Kingfisher likes her body horror, and on the page I can appreciate it. But this book has easily the best villain I've read in her books, and that's because she's rather ordinary. sure magic heightens the threat, but there's a reason some villains are genuinely detested while others a viewed as over-the-top hams.
If you liked Kingfisher's earlier books, you'll like this one.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. The main characters' viewpoints were interesting to read, especially since one was so young and the other a middle-aged woman. I just wanted to grab the younger one up and hug her because of all she'd been through. You rarely find books that have middle-aged heroines as one of the main characters, so that was a nice surprise, too. There wasn't one character I didn't like. The story flowed well, and the ending was perfect! Definitely recommend to those liking anything magical with your books.
I did receive this as an ARC from Netgalley, but these opinions are my own.

I struggled to read this digitally. I enjoy T Kingfisher's writing so I believe it was purely an issue of mode of consumption. The retelling of "Goose girl" was creepy and macabre. I enjoyed the approach Kingfisher took to revealing the "villain" very early in the story. It seems like a fresh approach. It is filled with wry humor and had adequate pacing.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

Ok so T. Kingfisher is now one of my auto read authors. No matter what they write I’m going to be reading it.

Now this book was absolutely amazing but it didn’t really pick up until about 40% in. But once it did I recommend having no plans because you won’t be able to put it down!

Cordelia lives with her mother who happens to be Sorceress, and she is not a nice woman. One day her mother decides they need a new benefactor so she finds an older gentleman and his sister and starts to make her devious plans. However the sister, Hester, knows what she’s up to and will stop at nothing to make sure her brother is safe. Will Cordelia be able to help Hester and stand up against her mother?

This book was phenomenal 4.5/5 stars and I would HIGHLY recommend it!!

I LOVE Kingfisher's writing, and this book was so amazing that words cannot express how much I enjoyed it. I adore fairy-tales retellings so much, and this one did not disappoint. Being a gifted storyteller, Kingfisher's books are enchanting because of the way she creates her characters and stories.

And the characters in this book—oh my god—they are amazing! Cordelia makes an amazing main character, and I love how she's changed from being a shy, mistreated girl to someone who has had the world opened up to her. She genuinely cared for someone who was so isolated from the outside world and had a lovely heart.

However, the secondary characters are what really set this work apart. My all-time favorite character in the novel is Hester. I adore that T. Kingfisher created a fantastic protagonist that isn't just adolescent girl once again.

One of the book's best features is how magic develops and is expertly mixed into Cordelia's story of coming of age. Readers are taken on a journey as Cordelia discovers her mother's sorcery, which makes the magic seem both plausible and fascinating. I truly like every aspect of the novel, and the supernatural aspects were done extremely well.

It's hard not to fall in love with the characters because they are so endearing and the plot is so well written. Even though I have read a number of Kingfisher's books, I think this one may be my new favorite! I can't wait to read more works by this author!

I enjoyed the witchy elements of this book and might have liked it more if I did a tote eyeball read. I also wasn’t familiar with the fairy tale it was retelling. I think if I was, I would have enjoyed this one more

A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher

Narrated by: Eliza Foss, Jennifer Pickens
Release date: 06 August 2024

This my first book by author T.Kingfisher and I both read and listened to the audiobook simultaneously. I enjoyed the story and writing style, very easy to read and intriguing story. Dark story with the FMC's mother as the clear antagonist. The narrator's did a great job with differentiating the mostly female characters and I will be reading more from her in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley, T. Kingfisher and Macmillan Audio/ Tor Publishing for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was an odd but interesting kind of fairy tale story. It's based on the Brothers Grimm Goose Girl, but I was not familiar with that story before going into this book, so I cannot say how it incorporates the original story. This was a very engaging, kind of dark and twisty tale of a teenage girl and her sorceress mother who was up to no good and in search of a rich husband. There is magic and paranormal, and a little whimsy. It all comes together in a very engaging tale I read through quickly. I would recommend this book if you are looking for something that is a little dark, but with a little humor and fairytale added in. Thank you to Tor Books and NetGalley for allowing me an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

If you're worried that because you've never heard of or read The Goose Girl by the Brothers Grimm, don't worry. This book stands solidly on its own. It's everything you want from a dark fairytale-magic, death, tricks, ghosts, familiars, the whole gamut.

I enjoyed this story from tip to tail, throwing us in immediately to our main character, Cordelia, being made "obedient" by her mother. Meanwhile, in another house, Hester, an older woman, is feeling a sense of dread coming her way. As you continue down the story, tiny sinister things happen, and eventually, Hester and Cordelia end up in each other's path. They are great together. And that's all the info I'll put here because I enjoyed not having a single clue as to what was going on as I read. I loved it.

If you like dark fairytale-style stories or really enjoyed The Brothers Grimm movie, I think you'll really enjoy this one.

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor for the E-ARC!

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Tor Books for this copy of "A Sorceress Comes to Call."

