost prince and should ascend to the throne. Bradley ignores Gretsella’s advice that prophecies and talking chipmunks are to be avoided at all costs, and sets off for the capital. But soon confusion and chaos are reigning, and scheming courtiers are using Bradley for their own ends. Sometimes a witch has to roll up her sleeves and take matters into her own cauldron. So Gretsella sets off to bring about the downfall of her darling son…
Content Tags:
Perfect for readers who want:
- Older protagonists undergoing their own coming-of-age stories
- Sarcasm, dry humor, and witty banter
- A M/M romance between two cinnamon rolls
- A strangely supportive mother, in untraditional and unexpected ways
- Cozy fantasy with slight fairy tale undertones
Overall
I really enjoyed The Ruthless Lady’s Guide to Wizardry, and I especially appreciated C.M. Waggoner’s humor in it, so when I saw they had a new book coming out, I knew I had to give it a try! Just from the blurb alone, I knew it was going to have the same sort of dry, sarcastic humor that I absolutely love. Plus, as a parent myself, I couldn’t resist the idea of having to save the world from your own son. I mean, one day . . . maybe . . . I apologize in advance for what my offspring might do. Probably she didn’t mean it.
The Somewhat Wicked Witch of Brigandale is a funny, irreverent adventure about what a parent is willing to do for their child. Including overthrowing them. It features an all-too-relatable witch, an adorable queer romance between cinnamon rolls, and much parental meddling!
I maybe found it just a little concerning that I related so hard with Gretsella. I don’t think we’re necessarily meant to? But my goodness, she’s a delight. Given that it’s a novella, it’s a pretty quick read, but I didn’t want to put it down and I cackled the entire time. While some moments felt a bit rushed (I don’t think I’ve read a novella that didn’t at some point, by their very nature), the story was extremely fun, and it left me wanting more (in a good way).
My Thoughts
Gretsella, also known as the Somewhat Wicked Witch of Brigandale, is a concerningly relatable character who just wants to be left alone to live her life, do her magic, and raise her somewhat capable son.
A son that she didn’t technically want, might I add. But when you open your door and someone has delivered you a baby on your doorstep, as a witch, what else are you to do but raise the child as your own? That’s how it works. Gretsella hasn’t been a fantastic mother, by any means. But she’s done her best with him, and managed to raise a generous and caring son in the end. (Though you’ll notice I didn’t use words like functional or capable.) All in all, she’s quite content with her life, thank you very much.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: older protagonists are absolutely delightful, and there’s few so delightful as Gretsella. While her sarcasm, biting wit, and dark humor won’t be for everyone, I couldn’t get enough. Both her dialogue and inner monologues made me cackle out loud, over and over again. She’s sharp, in a way that people often are when they’ve decided they don’t require others in order to be happy. Despite her prickly exterior, though, she genuinely cares about her son, Bradley, and frets over his future and his happiness.
Gretsella drew herself up and narrowed her eyes. “I trouble men,” she said. “They do not trouble me. As for my choice to eat cake for breakfast, I notice that you sell muffins, sir. A muffin is a cake for women who apologize too often and men who lack the courage of their convictions. A muffin is a cake that feels ashamed of its own nature. I am a witch, sir. I fear nothing, I make no apologies, I feel no shame, and I would like whipped cream on top. If you would be so kind, sir.” This last sentence she pronounced as, If you value your life, you insolent grub.
Everything in Gretsella’s life is going just fine until the animals start prophesying that Bradley is the lost prince, destined to return to his rightful place on the throne. And there’s only so long she can stave off animals determined to undermine the unremarkable yet fulfilling life she imagines for her son.
She does her best, of course, because she knows Bradley better than anyone. The boy is kind and gentle, good-natured and warm-hearted. In other words, the antithesis of a king. His work as a hairdresser is fulfilling, and best of all, he’s good at it. What more could a parent want for their child? Certainly not a kingdom.
Bradley is a genuinely good person, so he’s a character that it’s hard not to root for. He loves helping others, and hates to see anyone hurt in any way. It’s maybe easy to see how he would struggle to be a king. Despite his best effort, things keep going terribly wrong, because (and it might surprise you) most people aren’t good people and are more than willing to take advantage of others. So what’s a mother to do? In Gretsella’s case, the answer is clear: stage a coup and overthrow her son. For the good of . . . well . . . everyone.
“Not particularly,” she said. “There’s nothing so very impressive about being a king. All you have to do is wait for your father to die, which happens to everyone, eventually. I was much prouder of Bradley when he was working as a hairdresser. Not everyone can cut hair like Bradley. It’s an art form, you know.” She felt, for a moment, as if she might sound a little ridiculous, but she swiftly drowned that thought in the deep bucket of her own self-confidence.
