Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to review the book "A Sorceress Comes to Call." This was a fantasy read in a Jane Austen style. Kingfisher's talent lies in her characters, who are individually unique. Charming, delightful and downright evil to name a few. There were points in the book that I found slow and tedious, which is why I didn't rate it four stars. Overall, I could see this being liked by readers who prefer reads about old English country sides spiced with fantasy.

A SORCERESS COMES TO CALL – by T. Kingfisher

That Was Creepy Good!! More, Please!

The story centers around fourteen-year-old Cordelia and her mother, Evangeline. In Grimm-style Fairy Tale Fashion, Kingfisher weaves a horror-filled delight of good versus evil—a nod to Cinderella.

Highly Recommend!

Thank you, NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group, for providing me with a paperback and eBook copy of A SORCERESS COMES TO CALL at the request of an honest review.

Another engrossing story from Kingfisher!

This loose retelling of The Goose Girl was tense from the very beginning as our main protagonist Cordelia wrestles with her mother's overpowering (sometimes magical) control over her and those around them. The mother in question, Evangeline, is disturbing as soon as she appears and anyone with a parent like her will probably be a little triggered. That struggle ends up making the growth from Cordelia through out the story all the more satisfying.

Our other main character, Hester, won my heart instantly with her good humor and good heart. She just wants to protect those around her, especially her dummy brother. The rest of the group trying to help find a way to deal with Evangeline (aka Doom) gives Cordelia a sense of back up for the first time in her life, which proves to be motivating and extremely helpful.

"Someone should probably avenge me. That seems like the polite thing to do."

Quote from a badass who I wish had somehow been resurrected.

Thank you to Tor Books for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not usually much of a horror reader, but I make an exception for T. Kingfisher. A Sorceress Comes to Call starts out psychologically horrifying and then the second POV of Hester, an older woman secure in who she is and how to get what she wants (the kind of character Kingfisher excels at) comes in to add a good dose of humor, although the stakes still feel high and the consequences real. It's clearly a take on The Goose Girl, part of a series of fairy tale adaptations, but while I didn't doubt that good would eventually prevail, even if bittersweet, the story of how they get there surprised me more than I expected. An enjoyable read that will appeal to new readers and long time fans alike.

This was my first book by the author, but it won't be my last. The story unfolded slowly, but was imaginative and lushly told. I look forward to reading more by Kingfisher in the future!

Oh T. Kingfisher. I know I can always come to you for a unique story.

And you deliver every time.

It's going to read like Kingfisher book, and it's going to be a story I've never heard before, and it's going to be accessible (no insane world building).

I won't say I always LOVE her books, but they hit usually around the 3-4 star range for me and they're just consistent. She writes so many of them and has such a large backlist, sometimes I pick one up thinking, surely this will be the one that disappoints me, but nope. Quality every time.

We love an evil mother and a group of adults who look after a child. What a found family indeed.

Compelling and gripping storyline that I fully enjoyed. The ending was not what I expected, which I love! kingfisher is an easy auto buy author for me.

A Gothic retelling of The Goose Girl fairy tale. A young girl fights to escape the control of her mother.
I love T. Kingfisher but some of her fantasy books take me forever to get into. This one started out real slow and all I remember is thinking "this poor girl". The fear and turmoil of the MC really tugs at your heart and you root for her from the start. After about 30% into it the pace picked up and I could not put it down. The side characters were well thought out and I loved their dynamic. It still had that side of humor that I love in Kingfisher's work. I would recommend this one to anyone who loves a great atmosphere and flawed but loveable characters.

Absolutely loved this one! I was invested in the story and love the characters' relationships with each other.

Another beautifully done dark fairy tale from T. Kingfisher.

It’s important to note that this is not truly a retelling of The Goose Girl, but rather an original story that feels, at most inspired by the Brothers Grimm tale. The plot isn’t similar and the few characters who have counterparts in the original story play very different roles.

I actually think this is a good thing, as actually retellings of The Goose Girl aren’t rare, and this feels like something fresher and more original. The magic is in its ability to give a nod to a legendary story without becoming a prisoner of its plot.

The characters are like most T. Kingfisher characters, which is to say likable and interesting without being especially deep or multidimensional. Hester is perhaps an exception, and she’s the best character in the story by far. That said, Cordelia is easy to root for and her mother makes a tremendously good villain, even if both think and behave in a predictable manner to their own archetypes.

