⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

A Sorceress Comes to Call is a brilliant, immersive, and wildly entertaining fantasy that hooked me from the first line.

This one was everything I hoped it would be—dark, magical, compelling, and captivating, with some Downton Abbey vibes thrown in. I adored every one of the characters and loved the development. The world-building was fantastic, and the writing was both beautiful and immersive. The story was also wonderfully paced, and I could not get enough. I also enjoyed the subplot romance and the inclusion of two narrators: one was a character in her early teens, and the other was a middle-aged woman, which added greatly to the story’s experience. This story was truly spectacular.

Let’s take a moment to appreciate the audiobook narration. I loved the two narrators. They fit the characters and world beautifully. They were soothing but easily held my attention. I would have loved to hear more defined voices for the side characters, but the writing makes it fairly easy to discern who’s speaking. The narrators made the read even more magical!

Thank you to the publisher for the free ALC!

A beautifully dark retelling of Grimm’s The Goose Girl, A Sorceress Comes to Call(ASCTC) is one story you won’t regret.

I found myself deeply immersed in Cordelia’s macabre life. The horrid dealings of her mother broke my heart, and I was instantly connected to her. All of the characters were well written, and not a single one felt like a spare. They each had a dynamic personality and their own unique quirks.

The writing itself is extremely beautiful and created an immersive atmosphere. While there are dark themes, this story didn’t feel overly grotesque or reminiscent of a horror novel. The pacing is fairly even throughout, which makes the story easily digestible and almost like a cozy read, but dark.

Comprised of magic, wicked plots, friendship and untold danger, ASCTC keeps you on the edge of your seat biting your nails with suspense. Honestly, I was pulled in so quickly and I didn’t want to put it down.

Overall, I loved everything about this book and I highly recommend it!

Also worth noting, the narrators for the audiobook were excellent.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an audiobook ARC for my honest review.

5 Stars. This was a fantastic audiobook - both readers were excellent. I really enjoyed the characters and the dialogue. I have never read the fairy tale, the Goose Girl, that this book is based on, but I look forward to reading it in the future to compare it with A Sorceress Comes to Call. Despite its darker themes, I appreciated the humour and kindness that the characters in this book displayed, and was absolutely rooting for them to. I received an advanced copy of the audiobook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, and will be buying a physical copy to my shelves in the future.

A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher is a dark retelling of the Brothers Grimm's The Goose Girl and herein lies a story of secrets, murder and forbidden magic. Cordelia is a 13 year old girl and her mother? Her mother is the sorceress in question. She has a familiar, a snowy white horse. One day, Cordelia's mother moves them into the manor home of a wealthy squire. It has always been the mother's goal for Cordelia to marry a very rich man, and that takes money. A town house in London, ball gowns, jewels, all cost money so her mother is marrying a man that can give all that to Cordelia. Only the squire's sister, Hester, and Cordelia know she is up to something. I've read the Goose Girl and it is already a dark story, but this is darker. I was on the edge of my seat listening until the end to find out which way this would go. It was very good, and even if you know the story, it is not an exact retelling so I really felt the tension mounting and could not get to end fast enough. Really well done. 4.5 stars. Thank you to Net Galley #netgalley and Macmillan Audio #macmillanaudio for my advance audio copy.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

4.75/5 stars

I absolutely LOVED this, as I expected to because T. Kingfisher is a beast. This was the perfect blend of dark and creepy but also beautiful and funny - the unique mix that I've only really experienced with Kingfisher. The characters were rich and unique and the story had my attention from the beginning. I was invested and curious and couldn't ever 100% figure it out, but I wasn't confused either.

I loved every bit of this and I think anyone that enjoys a good mystery with some humor and dark fairytale elements will LOVE this too.

As for the audio production, the voice actors were amazing and perfectly captured their characters - amazing!

A YA Brothers Grimm fairytale reimagining with magic, lies and ghosts.

T. Kingfisher does a great job with fairytale retellings. Thornhedge (a dark sleeping beauty retelling) is my absolute favourite from her. A Sorceress Comes to Call is a re-imagining of, "The Goose Girl," by The Brothers Grimm, which is a new-to-me fairytale.

