I’m unfamiliar with the fairy tale this book is based on, but that didn’t dampen my enjoyment of it.

Cordelia has spent all of her 14 years under the thumb of her controlling mother who makes her ‘obedient’ by taking control of her body entirely.

As you may have guessed, her mother is a the sorceress in question.

When her mother decides it’s time to find a rich husband after her previous benefactor grows tired of her they travel to a city and impose upon the manor of an aging squire and his sister, Hester.

In Hester, Cordelia finds a friend and safe place. Eventually they conspire together to free Cordelia, and the squire, from the sorceress’s clutches.

I love T. Kingfisher and this fell in line with that sentiment. I appreciate how complex the female characters get to be.

When T. Kingfisher remixes a fairy tale, the pieces are there, but the puzzle looks VERY different when complete. This "dark reimagining" 🙄 of The Goose Girl isn't any version that I remember, and that's for the best. Instead, the mother is the villain, the horse–well, you'll have to see that one for yourself–and the book is split between two protagonists, one fourteen and the other fifty.

(Side note: I swear to God, if this is up for a Lodestar next year, I'll lose my mind. It's a GREAT BOOK, but it's not YA. If I had to choose one protagonist that I feel gets a little more time, it's the fifty-year-old.)

The book has a real sense of dread, balanced by a deft hand with light humor. There are real surprises here too. The world feels real despite the magic and the characters all feel like people.

Dark fairytale storytelling at its finest. This is Bridgerton mixed with magic and dark shuddery moments as the plot twists and turns and unfolds. Prepare yourself to pick this book up and not put it down.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an arc of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

This was a lot of fun. Poor Cordelia is dominated by her sorceress mother Evangeline, who is seeking a new "benefactor" a.k.a. sugar granddaddy to keep her in style. When she finds her new mark, evil mamma drags poor Cordelia away from everything she's known in order to become the self-invited guests of the Squire and his suspicious sister Hester.

Hester got all the brain cells in her family because she sees straight through Evangeline's charming exterior and quickly deduces Cordelia is as much as victim of her as the Squire is soon to be.

There is a lot of darkness, mostly in the way poor Cordelia is treated, and the lengths to which Evangeline will go to secure her lifestyle, but T Kingfisher can write quirky like few other authors and I loved Hester and the side characters, including the animals. Well, some more than others.

A Sorceress Comes to Call uses the fairytale of The Goose Girl as a jumping off point but make no mistake it’s very much a T. Kingfisher original and cleverly uses some elements of the original story to play with our expectations and set a sense of dread and horror balanced out with lovable characters and humor.

I loved the characters of Cordelia and Hester and reading their dual povs and seeing their friendship form. The tension as we know everything that is happening and the danger of the situation as Hester tries to puzzle out how to tackle Evangeline and figure out Cordelia while at the same time Cordelia struggles over if she can do anything to warn them was well done. The black widow murderess Evangeline makes for a fantastic and formidable villainess especially as she commits these horrid acts with utter nonchalance. I love T. Kingfishers ability to also create lovable side characters that matter to the story and the reader.

The tension and sense foreboding is set early on but is tempered with the writers signature humor. The use of regency era-esque banter to counter the tone was really fun and finding out after reading that The Ladies Book of Etiquette and Manual of Politeness was a real book was a fun touch. I also really enjoyed how the writer plays with the darker elements of the original fairy tale and ramps up some of those horrific elements especially in the climax. (If you know, you know.) Honestly I couldn’t put this book down and it kept me reading until the early hours of the morning.

If you looking for a unique twist on a fairytale with those signature T. Kingfisher elements this is an utter delight!

Thank you very much to NetGalley and the publisher. I received an advance review copy, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you Netgalley and Tor books for the arc in exchange for an honest review. My first T Kingfisher and WOW! Forbidden magic, secrets. An amazing book that touches on magic, abuse, love, revenge, family & friendship. It’s a dark fantasy in which I love. I can’t wait to read more of T Kingfishers work

I read somewhere that A Sorceress Comes to Call is a re-telling based on Grimm's Fairytale, The Goose Girl. I had to look up the original story in my copy of Grimm's before writing a review of the book. I did not find much in common aside from a supernaturally endowed horse named Falada.
In the book I am reviewing MC Evangeline is sorceress and mother to Cordelia. Evangeline uses her powers to entrap men she calls her benefactors and uses her daughter Cordelia as unpaid household labor. They are not very wealthy and Cordelia is coming of age so Evangeline feels it's time to step up her game. She finds a wealthy suitor after disposing of one no longer needed and lays her plans to find a rich husband for her daughter.
Cordelia is aware her mother commands extraordinary powers but she is sheltered and naive and has no idea of how much power her mother can wield. Her awakening begins when she discovers their beloved horse Falada, her only pleasure and the confidant of Cordelia's deepest secrets, betrays her. Falada tells all to Evangeline and as the mother and daughter move into the house of the new suitor it becomes clear no one is safe. Evangeline will stop at nothing to secure a marriage for herself and in the future a better one for her daughter.
Thank you for the ARC of A Sorceress Comes to Call in exchange for an honest review. It's an entertaining and well-written story that should appeal to readers who enjoy fantasy and good old-fashioned fairy tales.

