inventive, interesting, and has a who-cares magic system that honestly doesn’t bother me because of thr plot interest.

many thanks to tor and netgalley for the advance readers copy.

This book caught my interest from the very first page. I absolutely loved everything about Cordelia, Hester, Penelope and all of the crew. Every character was superbly written and well-thought out. I will definitely be reading more books by T. Kingfisher.

T. Kingfisher is a must-read for me, but this is definitely going down as one of my favorites. Tailor-made for fans of Downton Abbey and Bridgerton, with a side helping of fairy tale evil mothers.

While there's definitely teen appeal coming from 14 year old Cordelia, the true star of the show is Hester. Who doesn't love a subtle age and disability-positive second chance romance featuring a 50-year-old heroine?

(Listened on Audiobook, dual narrators were excellent)

This is my first Kingfisher novel and I am blown away. It’s the exact dark fairy tale vibe that I love to read. It’s dark but also funny and hopeful, and has an unexpected goose cameo. Besides the main villain, all of the characters are very likeable, I was a bit sad to leave them when the book was over. I gobbled up this story so quick, I could not put it down. Overall this is fast paced dark and sometimes funny, and will probably be one of my favourite reads of the year.

Thanks to NetGalley, Tor Publishing Group and T Kingfisher for this e-ARC

5 stars

I love T. Kingfisher. I love "Goose Girl." It is no surprise that I also love this novel.

Cordelia's mom is a real piece of work, and while this is clear to Cordelia, her relative isolation and obvious naivety have kept her somewhat protected from the depths of her mother's evil Everything changes when Cordelia's mother finds a mark: a wealthy squire. Through overt trickery, Cordelia and her mom land right at the squire's doorstep, and while he's clearly enchanted, his sister, Hester, knows something wicked is afoot instantly.

While knowledge of "Goose Girl" isn't absolutely necessary to understand and engage with this piece, my favorite parts of the book were the ways in which Kingfisher adapts the tale into something even more sinister. The characters - including the animals - are extremely well developed and layered, and the plotting is well paced and riveting.

I can't recommend the audiobook enough. The narration is exceptional and adds so much to the reading experience overall. As usual, I'm already waiting with great enthusiasm for whatever Kingfisher puts forth next.

T. Kingfisher gets me every time. A wizard with building magical worlds, she’s unafraid to make her heroines utterly normal. A Sorceress comes to Call follows Cornelia as her mother Evangeline seeks a marriage to an aging (and very wealthy) squire. Evangeline is riddled with power, and has no qualms with using it to manipulate anyone around her.

Cornelia, at 14, bears the brunt of her mother’s whiplashing desires. She’s cowed until she meets Hester, the spinster sister of the squire, and starts finding her voice.

A Sorceress Comes to Call is a cautionary tale of power left unchecked. Much of the book is dedicated to understanding magic and trying to stop a villain who doesn’t play by the rules. This generally worked well, but sometimes felt lopsided as Cornelia would blunder into a magical aspect of the world which should have been explained to her by her mother or any other guardian. I wish more of the book could have been dedicated to Evangeline's backstory. While she often references behind abandoned by Cornelia's father, there's no explanation on how she gained her skills, if it was natural or taught, or why she can't just magic herself a ton of money and be done with all the manipulation.

At times, I wish Cornelia or Hester had some magical powers to fight back. I want magic to be a power for good. And I want animal familiars to be helpful, not spiteful. But those wants are flipped, and that originality gives A Sorceress Comes to Call a unique spot within the pantheon of fairy tales.

T. Kingfisher can do no wrong in my book! I was instantly captivated and swept away by this tale of forbidden magic, secrets, danger, and cunning. A Sorceress Comes to Call is a brilliant, gripping, and dark retelling of the Fairy tale The Goose Girl: A Story from the Brothers Grimm by the Brothers Grimm. T. Kingfisher is such a unique, gifted, and talented writer. If you have not read a book by this author, you are missing out!

Cordelia's mother, Evangeline, is a sorceress who demands obedience and wields her 'magical' control whenever she can. Cordelia is forced to remain still for various lengths of time. She lives in fear and must flee their home with her mother after Evangeline gets into a little hot water and they end up at the home of the Squire. A man Evangeline hopes to woo and wed. Cordelia feels out of her element in such a grand home but is quickly befriended by the Squires sister, Hester, and is treated with kindness by the staff of the manor. Hester knows something isn't right. She is very observant and clever; she knows that Evangeline is up to no good. How can she save her brother from this evil sorceress???