T. Kingfisher never feels especially devoted to setting, which is a bummer for readers like me who live for that more than for any other element in a novel, but the stories still manage to produce an excellent sense of atmosphere, which ultimately has the same type of transporting quality for the reader.

I was a NEVER HORROR girl not so very long ago. Now I have a special carve out, specifically for T. Kingfisher, the EverSeeker of Butterfly Eye Contact.

This is a surprise to many of my peeps, who know of my strong aversion to horror - especially "crunchy" horror - that which comes with explict, slick and slimy detail. TK doesn't pull punches or details for that matter, but when I weigh what I'll miss if I stand firm, I buckle. My next go-to would be to skim over the uncomfortable bits. . .but devious She weaves essential within. So bear it I must, and do, and oh, my . . . .

Here's another gem - Cordelia, her wicked-evil mater, Hester (who is the one I'd audition for), and my fav, Falada, a horse with HistoriTude. Seriously - and I'm not a horsey girl. Cordelia wraps it up as neatly as if she were in a Bronte novel. . .

TK - can't wait to see (and read) what's under your quill now - keep that ink well full and flowing!

*A sincere thank you to T. Kingfisher, Tor Publishing Group, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review independently.*

My opinions on this book came in several waves, but I do think that I liked it overall. I think the issue is mainly that I this isn't really the type of book I generally read. I've loved the horror that T. Kingfisher has written, so think I was expecting something else. I think if you really like fairytales, then you'll love this book. For me, I loved the beginning then thought it was pretty boring for a long time until it picked up in the second half. I also enjoyed the side characters infinitely more than the main character and would rather have read a book about them. I honestly don't even remember her name off the top of my head because she was so boring. Cordelia, I think? Hester and Penelope pop up right away, though. That says something to me. I was honestly ready to give it a pretty negative review until things got weird and fun at about 60% of the way through. The end is especially good. So I would recommend it, but just know it is very much a fairytale and not especially dark. Thanks for the ARC!

Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this one in exchange for an honest review!

This book is a retelling of the Brothers Grimm's Goose Girl. I don't typically enjoy retellings and that was one of those cases. I just felt like this book was so boring and fell flat for me. I didn't like the characters or the plot line.

I hope others love this one.

4.5 stars

I adore T. Kingfisher, and in this story she’s done it again, completely reimagining The Goose Girl into a gripping horror fantasy tale.

The book takes place in a world that seems to draw inspiration both from the Regency and Edwardian periods, in which magic exists but is little understood and mostly believed to consist of petty charms; but a powerful sorceress is living undercover, preying on wealthy men. Her magicless daughter Cordelia has been living under the sorceress’s thumb for her entire life, but as she comes to care for her mother’s latest victims, the isolated and neglected child finds the courage to ask for help—and face her fears.

Hester is absolutely my favorite character; I love a crafty older woman, and her deeply-felt emotions truly touched me.

As for the horror, Kingfisher is the queen of creepy vibes; the sorceress’s horse familiar is deeply unsettling and a very satisfying secondary villain.

My only complaint? I wish that the geese were more prominent! Their role in the story is teased and does pay off to a degree, but a part of me wishes they were leveraged more.

A Sorceress Comes to Call is a dark fairy tale retelling of The Goose Girl that blends horror with historical fantasy. This was a captivating story that explores parental abuse, narcissism, and the resilience of humans. The characters were dynamic and fascinating, and the world and magic were very well done. I loved the dual points of view perspective, and I did not want to put this one down! Cordelia and Hester were my favorite characters, and their plot lines were so deliciously gripping! Kingfisher has a strong, quirky authorial voice that can hold the reader's attention and blend genres effortlessly, and I am very much looking forward to reading more of her work.

A Sorceress Comes to Call was my first time reading T. Kingfisher and it will not be my last!

A Sorceress Comes to Call follows Cordelia. Cordelia's mother Evangeline is a sorceress. Cordelia and Evangeline live in a small town, but they move when Evangeline meets the Squire, a wealthy man who welcomes Evangeline and Cordelia into his home. Evangeline plans to marry the Squire so that Cordelia can be in a position to marry well. Evangeline will do anything to make this plan a reality, including murdering and controlling anyone who gets in her way. At the Squire's manor, Cordelia meets Hester, the Squire's sister. For the first time in Cordelia's life she meets people who care for her. Eventually, Cordelia reveals Evangeline's plan and her powers to Hester and a few other guests because Evangeline is putting all of their lives in danger.

I loved this book! I always love books that take place in a regency-like time period and the fantastical elements in this book were perfect. It is a fantasy novel, but more fantasy light as there is magic but other than that, this just felt like a historical fiction novel.

