T. Kingfisher has a way with words. Beautifully written. The atmosphere is perfect for this time of year. I was so invested in the characters and the story. This is my first book by this author and won’t be my last, I’ve already checked out two more from my library because this author can WRITE.

What an great story and I loved the characters. It’s both touching and meaningful without ever feeling overdone, and there are moments that are genuinely hilarious. I really enjoyed this book.

please consider this my formal request for more middle-aged heroines in fantasy.

more inspired by the goose girl than a true retelling, t. kingfisher’s a sorceress comes to call is a dark fairytale in its own right. a teenage girl and her unlikely ally—the spinster sister of the man her mother is attempting to ensnare—must work together to stop the girl’s mother, a sorceress with the ability to make people “obedient.”

while thornhedge remains my favorite of kingfisher’s works, i enjoyed a sorceress comes to call for many of the same reasons. the writing is captivating and i liked the web of relationships within the household and their guests, as well as the upstairs/downstairs relationships (particularly cordelia and alice). despite the fantasy elements, the exploration of an abusive mother/daughter relationship was very believable—particularly cordelia’s awareness that her upbringing isn’t normal, and her fear that she won’t be believed over her mother. the highlight of this story, however, is hester. i didn’t realize how large a role she would play when i requested this book, but she was by far my favorite character and i love that she has such a central role.

I always like T. Kingfisher’s books, so of course I liked this one, too. The Regency story is a dark reimagining of The Goose Girl, which I wasn’t familiar with. A young woman has a horrible sorceress for a mother. Mom wants to marry a rich man and scares her daughter into falling in line. In fact, she doesn’t just scare her- she can possess her. The mom has no scruples and will do whatever it takes to get her way.

The sister of the target is a fantastic character. You’ll be rooting for this group she gathers to somehow find a way to stop the sorceress and get the young girl free of her. It’s fantasy with a little horror, too. It’s out now! Thank you to Tor Books and Netgalley for the eARC.

Thank you to the publisher for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

‘A Sorceress Comes to Call’ by T kingfisher is a dark and inventive reimagining of the classic fairytale ‘The Goose girl’. It is not important to be well versed with the original story to appreciate this book as it stands alone as a story in its own right. We follow Cordelia who lives with her extremely controlling mother who also happens to be an evil sorceress. When they are forced to leave in a hurry they take refuge with a kindly squire and his sister, but all is not as it seems and in order to get her happy ending Cordelia must find the bravery to stand up for herself and fight for those she cares about. Kingfisher creates complex and well rounded characters and focuses much attention on familial relationships both good and bad. We see character development and growth in a way that feels realistic and there is plenty of emotional connection. There are many emotive and uncomfortable topics touched on within the story so it may be worthwhile checking any content warnings. This story is told in dual narrative and is relatively slow-paced but compelling and atmospheric. If you are a fan of dark and gothic fantasy with elements of light paranormal horror this could be a great fit.

I've read several T. Kingfisher books now, and I love her writing. This one follows a young girl, Cordelia, whose mother is a sorceress. She doesn't grow up knowing this though and believes her childhood is completely normal. I felt entirely connected to the characters - one of Kingfisher's major strengths in my opinion. I felt Cordelia's confusion and heartbreak and all the thing.

I was not familiar with the Brothers Grimm's Goose Girl tale, so I did look it up afterwards. I saw someone call this more of a reimagining than a retelling, and I agree with that. It's loosely based and gives nods to the original story but is entirely its own story.

From @emo_reads IG

Thank you @torbooks @redwombatstudio @netgalley for the early release e-Arc of A Sorceress Comes to Call.

T. Kingfisher is my current most-read author of the year. I’ve read FIVE of her books in 2024, loved all of them but was enchanted by this one. Her fairy tales, both this and Nettle & Bone, are two of my favorite reads to date this year.

A Sorceress Comes to call is a dark retelling of Grimm’s fairytale, The Goose Girl. I’m not well-versed in Grimm’s fairytales (though I did do some googling after reading this), but you don’t need to be in order to appreciate this story. As always, the women Kingfisher writes into her book are complicated and interesting (Hester was 🤌), but the mother/daughter relationship was the most thought-provoking element of the story for me. If you like dark fantasy with a sprinkle of horror, this will hit for you 🫰 🔥

Pub date: August 2024
327 pages

🖤 Do you have a favorite fairy tale?

