This is being marketed as a dark retelling of The Goose Girl fairy tale, and while that is true in some aspects, it's also very much not. As someone who is completely over retellings as a literary trend, it feels more like The Goose Girl fairy tale was inspiration, and there are some pieces of it still embedded in this to link it to that, but it's also so much more than just a retelling or reimagining.

This is historical fantasy set in a Regency-esque time. Our main character Cordelia is the daughter of the titular Sorceress, a cruel and narcissistic woman who'll do whatever it takes to improve their standing in society. Cordelia is a beaten down, broken young girl who does whatever her mother tells her to - literally, at times. We do get a second POV from Hester, the sister of the man that the Sorceress has her eyes on. Hester is in her fifties, has a bad knee, and a premonition that Doom has come to call.

A Sorceress Comes to Call is a delightful dark blend of a novel of manners and historical fantasy, of fairy tail whimsy and dark horror. It deals with emotional abuse and narcissism, with complex family relationships and old friendships and romances. All of the character work is a delight, but it's especially wonderful following Cordelia and Hester as they try to figure out how to undo the horrible knot that the Sorceress has tangled them all up in.

T. Kingfisher succeeds yet again with another dark fantasy, which is especially delightful for me as I didn't enjoy Thornhedge much last year.

This was such an interesting read. I’ve always enjoyed this author. The stories have their a unique tone. It was very well written and left me thinking about the story line during my day. I was ready to pick it back up when I got home. I will always read a book by this author and recommend this book to other fantasy lovers.

Not quite a fairy tale re-imagining so much as a story that was more inspired by a fairy tale. I’d highly recommend familiarizing yourself first with the Brothers Grimm story of The Goose Girl. It was fascinating to see how Kingfisher took the original characters, events, and plot to create something entirely new. Most notable is the mother, a femme fatale of there ever was one. She’s beautiful, conniving, wields power, and will destroy your life. In true femme fatale fashion, Evangeline, a sorceress, sets out to bring a man to his knees (read: secure a husband) using her feminine wiles so that she’s in a better place to set up her daughter (a shy and timid thing made quite literally “obedient” through her mother’s magic). Others see straight through her though and are determined to stop her in her tracks, but how do you outwit someone who has magic??

The writing contains moments of whimsy, dry humor, fantastical elements, and just a bit of tension. It makes for an interesting mix, especially as this so called “horror-fantasy” is both cozy and dark (or at least semi-dark). The reader will spend the first theee quarters of the book witnessing Evangeline seduce and fool her victim, and in the last quarter, as chatters become desperate, the action speeds up. Recommend for fans of whimsy, fantasy, and fairy tales.

I’m a sucker for a fairytale retelling even if it’s one I’ve never heard before. So, obviously I had to read that first, This is a twist on Grimm’s The Goose Girl done in a darker fashion.

We have two POVs from Cordelia, daughter of an Evangeline, a sorceress, and Nester, the unmarried sister to a lord of whom Cordelia and her mother stay with while her mother tries to marry for money. I could sympathize for Cordelia and what she had to go through. Hester was definitely my favorite though.

While this is a fairly quick read, it kind of lags in excitement like I usually get with T. Kingfisher’s other books. The setting is not difficult to pick up on but it’s not vivid either and there’s not a lot of action going on until the end. Nevertheless, another good T. Kingfisher book fans of hers are likely to enjoy.

4.5 stars overall. In this imaginative retelling of the Goose Girl, Kingfisher provides a peak into a fascinating world. Cordelia is 14 years old, shy, and forced into obedience by her sorceress mother. That's right; when Cordelia dares to say something out of line or acts in a manner her mother deems inappropriate, her mother, Evangeline, takes over Cordelia's body and makes her behave. It's a horrible experience as at some level, Cordelia is aware what's going on, but she has no control and thus is rather passive throughout the beginning of the novel. And then, the unthinkable happens when her mother, Evangeline, loses her benefactor and goes out shopping for a husband. Suddenly, Cordelia is taken away from everything she's ever known and must figure out where exactly she stands.

A Sorceress Comes to Call, is a fairytale retelling of The Goose Girl, and follows Cordelia, a young girl being controlled by her mother with magic. We are later introduced to other characters, such as Hester, who realize there is something strange about Cordelia and her mother.