The juxtaposition of a doting mother determining she must overthrow her son for the good of the kingdom is what drew my attention to this book, and I have to say that the story really delivers on that premise in a fun way!
As a parent myself, this whole situation feels dangerously relatable. Don’t get me wrong, I love my daughter very much. Every bit as much as Gretsella loves Bradley. But do I think she would be a good monarch? Haaaaa . . . no. That doesn’t mean there aren’t things she’s very good at. It just means that if she were ever in a position of power, I could see myself coming to same conclusion as Gretsella. It’s logical, after all.
As it turns out, though, it isn’t so easy to overthrow a king . . . even a bad one. It’s a lot of fun seeing Gretsella worm her way into the castle and do her best to set everything straight. On the one hand, she tries to stay in the background and fix Bradley’s mistakes without completely undermining him. On the other, she does her utmost to convince everyone that their faith in Bradley is misplaced and that someone else — anyone else, even — should be on the throne. The stakes are fairly low, as far as these things go, but the journey is still very fun. All the characters in this have large personalities, which make them fun to meet and spend time with.
Gretsella raised her hand. No one else did. Sir George actually sat on his hands, which struck Gretsella as unnecessarily dramatic. “Well, fine,” she said, “I suppose that Bradley’s poor, sweet, defenseless old mother will have to orchestrate a coup without any help from anyone.”
“Oh, Gretsella,” Lady Cordelia said, “don’t sell yourself so short. You certainly aren’t poor or defenseless.”
“Or sweet,” Sir George muttered.
Gretsella waited for someone to say that she wasn’t old. No one did. She cleared her throat. “And old?”
“Younger than some,” Herman said after a moment.
“Thank you, Herman,” Gretsella said with more genuine appreciation than she usually felt for anyone. There was something pleasant about a man coming so close to lying for you,. Then she stood. “I’ll remember every bit of this conversation.”
Despite being an undoubtedly funny book, The Somewhat Wicked Witch of Brigandale hits plenty of emotional notes, as well, especially as Gretsella undertakes her own little coming of age story.
I’ve long said that you’re never too old for a coming of age, and I think this book perfectly exemplifies that. Gretsella is no spring chicken, by any means, but just because you’ve managed to avoid death for a long time doesn’t mean you’ve figured out all the important things in life. It certainly doesn’t mean there’s not room for growth and improvement. These are some of my favorite arcs, because I sometimes feel that books (especially fantasy books) push this strange narrative that adults have things figured out, and all the growth happens to preteens (and generally those who have lost one or both parents, oddly enough). As a fairly well-seasoned adult myself, it’s nice to know that if I don’t have it all figured out, there’s still time for my own journey. I just hope mine has less coups than Gretsella’s.
Despite being a strong, content, perfectly capable woman, Gretsella has to face the many emotions she’s been repressing, including loneliness and, ironically, love. Because there’s no doubt that Gretsella loves Bradley, even if she doesn’t say as much. Love is a very vulnerable thing, though, and witches as strong as Gretsella are not, by definition, vulnerable. It isn’t just positive emotions, either. Not that she would ever admit it, but Gretsella, like most witches, is lonely. That is how young ladies become witches, after all, is by being so intensely lonely and isolated that they warp reality itself to develop magic. Kind of gives you pause when considering whether magic is worth it after all, when you look at it that way, doesn’t it?
Gretsella’s mother died only a few weeks after that. No one ever called her Greta again.
About thirty years after the day of her mother’s funeral, Gretsella held a wriggling baby boy in her arms, pressed her nose into his soft black hair, and said, It isn’t fair, Bradley. It isn’t fair, it isn’t fair, it isn’t fair. Her shoulders shook, and her voice cracked, but there was no one there to say if her eyes were red and puffy later that day, or if her voice was raspy, or if she struggled to get through her evening’s chores. By that time, she had spent thirty years without anyone who would notice or care about her tears.
About C.M. Waggoner
C. M. Waggoner grew up in rural upstate New York, where she spent a lot of time reading fantasy novels in a swamp. She studied creative writing at SUNY Purchase and lived in China for eight years before moving to Albany, New York, where she now lives with her husband and daughter. She is the author of three books: Unnatural Magic, The Ruthless Lady’s Guide to Wizardry, The Village Library Demon-Hunting Society, and The Somewhat Wicked Witch of Brigandale. When she’s not writing or reading, she enjoys cooking, trying to learn how to draw, and going on extremely long walks. To voice your complaints to the management (or sign up for her mailing list), visit cmwaggoner.com.
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