The story is told in two POVs, one from a 14-year old daughter of an evil sorceress (Cordelia), and the other from the adult sister of the man the sorceress is trying to marry (Hester). Hester's character was my favourite. I love reading about 'older' women, especially ones who are on the outside of society. This story is placed in a vague regency-era setting. Having never married, Hester has freedom and a friend group that allows her to move around in the world in a way other women at the time couldn't. I just wanted to sit at a table drinking and playing cards with these friends. That could have been the whole book for me and I would have asked for more!

The story lost excitement for me with Cordelia, as our adult characters had to stop the momentum of the story in order to explain things to her like propriety, sex and which fork to use while eating.

Our narrators, Eliza Foss and Jennifer Pickens did amazing jobs with the voices! I love that we have two different narrators as both our POV characters are women. They were really compelling and I believed fully that they were the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC.

This book is best read in a hansom cab on the way to your new home. If you hear someone whispering in your ear, pay attention.

One of the best T Kingfisher tales in a long time, I have already started suggesting this title. I think it will be fun for fans of cozy fantasy, fairy tale re tellings, and regency novels! I loved the setting and the characters!

If you ever want to read something that is kinda disturbing and/or gruesome at times but it's all written in a cozy way, then I highly recommend T. Kingfisher books.
This story was something I found myself wondering about when I wasn't reading it and something I was excited to get back into as soon as possible.
I found it engaging and interesting.
I cared about the characters and how their stories would end and found the ending satisfying.
Overall, no complaints from me.
I also enjoyed the narration on the audiobook, it was done very well in my opinion.

I always love kingfishers stories. You get everything in this book horror, fantasy, romance, found family, a villain you hate, even attack geese.

T. Kingfisher has an uncanny ability to really suck me into a book and envelope me into the story. Every book of hers I have identified with the main character in some way and became addicted to the read.

With A Sorceress comes to call I IMMEDIATLEY despised the mother and wished and hoped and stayed on the edge of my seat WAITING!!!! for someone to kill her/annihilate her/smack her ANYTHING. And poor precious Cordelia, broken by her mothers magic and ruthlessness. A prime example of with great power comes great cruelty.

Cordelia has spent her whole life doing as her mother has told her and being obedient, what chose does she have when her mother forces obedience with magic. The only friends she thought she had is a lie and her mother in on a new path to destroy other peoples lives for her own gain. Cordelia WILL be her pawn and help her. Evangeline is any mans weakness, this marriage is as easy as pie, except for the soon to be grooms spinster sister who doesn't believe an ounce of the charade this new comers have brought to her home. Can Cordelia trust her though and find safety or will her mother just kill everyone?

This is how a modern retelling of a fairytale should be done! It was dark without being gruesome. The duel point of view allowed for both a child’s voice, which kept the original purpose of fairytale being for children, and the adult voice, which helped to bring in a modern perspective. I especially enjoyed the twist on the familiar and the theory on what constitutes as holy ground.

I listened the audiobook version. The narrators are fantastic at giving an eerie quality to the story and it really added to my experience, so I would recommend this format.

This is a wonderfully written story and I do say wonderful because it gave me a real sense of wonder that I rarely find in fantasy anymore.
It's dark and beautiful, and immerses you in its world.

The characters are compelling and more complex than I expected, the world building is great and the resolution so satisfying.

The best book I've read this year.

I love everything by T. Kingfisher, but her fairytale retellings have not been at the top of my favorites list until now.

'A Sorceress Comes to Call' is dual POV between Cordelia, a young girl whose every move is controlled by her mother, and Hester, a spinster living with her brother, the Squire. One day Hester has a premonition that Doom is coming, and then her brother brings Cordelia and her mother to their home to stay. What can go wrong?

This book is a gothic thriller. Since I'm a wimp, I don't read thrillers or horror, but T. Kingfisher books are the exact right amount of spooky for me. The scares are less about gore and more anticipation of bad to come and wondering if the characters will be able to stop it before it's too late.

The characters in this book are its main selling point. Everyone, including the side characters and servants, is unique and has their own quirks and goals. The dialogue is magnificent, and I was continually laughing out loud.

The audiobook is narrated by Eliza Foss and Jennifer Pickens who give distinct voices to Cordelia and Hester and are a joy to listen to.

