Absolutely enthralling! I read this entire book in under eight hours because I simply could not tear myself away from it. The story gets its hooks into you fast, and the characters are wonderful -- particularly the three older women, Hester, Imogene, and Penelope. The magic is chilling and threatening; the human emotions at the core of the story are vulnerable and aching. Wonderful, wonderful book -- highly recommend!

My first T. Kingfisher and it won't be my last!! This is a really creepy book that skirts the edge of horror. Cordelia is the 14-year old daughter of Evangeline, an amoral sorceress. Cordelia's been raised to be a perfectly obedient daughter: no locked doors, no talking back, no free thought... and if she does slip up, she's made forcibly "Obedient" as her mother controls her body from the outside.

One day Evengeline decides that she's going to find a husband for herself. She's chosen the man: a rich squire from the next town over. But his sister, Hester, knows that her brother's new love interest isn't what she seems.

I loved the juxtaposition of Cordelia and Hester: Cordelia is a young teenager who's been raised to be absolutely submissive. Hester, on the other hand, is a woman in older middle age who has always made her own decisions. Kingfisher gives us these two very different women with great interiority and distinction. We see Cordelia learning to fight back, and Hester learning that she can rely on others. And throughout, we get a sense of dread, as Evangeline carries through with her plans without worrying about the resistance Cordelia and Hester put up.

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the book.

🐴🌟 A Sorceress Comes to Call 🌟🐴
By T. Kingfisher
✨ Thank you to @Torbooks and @netgalley for a copy of this eARC - which is available August 6th! ✨

💫 I had been wanting to read T. Kingfisher for awhile, so when I saw this ARC on NetGalley I thought it was a perfect sign to try my first book by her!

🌟 Paranormal thriller
🐴 Dark retelling
🌟 Manipulation/Abuse
🐴 Dual POV

🌟 Cordelia and Hester’s inner monologues added something special to this story. Cordelia went through an intense transformation from an obedient, scared child, to questioning everything, to a finding a way to stand up for herself.
I can’t blame Cordelia, even I was terrified of her mother.
🐴 Hester was a curmudgeony old gal who was intense and protective of others and what she believed.
🌟 The atmosphere is a lovely blend of enchanting, mysterious and has an eerie sort of undertone.
🐴 The characters were really well written and I felt like I really got to know them in a short amount of time.
✨ Something odd: I was expecting knees to somehow be important to this story because of how many times they were mentioned - but alas, she just liked talking about knees…
🌟 As a whole, the story was interesting. I understand the need to build tension with the characters in a story like this but it was as bit slow and sluggish at times. The ending was satisfying but not shocking and I am glad the characters got what they deserved.

I am curious what else Kingfisher has to offer and will be taking a look 👀 into her backlog!

⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Even a rabbit in a trap can bite.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you NetGalley and Tor for the gifted ARC!

TW: child abuse

I liked this book a lot more than I thought I would!! I can’t say I’ve ever read a horror book, so this was such a great introduction as a fantasy lover! I was completely hooked with the dark and magical elements.

There were so many things to like about this book between the dark regency setting, lovable characters, and dashes of humor! The plot kept me engaged with some twists I didn’t see coming!

The theme of child abuse absolutely broke my mama heart and made me root for our young FMC, Cordelia, so much more. Cordelia is a sheltered 14 year old who is constantly “made obedient” by her sorceress mother, Evangeline, and forced to do what her mother wishes. Her bravery and development was so beautiful. Despite all that’s happened to her, she remains selfless and cares for others around her.

“I am not her creature.
I do not belong to her.”

Our second FMC, Hester, is a goofy older lady who is thrust into Cordelia’s life when Evangeline attempts to marry Hester’s brother. She definitely brought some comic relief to this otherwise haunting story! I absolutely fell in love with her once she took Cordelia under her wing ❤️

Most of our side characters are equally lovable, especially Penelope! Each character was truly so unique and I felt their personalities shine.

Also, I hate you Falada ✋ okay, go read this now besties!

I wanted to love this book. The only book I've read by Kingfisher is a "House with Good Bones," and I enjoyed that short horror read. I hoped for more a whimsical elements of this book something lighter, but I'm afraid I became rather bored in some parts and I think some parts could have been cut short. Kingfisher does add gore elements in her books that I believe helps with this book's fairy tale aspects. I just overall found everything to be lackluster unfortunately. I do know what type of readers would enjoy this book and I will recommend it.