T. Kingfisher strikes again! I was genuinely thrilled to be given the chance to read this ARC. I've very much enjoyed her romantasy novels, but A Sorceress Comes to Call was refreshingly new. It tells the story of Cordelia, fourteen, clever, and forever under the spell of her sorceress mother, Evangeline. Whenever Cordelia strays from her mother's wishes, she is put under what is called 'obedience', where she is essentially a prisoner in her own body while her mother gains full control. It's horrifying, to say the least. And Kingfisher doesn't pull punches when she describes the physical and psychological torture Cordelia endures as a result of this. Given the age of the protagonist, I was initially inclined to consider this a YA novel, but it's far more mature than I had realized. Evangeline's ultimate goal is to ensnare a wealthy husband so that she may find a rich suitor for Cordelia, thereby setting them both up for the rest of their lives. It's entirely selfish, as Cordelia has no say in her mother's plans. And when Evangeline finds an aging country lord to entrap, she schemes her way into his estate, only to come up against his keen, spinster sister. What follows is a tale of horror, magic, gore, and a lot of bravery, as Cordelia discovers her own strength in an attempt to protect those she has come to care for. This isn't a romance. And while it seems likely to be set in Regency England, the locations are fictional, so the story seems set in its own little bubble. What I loved most was watching Cordelia's realistic, stumbling path towards growth. It was magnificently done, and as always, Kingfisher writes her older characters with incredible passion, realism, and sensitivity. I'll be sure to post a complete review on my Instagram, @bumblebeareads! Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher!

This story feels like a dark, twisted riff on a Grimm fairytale, complete with a horse that is more than it seems to be, a downtrodden protagonist, and a mean mother. Cordelia is the daughter of the sorceress Evangeline, who uses her magic to control others to do her bidding, calling it "obedience." Since most sorcerers are capable of only minor magic--changing a person's appearance, sleight of hand for cardplaying, or passing off a sick or lame horse as healthy--magic is considered nothing more than a trick, and its wielders are held in disdain. Evangeline's level of sorcery is not believed to exist any more, and she uses that belief to her advantage, pretending to be just a poor widow lady hoping to find a rich husband for her daughter, whether or not that is what her daughter wants. If she can find a wealthy protector/husband for herself, all the better. And if anyone gets in her way. . .Evangeline is aided by her familiar, the "horse" Falada, who appears to be a stunning white stallion.
The story begins as Evangeline is thrown over by her current proctector(who is punished in a gruesome way) and who sets her sights on the Squire in a distant town, taking Cordelia and Falada with her. The Squire's sister, Hester, knows something is not right with Evangeline, mentally calling her Doom, and with the aid of friends, eventually stops the madness.
Most characters are sympathetically drawn, with the exception of Evangeline, and the action moves along at a smart pace. shading into horror toward the end. On the whole, this is a decent book if you like dark stories.

I think T. Kingfisher writes the most interesting supporting characters I’ve ever read. It’s my favorite part of every single one of her books, and this one does not disappoint. 'A Sorceress Come to Call' was a quick, vaguely “Goose Girl”-inspired book full of shenanigans in a fairytale setting. There were tiny pieces of the plot or details that felt like overkill, but the majority of the book was wonderful.

Thank you to Tor Publishing Group | Tor Books and NetGalley for an copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I was excited to get a copy of T Kingfisher's newest and upcoming book as I always enjoy the fantasy and horror weaved throughout the stories. This book was intriguing, a retelling of goose girl. Starting off it immediately pulled me in ! A daughter who was being held captive by her bizarre mother, yes please! The story moved along and hit some dragging points but overall spun a fantastical world of sorcery and deceit !
Will be accepted by all of Kingfisher's fans and will even snag some new ones.
A well done retelling that was like walking in a dark forest at night!

T. Kingfisher continues to prove why she is an auto-buy author for me! I loved this book so much. The dual POV was used so well in the telling of this story. It was nice having a young protagonist in Cordelia and then older more self assured Hester. The setting is dark and eerie and I really enjoyed the tension. There is also a really strong found family line running through the book.

I read this as a combo with the e-book and audiobook. Thank you to NetGalley, Tor, and Macmillan Audio for the ARC/ALC in exchange for an honest review.