So at the beginning I was wondering "Who is this mother Evangeline and daughter Cordelia and what's going on with them." But with the introduction of Hester and her brother Samuel, the story took flight (no geese jokes intended) and the characters were so much fun.

The plotting was a perfect mix of comedy and suspense and I couldn't wait to find out if and how they were going to trap the evil mother - it's not a spoiler that she's an evil sorceress as you find that out right away.

Romance, evil sorceress, fairy tale retelling - all elements that I enjoy and this one was a delight... or should I say enchanting?

As someone unfamiliar with The Goose Girl , I was unsure of what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised to be enamored by this book during the first few pages. It was a funny, dark, and brave tale. Cordelia is a young girl who is traumatized by her sorceress mother. Her journey to be free of her had me rooting for her till the very end. Cordelia’s witty friends were also entertaining and I look forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you to Tor Publishing Company and Net Galley for this arc.

Posted on Goodreads on 8/15/24.

T. Kingfisher is so brilliant, and I am in awe of everything they have written. Goose Girl was such a good one for their narrative voice to retell and I adored it!

Book Review: A Sorceress Comes To Call

◇Author: T. Kingfisher
◇Genre: Fantasy
◇Pages: 336
◇You might enjoy this if you like
-Ella Enchanted
-Found Family
-Brother’s Grimm retellings

3.5 stars

It's an honor and a privilege to be approved for an ARC of one of my all time favorite authors. I will read anything T. Kingfisher writes! This one ultimately wasn’t my favorite, but still a tender story that kept me on edge.

This is a dark retelling of the Brothers Grimm’s Goose girl. Cordelia often has to be obedient under her mother’s spells, where she has no control over her actions or words. Watching this happen is distressing, but this is contrasted with T. Kingfisher’s signature wit and laugh out loud humor.

This book has so much heart and is a very tender story. Ultimately, there was a lot of conversational fluff between all of the characters throughout this book that I didn’t care for. I thought it really slowed down the plot, and it felt too much like filler. That’s something that kept me from loving this one. However, the last fourth of this book was super fun and I was anchored to my kindle in an effort to keep reading. It felt like we finally got to the meat of the plot, and I couldn’t wait to figure out what happened to our beloved characters.

Thank you TorBooks and Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Having read and enjoyed Nettle & Bone, I was not disappointed by Kingfisher's telling of this story. I found it had just the right dose of Real Bad Stuff, without ever being afraid that Cordelia and Hester might not win out in the end. It was easy to feel fondly toward the posse they assembled to beat Evangeline, and the humble quiet good-ness that ran through the characters was a needed antidote to the horror elements that I don't engage with too often.

Only a side note, but I would not have been mad if this had been a longer read. Most of the characters besides Hester fell rather flat, and could have benefited from some dimensionality that I would have loved more of (looking at you, Penelope and Imogene). Overall, another well-balanced, "dark enough to take seriously with some sweet, honest protagonists" story by Kingfisher! Looking forward to the next.

4.5 Rounding Up

I have been hit and miss with T. Kingfisher lately so I am so happy to have loved this one. This combined a lot of things I think the author does well with the light fantasy elements, historical setting, and hint of romance. There were some really great light horror elements and scenes as well. All around very well paced and enjoyable from start to finish!!

I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't know the story of the Goose Girl, so it wasn't that it was a retelling that made me choose this book - just that I enjoy T. Kingfisher and this book was enjoyable! The sorceress, Evangeline is a villain you love to hate. Hester, Imogene and Penelope are all fun characters. The ending of the book gets a bit grim! But when I was finished with this book I read about the original and in True Grimm's fashion it had it's own disturbing ending. I was sucked into the story and rooting for Cordelia. I loved how the story incorporated geese too!

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor Publishing for an advance copy of this book for review.

A Sorceress Comes to Call is a supernatural thriller written in the style of a regency romance. The result of the genre blend is a cocktail of dry witted characters with complex relationships, steadily growing suspense, and whatever it is about folklore that makes it feel true without having to bother with logical explanations for strange happenings. The elements made room for one another’s best features; scenes following Hester were all delighted laughter and romantic pining, where Cordelia’s sections encouraged the feeling of being an animal caught in a snare plucking up the courage to chew off its own limb. I don’t know how T Kingfisher makes all the tones and moods work together, but she does.

I’m a little more confident on the why of my next statement, which is that T Kingfisher is a master of the twisted fairy tale. I’m a big fan of subverting a traditional form to ask questions that preoccupy a modern audience. in particular, I found ASCTC challenges the oft-featured virtues of beauty, obedience, and the sanctity and security of blood-family from fairy tales in a particularly adept way, not by offering answers via counterexample, but by using said examples to ask questions:
What if the most beautiful woman in the room was considered to be so for her wit and warmth and the way she is true to herself (and indeed, she is not the Most Fair Bar None; if you ask Richard, nobody holds a candle to Hester), rather than for being the youngest with clearest skin and purest virtue?
What is obedience, really, when taken to an extreme, and how much agency can one truly be said to have when they’re being obedient?
What if it is your blood that presents the greatest danger to you and others? Where must your loyalty lie?
At no point did I feel preached at, or like I was reading an essay about fairytale, like old favorite tales with their obedient and lovely and youthful heroines were being looked down upon in the reading of ASCTC. I was just reading a gruesome, lovely story, that happened to be in conversation with ones that came before.

