Cordelia lives an unconventional life. For starters her mother, Evangeline, is not like other mothers. She does not allow Cordelia to have any friends, their house is void of doors, as well as speech at times, not to mention the fact that her mother is a sorceress. The only confidant that Cordelia has is a horse named Falada, but Falada isn’t your average horse. Everything changes one night when Cordelia is forced to flee in the middle of the night with her mother after the discovery of a strange murder, leaving everything behind. They soon arrive at the lavish manor of the Squire and his sister Hester. Cordelia hopes to marry the Squire, but that won;t happen if Hester has anything to say about it. She sees Evangeline for who she is and she is determined to save both her brother and Cordelia from this woman before the Squire makes the monumental mistake of marrying Evangeline.

I really enjoyed A Sorceress Comes to Call. It is a novel that kept me hooked throughout thanks to the characters, the world building and the macabre aspects. For starters, there are so many complex, well-developed characters. Cordelia is a wonderful protagonist and Evangeline is a villain that is easy to hate, but it’s really all the supporting characters that bring this story to life. Kingfisher’s word choice and world building paints such a complete and mesmerizing picture of the settings, events and characters, making this a true page-turner. I enjoyed the twists and turns and was pleasantly surprised by many of them.

The audiobook only added to my enjoyment of A Sorceress Comes to Call. I love that two narrators were used, allowing them both to bring different things to the story making it that much more enjoyable overall. The pacing (once I sped it up a little), inflection and tone created not only suspense and anticipation, but it also brought the characters and event to life.

I found A Sorceress Comes to Call a little slow and static--I put it down around the halfway point and didn't pick it back up to finish it until over a month later. I liked this twist on the goose girl fairy tale and loved the geese, Hester's viewpoint was a welcome addition to the story, and I felt a sense of dread throughout the story...but I also felt like this novel from T. Kingfisher was missing something.

Perhaps a little more insight into Cordelia's mother? (I really wanted her POV.) Probably a faster pace, or at least a change in scenery before the 75% point. Cordelia and Hester's voices also sounded same-y at times to me, which felt odd considering their disparate ages and experiences. The ending felt a bit rushed as well, and I think it could have used more breathing room.

“A Sorceress Comes to Call” is a dark retelling of the Brothers’ Grimm story ‘The Goose Girl’ combined with a country house party and romance. I found this book to be amazing - expertly crafted and extremely compelling. The plot, tension, writing, and characterization all combine to make a very solid four star read for me. I think this is likely to be a five star read for most people but I personally struggled with the narrative’s balance between horror and fairytale - it was a bit too much horror for my taste.

I absolutely adored Hester, the squire’s sister, and loved her section of the narration. I struggled with Cordelia’s point of view due to the abuse she experienced from her mother. This was an important plot point for the story but could be triggering for readers and definitely took me out of the narrative. I also felt that the book could have used a bit more explanation on the setting and general world building. I found myself confused about the world’s geography and how people viewed magic.

Otherwise, “A Sorceress Comes to Call” was extremely engaging and engrossing. This was the first book I’ve read by T. Kingfisher and I’m excited to check out more works by the author.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Tor Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was my introduction to this author, and has me grasping for everything she's ever written. I thoroughly enjoyed how this fairytale was repackaged and delivered with a new ferocity and enchantment.

Incredible new book by one of my favorite authors! It's so gripping and I enjoyed it immensely. T. Kingfisher hits it out of the park

T. Kingfisher is a Season's Pass for me. I will ride ALL THE RIDES.

I loved this dark Goose Girl retelling with all my shriveled soul.

I love the dual POV between the sorceress' traumatized daughter, and the squire's arthritic, middle-aged sister.

I loved the found family, the magic, the second-chance love story, and the attack geese.

And I especially appreciated the tiny nod to Bone Dog in Nettle & Bone.

I loved it all.

Thanks to NetGalley, Tor Publishing, and Macmillan Audio for this magical ARC.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

I enjoyed this so much. I love the darkness of the story. It felt much more creepy than I had anticipated. This author has another win in my book.

Cordelia is a sympathetic character, and this is a great retelling of the Goose Girl myth. I really enjoyed the title, even if it was a bit spookier than the books I usually read.

This was a really excellent fantasy retelling of "The Goose Girl"! I've never read the original story by the Grimm brothers, so I can't speak to accuracy, but I loved this book. T. Kingfisher's writing is so easy to read, and this book was so hard to put down! The writing was very atmospherical, and I really enjoyed the manor setting, I also loved the cast of characters; both the main and secondary characters! I have to say that Hester was probably my favourite, though. I read it pretty quickly (as quickly as I possibly could in the middle of the school semester), and I'll definitely be reading more of T. Kingfisher's books! I overall would completely recommend this book :)

T. Kingfisher is the master of ambiance. She has this uncanny ability to set the scene and ground you solidly in the world from the first page of the book, and this story was no exception.

I was totally and completely invested in this dark adult fairytale from the moment I started. I loved the characters, I loved the premise, and I loved the genuinely terrifying villains. I'm not usually a fan of a book set in the regency era, but something about the modernity of the writing style and the beautiful and cinematic imagery worked for me. This book wasn't anything I expected it to be, but as the drama unfolded and I was swept away by it, I loved every second.

This would be the perfect fantasy book to read during spooky season!

