100% pure magic. A Sorceress Comes to Call enveloped me from the first chapter.

Once I started, I didn’t want to stop (It’s rare that I read only one book and will often switch between titles, but not with this). The slow buildup was masterfully executed and I really wish I could re-read this for the first time again. What a terrific, suspenseful, and enjoyable story 😍 The majority of the characters are richly written and their personalities leap off the pages (with the exception of Evangeline and, to a degree, the Squire).
This was my first book by the author - it absolutely will not be the last (I am currently trying to decide which previous title to start with).

However, please know that it left me with some unanswered questions that I’ve continued to reflect on, hence 4.5 stars, not a full 5.

After reading, I was fortunate enough to receive an early audiobook for this and the dual narration of Eliza Foss and Jennifer Pickens elevated this story even further, capturing the buildup and suspense wonderfully well.

The audiobook further cemented this as a favorite read of 2024, and despite the lingering questions, I give this a wholehearted recommendation.



Thank you to Tor Books; Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the DRC and audiobook

T. Kingfisher is absolutely unbelievable with the books she writes. She never fails at keeping me intrigued and her writing style is spot on with my taste in reading. Thank you so much for the opportunity to read/listen to this arc! 🙏 The audiobook is, without a doubt, the cherry on top that made this whole book such an experience.

This is such a unique book book! It’s a dark retelling of Goose Girl, and it is so good. It’s dark, twisted and a little gruesome at times. But no major TW!

This world is so interesting. There isn’t much (or any) world building, but you still feel like you understand the lore and world. You also don’t need any knowledge of what goose girl is, or anything of that fairytale to read this!

I loved the beginning and the ending (oh the ending!!!) but lost interest in the middle. The ending definitely makes up for it, but it took me way too long to get through the boring bits.

This is why T Kingfisher is one of my favorite authors!

A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher is a retelling of The Goose Girl story collected by The Brothers Grimm. Cordelia lives with her mother Evangeline, a sorceress who makes her “obedient” by spelling her and making her do things she does not want to. When Evangeline’s benefactor decides to no longer support her, she must find a new man to ensnare, and so she drags Cordelia off to do so. Evangeline believes she can trap Samuel Chatham, but his sister Hester and Cordelia both try to find a way to stop a sorceress.

I love the way T. Kingfisher writes stories. There is always a layer of magic and mystery to all her stories, and A Sorceress Comes to Call is no exception. The ability to write a true fairytale in the style of Brothers Grimm is hard to do, but I feel this story pulled it off brilliantly. I liked the premise, characters, and the dark, high stakes atmosphere. I did feel that there was some unnecessary plot points towards the end that detracted from the overall story, but this did not prevent my enjoyment of the book as a whole!

I definitely recommend this book. Pub date is August 6th, 2024!


Thank you NetGalley and Tor Books for the advanced readers copy in exchange for my review

Fairytale retellings are common. What Kingfisher accomplishes with a fairytale retelling framework is anything but common! Another dark and fascinating retelling interspersed with the author's humor and wit. Overall an excellent read, and an author I'll recommend again and again!

4.5 stars. This was so much fun! Weird to say that for a horror retelling of a Brothers Grimm fairytale, but T. Kingfisher’s humor is always a joy, and the characters are excellent here. Hester wakes up one morning, feeling doom, and the doom arrives in the form of a sorceress trying to con her brother into marriage. What does she do? She calls the squad over for a Regency era house party to try and thwart the sorceress! The sorceress’s daughter (the other POV main character) decides to help out, so her mother stops being awful and killing people. This took some turns I wasn’t expecting, so it kept me entertained. Disclaimer that I’ve never read the source material (though I did Wikipedia it before starting this book!)

When T. Kingfisher writes it, I read it! This is yet another incredible hit. I love how the author creates an atmosphere that enriches the book on multiple levels. Unfamiliar with Grimms' "Goose Girl," I found everything fresh and original in Kingfisher's voice. The story felt like a dark coming-of-age tale, infused with mystery, magic, and murder! While the pacing occasionally seemed uneven, I never mind slowing down in T. Kingfisher's books to savor the story. I also felt the pacing reflected the main character's emotions and the lull in her life before everything intensified and a lot started happening. I felt like a conspirator along with the characters, and always interested in what was going to happen next.

If you enjoy T. Kingfisher's work, this book will be another hit for you!

I had a chance to also listen to the audio book and the narration was great. I don't think that it necessarily added anything to the stoy but I can always appreciate a crisp and clear narration.