Overall, I did enjoy this book. I thought the writing was nice and I enjoyed the fantasy elements. The dual POV worked nicely, and it was interesting to read an older woman's perspective. Hester might be my favorite part of the story. She is very observant and doesn't stand down to a challenge. That being said, I did think the story was a bit too long. There were many pointless conversations/interactions in the middle of the book that didn't need to be there in my opinion. A majority of the action and plan to stop Cordelia's mother doesn't happen until halfway through the book. The ending of the book felt rushed as well. Things just seemed to fall into place too easily for the characters. I would have liked to see Cordelia play a larger roll at the climax of the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book has probably ruined all my future reading in 2024—I can feel the slump coming. I loved everything about the story, the writing, and the characters; it strikes an expert balance of dark and funny, making it a perfect little cozy horror/fantasy novel.

Cordelia's mother, the sorceress, is not going to let anything get in between her and marrying a rich man, the Squire, but his sister is like, 'oh heck nah,' this B is cray cray. So, we follow Cordelia and her newly acquired crew of middle-aged friends as they attempt to thwart her mother's sinister plans.

Hester and Richard are the legit cutest; I loved their awkward second-chance romance side story. Honestly, if anyone is saying anything bad about this book ima fight them. There's something for everyone; coming of age, ax murders, a demon horse, body snatching, guard geese, fake engagements, magic...I mean, what else do you want?

This was as lovely as all of Kingfisher’s work! I was particularly struck by how realistic and terrifying the domestic violence element of the story was rendered, the “obedience” conceit is such a brilliant way to think through the kinds of control and disassociation domestic abuse creates.

4.5 stars rounded up

A Sorceress Comes to Call blends historical fantasy with horror elements in a dark retelling of The Goose Girl that deals with parental abuse and narcissism. I love when Kingfisher leans toward horror and I thought this was excellently written.

It's a dual perspective story, which I thought was great. The contrast between the two main characters of such different ages and experiences works really well and I was invested in both of their stories. Cordelia is a sheltered young woman with a mother who never allows her a closed door and can physically control her body through magic. But she seeks a wealthy husband who can in turn open doors for Cordelia to marry well. What she goes through is harrowing at times, but I found the story to be incredibly compelling. The original tale is already quite dark and this leans into that. If you enjoy Kingfisher's horror, I would absolutely recommend it! The audio narration is great and works perfectly for the historical narrative. I received an audio review copy of this book via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Books for an advanced copy of A Sorceress Comes to Call.

I have been a huge fan of T. Kingfisher for a while now, and the way she blends horror, fantasy, humor, and romance is always perfect to me. This is definitely the case for her newest novel, A Sorceress Comes to Call. Based on the fairy tale "The Goose Girl" by the Brothers Grimm, she once again adds her own spin and modern twist to make it impactful for newer generations.

The characters in this were completely lovable, and the banter was fantastic as always. Penelope's and Hester's friendship was iconic, along with their goofy banter. The love between Lord Evermore and Hester was swoon worthy, and I loved that even though those two were clearly soulmates, Hester not wanting to be married was such a refreshing change from typical romance-esque stories. Alice and Willard the Butler were also top-tier employees, and went above and beyond for their employers (who treated them well and were gracious to them, which was also nice to see). Cordelia was amazing as well. She showed so much character growth by the end, from being this meek, shy, weird girl, to becoming this strong, brave young woman who would do anything for her new found-family. The ending definitely brought some tears to my eyes.

As usual, the story was very well-written and the pacing was great. I was sucked into the story from the first chapter and didn't lose interest at any point. Everything wrapped up well and I didn't have any lingering questions or need for closure. Such a wonderful novel, I can't wait to get my published edition to add to my collection.

T. S. Kingsolver has created one of the creepiest, most selfish characters I've ever encountered in a book. This story is supposed to be based on The Goose Girl from Grimms' Fairy Tales but I thought the resemblance was slight. There are some guardian geese in the book.

Cordelia is 14 years old and lives with her mother, Evangeline, who is purely awful. One of the worst things her mother does to her is to control her physically and to even speak through her mouth. I felt for Cordelia. Her only 'friend' growing up is her mother's horse. She is so shut away from other people that she doesn't realize that not all people live as she and her mother do.

Then Evangeline loses her lover and the sparse income he had been giving her. She decides that the best solution is to marry. She finagles her way into a wealthy Squire's house, then into a house party at a nearby Lord's house. The Lord's sister, Hester, knows something is amiss with the woman and her young daughter. There is a romance in this book which was very enjoyable.

I received an e-arc from the publisher Tor Publishing Group/Tor Books via NetGalley and voluntarily read and reviewed it.

4.5⭐️ this was really enjoyable (I tandem read this with the audio) I am not familiar with the Goose Girl story but this was entertaining and mysterious , with great characters and some nice surprises. I also appreciated the Easter egg of Nettle and Bone.

