Okay, this book totally caught me by surprise. It was a dark, fairytale-esque book AND IT WAS SO GOOD. I loved all the characters, the plot was awesome and I couldn’t wait to see what happened next. I’m definitely a mood reader and this fit the bill of being totally different from anything else I’ve read lately. Nothing was overused or overdone, I didn’t want to put it down.

So good!!! This is a book I wish I could experience for the first time again! T. Kingfisher's work is exceptional and this book is another wonderful example of how well she creates a thriller. I was sucked in quickly and devoured this book!

"A Sorceress Comes to Call" by T. Kingfisher is a delightful journey into a world where magic intersects with the ordinary. Kingfisher's writing is as enchanting as the spells woven by the sorceress herself, drawing readers into a richly detailed setting filled with whimsy and darkness alike.

The characters in this tale are the true gems, each one meticulously crafted with their own quirks and motivations. From the titular sorceress to the curious townsfolk, every character feels like a fully realized individual with their own story to tell. This depth of characterization adds layers to the narrative, making it a joy to delve into the lives of these fantastical beings.

One of the strengths of "A Sorceress Comes to Call" lies in its exploration of themes. Through the interactions between characters and the events that unfold, Kingfisher touches on topics such as power, responsibility, and the consequences of one's actions. These themes are seamlessly woven into the fabric of the story, adding depth and complexity to an already engaging narrative.

While the pacing of the story may feel slow at times, particularly in the buildup to the climax, it ultimately serves to enhance the overall experience. It allows readers to fully immerse themselves in the world Kingfisher has created, savoring every moment along the way.

In conclusion, "A Sorceress Comes to Call" is a captivating read that offers a perfect blend of magic and realism. With its engaging characters, thought-provoking themes, and enchanting writing style, it's a book that's sure to leave a lasting impression. Whether you're a fan of fantasy or simply enjoy a well-told tale, this book is not to be missed.

T. Kingfisher is brilliant at taking the skeleton of familiar stories and deepening them, making such fantastic three dimensional characters. While they can be characterized as horror, they are appropriate for older middle-school and high school students. This may be her best novel yet, with a fantastic, twisty story that is difficult to predict and two main heroines of differing ages that are both inspiring and endearing.

What a beautiful and special book, it blew me away! This is my second T. Kingfisher book, having only read Nettle and Bone so far, but I loved that and jumped at the chance to get to read the ARC of her newest book, A Sorceress Comes to Call. I was a little worried going into it that it might be too dark for tender heated little me, but I shouldn’t have worried. It felt like the perfect combination of gothic and yet heartwarming.

The story begins with Cordelia and her mother alone but for me the magic really started as we were introduced to the other characters, and what a wonderful bunch they were! I loved the way the layers of the story were unveiled in such a clever way. I was utterly absorbed in the story and didn’t want it to end.

I highly recommend this new book by T. Kingfisher and I plan to buy a copy to add to my growing collection of her books when it comes out August 6, 2024.

Thank you to Tor Publishing Group and NetGalley for the digital ARC to review.

A classic about a girl who feels burdened, chained by her mother and the story of how she escapes and finds love. A new family.

Definitely relate to Cordelia feeling trapped under her mother’s overprotective and controlling umbrella, and shocked when she’s able to escape from it. As if a weight has been lifted off her chest and she can finally breathe. And yet, the guilt that sets in thereafter and her mother’s (Evangeline) repercussions if Cordelia doesn’t achieve every single little thing to Evangeline’s perfection . . . The toxic dynamic and subliminal sickening fear were written so realistically. When Alice, Cordelia’s friend, was able to break her mother’s chains away, my favorite yet heartbreaking moment was when Alice had to help Cordelia be free of her mother.

Asking for help is not something many people who truly need it feel comforting doing. In other words, victims of abuse and neglect don’t feel they can speak up or else they’ll find themselves in a more painful situation, judged, or outcasted. More so, they don’t even recognize they are being abused, and don’t believe they are worthy enough to seek support. Having a friend like Alice shows Cordelia and the audience a perfect representation of paying attention to what’s not being said vocally—speaking up for those that may not or cannot for themselves. From Cordelia’s excessive pauses and large amount of gratitude for the most simple acts of kindness, she upholds these things as if it’s a beloved gem. As someone that has gone through something similar and feels represented by Cordelia’s weight and internal conflict, I was able to immediately attach and care for our main character. Kingfisher establishes why the main character’s goals matters to us and why we should also be motivated by them in the first 50 pages. Outstanding pacing and strong framework!