Loved this Kingfisher! I’ll pretty much read anything she puts out. Horror will always be my top love but Kingfisher makes dark fantasy accessible in a way that few other writers can. There’s magic throughout the book but it’s never used simply to justify something otherwise impossible. Everything with Kingfisher is tied so well together and she spins a tale that can appeal to lovers of so many genres. I don’t really know my fairy tales (my bad!) but I believe this is a retelling of Goose Girl. Either way, Kingfisher’s creativity and wit are simply unmatched in her corner.

I will say the first bit of this book is slower paced as it allows for significant character development and world building. I’m always down for a good slow burn, but I know that may be a hurdle to some readers. But if you can stick with it the reward is fantastic. There’s always significant humor throughout her books and while her books typically deal with fairly dark subject matter, Kingfisher never fails to illicit laughter from me.

All the characters (sans one, of course) were great. I loved Hester, Imogene, Alice and Cordelia. I definitely look forward to reading anything Kingfisher puts out in the future. While I’d love to see another modern horror story from her, anything she writes is gold.

Highly recommend this one.

It wasn't until I sat down to write this review that I realized that the blurb for this book says it's a retelling of the Brother's Grimm Goose Girl! Clearly I'm a fan of Goose Girl retellings, so I should probably read more of them (and maybe the original while I'm at it). This has all the dark whimsy I've come to expect from T. Kingfisher's fantasy books, and it's longer than I was expecting which was nice since I really ended up loving this story! And like most of her stories, you can expect some horror elements to show up - this time in the form of a dead/undead horse. I loved the characters, especially Hester, Cordelia and Imogene. I found I had a hard time putting this down as these three women join together to find a way to defeat Cordelia's evil sorceress mother. And of course you can expect to really feel the atmosphere of this book, I envisioned a slightly dreary setting with these grand manor houses. In a way, the setting reminded me very much of the setting in Belladonna by Adalyn Grace with this opulence that's kind of gone to seed. Overall a great book and I'm excited to continue reading more T. Kingfisher books!

Exactly what I've come to expect from and love about T Kingfisher. It's weird and funny. A fun plot. There are little shots of messed up, scary stuff happening. Characters you root for and enjoy. It's got all the hallmarks of her books while not feeling like the same old story.


I really liked both our main characters. Poor little Cordelia, how can you not love her and want her to be free of her mother after all she's been through? I love that Hester is immediately like "aw, crap. I already need to save my brother, now I have to save the kid too." And the other characters were also likable. Penelope is the rare character who's as charming and great as everybody says they are. I'd definitely be down to play some cards (and spike our tea!) with Hester, Imogene, and Penelope and Cordelia.
I liked the way the plot starts with Evangeline's plot to snare rich men and moves to the other characters plotting to get rid of her.

I absolutely adored Kingfisher's newest fantasy novel, a dark and disturbing retelling of one of my favorite fairy tales, The Goose Girl. This book does not shy away from exploring horrific parental abuse, so be aware of that going in. Cordelia, trapped in a miserable, lonely life by her sorceress mother, is a thoughtful and engaging heroine I was rooting for from page one. The story alternates between Cordelia's POV and that of Hester, the fifty-something sister of the wealthy man Cordelia's mother has set her sights on. Hester is a fantastic character as well, and I loved how she took Cordelia under her wing as the two teamed up with a few other people to try to break Cordelia's mother's powerful magic. I'm going to have to read all of Kingfisher's backlist, as not one of her books has been a disappointment for me. Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group | Tor Books for a digital review copy.

How I love retellings like this one! I loved everyone of the characters and the story was amazing. So easy to read, catching, sweet and magical. Kingfisher's writing is marvelous and so beautiful, I'll definitely read more of her books.

Thank you TOR and NetGalley for the ARC!

I picked this book for my bookstore's book club before reading it. A gamble I know... but one that paid off. The book has the perfect blend of suspense, mild horror, fantasy, and mythical elements to it. Absolutely fantastic!

T Kingfisher + retellings and I am sold! This was a bit dark, a whole lot of eerie, but absolutely fantastic.

T. Kingfisher has a gift. I love how she takes elements from folklore and fairy tales and makes them fully realized settings for her characters to inhabit. Where a stock character from an old story has to follow unspoken rules or fulfill predestined roles, Kingfisher’s characters have opportunities to resist and rewrite their stories. A Sorceress Comes to Call, Kingfisher’s latest, delivers a story of a wicked mother and a sheltered daughter à la Rapunzel but adds a clear-sighted and stubborn middle-aged heroine, angry geese, and a terrifying demon horse. Readers, I inhaled this book in a single day.