I loved the POVs. You read from Cordelia and Hester's perspective. Cordelia is a 14 year old girl who is controlled by her evil mother which complicates her life as she is not evil at all. Hester is an older, unmarried woman who is clever and warm and who is also willing to fight for those she cares for. Hester's age and a knee ailment she has are a large part of her story which are important not only for a story set in this time period, but also because Hester's age and difficulty with her knee are a reality often erased from fiction. I feel like these two characters perspective's were the perfect way to tell this story. You do not get to read from these kinds of perspectives in books very often, i.e. a young girl who does not have the same great powers as her mother and an older, unmarried woman. All of the other characters in this book were so realistic and very much their own people as well. I felt like I knew all of them so well and it was so easy to get lost in the story.

The horror aspects of this novel really shine towards the end. This is a great read for the fall/spooky season because of those elements.

If you are looking for a light fantasy/horror novel that is historical and filled with fully realized, great characters A Sorceress Comes to Call will be perfect for you!

If dark and unhinged, but excellently written is your vibe, and you love fairytale retellings, then A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher might be for you. It’s especially perfect for fall creepy vibes. I have yet to read a Kingfisher book that I didn’t like. They’re atmospheric, and creepy with elements of horror, but for some reason, I can’t put them down (and this is coming from someone who doesn’t like the horror genre). Kingfisher is a master at creating characters I care a lot about in a very short amount of time—all of their novels are fairly short. While there are some pretty horrific things that happen in this short novel, Kingfisher writes in such a whimsical way with dark humor and satire that you do feel like you’re reading one of the Grimm’s old school fairytales. I loved that we got a dual POV in this one, and it’s especially interesting to see a super young girl and older woman juxtaposed between the POVs. The villain truly is loathsome, and let me just say, the ending is satisfying. I absolutely loved the Regency vibes as well. But this story is not for the faint of heart, definitely check trigger warnings.

P.S. If you’ve read their other novels like, Nettle & Bone, you’ll notice a subtle little reference to Bonedog. I LOVE when authors sneak in a reference to another of their stories (much like Pixar hiding references from each of their movies in whatever the latest one is).

Things to Know:
-Goose Girl Retelling
-Dual POV/Dual Narration
-Unhinged and Brutal
-Regency era
-TW: Child abuse, violence, and death

We meet our first FMC, Cordelia, as a 14-year-old girl who’s been abused her entire life by her tyrannical sorceress mother, Evangeline. Literally from the first page you’re horrified at what this poor, young girl has had to endure. Completely isolated from the world, she often has a very simplistic view of things, and is stuck in a cycle of wanting to please her abuser, so the abuse will stop, hating herself for it, and starting all over again. Her only friend is Falada, their white horse, who she finds out is her mother’s Familiar.

Evangeline, her mother, is literally the evil “mom” from Tangled, but times a 100 on the horrifying scale. She’s controlled and manipulated her daughter with her magic, has zero remorse or maternal instinct, and after losing her latest ‘benefactor', she sets her sights on a wealthy Squire bachelor who lives with his sister.

Hester, the sister and our second FMC and POV, was probably my favorite character. Snarky, smart, and determined to pull Evangeline’s talons out of her brother, she’s also dealing with unrequited love and an aging body that doesn’t want to cooperate. She naturally spots Evangeline’s machinations from a mile away, but her kind brother is smitten, so she enlists the help of several of her friends, including the dashing Lord Evermore, who is still every bit in love with her as he was a decade prior. I love an unrequited love story, and this one is perfection.

It’s always interesting to read a story where, from the very beginning, you know exactly who the villain is, but I do wish we could have had a bit more backstory to understand why she is the way she is. She alludes to Cordelia’s father a few times, but we don’t totally know what happened there, and perhaps I would have felt a bit for her situation or understood her motivations if we had a bit more of that backstory. At times I was completely in shock at what I was reading and what this woman was capable of doing so callously, but I couldn’t look away.

This book wasn’t scary in a horror movie way, but it was super dark, and creepy with a touch of the macabre. It’s not for the squeamish. And yes, there are geese that make an appearance, which I found to be more comic relief. These moments were welcome, because it’s definitely not the most fast-paced novel (I could see where people might even categorize it as slow).

