Thank you so much to Tor for sending me an ARC of A Sorceress Comes to Call for an honest review!

A Sorceress Comes to Call follows Cordelia, the daughter of Evangeline (the titular sorceress). Kept under her mother's thumb, often through the use of magic, Cordelia is pulled into Evangeline's plans of charming and marrying a rich man for money. To escape her own captivity, Cordelia must work together with the other members of the manor and overcome her mother's power.

I absolutely devoured this book. The fairy tale vibes are spectacular, but this is definitely a dark book. Even if it's not as much of a 'horror' book as some of Kingfisher's others, the themes of abuse and manipulation are still horrifying. Kingfisher weaves magic into the mother's psychological manipulation to show how someone might seek to control people.

Hester and her friends are all amazing characters and I loved their familiar dynamic, as well as how they enfolded Cordelia into the group. Every character was so fleshed out and contributed to the story, even the geese (yes, all the geese live and I love them very much).

Kingfisher is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors and I can't wait to see what else she might be working on.

Truly Kingfisher's best work yet. The atmosphere, characters and tension put you in a vice grip from the first page until well after you close the book.

4.5 stars rounded up.

T. Kingfisher is the GOAT of fairytale retellings. And A Sorceress Comes to Call did NOT disappoint. This take on the Brothers Grimm's Goose Girl is creepy, breathtaking, and features such a f*ed up mother-daughter relationship that I couldn't put it down. The perfect book for those who love dark retellings of fairytales.

Thank you to Tor and T Kingfisher for the advanced copy!

Spooky!!

I don't know how T. Kingfisher manages to make books that are both whimsically fun and also extremely horrifying, but she did it. (also don't come at me for calling this fun, okay, just go with it). And not just one kind of horrifying, but two! Stay away if you can't handle narcissistic parental abuse or animal body horror, but if those things aren't a dealbreaker in fiction, this is a great book. I'm still not sick of middle aged fantasy protagonists. More tired adults being heroic, please.

Young Cordelia lives under her mother’s thumb. Her mother literally forces her to be obedient to her every command, essentially a living doll. She learns at an early age the dark deeds her mother is capable of, and to fear her, because her mother is a selfish, amoral sorceress. When her mother sets her sights on becoming a local squire’s bride in her path to wealth and power, Cordelia knows very well just how much jeopardy he is in, for her mother only leaves destruction in her wake. Hester, his spinster sister, becomes a potential ally, if only Cordelia can keep herself from becoming a tool in her mother’s scheme and the perpetrator of violence to others around her. Can Cordelia, Hester and her circle of friends find a way to prevail against a powerful and wicked sorceress’ power?

T. Kingfisher has written a flawless, compelling dark fantasy with a Regency historical fiction feel. The sense of the uncanny is so vivid, and this novel is rich in atmosphere. The magic is captivatingly described, and this story has some legitimately scary moments juxtaposed against delightful humor and Regency mannered wit.

Cordelia is a fascinating character who draws the reader into this story with her authenticity. She has been so traumatized, bullied, and emotionally damaged by her mother that she doesn’t even know who she is and how to interact in society. Her relationship with Hester shows her what it's like to experience genuine caring, love and acceptance, and brings her to understand her own strengths. Hester is another amazing character. She is approaching middle age and looking back at regrets, including a relationship with a good friend (once more than a friend) whose help she needs to deal with the sorceress in her home. Even the secondary characters are fantastic, from Lord Everwood to Lady Strauss to the maid and butler who make up the group working to take down Cordelia’s mother. Found family is a central theme of this novel, as Cordelia realizes she doesn’t ever have to be alone, and her value is more than just being her mother’s puppet.

In this world, sorcery is real, although dismissed as cheap tricks of con artists, but scholars have written treatises, research that becomes very important to the characters’ fight against the evil sorceress. The words flow and the story enthralls until the very last word. Readers who love dark historical fantasy with a gothic feel and a poignant message about love and acceptance will enjoy this new offering by the incredible T. Kingfisher.

I adored this book! It was gripping, mysterious and had such great humor.