A Sorceress Comes to Call is simply brilliant. Seriously, it's amazing! I had a hard time putting it down when life got in the way. I loved all the characters, even Evangeline who is so wickedly drawn. T. Kingfisher has a knack for creating characters that are fully fleshed out, interesting, and quirky. I adored the collection of personalities, their motivations, and banter. T. Kingfisher also excels at creating unique settings/locations which ooze with atmosphere. I could imagine the manor, the woods, and felt as if I was immersed in the action as a silent observer.

What a brilliant book that touches on magic, abuse, love, danger, revenge, family, friendship, and good vs. evil. I loved the sense of unease which grew as the book progressed. I also enjoyed the mounting danger, the tension, and the suspense which grew throughout the book.

I was lucky enough to have both the e-book and audiobook version which made for a wonderful reading experience! The narrators of the audiobook did a fabulous job.

I was literally on the edge of my seat and loving every second. I devoured this book. I could gush about this book all day, but I will end by saying READ IT!

Dark, brilliant, and captivating. Highly Recommend.

A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher was such a fantastic read. As always, T. Kingfisher knows how to deliver a creppy and spooky read that is hard to put down. I basically read this in one sitting because I couldn't make myself stop reading. It's fast paced and totally enthralling. I loved it. I cannot wait to recommend this book to EVERYONE.

While I had never heard of the fairy tale this was based on, it didn’t detract from how much I LOVED this story. As with all of Kingfisher’s books, the writing has a friendly ease that draws you into the fantastical world she describes. I was immediately terrified by Evangeline and her cold ruthlessness, and rooting for Cordelia to escape her clutches. The characters were ABSOLUTELY delightful, and I especially loved the banter between Hester and Evermore. The tension was skillfully built with plenty of good humor sprinkled in to keep it fun, and I feel extremely satisfied with how things ended. Obviously, I’m not surprised with how enjoyable this was, but it’s always a breath of fresh air when a great story comes into your life.

Regency/Victorian romance + fairytale retellings + horror + cozy mystery. It reminded me a lot of Olivia Atwater's magical regency novels. A fun colliding of Kingfisher's horror and fantasy worlds.

Even though I have multiple T. Kingfisher books on my TBR, this was actually the first I read - thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, I really liked this story. The story was nicely developed and it definitely had a bit of a creepiness/darkness to it. I appreciated how the author injected some levity into the conversations between characters. Most of the characters were pretty well rounded (I think with the exception of the Squire, but that may have been intentional on the part of the author). Overall, a well done story! I will be continuing to check out some of the author's other works.

I enjoyed this story, I don't know what I thought I was expecting but I never would have anticipated what I got. While it goes to some dark places, I never felt like this was a dark book. It goes back to when villains were truly villains. And at the end you are left with such a cozy feeling of found family. Plus the geese.

This was SUCH an enjoyable book, I was absolutely hooked. I love me a little fantasy, a little magic, a little fairytale.

I hadn’t read Goose Girl, but I did read the synopsis, and this feels less like a retelling and more like it was only loosely drawing from the Grimms fairy tale. There were a few parts that were definitely inspired, but the overall plot deviated significantly enough that I’m surprised it’s marketed as a retelling.

My main reason for not giving it 5 stars (bc I almost did) was bc I would’ve liked some more imagery in this book. There are some moody, dark scenes, and I feel like Kingfisher could’ve done more to paint the picture for us. There was some descriptive passages but I would’ve loved for her to lean into it even more to really set the scene (like the way it’s done in Rebecca). I had a vague idea of what the settings looked like by drawing from other books/movies, etc but I would’ve liked a more vivid picture so that it really comes to life.

It is a fairytale after all, so I enjoyed the happy ending, but I did have some questions left unanswered. I’m still not very sure why Hester didn’t marry Richard, I’m not sure what they achieved by faking a marriage (what kind of ulterior motive were they looking for? Was it ever revealed she had an ulterior motive? Wasn’t money and luxury her only motive?) I was being led to believe that maybe Evangeline had other motives but that wasn’t pursued any further.

Overall, a well written, enjoyable dark fairytale.

This book was absolutely a delight start to finish. It was charming, magical, sweet, mysterious, and funny. Top favorite fantasy book I’ve read this year!

Told from two POVs, starting with young Cordelia as we learn about her sorceress mother, Evangeline. Then Hester, sister to Samuel, the Squire, whom Evangeline set her sights on.

I adored Cordelia, she has a wonderful character arc spanning from her innocence and gullibility, to more confident in the presence of Lady Hester and her friends.

Hester is a spinster in her fifties, she sees right through Evangeline’s trickery and is helpless to get Samuel away from her clutches.

When Cordelia realizes her mother’s plans will hurt her new friends, she seeks their help to stop Evangeline at all cost.