As per usual, I love anything Kingfisher. I love the way the author takes fairytale stories and turns them into dark, disturbing tales. Though I do prefer her more dark originals.

This one was so fun and you could really feel the FMC's anguish as we find out about her mother and familiar. I loved all the twists and turns. The characters were great in getting to know them all and how they worked together throughout the story.

I loved seeing Cordelia grow into herself and find the confidence in herself and the people around her.

I will forever chase any new Kingfisher I can get my hands on.

THE GOOSE GIRL has a special place in my heart as a horse girl who loves stories about disguised princesses, so I had high hopes for this retelling. It was a looser interpretation than I had anticipated, but it didn't make me enjoy it less! Arch villain aside, the main and supporting characters were dynamic, charming, and perfectly imperfect with all of their believable idiosyncrasies. There was such a feeling of love and compassion infused throughout the book, as well as deeply emotional scenes that left one begging for the character to make "the right choice," to ease our suffering. Most characters were given satisfying character arcs, and the ones that didn't arguably didn't deserve it. Cordelia and Hester made for a engaging pair of deuteragonists- I'm so happy a woman in her 50s was given a strong voice, incredible personality, and a love story for the ages.

Cordelia’s mother is not like other mothers. Other mothers don’t force their children into obedience quite like this. Other mothers don’t allow their children to gave zero friends and no closed doors. Although Cordelia has become used to the eccentricities of her mother, she is not prepared for what will happen when her mother races home and insists they leave their small town to pursue another “benefactor.”

This retelling of Goose Girl was wonderful. The perfect amount of dark storytelling to compare to the Grimm Brothers version. Although I did love Cordelia, all of the side characters were my favorite. I aspire to be as comfortable with myself at the age of fifty-one as Hester. I would definitely recommend this to friends!

Every T. Kingfisher book is a delight to read and A Sorceress Comes to Call is no exception. For anyone who enjoys fairytale style stories with a moderate amount of spookiness, this is a perfect recommendation, and while it is not technically in a particular time period, historical drama fans will love it, too. The story sets a perfect scene with an empathetic main character, detestable villain, and plenty of adventure along the way.

A Sorceress Comes to Call follows the story of Cordelia, a young girl growing up with an extremely controlling mother. Actually, controlling would be a severe understatement. There are no closed doors allowed in Cordelia's home, and her mother frequently makes her "obedient" to control her every move. Cordelia is mostly sheltered from the outside world and knows nothing but her restricted life. Soon, Cordelia becomes embroiled in her mother's schemes to find and marry a rich man and gains a taste of freedom.

This was a charming, dark fairytale. There were several points in the plot that I didn't see coming and that kept me glued to the page. Cordelia was an interesting character, as were the supporting characters. I would definitely recommend this book for anyone who loves T. Kingfisher's other works or for lovers of a good fairytale.

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor Publishing for an eARC of this title in exchange for my honest review.

This book took me completely by surprise! I've never read a T. Kingfisher full novel before (only a novella that I didn't really love, but I also don't like novellas much), but I requested in knowing how many good things I've heard about her work before. And this book was AWESOME!

Right from the get go, it really pulled me in. We immediately see poor Cordelia being made obedient by her mother in church, and know just how terrifying it is to not be in control of any part of your body except for your eyes. Kingfisher does a great job of introducing every character and giving them a personality so that you're scared that they might get hurt or killed off, and it really makes it a much more thrilling book!

There's a bit of adventure, some magic, good friendships and relationships, humor, all tied together with the stress of "will Cordelia and friends be able to kill her mother or not?"

I don't want to say too much more so I just advise you pick this one up (whether it be written or audio) and just enjoy the ride!

I spent a day off reading this and laying in the sunshine and I couldn't have made a better choice. T. Kingfisher is an automatic read for me, no matter what she writes. I didn't have a lot of familiarity with the tale this was inspired by, but the story and themes resonated with me. I can't wait to recommend this to my book club.

This is being marketed as a dark retelling of The Goose Girl fairy tale, and while that is true in some aspects, it's also very much not. As someone who is completely over retellings as a literary trend, it feels more like The Goose Girl fairy tale was inspiration, and there are some pieces of it still embedded in this to link it to that, but it's also so much more than just a retelling or reimagining.