Five stars from beginning to end

This fell fully in the middle of my enjoyment of T. Kingfisher's book. I really have loved quite a few of her books and thought some were just okay. Kingfisher has such a range and I really love to pick up her newest book.

Overall, this one was just okay for the most part. I really liked some characters and felt that a few could have been better developed. Hester was a standout as well as Imogene. The others, though, I wished we had more time with.

While a lot this was slow paced, I was enjoying my time reading it. Afterwards, I do feel a bit let down as there was something missing that I wished would have really made this something to love. There were just some plot threads I think could have been explored more.

I will also pick up a T. Kingfisher, she just has the most interesting and fun fantasy and horror books that I know I will devour.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

I really wanted to like this one, but I ended up feeling a little lack luster about it. I enjoyed the transformation our main character Cordelia had, as she goes from a scared girl who's been controlled by her mother, to someone ready to stand up for herself. I didn't like our second main character Hester as much, though I felt the dual storytelling worked well.

I was actually expecting to be a little more scared reading this, but the horror ended up being more about psychological control and how that affects people.

Overall, I did enjoy the story, but sadly it's not one I would read again. I think I really like Kingfisher's fantasy more than her horror, but may still give a few more a try.

Cordelia knows her mother has specials abilities, but doesn't fully understand them. When they flee their small town for the remote country manor of a wealthy older man, she knows her mother is going to try to wed him. After all, she's always been told she should marry rich. But as she grows closer to the man's unwed sister, Hester, Cordelia realizes just how dangerous her mother can be. Will she be able to stop her before (too many) people get hurt?
This one was pretty different for me, and I struggled between 3 & 4 stars. For me, it took a lot to get into the story. I enjoyed the middle and then the end just went a little crazy! So, ultimately that's why I lowered it to 3.
I struggle sometimes with a lot of different characters and remembering names, but my main struggle at times with this one, was that the mother's name is the same as my daughter's, Evangeline! 🤣 So it was hard to remember she was so bad at times!
It wasn't a bad book, and a lot of others really like it, but I think it ultimately just wasn't my thing.
Thanks to @netgalley for providing me an advanced copy in exchange for my review!
#NetGalley #ASorceressComesToCall

Surprise, surprise- T. Kingfisher wrote another hit! She continues to prove to me why she is and probably always will be my favourite author. I love what she does with retellings and that she seems to be going darker and darker with them. We already knew she could write horror, so I appreciated that she brought some elements of that to the story. She is phenomenal at making you care deeply about the characters you are meant to love and making you absolutely loathe those who you are not. It was so satisfying and frustrating and I am amazed at her ability to bring out a whole spectrum of emotions in the reader.

Like the rest of T. Kingfishers books I was eager to read this . This is a reimagine of the goose girl and the villain is epic .Cordelia is made to be obedient by her Mother . She sets her sights. On a squire to marry to ne more comfortable . Problem is the squire’s sister recognizes exactly what Evangeline’ is . This gothic tale includes madness, murder and chaos . You won’t be able to put this one down

What I enjoyed the most about this story was different characters, Although the book mostly focused on the perspective of only 2 characters, I enjoyed how the author weaved together so many different perspectives.

I liked the character exploration and the writing was propulsive. I would read more from this author.

I am skeptical in general of reimagined fairy tales but I loved this book. Kingfisher's strong authorial voice--while it sometimes feels distracting in stories that take place in a more modern setting--works really well in a fantasy/fairy tale context (I found this to be true for Thornhedge as well). I also really liked this foray into regency romance. This is the kind of cozy story I can get into: one where there are real stakes (bad actors, terrifying magic, grisly deaths), but also people trying their best to do the right thing.

T Kingfisher's "A Sorceress Comes to Call" is a dark retelling of the Brothers Grimm "The Goose Girl" with a bit of Ella Enchanted thrown in. Somehow this book manages to be both gothic and macabre and also feel like a cozy fantasy at the same time? The characters are absolutely delightful, hilarious (Hester and Penelope!!), and precious (Alice and Cordelia!).