Cordelia lives in fear of her manipulative mother. Her mother, Evangeline, has the power to render Cordelia completely helpless and under her control. The young girl is so isolated that she has few friends and few opportunities to escape her mother’s reach. When Evangeline runs through all of the wealthy men in their village, she packs Cordelia up and heads for a bigger city where she has an even bigger fish on the hook. It’s only later that Cordelia learns that the carriage Evangeline uses was stolen from her last benefactor after using her magic to make the man commit a horrific crime to cover her departure.

Hester, the sister of Evangeline’s next target, Henry, takes turns with Cordelia to tell the story of what happens when Evangeline comes to call at Henry’s well-appointed home. Being much savvier than Henry, Hester spots what Evangeline is up to immediately—though she has no idea, at first, that she’s dealing with someone a lot more dangerous than the usual fortune hunter. Hester is an absolutely delightful character; she has the knack for using the way people underestimate her because of her age, gender, and bum knee to get what she wants.

The tension in A Sorceress Comes to Call ratchets up as the terrifyingly powerful Evangeline schemes to capture Henry and eliminate any potential rival. And because Kingfisher isn’t playing entirely by fairy tale rules, I frequently wondered if it would be possible for our heroes to defeat the sorceress unscathed. This book is definitely one that you’ll want to read when you have a clear schedule.

A Sorceress Comes to Call is beautifully written, with vivid imagery and prose. I loved the writing style. It is a dark retelling of a the Goose Girl from Grimm’s Fairy Tales. This is a good choice for readers of tense, dark Gothic fantasy. Check trigger warnings and be aware this is a very dark story.

T. Kingfisher is rapidly becoming a must read author for me. Despite the gut-wrenching abuse and manipulation suffered by the protagonist, the author’s signature wit, character work, and atmosphere made this book read almost like a cozy-horror. The concept for the story felt fresh and unique, and the writing made it very hard to put down. I loved the characters, their relationships, and felt very satisfied at the conclusion of the novel. The only thing keeping this from five stars for me is the loose magic system. I prefer more rigid rules for magic, but the way it was done in this book did lean into the fairy tale vibe nicely.

Thank you to the author, Tor Books, and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I started this book a couple of times before it really grabbed me. I don't remember what caused my hesitation because it was completely blotted out by the way I tore through this book once it did engage me. I was not at all familiar with the goose girl fairytale so I stopped to look it up about halfway through and from what I could tell, this is not a retelling so much as "inspired by". Evidently the character of the horse is taken from the original fairytale, there are other details that overlap, but this is most definitely an original plot! I really enjoyed the way everything unfolded. This is my first Kingfisher book but it will not be my last. I also encourage everyone to read the entirety of her acknowledgments because they are funny as hell.

I appreciate NetGalley and the publisher for access to a digital ARC. My honest review is my own opinion.

I was so lucky to be given the chance to both listen and read the new Kingfisher book! This was a charming edition to previous fairy tales such as Nettle and Bone or What Feasts at night. I do miss her more gruesome and spooky novels, but these are just sweet and magical.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

A Sorceress Comes to Call is the first book I’ve read by T. Kingfisher. It, however, will not be the last. While I’m still unsure how I completely feel about the book, I know that I devoured it in a couple of days.

So I did enjoy it!

There is a LOT of nightmare fodder in here (!) (mostly stemming from a particular horse that will not be named) and the abuse was sometimes difficult to read.It reminded me strongly of Gallant by V.E.Schwab, but perhaps that is because it’s about a young girl who eventually discovers her own powers/voice/will/etc. However, it’s always satisfying to watch a mostly meek or downtrodden character find a way to escape their oppressor/oppression.

A Sorceress Comes to Call is a retelling of Goose Girl, a Brothers Grimm story. If you enjoy retellings and unique/spooky stories, this one may be worth checking out!

I appreciate the publisher and NetGalley for giving me an ARC. I'm basing this review off of the plot description.

This is the first T. Kingfisher book I have read, and I really enjoyed it. I read the book and listened to the audio when I wasn't able to read. I found listening to the audio more enjoyable than the book.

Cordelia is a 14 year girl who is terrified of her own mother. She has a good reason for that fear. Her mother can force her to be obedient, and do things against her will. Hester is an older woman, in her 50s, who wakes up one night with a terrible sense of doom. After a suspicious death, Cordelia and her mother flea under the cover the darkness. Luckily for them, a wealthy man and his sister (Hester) take them in. That sense of Doom has come right into Hester's home. Hester must rely on her friends and wit to save her brother and Cordelia from the evil sorcerer.

This book will not keep you on the edge of your seat with action, but there are loveable characters, humor, and some darkness thrown in the book. Because it is a tad bit slower than what I normally read, the audiobook added to my enjoyment of the story. The narrators did a wonderful job.