Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted over at Wishful Endings to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about but haven’t yet read. Most of the time they’re books that have yet to be released, but not always. It’s based on the Waiting on Wednesday meme, which was originally hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.
This week my Can’t-Wait-For Book is The Somewhat Wicked Witch of Brigandale by C.M. Waggoner!
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Published on: 17th March 2026
Goodreads
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…
There may come a day I do not fall helplessly in love with a book by C.M. Waggoner…but I’ve gotta be honest, I doubt it. I definitely don’t think that The Somewhat Wicked Witch of Brigandale is going to be the book that breaks the streak.
Because this sounds really funny! That premise and Waggoner’s prose? Oh yes PLEASE. Plus, I love stories about parents and kids, and I extra love it when we’re talking about adopted family – we don’t see that nearly often enough! This is such a fun twist on the idea of parents needing to complete some impossible task for the sake of their children – this time around, the mum needs to…make her son look bad? I’m already giggling.
There’s still a few months until this comes out, which gives you LOTS of time to check out Waggoner’s other books if you haven’t already – there’s the ‘trolls not gender roles‘ book, the sapphic Cockney witches book, and the Miss Marple but low-key demons book, all of which are DELIGHTS!
In fact I should maybe reread the first two of those before we get to Brigandale…
NEW C. M. WAGGONER?! I need to subscribe to her newsletter, I had no idea this was coming out!
THAT IS THE ENTIRELY CORRECT REACTION TO A NEW CM WAGGONER BOOK!