Any contention I have with the pace at which information about the central conflict was revealed—eg. Penelope’s introduction as a ghost, when no mention of ghosts was made up to that point—only serves to make the story feel more in keeping with fairy tale tradition. The headless horse digs itself up, erupts into demon form, and disappears after being flapped at by a goose? Solid! Doesn’t even break the top 10 most non-sequiter moments of the folktales I’ve read. The fantastical felt true enough for story and rooted it all more in the genre.

As counterbalance to—or rather, a technique used in tandem with—the use of the fantastical in ASCTC, the realism of the story’s character work helped further root the story in believability beyond the sort you need for a fairy tale. This was true for all the characters, but especially so for Hester and Cordelia, and even Evangeline. Reading Cordelia was heart wrenching in that her POV ran me through an emotional gauntlet; the exhausting, ambivalent feelings landscape of an abused child are difficult to read. She balances a hatred of her abuser, fear, and a desire under it all that Evangeline will stop and love her the way she’s claiming she has been the whole time, all the way through. It is a triumph and a relief when Cordelia realizes that the only way she will ever be free is if she stops hoping for change on Evangeline’s part and instead takes matters into her own hands. For Hester’s part, her anxieties around her chronic pain and aging into oblivion hit as true today as they would in the Regency period. I was delighted to see an “older” woman take up space (both diegetically and as a POV character) and be desired; she’s not taking the usual roles of an older woman in fairy tale (1. Jealous villain, 2. Infallibly wise mentor, or 3. Dead virtuous Saint). The two of these characters in tandem carry the story’s emotional landscape, and I will be thinking about the both of them long after the book’s closed and this review is posted.

I recommend A Sorceress Comes to Call for readers who love fallible characters doing their best against stacked odds, and anyone disappointed by the toothlessness of the Grimm Brothers fairytales.

I don't always enjoy fairy tale retellings but T. Kingfisher does this retelling of Goose Girl justice. It captured the darkness of the Grimm's fairytales, while adding thriller and horror vibes. Cordelia and her mother are complex characters that evokes many emotions from the readers. Immersive, beautiful and dark story.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review!

I have long heard of T. Kingfisher’s writing and was more than happy to see what all the fuss was about! Though this was my first novel by the author, it certainly won’t be the last!

I am unfamiliar with the Brother’s Grimm tale that lends inspiration to A Sorceress Comes to Call, but that didn’t matter in the end. I was purely entranced by the writing and storytelling and ate this right up.

This story is told from the dual pov’s of Cordelia, the young abused daughter of the sorceress, and Hester, the not easily fooled sister of the squire the sorceress is trying to trap into marriage.

Hester is a clever lady who knows something is amiss with Evangeline and does everything she can to thwart her brother’s attentions away from her. She cares for Cordelia and so tries to navigate both getting rid of Evangeline while also helping the young girl. I really enjoyed Hester’s character and reading from her pov.

In Cordelia’s pov, I could FEEL her fear and anxiety of upsetting her mother and the constant foreboding. Afraid of saying the wrong thing or stepping a toe out of line, added to the already eerie setting. As the story continues to unfold we see Cordelia gaining the strength to stand up to her mother and I quite enjoyed her character growth.

The writing was absolutely beautiful and immersive. I could easily picture the setting and was fully captivated throughout. The side characters were wonderful additions that felt just as fleshed out as the main characters. This story was dark and eerie with some magical elements, perfect for the Autumn season. I definitely recommend giving this book a read!

A creepy Regency fairy-tale from Kingfisher, showing off her horror chops. Cordelia is the daughter of a sorceress, a woman so powerfully manipulative that a fourteen year old has no chance to stop her. Or does she? Once again, Kingfisher pits an older, practical heroine against magical powers, and along with a flock of geese, they just might prevail.

Fascinating though this retelling is, with the horror elements ramping up and a slow-spun thread of dread, there was a chance to reflect more deeply on the imbalance of power: Cordelia and her mother are no one in society. They are poor. The sorceress’ wiles are already remarked upon as tactics that conniving women use upon rich men - but with no other option to rely upon, what woman wouldn’t use magic if she had access to it? I would have enjoyed a little more exploration of this, as Cordelia’s essentially reliant on the good nature of the wealthy in order to make any headway at all. Fortunately, of course, they are a benevolent and loveable cast.

Do check the trigger warnings for this one. I hugely enjoyed both the geese and the horse.