A genuine pleasure to read from start to finish. Kingfisher has a way of making something absolutely one of the most disturbing things you've ever read and somehow also a cozy mystery, and A Sorceress Comes to Call is another great installment in that same vein. Cordelia's mother Evangeline is bringing back the old school sorceress. Petty, vain, mercurial, and deliciously evil. And we could use more heroines like Hester in our stories. This is the kind of fairytale retelling I have been asking for for years. If you like Kingfisher, you'll like this book. If you like fairytale retellings, you'll love this book. If you like both, this is the book for you.

This was such an easy going read. As always, this felt like a fairytale that I would have heard as a child, but made darker for adult ears/eyes.
The dark storyline was chilling and I loved the interactions among all of the characters. While I really did enjoy this, it wasn't as much of a slam dunk as her other books. I'd still definitely recommend this one though!

I’m a big fan of the author, but most of the novels that I’ve read before are very different. The tone of this one is similar, dark and full of tension, but the story is like a fairy tale with a sorcerer and a child beholden to her. The writing is impeccable, but it’s the psychology of the characters that really touched me. Cordelia and her fear of her mother and Hester, the sister of the man said sorcerer has entrap to marry her (for his money and position), are both deep, flawed, conflicted and very compelling. The rest of the characters are equally well developed, including the supporting cast. Evangeline is terrible and truly evil. Even her horse, who is not really an equine, has a strong personality. These are all strong women, which is something else I love about the author. It is impossible not to root for them. The dialogues are believable and organic, even when discussing issues that are completely unreal. The last chapters are incredibly suspenseful and, even if I was hoping for one outcome, I was never sure how it would end. An excellent novel.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Tor Books.

I’m quite picky about the fantasy books I read, especially when they’re set earlier than the 21st century. I was very pleasantly surprised when this one caught me right from the beginning and kept me the whole way through. Here are my thoughts:

• The characters were amazing. I loved Hester, Lady Strauss, Tom the butler, and even Evangeline in her own, creepy kinda way. This is my first T. Kingfisher book and they write characters very well!

• I did feel like it could’ve been a little shorter. It felt like there was a loooot of filler conversations that could’ve been summed up a little more succinctly.

• I don’t agree that this is a horror novel. It’s creepy at most. I saw another review where someone mentioned they kept checking if this was YA and I absolutely agree. It felt like a book written for teenagers.

• The story itself was very intriguing but the ending fell quite flat for me. I was expecting there to be a great duel between Cordelia and her mother but instead, it felt like a bunch of bumbling idiots faking their way through it and winning with dumb luck. There was no explanation as to where the mother got her powers, what motivated her to be so horrible, wtf the horse thing actually was, and Cordelia never found her power which was SUCH a letdown and a wasted opportunity.

Overall, I loved it up until the ending. I so wish they had’ve reallocated some of the pages they spent on needless babble in the middle to a proper ending. If I was judging solely based on the first half of the book, it would’ve gotten 5 stars but this is just a 3 star for me.

To call Cordelia’s mother overbearing and often times cruel would be an understatement…of course she is an evil sorceress. Despite her efforts to escape her mother’s manipulations she finds herself part of a plan to marry a wealthy squire and dispose of him afterwards. Cordelia is surprised when their new family takes her in shows her a kindness her mother never did. Now she will have to be brave if she wants to save this new family from a grisly fate.

A Sorceress Comes to Call is a reimagining of the Brothers Grimm's “The Goose Girl”. This is a fairytale that I am not familiar with so I don’t have any comparisons to offer. I typically love this authors stories so I was a bit disappointed that this one wasn’t amongst my favorites. I did enjoy several characters, especially the squires sister who is a feisty lady with a special fondness for breeding geese. This is a dark fairytale so it contains some content involving murder, mutilation, and abuse. Despite not loving this one it was still a very enjoyable read that I would recommend for fans of darker fairytales.

This book was really good!! A very easy and quick read, with lots of intrigue and very developed characters. This is my first Kingfisher, and needless to say, I'm going to be reading the others!!

Thank you to Net Galley and Tor Publishing group for allowing me to read this ARC in return for my honest review.

4.5 stars
This was my first book by T Kingfisher. I’ll be honest and say that some of the covers have kind of scared me off. While the Brothers Grimm’s stories aren’t exactly not scary, I thought it would be a safe entree into the author’s work. And I was right! This retelling was cozy, even through the horror of Evangeline’s actions over the course of the book. The narration was good- one narrator was better than the other for me. I definitely recommend this to everyone and will start reading through the back catalogue!
*Thanks to MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for the audiobook copy.

This novel grabbed me by the throat (and the heart) from the word “obedience.” Cordelia’s less than ideal status quo is upended when her mother decides it’s time to leave their small town and start a new life. And if Cordelia doesn’t interfere, her mother’s plans will ruin more lives than hers. This is dark fantasy that feels like it was written explicitly for survivors of the parental rights movement––it’s full of heart even as it takes an unflinching look at what it takes to break free and become your own person.