We get introduced to our villain right away, which I feel like was perfect for a standalone novel. Evangeline, a sorceress, will do whatever it takes to improve her social standing and wealth, including casting spells on others to force them to do and say exactly what she wants, even going as far as murder and maiming. Our main character Cordelia, Evangeline's daughter, goes through so much change and development during the series, doing a 180 in the best possible way. She goes from being a scared, naive girl unaware of how abusive her mother is, to building up a found family and growing confident enough in herself to resist her mother's curses and manipulations.

I loved how along with Cordelia's growth, the other characters also come into themselves as the story goes along. They may not have as much to learn and grow and change as Cordelia does, but characters like Hester get their own happy endings and realize how to come to terms with the situations they find themselves in.

Overall this was a wonderful, creepy, quick dark fantasy retelling that will draw you in, keep your attention, and leave you loving and rooting for a brand-new cast of characters.

One of my favorite books of the year! Reading this book felt like coming home. The writing style and characters are familiar and similar to my favorite authors from the past.

This book captures how to do a retelling well. If you never read the original Goose Girl, you do not miss out on context and do not become confused. But if you did know it, it added an interesting layer to the story. I did not remember the tale from when I read it years ago and so I went back and read the summary and saw the connections afterward. I have seen a recent trend of myths and fairytale "retellings" from the women's point of view where the author seems to have missed the themes and points of the original tale and just uses the myths as buzzwords. This is not one of them.

T. Kingfisher manages to capture perfectly having an abusive, narcissistic, and controlling mother. The chapters of Cordelia's POV were almost hard to read because it felt so realistic. This made the conclusion even more satisfying when she broke free. All of the characters felt 3 dimensional and charming. I loved Hester and all of her friends (and geese). I was rooting for them and wanted them to succeed. Even the little bit of romance was wonderful. It is such a breath of fresh air when one of the protagonists is a middle-aged woman who is just as complex and deserving of love as the usual 17-25-year-old characters you see in a lot of fantasy.

Also, this book is thrilling and creepy without being scary. You feel the tension of the villain and it feels like she could win at any time. The sense of unease builds up until the thrilling conclusion. Overall, I absolutely loved this book!

Is it dark? Yes!
Is there spice? No!
Is it a retelling? Yeah.
Is it worth the hype? Absolutely!
If you need me I’ll be looking for my next T. Kingfisher read.

# A Sorceress Comes to Call
# 8/27/2024 ~ 8/28/2024
# 5.0 / 5.0

Dark and exhausting!

Cordelia is trapped in her mother’s world. Her mother is a sorceress . Cordelia moves to her mother’s whim. Evangeline takes over her body and Cordelia has no will of her own. Her obedience is required above all else. Sonya evident by Cordelia’s behavior in church.
When her mother decides to find a rich husband Cordelia discovers the truth of the horse she thought was her friend. Falada is her mother’s familiar. Cordelia is devastated. All those thoughts she’d murmured to her friend were immediately passed on to her mother. Cordelia has no secrets, no thoughts she owned.
Find a potential husband Evangeline does. However the Squire Samuel's sister Hester has her measure as a woman on the hunt (not that she knew Evangeline was sorceress) but she fully understands Evangeline is after Samuel. Then what become of Hester? Hester plans a house party to introduce Evangeline. She draws on her friends to help. Tragedy strikes and the situation becomes diabolical.
The story is charged with anguish. The search for how to stop Evangelina is brutal.
Cordelia fights for her freedom, but will she succeed?
An excellent fantasy novel, rich and suspenseful!

A Tor ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

So guhhhddd!!!! Talk about a book that you wont want to put down. I thoroughly enjoyed this fairytale retelling of The Goose Girl. Cordelia's mother is a poor sorceress with a mean streak, even towards her own daughter. She's out to snag a rich husband for herself and Cordelia, but Cordelia's finally had enough, and has some allies to help her stop her mother. The story was just so deliciously layered with a touch of fantasy, drama, mystery, horror, friendship, family dynamics and suspense.

Well written fantasy, fairy tale. Evil against good. Fourteen year old Cordelia has lived her life totally controlled by her mother’s magical powers and rules. Her mother sets her sights on using her sorcerer powers to marry rich and force her daughter to pretend to be 17 and also marry rich. A retelling of a Grimm fairy tale.