By the time we get around 100 or more pages in, Evangeline’s wrath and over-controlling behavior to intimidate/puppeteer Cordelia into unhealthy obedience becomes clear to everyone. While the other characters are unsure of how to care for Cordelia and show her worthy of love while her oppressive mother oversees all, Penelope Green is the first to show her such worth. Cordelia feels that she is pathetic to cling onto the littlest of compliments, but it brightens up her entire day.

I’d retort that it isn’t pathetic at all, but rather beautifully heartbreaking that Cordelia values small acts of compassion and friendship as rare diamonds in a desert. On one end, it’s a gift that Cordelia is able to be grateful and cherish the smallest amounts of love. On the other, it’s a tragedy. The fact that she could not be more used to love, feeling that she was wanted around, is something no one deserves to live by and know nothing else.

Finally, towards the buildup to the finale, Evangeline is made to be taken away for a time and Cordelia is left with her newfound loving caretaker: Hester. In addition to the great friend that is Penelope Green, Hester also assumes a mother-like role to Cordelia. She is able to understand when Cordelia is Evangeline’s puppet, and devises a plan to stop Evangeline’s evil sorcery all together. After Hester has proven to Cordelia that she wants nothing more than peace and an escape for her, Hester sighs as a weight is lifted off her own shoulders and Cordelia cries tears of joy.

Hester returns Cordelia to the safe haven she has made—with the help of Hester, Alice, Evermore, Penelope and Imogene—into a home. Honestly, I could do character analysis’ of every single person in this story and never tire of talking about how much I love them all. How Kingfisher was able to write the subtle thoughts, decisions, quirks, faults, weaknesses and strengths all together in the elegant work that is A Sorceress Comes To Call is beyond words.

The dialogue flows naturally, as it should. Each line both spoken and unspoken points towards a greater purpose or strengthens the character themselves. From beginning to end, we witness real character growth and a satisfying cycle of achievements both internally and externally. The writing in between dialogue scenes are just as important and encapsulating to read, sometimes humorous while other times tear-worthy. Kingfisher knows that characters aren’t meant to be within solely on looks, but focused on personalities, both the good and the bad. Her craft really shines when developing the two villains themselves, whom you can probably guess one being Evangeline but the other I’ll let the reader discover on their own. They’re both deeply rooted in pure evil, losing themselves in greed and power with intentions that stem from realistic motives.

It’s refreshing to see an author that hasn’t lost themselves to the over-abundant consumerism that is so often pushed in today’s publishing. Kingfisher has written A Sorceress Comes To Call with all the right points, and I’m proud to say that such a story will remain as a favorite in my heart for all time.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing an ARC (Advanced Readers Copy). This review is based off of an uncorrected proof. Best of luck for this release!

I’ve read three other T. Kingfisher books and I can say without a doubt that this is my favorite one so far. I enjoyed pretty much everything about the book, from the characters to the magic to the plot, but I especially admire how Kingfisher’s characteristic humor shines here while also having a lot of heart and a dash of horror.

A Sorceress Comes to Call follows Cordelia, a fourteen-year-old girl who has always been under the control of her mother, the wicked sorceress Evangeline. When her mother sets her sights on marrying a wealthy man, Cordelia has to either watch the monster she knows enact pain on those she’s growing to love or try to escape Evangeline’s control and come into her own power.

While there isn’t a standout character that I grew to really love in the book, Kingfisher wrote a bunch of great female characters. From Cordelia, who has a rich internal voice that belies her timid exterior, to Hester and her friends, who end up taking Cordelia under their wing, I enjoyed them all. I appreciate that Kingfisher included a variety of women, both beautiful and not, both young and old, and she gave them each a distinct voice and personality.

The standout for me were actually the animal characters, especially the geese and Falada, the horse. I think Kingfisher loves geese (she also had a goose in her novella, Nettle & Bone) and they were a joy to read about. But Falada is special and I loved his purpose in the story and relationship with Cordelia.

Besides the magic, which reminded me of Ella Enchanted, I enjoyed the moments of horror the most. Kingfisher successfully made me creeped out at points but also laugh because I wasn’t expecting that from the book at all.

Overall, A Sorceress Comes to Call is a fun adventure with characters you can root for, an empathetic understanding of parental abuse, and a genuinely threatening villain. For fans of Kingfisher, this is a must read and for new readers, I think this is a great book to start with.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This review will be published on my blog (clearsummers.wordpress.com) and Goodreads on July 23, 2024. It will be published on Amazon on the pub date.