The blurb of this book says it's a Goose Girl retelling, which I can see, but it's a vastly different story, so I'd recommend forgetting anything you know about the Goose Girl and going into this story fresh. Every Goose Girl retelling I've read has been wildly different since they tend not to follow the plot but instead use pieces of the story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for access to an early audio copy of this book.

What if you not only had a controlling parent, but a parent who could literally control you with magic? This is teenage Cordelia's reality with a sorcerer mother who is never satisfied and whose new scheme is to marry a wealthy squire and then to marry off Cordelia as well.

Hester, our other POV character, is the sister of the Squire and is wary of Evangeline (Cordelia's mother) from the beginning. But what chance does Hester or Cordelia have against such powerful magic?

T. Kingfisher's prose is engaging as ever and I was impressed by her ability to make me invested in all of the characters, even the minor ones like the butler or Cordelia's childhood friend. There's even a little hint of second chance romance, which was very sweet. Some of the events at the end kept this from being a five star read, but still highly enjoyable and made more so by the excellent narration of Eliza Foss and Jennifer Pickens.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via Netgalley for review purposes; this in no way influences my review.

Fairy tales are one of my favorite things, and I have loved all of T Kingfisher’s that I’ve read. There is even a brief blink-and-you’ll-miss-it reference to Nettle & Bone that delighted me in A Sorceress Comes to Call. I’m not super familiar with Goose Girl, and my only other experience with the fairy tale I know of is Margaret Owen’s Little Thieves, which is a totally different experience than this one. I really enjoyed A Sorceress Comes to Call and the narrators did a fantastic job. Each was a perfect fit for Hester and Cordelia, and I loved the blend of community and mystery with magic. This was a lot of fun even as it had its rough moments with the abuse Cordelia experiences at the hands of her mother. I remember a while back Kingfisher talking about the incidental autism rep in this book, and I absolutely see it and related greatly with a lot of the feelings and experiences Cordelia described. Definitely a book I’d recommend, especially if you’re fond of reimagined fairy tales and the darker sides of magic.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this free audiobook copy of a sorcerer comes to call by T. Kingfisher.

I really enjoyed this audiobook. I felt like the narration was well done and the characters had their own agency even with only two narrators. It was very clear, concise and easy to follow even at a higher speed. I read this book at 2x speed. There wasn't any sound effects or music accompanying the narration and I usually like when that is present so I took a little bit off for the lack cinematic presentation.

The story in general was very well done. I enjoyed it, and I felt like there was no slogs or dull parts. The ending did not feel rushed to me and had a satisfying conclusion to the plot line and all the character arcs.

I always appreciate Kingfisher and their ability to weave a dark tail with fairytale elements that just feel nostalgic while still feeling refreshing and new.

I really enjoyed the interaction between the characters and the feeling of tense suspense throughout the novel that kept me engaged and interested. I highly recommend this is an audiobook because it was very well done and interesting and very true to T Kingfisher's previous works as well.

Yet another delightful story from Kingfisher. A retelling of "The Good Girl" (I've read so many re-tellings, I should really get around to reading to original!), this tale focuses on the plight of young Cordelia, daughter of a sorceress. Determined to marry Cordelia to a welathy man, her mother must first pave the way with her own marriage, to a well off man who can provide Cordelia with the dresses and introductions one requires in society.
With this in mind, Cordelia's mother brings them to the lovely country manor of the Squire and his sister, Hester, so that she may marry on comfort and put young Cordelia out on the marriage mart. While not a sorceress herself, Hester nevertheless senses that a great doom is approaching even before they arrive.
A lovely setting, a delightful cast of characters, an evil villain... it was all just so much fun!

"A Sorceress Comes to Call" is a fun read. Made even better with the talented voice actor. I'll definitely be recommending this one to others.

I had to look up The Goose Girl before reading this because I was only vaguely familiar with the story. And I will say that was not really necessary. This book is extremely loosely based on the original. The horse being named Falada and there being some geese feels like the biggest connections. I thought the story was alright. This was a bit disappointing for me after how much I loved Thornhedge. The narrator was excellent.

This is outstanding both in the writing of the book and the narration. I did not want to put this one down and couldn't wait to get to the end. The characters, setting, and everything in between was so well written. Excellent book.