A Sorceress Comes to Call is a magical horror in which a witch, the mother of young girl, Cordelia, wants to get rich by tricking her way into a marriage and taking over the house, while the man’s sister, an old woman named Hester, tries to stop her.

I really enjoyed all the characters in this book as well as the dual-POV. Cordelia and Hester were incredible protagonists - It was especially interesting to see how the perspectives on the situation varied between an older woman who understands that something’s amiss and a young girl being abused by her mother who is trying desperately to not bring harm to others. All the side characters were incredible and worked super well with Hester. Never in my life would I have thought to be rooting so hard for an elderly straight couple and yet I was eating it up so hard.

The magic was super interesting and I particularly enjoyed the brutality of the mind control - every time Cordelia was being controlled it was devastating… and also the familiar was terrifying and was a great side villain. Forever scarred by scary horses from the Brothers Grimm movie when I was a child and this only adds to it. It was especially terrifying as the characters were essentially trying to defeat an overpowered villain who could kill them at any moment... so it was really interesting to see all the mind games played throughout the novel.

Loved the book as always I love Kingfisher’s prose and her way with words… can’t wait to read more of her books <3

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I had no knowledge of the Brothers Grimm Goose Girl story prior to reading this novel. I found the story interesting, but it took a while to get going. I eventually found that I was invested in what happened with the plot, but I never got attached to the characters. The grim overtone of the book was well done and it added a sense of urgency to the story. Overall, it was a fine read, but since I’m a character driven reader, I never got fully immersed in the story.

A Sorceress Comes to Call is a fantastic fantasy read. It is a book that rides the line between dark and cozy. It was a joy to get lost in the world that T. Kingfisher created with this one.

The story follows Cordelia and her struggle to survive her overbearing mother, Evangeline. She has no privacy, cannot have secrets, and her only friend is her mother’s horse. When Cordelia upsets her mother she is made obedient, which is essentially her mother taking control of Cordelia’s body and subverting her will. Cordelia’s mother is a sorceress and she uses her magic to get what she wants.

When her current benefactor becomes too much trouble, Evangeline finds a new suitor in an older Squire. Soon she and Cordelia are moving in with him and his sister. Cordelia finds that she enjoys her new home, and especially the Squire’s sister, Hester. Hester takes Cordelia under her wing once she realizes that she is nothing like her scheming mother. As Cordelia becomes closer to Hester she finds that she can rebel against her mother.

Once Cordelia learns of a horrific event back in her old hometown, she knows her mother was responsible. Now knowing that her mother will stop at nothing to attain her goals, Cordelia turns to Hester for help in stoping her mother once and for all. Hester gathers some close friends and together they come up with a plan to take Evangeline down. However that is easier said than done.

I really found no fault with this book. It was well paced and the writing was spectacular. The characters were well developed and became like good friends that I hated to say goodbye to when the book ended. I highly recommend this book if you love magical reads featuring good versus evil.

Holy moly, this had me hooked from the first page! Kingfisher's prose is so rich and descriptive, revealing just as much by what is said as by what isn't. There's such a great sense of suspense -- I felt *anxious* in the best way reading this, even though sometimes it was a bit darker than I would usually seek out. I've had a few other Kingfisher books in my TBD, and after reading this I'll definitely move 'em up the list!

I really enjoyed this book. One of my favorite books growing up was The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale, so I was interested to see another interpretation of the same fairytale. I thought it was lovely and strange and haunting. T Kingfisher is so good at fairytales.

Atmospheric and unsettling dark fairytale, just what I expect from Kingfisher. This wasn’t my favorite Kingfisher story, I wasn’t as immersed and while I liked the character development, at points the story seemed too long.

Thank you NetGalley and TOR Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love me some T. Kingfisher but this one may be one of my least favorites thus far. It had the same beautiful prose and dry humor that I've come to love from Kingfisher's books but overall I think this story wasn't for me.

I just found it boring. The story took too long to get going and once it did I just never truly felt invested. I also felt like there was too much confusion throughout the story.

‘A Sorceress Comes to Call” is a loose reimagining of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale 'The Goose Girl.' Cordelia lives with her mother, who controls Cordelia's every move and harbors a deadly secret. She is after a prize – marry a wealthy husband who will give them connections and a respectable reputation. Filled with found family, magic and spooky/horror elements sprinkled throughout I highly enjoyed this latest story by Kingfisher. I enjoyed seeing Cordelia's strength grow I enjoyed all the supporting characters coming together. A truly enjoyable read!

Thank you to Netgalley and TOR Publishing for send me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A Sorceress Comes to Call is a loose retelling of the Goose Girl from the Grimm Brothers that somehow had more geese in it but little in common with the source material. If you know the fairy tale and know what to look for there are some connections, but this book is a masterpiece on its own.

The story follows two main characters, Cordelia who is the daughter of the titular sorceress, and Hester, who lives in the home the sorceress calls upon. Both perspectives were great to read. Cordelia is drowning in anxiety due to living with her abusive and magical mother. And Hester is a shrewd spinster in her 50s who recognizes when Doom moves into her home.

This book was very readable. I found both POVs compelling,and the audio book has two narrators to embody these very different women. This is a regency inspired fantasy, in an alternative reality where magic is real but not that impactful in every day life. There is no romance, but there is found family. And I loved how none of the characters acted like total idiots. There’s also some dark moments and horrific scenes, so be aware.

I loved Nettle and Bone, and this book has putT Kingfisher on my auto buy list.