Hester and Cordelia are both desperate to rid themselves of Evangeline, and seeing them come together to help each other was also a beautiful thing. Plus, I loved Hester’s other old friends doing all they could to help. I wanted to shake Cordelia at times, but I also understand she’s literally traumatized from the abuse. I definitely found myself mortified, horrified, gasping, and then chuckling throughout this entire story. If you’re already a fan of T. Kingfisher, you’ll probably enjoy it, and if you haven’t had the pleasure yet of immersing yourself in one of her stories, you should!

A note on the narration: I again, really enjoyed the dual POV, and appreciated the distinct voices for the two characters. Many thanks to Tor for the eARC and Macmillan Audio for the audio ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

Fave Quotes (note: final quotes may be altered):

“No, I don’t want to go back to bed. Getting out of it was too much work.”

“I can bring you a tray in bed, you know.”

“Yes, and I’ll spend the night with crumbs if you do.”

—

“Hester had settled into the library with three shawls and a tea tra, feeling rather like a burrowing rodent in her den. One of the big chunky ones that settle in for the winter.”

A perfect read for spooky month! I’ve loved every one of Kingfisher’s books that I have read, and I’m looking forward to more!

T. Kingfisher is one of my favourite authors and whenever she has a new title out, I can't wait to get my hands on it. I read this half as the digital ARC and half once I got the physical copy. The story is equal parts magical, frustrating, and wonderful, and because I finished it while rewatching Bridgerton, the Regency-esque setting just felt that much more real (not that Kingfisher's world ever DON'T feel real) and sucked me in that much faster. Evangeline was what made the book frustrating, as reading characters who are getting away with horrible things always makes me frustrated, but the larger cast (especially Hester) really the book worth reading and loving. While I found Kingfisher through horror, I love her fantasy just as much and this is a wonderful book.

T. Kingfisher’s latest novel, A Sorceress Comes to Call, is the perfect blend of humor, horror, coming of age and dark magic. It features on my 30 books of year 30. The story is about a 14 years old girl, Cordelia. Her mother, Evangeline, is a sorceress and one of the ways she punishes Cordelia for misbehaving or not meeting her expectations is by controlling her body. The book opens to a church scene where Cordelia is being made ‘obedient’ by her mother and the narrative describes her discomfort of not being able to swat away the fly on her skin. I found this to be a great hook to the story – it not only gave a glimpse of her mother’s powers but also the horrifying feeling of helplessness as Cordelia has to watch from within.

Cordelia’s father is not in the picture and her mother has always had a benefactor or another. Cordelia’s one friend is their horse, Falada. After the recent obedience, Cordelia decides to run away only to find out that the horse is her mother’s ally and not exactly who she thought he was. Falada is a familiar and Cordelia feels betrayed by the one friend she had confided her deepest thoughts in. Her hatred of her mother grows but she doesn’t know how to escape.

Evangeline’s goal in life has been to marry off Cordelia to a rich man so that they are both taken care of. When her latest benefactor does not work out, she decides to convince a Squire to marry her and through his connections, introduce Cordelia into polite society. I absolutely loved the regency setting of this book and the Squire’s sister, Hester, made this book an absolute blast. Her point of view added dimension to the story and complemented Cordelia’s. Past her middle age years, Hester is an unmarried woman and lives with her brother. The moment she sees Evangeline, her mind screams ‘Doom’. She does not know that Evangeline is a sorceress but her sixth sense tells her something is off about this woman and she must save her brother from her clutches.

Evangeline orchestrates a situation in which she and Cordelia come to live with the Squire. Hester is weary of Doom’s daughter but soon finds that Cordelia is scared of her mother and the two of them become good friends. Hester throws a party, bringing in her closest friends to help her get rid of Evangeline and influence her brother from not proposing. The household staff also support her endeavor as Evangeline does not treat them well. Every single character had an important role to play and the unpredictability of the plot made this book an easy one to stay immersed in.

Cordelia finds privacy for the first time in her life in the Squire’s house. Her maid, Alice, is able to say no to Evangeline and Cordelia is flabbergasted that being in such a household forces her mother to be on best behavior. She starts to open up to Hester and her friends and halfway through the book when her mother hurts someone with magic, Cordelia cannot take it anymore. She has to help her new friends.

A Sorceress Comes to Call shows Cordelia’s growth from a scared mouse to a strong girl who will fight for what is right. She has felt like a bystander in her life for a long time but with Hester’s encouragement and Alice’s help she is able to open up and become her own person. The book is based on the story of the Goose Girl and you might have seen a connection with the horse, Falada. The geese in this novel can sense evil and I enjoyed how they interacted with the strange horse.

Many thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy of this book for an honest review. So happy to have found it at my library too!