3.5 Rounded up. I really do enjoy T. Kingfisher's writing style. This story is a retelling, but it felt so fresh because of how well the characters are written. It wasn't my favorite, but I still had a good time with it.

Dark fantasy/horror is not usually my choice of genre, but A Sorceress Comes to Call was a gripping tale and it was hard to put the book down. The world that the author creates was self-contained and consistent, although not as creative and vivid as I would have expected. The most compelling character to me was Hester, and Cordelia does blossom throughout the book. I do think that the book should come with a trigger warning, as it depicts physical and emotional abuse.

I wasn’t that familiar with the tale of Goose Girl, but skimmed through the summary of it before diving into this book. It certainly does take elements of the fairy tale, but does add its own twists. I think the tale was simple and the intensity and Cordelia’s experiences as “obedient” did feel gripping, but I was hoping that Cordelia’s mother was more complicated than depicted in the book. I thought it was curious that Cordelia’s mother was so intent on securing a rich husband for Cordelia as well, and I thought the book was going to tie that motivation to the original story of Goose Girl, in that perhaps Cordelia’s mother would possess Cordelia’s body once her present body passed on.

I was also expecting Falada’s story to be more interesting, but was disappointed that his story came to an end as soon as it began at the end of the novel. There was so much more that the author could have done with the stories, but I did enjoy the relationships between Cordelia and the other women (especially Penelope). It was an easy and fun read, but not a novel I will be revisiting.

Much gratitude to Net Galley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this novel for review.

A villainous sorceress, a meek young girl, a heroic gaggle of geese, and a monstrous horse-demon. What more could anyone wish for?

T. Kingfisher has such a brilliant way with words. I devoured this book from start to finish! The atmosphere is perfectly crafted and the characters are excellent. Overall, this is absolutely a five star read and quite possibly one of the best books I will read in 2024!

Thank you so much to Tor Books/T. Kingfisher for this ARC offered via NetGalley in return for my honest opinion.

A Sorceress Comes to Call is a dark reimagining of the classic Brother's Grimm tale "A Goose Girl." I've never read the original story, so I can't speak as to how these two stories compare to each other - but I can say that this was a super fun read. T. Kingfisher is one of my favorite authors so I was glad to snatch up this ARC on NetGalley when it was free to read for 24 hours.

The story revolves around a mother (Evangeline) and her daughter (Cordelia). Evangeline is an absolute trash mother. She controls everything her daughter does which in turn has made Cordelia become absolutely terrified of her mother. Cordelia spends most of her time with her only friend, her horse Falada. When Evangeline sets her eyes on a new beau, the mother/daughter duo move into his palace where mysteries begin to happen.

I did really enjoy reading this, but take note that it's a slow burn. I honestly started thinking I might DNF it right around 45%, mostly because the story was based around a lot of dialogue between characters, and there really wasn't much magic involved. It wasn't boring, I was still interested in reading it, I just felt it was slow. Then right around 50% the story really took off and I couldn't put it down.

As a whole, the magic in the book wasn't really in your face. It was written in a subtle way - mostly green flashes here and there, and some smells. As someone that needs to connect to the characters, I enjoyed all of them. The story does revolve around Cordelia (14) but I don't find this to be a coming of age tale. There are plenty of age ranges for a reader to connect to. This novel reads like a Magic Mystery, and honestly, I gave it 5 stars because it is worth a read. T. Kingfisher's writing is so unique and quirky, and she really has a knack of keeping the reader interested.

As always, Kingfisher does it better than anyone else in the game. I love the original story this is based off of and enjoyed the twist on it. Thought the writing was phenomenal and can’t wait to read more by this author.

Enjoyed this! I'm not familiar with the Grimm tale that this references, but it held my attention throughout. I've heard good things about Kingfisher but haven't read any of their work, so hopped on the opportunity to give it a shot when I saw this was available. I'm someone who's comfort zone is non-fiction, and I definitely don't read too much fantasy so I was pleasantly surprised by how much I like this book. I feel like the story and the writing are accessible to all ages and I liked that there was a good amount of sass from some of the feistier characters.

I did feel like the ending was somewhat predictable but sometimes that's okay. Will definitely be on the lookout to try some other works by Kingfisher!