This is historical fantasy set in a Regency-esque time. Our main character Cordelia is the daughter of the titular Sorceress, a cruel and narcissistic woman who'll do whatever it takes to improve their standing in society. Cordelia is a beaten down, broken young girl who does whatever her mother tells her to - literally, at times. We do get a second POV from Hester, the sister of the man that the Sorceress has her eyes on. Hester is in her fifties, has a bad knee, and a premonition that Doom has come to call.

A Sorceress Comes to Call is a delightful dark blend of a novel of manners and historical fantasy, of fairy tail whimsy and dark horror. It deals with emotional abuse and narcissism, with complex family relationships and old friendships and romances. All of the character work is a delight, but it's especially wonderful following Cordelia and Hester as they try to figure out how to undo the horrible knot that the Sorceress has tangled them all up in.

T. Kingfisher succeeds yet again with another dark fantasy, which is especially delightful for me as I didn't enjoy Thornhedge much last year.

This was such an interesting read. I’ve always enjoyed this author. The stories have their a unique tone. It was very well written and left me thinking about the story line during my day. I was ready to pick it back up when I got home. I will always read a book by this author and recommend this book to other fantasy lovers.

Not quite a fairy tale re-imagining so much as a story that was more inspired by a fairy tale. I’d highly recommend familiarizing yourself first with the Brothers Grimm story of The Goose Girl. It was fascinating to see how Kingfisher took the original characters, events, and plot to create something entirely new. Most notable is the mother, a femme fatale of there ever was one. She’s beautiful, conniving, wields power, and will destroy your life. In true femme fatale fashion, Evangeline, a sorceress, sets out to bring a man to his knees (read: secure a husband) using her feminine wiles so that she’s in a better place to set up her daughter (a shy and timid thing made quite literally “obedient” through her mother’s magic). Others see straight through her though and are determined to stop her in her tracks, but how do you outwit someone who has magic??

The writing contains moments of whimsy, dry humor, fantastical elements, and just a bit of tension. It makes for an interesting mix, especially as this so called “horror-fantasy” is both cozy and dark (or at least semi-dark). The reader will spend the first theee quarters of the book witnessing Evangeline seduce and fool her victim, and in the last quarter, as chatters become desperate, the action speeds up. Recommend for fans of whimsy, fantasy, and fairy tales.

I’m a sucker for a fairytale retelling even if it’s one I’ve never heard before. So, obviously I had to read that first, This is a twist on Grimm’s The Goose Girl done in a darker fashion.

We have two POVs from Cordelia, daughter of an Evangeline, a sorceress, and Nester, the unmarried sister to a lord of whom Cordelia and her mother stay with while her mother tries to marry for money. I could sympathize for Cordelia and what she had to go through. Hester was definitely my favorite though.

While this is a fairly quick read, it kind of lags in excitement like I usually get with T. Kingfisher’s other books. The setting is not difficult to pick up on but it’s not vivid either and there’s not a lot of action going on until the end. Nevertheless, another good T. Kingfisher book fans of hers are likely to enjoy.

4.5 stars overall. In this imaginative retelling of the Goose Girl, Kingfisher provides a peak into a fascinating world. Cordelia is 14 years old, shy, and forced into obedience by her sorceress mother. That's right; when Cordelia dares to say something out of line or acts in a manner her mother deems inappropriate, her mother, Evangeline, takes over Cordelia's body and makes her behave. It's a horrible experience as at some level, Cordelia is aware what's going on, but she has no control and thus is rather passive throughout the beginning of the novel. And then, the unthinkable happens when her mother, Evangeline, loses her benefactor and goes out shopping for a husband. Suddenly, Cordelia is taken away from everything she's ever known and must figure out where exactly she stands.

A Sorceress Comes to Call, is a fairytale retelling of The Goose Girl, and follows Cordelia, a young girl being controlled by her mother with magic. We are later introduced to other characters, such as Hester, who realize there is something strange about Cordelia and her mother.

Overall, I did enjoy this book. I thought the writing was nice and I enjoyed the fantasy elements. The dual POV worked nicely, and it was interesting to read an older woman's perspective. Hester might be my favorite part of the story. She is very observant and doesn't stand down to a challenge. That being said, I did think the story was a bit too long. There were many pointless conversations/interactions in the middle of the book that didn't need to be there in my opinion. A majority of the action and plan to stop Cordelia's mother doesn't happen until halfway through the book. The ending of the book felt rushed as well. Things just seemed to fall into place too easily for the characters. I would have liked to see Cordelia play a larger roll at the climax of the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.