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.

I loved this one. The author really knows how to tell a story and keep you hooked until the end. I did find some of the character descriptions to be… well, brutally inaccurate for that age group. But other than that, I really enjoyed this book.

Thank you to Tor Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of "A Sorceress Comes to Call" by T. Kingfisher in exchange for an honest review.

Cordelia is trapped. Her mother Evangeline, a powerful, cruel sorceress, craves money and luxury more than anything. and she's willing to do anything to get it, including manipulation and murder. Cordelia is just one more tool at her mother's disposal So when Evangeline's latest lover rejects her, Cordelia, Evangeline, Evangeline's familiar Falada go off in search of a new benefactor. They find the Samuel, the Squire, who lives in a big, stately home with his old maid (though not prospectless) sister Hester.

Samuel immediately falls for Evangeline's charms but Hester does not. She and the household staff quickly realize that all is not what it seems and that they are all in a great deal of danger, including Cordelia. Hester immediately calls in the help of old friends, including her long-time beau, to defend against Evangeline's machinations.

What follows is a classic Kingfisher story: scary magic, droll humor, a middle-aged and kickass heroine, and a terrifying horse. It's entertaining and horrifying and absolutely fantastic. Highly recommend for Kingfisher fans, as well as readers who enjoy mixing pseudo-Regency eras with magic and mayhem.

A clever fantasy novel featuring an excellently eclectic cast and an older heroine. My only quibble was the portrayal of a fifty-one year old woman as tragically aged and infirm.

Actual rating: 4,5/5 stars

I have yet to read something by T. Kingfisher that I haven't at the very least enjoyed, and "A Sorceress Comes to Call" is no exception. I loved this one, and found myself picking it up whenever I could. Claiming to be a "Goose Girl" retelling (which I cannot speak to the accuracy of), this story follows fourteen-year-old Cordelia and her mother in her attempt to ensare a rich husband. What follows is an unsurpringsly dark tale sprinklened with bits of humanity and humor. I really enjoyed Cordelia's character, and I truly felt for her. I also loved the secondary characters, as well as the themes of good vs. evil and found family. This one capitivated me from page one, and I will be in T. Kingfisher's walls waiting for whatever her super amazing brain comes up with next.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC!

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Oh. I was so excited to see a Kingfisher book on NetGalley available and even more stoked to get approved for it. I love T. Kingfisher.

It’s not often I imagine cartoon characters as characters in books, but I just could not get Mother Gothel from Tangled out of my head as Cordelia’s mom, Evangeline. Interestingly, I did not imagine Maximus as the horse, Falada, mainly because of Falada’s personality.

Cordelia lives with her mom who doesn’t allow Cordelia to close the door to her room. She doesn’t allow her to have friends, but sometimes Cordelia rides with a girl in town, but keeps her distance personally and emotionally. She confides in Falada regularly, though, to let out steam. But one day, when Cordelia decides to try to get away, Falada stops at the edge of town and refuses to go any further. Then her mother comes running to them. Falada, Cordelia’s best friend so far in life, is her mother’s familiar, and has revealed all of Cordelia’s alleged secrets to her.

When a change in her mother’s other relationships leads them to another town where Evangeline is trying to get a wealthy man to fall in love with her and marry her, Cordelia finds an ally in the man’s sister, Hester. Despite Cordelia keeping her mother’s deepest secrets, Hester begins to suspect things, although she has no idea how to prove them. But after the death of a guest, Cordelia finds herself caught between loyalty to her mother and a moral obligation to keep anyone else from dying.

This was such a phenomenal book. I have never read The Goose Girl, but I do believe I shall.

T. Kingfisher has done it again!

I would give this book more than 5 stars if I could! I have been obsessed with T. Kingfisher's writing since I read my first book, and previously Nettle & Bone and The Twisted Ones had been at the top of my list, but I think A Sorceress Comes to Call has just blown past them to the top!

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Summary:
Cordelia knows things about her mother that no one else seems to know. Like the coldness that hides behind her mother's charm and smile and the way her mother is able to control Cordelia and others in a way that seems magical. But it isn't until her mother sets her sights on marriage and moves herself and Cordelia into the household of a wealthy and kind old Squire and his clever older sister that Cordelia begins to see what her mother is truly capable of.

Hester knows from the moment she sees Cordelia's mother that the woman is a harbinger of Doom. There's something not quite right about Evangeline, and there's a look in her daughter's frightened eyes that tells her that something dark is lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike. Hester only hopes that she can figure out Lady Doom's secrets before it's all too late.
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What a fantastically dark and lovely fairytale this was! I grew up on Gail Carson Levine and Robin McKinley, and I adore stories that draw from fairytales and folklore like Senan McGuire's Wayward Children series, so this book was incredibly satisfying for me for the concept and vibes alone, but T. Kingfisher's execution of the novel took it to another level.

What I loved:
- A phenomenal cast of characters! T. Kingfisher has a way of writing characters and populating her worlds that resonates with me, and this book was no exception. I will admit that Cordelia was occasionally a bit frustrating with how weak and timid she was, but it was all completely in line with the character's experiences and history, and she was balanced nicely by having Hester as an additional POV.
- I really enjoyed the world this story was set in! It had the feel of a classic fairytale world with the gilding of a Regency novel, and it was delightful. Even if it was not directly plot relevant, I enjoyed the attention paid to period-appropriate manners, social expectations, and gossip as it made the world and story feel more rounded and complete. (And I found the house party gossip sessions quite entertaining! And they did so much to add depth to all the characters!)
- What a despicable, well done antagonist. I don't want to give too much away, but the way Evangeline treated others was so on point with a narcissist and abuser and it made me hate her soooooo much.
- The general darkness and horror vibes were nicely balanced! There was a sense of darkness throughout sprinkled with notes of horror up until closer to the end when the horror tones got stronger, and it made for a wonderful build and flow of the story.

Overall, this book was phenomenal and I cannot recommend it highly enough to fans of fairytales, dark fantasy, and books with excellent vibes!