Cordelia knows her mother isn't like other mothers, but it's much worse than she thought - her mother is a sorceress who doesn't hesitate to use her powers to get what she wants, damn the consequences. When she decides that it's time for Cordelia to marry, only a rich man will do, of course, and she sets in motion a plan that will endanger the lives of a group of people Cordelia grows to love, and vows to defend.

I've read books by this author before, and I've never been disappointed. The blend of good and bad keeps you on your toes and makes for a very interesting and compelling read. Watching Cordelia grow a spine (she starts out very timid because she's used to blending into the woodwork to avoid her mother's wrath) was impressive, and I really found myself rooting for her at that point. I loved the side characters as they were well written and fully fleshed out, and the plot was interesting and moved along at a quick pace, making this an easy read.

All in all, I enjoyed this book very much and highly recommend it.

5/5 stars.

*** I would like to thank NetGalley, Tor Publishing Group, and T. Kingfisher for the opportunity to read and review A Sorceress Comes to Call.

Cordelia lives in a small town with her mother. She has all the typical worries of a teen in Victorian England: ensuring the house is clean, attending classes, and making friends. Oh, and also following her mother's instructions or else she will be made "obedient" where her mother takes over control of her body. When her mother decides she is ready to marry, it's up to Cordelia to keep the damage caused by her sorceress mother to a minimum.

I can’t emphasize enough just how much self-control it has taken to diligently get through my June and July books before reading this one. Thanks to NetGalley/Edelweiss/publishers, I have the opportunity to read these books sometimes months in advance, and man is it tempting to skip right to my most-anticipated titles! But, at last, here we are! Another T. Kingfisher book to review!

It’s hard for me to say which type of Kingfisher book I like best. I’ve love all of the original fantasy books that she’s written that exist within one world (there are several different series and a few stand-alones all in this same world). I’ve enjoyed her horror stories, several of which Kate and I have joint reviewed on the blog. And then, of course, I’ve gobbled up her fairy-tale re-imagings. This book is one of the latter, this time seeing Kingfisher tackle a loose re-telling of “The Goose Girl.”

Honestly, I’m not as familiar with this fairtyale as I am with others, but in some ways that may have worked in my favor. Not only did I not have expectations about which story beats needed to be hit when, but I was also better able to flow with the shifts in focus that Kingfisher took in the story. That said, there are elements that she takes from the original and twists in very…um…disturbing ways! If you’re familiar with the original story, you’ll remember that the talking horse companion ends up meeting a fairly grisly fate. Kingfisher saw that version of the story and decided to raise the creepiness factor to about an 11! (Another side note: I love reading her author note’s at the end because they are often just as entertaining as the book itself. This time it was particularly funny because as I read this book, I found myself getting stuck on the thought that this author sure does write a lot of creepy horses. And then low and behold, in her author’s note she goes “You may be wondering just what my problem with horses is…” Why, yes, I was! I won’t spoil the explanation, but it’s as amusing as everything else from her!)

One of the things that most impresses me about Kingfisher’s work is the manner in which she balances many different tones all in one, fairly contained book. In this story, we not only have the trappings of a re-told fairytale, but we have comedy, we have tragedy, we have romance, and we have a healthy dose of horror. And none of these elements over shine the others! I will say, the horror aspects stand out particularly well in this one. Not only with the aforementioned horse, but also with the sorceress herself and her disturbing powers. Up to the very end, I was on the edge of my seat worrying how our characters were going to get out of this situation!

I also loved all of the characters. And again, I’m impressed by how Kingfisher works against stereotypes in this area. I personally often struggle with child/middle school aged main characters, but Cordelia was a fantastic lead character. She was believably written for her age while also serving an important role within the story. It’s all too easy to have young characters in books like this who are either side-lined because there is nothing for them to contribute, or are written in a way that makes them come off as a person much older than they are. Not so here!

But I loved Hester most of all, the 50-year old woman who first suspects that there is something strange about Cordelia and her beautiful mother. This was perhaps less of a surprise, as I’ve now read several older women characters written by this author and they have all been fantastic! I also very much enjoyed the love story here, though it was definitely a sub plot to the challenge of the dealing with Cordelia’s mother. That said, while I loved the romance, this is also where the book fell from a 10 to a 9. Throughout the book, we get great insight into Hester’s mindset and the mental challenges she’s faced with aging and her perception of herself as a romantic partner. This was all excellent and incredibly relatable. But as the story continued, I never felt like this was truly resolved. The romantic interest is never brought into what Hester is thinking, and as this has impacted their decades-long one-and-off relationship, it really felt like he deserved to understand what was going on here. We didn’t need to have a “Hallmark moment” type scene, but some sort of resolution on this front would have really tied it together.