I loved all the storytelling and the fast paced plot, it was a very concise tale with fantastic setting - regency with a little bit of magic, so charming and funny. All the various characters added entertainment to the book and made it insanely enjoyable. Hester’s friends, Penelope and Imogen were just the kind of company you’d want to keep! The small romance subplot for Hester and Richard was SO cute. I loved their shared history and the moments they had together. Richard Evermore is totally swoony! And can’t forget Willard, the butler, with the jokes.

I devoured the audiobook in a short amount of time! Both narrators were phenomenal. Eliza Foss voicing Hester and Jennifer Pickens, Cordelia. Their voices and chapters blended seamlessly. This was my second book narrated by Pickens, she brought a childlike innocent quality to Cordelia. Eliza Foss had a wonderful delivery for Hester and all her friends, very high class with the time period. I’m looking forward to listening to more books with these narrators and picking up the next T. Kingfisher book off my shelf!

I was sent a copy of this book without having requested it… and it’s the best thing that’s happened to me in so long!

T. Kingfisher has very quickly become one of my all time most recommended authors at my bookstore, as well as one of my favorite authors to read in my downtime. Their stories are comforting yet terrifying, cozy yet thrilling, and just completely unputdownable. A Sorceress Comes to Call is no exception! In fact this may be my favorite one yet.

This book is a reimagining of The Goose Girl, and I say reimagining instead of retelling because it is wildly different than its supposed source material, with T. Kingfisher putting their very own special spin on the classic tale. It’s darkly funny, richly told, and downright horrific at times.

Special thank you to Tor Publishing for knowing my personal reading tastes so very well, you guys are the best at what you do; diehard fan for life. And to T. Kingfisher themselves for writing banger after absolute banger and allowing me to read them.

I stand by my preference for Kingfisher’s horror over her fantasy. Imagine my delight when this book dipped a toe into horror in the last 25%! The little bit of gore and grotesquerie was perfect and just what I was hoping for in a story that lacked Kingfisher’s usual wit and humor. Obviously a story about abuse isn’t meant to be funny, though.

Cordelia’s timidity made the book feel too long and too slow, and a lot of the more dramatic happenings (like a family’s brutal murder) were kind of offhand or out of focus or told as sort of an aside so the impact wasn’t entirely felt. Though the dynamic between Cordelia and her mother (aka abuser) was palpable and ever present from the very first page.

4.5, rounded up to a 5. The geese and the Acknowledgements at the end really give it that extra .5 star!!

I love Kingfisher's ability to write in older characters that FEEL their age while still being so active in the story. Cordelia and Hester being the main POVs were fantastic choices, and their voices felt distinct. I never know what I'm getting into when I pick up a book by this author but I KNOW I'm in for a good time, and this one did not disappoint!

Book: A Sorceress Comes To Call
Author: T. Kingfisher
Publisher: Tor Publishing Group
Pub Date: August 6, 2024

I have been curious about T. Kingfisher’s books for quite some time now. I have been on the Libby List to get “House With Good Bones” forever so I was thrilled when NetGalley granted me this one. This was definitely a step outside my box kind of book and I loved it.  This is a retelling of the Brothers Grimm fairytale “Goose Girl” which I am not familiar with. Cordelia, 14 years old, is physically forced to obey her mother who is a evil sorceress. I never thought I would be reading a fantasy/horror book about a sorceress. Ever. But here we are. The characters in this story are very well developed as are their relationships. I loved Cordelia and Hester and the magical geese. It is spooky with just the right amount of horror and humor. If it isn’t your kind of book then give it a chance you are going to love it. If it is your kind of book then you are going to love it even more. I am looking forward to reading more books by T. Kingfisher.

Thank you Tor Publishing Group and NetGalley for this sneak peak! Publication date is August 6, 2024.

T. Kingfisher never disappoints and she doesn't here either. An emotionally abused daughter finds a way to escape her evil sorceress mother in this quick, delightful read.

This intriguing novel takes readers on a journey with Cordelia, a young girl raised in an unconventional household by a possible sorceress. The lack of privacy and the strange silences Cordelia endures hint at a dark secret, and the revelation of her mother's true nature ups the stakes considerably.

The author masterfully creates a world where the line between eccentricity and evil blurs. Cordelia's only solace lies in her connection with Falada, the horse, and the kindness she finds with the Squire and Hester. The warmth of this newfound family creates a stark contrast to Cordelia's chilling reality.

The looming threat of her mother's plans keeps the plot moving, and the central conflict – Cordelia's loyalty to her only family versus the safety of the people she cares about – is a compelling one. Readers will find themselves invested in Cordelia's difficult choice and eager to see how she navigates this complex situation.