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.

T Kingfisher is such a great writer, and I can always count on her for a great new read. I especially enjoy her fairy tale retellings, and this was no exception. It was spookier than usual, but that just added to the enjoyment.

Read if you like:
Fairytales
Magic
Mystery
The Golden Girls
Dry Humor
Minor Blood & Gore
G-rated Romance

Admittedly, I have not read the Goose Girl by the Brothers Grimm, but I did enjoy this retelling nonetheless.
This felt like a regency era, dark fantasy based mystery with a sprinkle of romance and comedy. Hester, Imogene, and Penelope (aka the Old Bitties) are who made this story fun for me. I loved their personalities and snappy banter! The story itself is also entertaining as you watch the magic and mystery unfold from Cordelia and Hester's perspectives.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Books for the eARC!

It pains me to give this such a low rating but this was painfully boring. It took a long time to get to the point, I don’t think it needed to be as long as it is. I love Kingfisher so this is really disappointing for me but I’m hoping she releases some horror next!

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book.

4.75 stars rounded up! I'm going to be upfront and admit that I didn't realize this was based on a Grimm's Fairytale. Thankfully, that didn't hinder my enjoyment of this wonderful book at all. I've become a huge fan of T. Kingfisher in the last couple years and this is another excellent addition to her catalog. This was my first foray outside the Saint of Steel series and I was pleased to find that while there is a young teenage protagonist (Cordelia), she's balanced with Hester, a witty and self-possessed single woman in her 50s, who is ultimately up for the task of taking on the eponymous sorceress, despite having no magical ability herself.

The magic system and world in this is unique and clear without needing a ton of handholding. All of the characters are incredibly compelling, particularly the group of women in their 50s: Hester and her friends Imogene and Penelope. There's a second chance romance subplot that is very sweet and thankfully there is no actual romance for young teen Cordelia. Her storyline is all based around escaping familial abuse and control.

There are some horror elements and an extremely abusive, controlling mother in this, so check trigger warnings. But I had a wonderful time with this murder mystery dinner party of a book.

Thanks so much to Tor Publishing Group and NetGalley for the e-ARC.

T. Kingfisher has just cemented her place as a favorite fantasy author for me! Another coming of age story, but with a much darker tone than others she has written. I was rooting for Cordelia the entire time!

Not my usual cup of tea but this was a lot of fun. I am not familiar with The Goose Girl so I have no idea how this compares to it but I loved the wit and humor throughout. Some parts felt a little slower but I still really enjoyed this book and would like to read others by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Grouo for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Just the kind of unsettling dark fairytale I expected from the brilliant T. Kingfisher. This is a tale of a young girl breaking away from her controlling, narcissistic mother. It is a tale of a spinster and her friends banding together to do good and fight against pernicious evils.

I know it's meant to be based on the fairytale The Goose Girl because very little of that story shows up in this. Some elements are sprinkled through, enough that it's inescapable. It absolutely does not follow the same plot/storyline in any way though. I think I might have enjoyed this book more if I wasn't familiar with the fairytale and had just gone a long without looking for the similarities.

But I did enjoy the book quite a lot. It was delightful and uncanny and fantastic.

Kingfisher is one of my very few instant pick up authors of the last few years. Each release has ignited admiration and inspiration, and this one’s no different.
Her characters are her strongest asset by far, and that continues to be the case here.
While the tropes are borrowed from classic fairytales, she imbues it with a freshness.
Along with ghosts, zombie horses, and geese, this is a fun and investing fantasy story I can highly recommend.