So, no surprise here, I loved this book! I’ve had my pre-order in for months now, and I as justified as ever in continuing to buy her books the second they come available! Fans of fairytale re-tellings should definitely check this one out, as well as any/all Kingfisher fans out there!

Rating 9: Truly a master storyteller! Kingfisher makes the process of jumping from genre to genre look easy!

(Link will go live August 7 on The Library Ladies blog)

A Sorceress Comes to Call, T. Kingfisher

Kingfisher’s ability to craft compelling stories and likable characters while also making me uncomfortable(in that eerie sort of dark magic way) is so impressive. I absolutely loved this book. It is a true fairy tale in the sense that it is dark and thrilling and leaves the reader questioning lots of things. This story also contains good banter and lots of heart. We follow Cordelia as her mother takes her along on a scheme to find a rich husband and end up discovering along with her that there is much more going on. I really enjoyed this and stayed up much longer than intended because the ending had me unwilling to put it down.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

In classic T. Kingfisher fashion, A Sorceress Comes to Call feels like a classic fairytale turned on its head. Though this is described as a retelling of Goose Girl, it has elements that remind me of Rapunzel, except without all the hair. 

We are first introduced to Cordelia as she sits rigidly straight in a church service, clearly in a great deal of discomfort. You see, her mother Evangeline is a sorceress and she uses her magic to make Cordelia ‘obedient’, taking away control of her body. She has no friends, her secrets betrayed even by the beautiful horse Falada who is her mother’s familiar. 

Evangeline suddenly uproots Cordelia from the life she knew to find a wealthy man to marry. When Cordelia arrives at the house of a country squire her mother has set her sights on, she can hardly believe what a ‘normal’ life looks like. Poor Cordelia thinks it's a luxury to be able to shut her bedroom door and have privacy. Hester, the squire’s sister, was suspicious of Evangeline from their very first meeting and privately thinks of her as ‘Doom’. Hester is determined to save her brother from this predatory woman’s advances and when she realizes Cordelia is just as much a victim, she becomes determined to save them both.

As with many of T. Kingfisher’s stories, A Sorceress Comes to Call is a dark fairytale, with all the darkness wrapped in a thin veneer of humor and magic. This portrays a textbook abusive mother-child relationship. Cordelia is isolated, has no friends, and fears saying the wrong thing to evoke her mother’s wrath and ‘obedience’. It’s truly awful to read about and I was hopeful when Cordelia began to befriend Hester, though it was more akin to Hester tending a wounded baby animal. I also completely loved Hester’s friends who come to stay and assist her in fending off Evangeline’s advances. There’s even a delightful romance between Hester and one of her longtime friends - she could have married this fellow at any time but she values her freedom as a spinster too much and he respects that. 

I’m not surprised at all to find that I loved this latest standalone fantasy from T. Kingfisher. This, I believe, is on par with Nettle and Bone and is thus quite deserving of the 5 star rating. It deals with some heavy topics in a sensible way and there’s just enough of Kingfisher’s signature brand of humor (or perhaps just character voice) to not weigh the reader down into a mire of depression. You just can’t help but to root for the heroine, which is truly Hester though Cordelia herself is quite a brave and likable girl.

Incredible book, I started and couldn't put it down. I wasn't familiar with T. Kingfisher's work but this is so good that I will have to check out more books! Auto-buy author from now on for sure.
.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

This was my first ever Kingfisher novel, but I had heard a lot about this author and I was excited to read one of her books. Unfortunately, I did not finish the book. I stopped at 53%, though I did skip to the last chapter to see if I would have liked the ending and I'm glad I didn't finish the book.
This book was far more horror and far less fantasy than I was expecting. Just not my type of book and I was having to force myself through it. The writing itself is very well done, T. Kingfisher is an exceptional wordsmith. Sadly, I misunderstood the genre she writes and I am the wrong audience for this book. If you love horror that grows throughout the book while enjoying a dash of magic mixed in then this book is for you and I'm sure you will love it.

Whenever I try and hand sell a Kingfisher book I always have a difficult time because folks want to hear what other books it’s like, and the thing is her books are only really like her books, you could say they are like Pratchett but you’d be lying or like TJ Klune but you’d be misleading or even like T Kingfisher but in all honesty you have to be careful there as well. All that being said if you enjoy a good read with complex characters and an intriguing way with world building then don’t hesitate to pick up a T \Kingfisher. I realize that this review doesn’t say anything about this book in particular but there you have it.