4.5

I really like T. Kingfisher. Nettle & Bone is one of my favorite books, not just by her, but by any writer. This makes me both excited and apprehensive to read another book by her. While I didn't love, 'What Moves the Dead' I am so happy that I read this one. This is a re-telling of one of Brothers Grimm's famous fairy tales called 'The Goose Girl.' I never read it, so I can't make a comparison to the original, but I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed this story. It's one that was very hard to put down at night, which is a good sign for me.

The only reason I didn't give it a 5 star is because I wanted more. I needed to know what else happened! I wanted so much for Cordelia in the end. Since I don't know how the original story ended, I don't know if the questions I have were ever answered.
Highly recommended for T. Kingfisher fans anyone that still enjoys a good fairy tale.

*ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A Sorceress Comes to Call is based on the Goose Girl fairy tale. It tells the story of the sorceress Evangeline, her daughter Cordelia and the horse Falada. Set in a pseudo-Victorian era, Evangeline's quest for to ensure security and wealth for herself by any means necessary is an entertaining tale full of twists and turns.

This is supposedly a re-telling of the Grimm's fairy tale "The Goose Girl", but besides the fact that geese are present and there's a horse named Falada, there's not much connected between the two.

This is my second T. Kingfisher book (I previously read Swordheart) and I had a lot of the same pros and cons. Firstly, I do think Kingfisher has a strong voice in her writing. I like that there's an older female main character. I think the book has a fantastic premise, but ultimately doesn't deliver.

The story is focused on two characters, the first being Cordelia, a 14-year-old girl who is under the thumb of an abusive mother who is a masterful sorceress. Her mother has lost her "benefactor" (a man she controls and elicits money from) and has her sights set on a new man, a naive squire living in a grand estate. The second main character is Hester, the older, unmarried sister of the aforementioned squire, who is immediately suspicious of the new woman, and is also stirred to compassion by Cordelia, who is plainly suffering.

The beginning of the book is great, displaying the unique forms of torture that having a controlling sorceress for a mother would entail. Cordelia feels real in this part of the book, with her internal thoughts screaming while her outer appearance appears shy and obedient. When the story moves to the estate of the squire, it begins to drag unfortunately.

Hester isn't as strong of a character and I never really understood her "situationship" with a Lord Evermore, a wealthy man who clearly adores her and wants to marry her, yet she refuses because she thinks him marrying her would mar his image in society. Yet later in the book, she posits a plan in which he becomes engaged to Cordelia, and even admits that this would be seen as scandalous!

The story meanders and drags a lot in the estate, with far too much time spent with people sitting around and talking. I also felt Cordelia's character gets lost here, with her merging too much with the character of Hester (both have these internal quirky thoughts that I just didn't feel match Cordelia with her past). Even when things did happen, it just immediately goes back to the same meandering plot, and made a short book feel way too long.

The ending picks up at least, but still feels disjointed and not wholly satisfying. Things are just a little <too convenient, in my opinion. I did like the darker elements in this book and there's some fantastic imagery that Kingfisher does a great job describing.

If you want a dark, fairy tale retelling with an abusive, magical parent I would say that Ava Reid's Juniper and Thorn does this much better.

I happen to love a goose girl fairytale retelling, & T.. Kingfisher spun this tale in such a unique & fresh way. I have read several of her fantasy and horror books and I've pretty much enjoyed every one of them. This was no exception.
The way she tackles complicated mother daughter relationships, but on a WHOLE other level, as the mom is an evil Sorceress, who is unnecessarily cruel, especially to her daughter.. After a horrific mass murder. they leave town suddenly and try to start anew by swindling a wealthy squire into marrying the Sorceress. I loved the character arc of the daughter and how she learns to come into her own through the women that protect her and treat her like family. There is a horse familiar, alchemy, fancy geese as bodyguards, found family, & a lot of empowerment. I think most people are going to really love this one!
#netgalley #tor

This was fabulous! T. Kingfisher is truly a master at their craft! Nobody does a retelling quite like they do. Their quirky style always puts a fresh spin on things. Everything about this was perfect. A plot that didn't feel predictable. A diverse cast of characters with amazing character development. Steady pacing and impeccable world-building. I absolutely loved it!

The writing to me feels very stilted and robotic and heavily narrative. I wasn't personally getting into it so I stopped after chapter 2 (4%). Conceptually, it's really interesting. A solid 3-4 stars for the target audience and 5 for the right readers.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor for the ARC.

Loved it! T Kingfisher can submarines get stale during her narrative voice being similar between books, but I feel she’s been branching out lately. I found this humorous but touching and I loved the alternating perspectives between a 14 year old girl and a middle aged woman. Highly recommend!