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Cordelia’s mother is an evil sorceress who bespells her into submission and will do whatever it takes to marry rich. When her mother sets her sights on a wealthy squire, they move in with him and his quick-witted sister, Hester, who knows something sinister is afoot. I love Kingfisher’s writing and sly humor so I was really excited for this one and it did not disappoint. This dark retelling of The Goose Girl was the perfect blend of fantasy and horror that tackles issues of parental abuse and manipulation. It’s eerie, suspenseful, lighthearted, and full of complex characters you’ll love rooting for.

Special thanks to NetGalley, T. Kingfisher and Tor Publishing for an e-arc of this novel.

This was my first T. Kingfisher novel, but will not be my last.

It was a great book. I loved all of the characters, except one (but I think I wasn't supposed to like that one anyway).
It's paranormal and was an awesome, quick read. Loved it.

A compellingly twisty retelling of “The Goose Girl” fairytale. If you know the tale, you’ll appreciate that Falada the horse gets an appropriately creepy role.

I love this retelling of the Goose Girl fairytale. Our main character Cordelia has recently found out her mother is a sorceress after years of being made "obedient". When Cordelia's mother comes up with a new scheme to get rich, Cordelia must go along for the ride or risk being made "obedient" permanently. Set in a regency era with magic, murder, and a very uncanny horse, Cordelia must either stay quiet and compliant or stand up and finally put a stop to her evil mother.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor for the ARC!

Cordelia lives an unconventional life. For starters her mother, Evangeline, is not like other mothers. She does not allow Cordelia to have any friends, their house is void of doors, as well as speech at times, not to mention the fact that her mother is a sorceress. The only confidant that Cordelia has is a horse named Falada, but Falada isn’t your average horse. Everything changes one night when Cordelia is forced to flee in the middle of the night with her mother after the discovery of a strange murder, leaving everything behind. They soon arrive at the lavish manor of the Squire and his sister Hester. Cordelia hopes to marry the Squire, but that won;t happen if Hester has anything to say about it. She sees Evangeline for who she is and she is determined to save both her brother and Cordelia from this woman before the Squire makes the monumental mistake of marrying Evangeline.

I really enjoyed A Sorceress Comes to Call. It is a novel that kept me hooked throughout thanks to the characters, the world building and the macabre aspects. For starters, there are so many complex, well-developed characters. Cordelia is a wonderful protagonist and Evangeline is a villain that is easy to hate, but it’s really all the supporting characters that bring this story to life. Kingfisher’s word choice and world building paints such a complete and mesmerizing picture of the settings, events and characters, making this a true page-turner. I enjoyed the twists and turns and was pleasantly surprised by many of them.

The audiobook only added to my enjoyment of A Sorceress Comes to Call. I love that two narrators were used, allowing them both to bring different things to the story making it that much more enjoyable overall. The pacing (once I sped it up a little), inflection and tone created not only suspense and anticipation, but it also brought the characters and event to life.

I found A Sorceress Comes to Call a little slow and static--I put it down around the halfway point and didn't pick it back up to finish it until over a month later. I liked this twist on the goose girl fairy tale and loved the geese, Hester's viewpoint was a welcome addition to the story, and I felt a sense of dread throughout the story...but I also felt like this novel from T. Kingfisher was missing something.

Perhaps a little more insight into Cordelia's mother? (I really wanted her POV.) Probably a faster pace, or at least a change in scenery before the 75% point. Cordelia and Hester's voices also sounded same-y at times to me, which felt odd considering their disparate ages and experiences. The ending felt a bit rushed as well, and I think it could have used more breathing room.

“A Sorceress Comes to Call” is a dark retelling of the Brothers’ Grimm story ‘The Goose Girl’ combined with a country house party and romance. I found this book to be amazing - expertly crafted and extremely compelling. The plot, tension, writing, and characterization all combine to make a very solid four star read for me. I think this is likely to be a five star read for most people but I personally struggled with the narrative’s balance between horror and fairytale - it was a bit too much horror for my taste.

I absolutely adored Hester, the squire’s sister, and loved her section of the narration. I struggled with Cordelia’s point of view due to the abuse she experienced from her mother. This was an important plot point for the story but could be triggering for readers and definitely took me out of the narrative. I also felt that the book could have used a bit more explanation on the setting and general world building. I found myself confused about the world’s geography and how people viewed magic.

Otherwise, “A Sorceress Comes to Call” was extremely engaging and engrossing. This was the first book I’ve read by T. Kingfisher and I’m excited to check out more works by the author.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Tor Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was my introduction to this author, and has me grasping for everything she's ever written. I thoroughly enjoyed how this fairytale was repackaged and delivered with a new ferocity and enchantment.

T. Kingfisher is a Season's Pass for me. I will ride ALL THE RIDES.

I loved this dark Goose Girl retelling with all my shriveled soul.

I love the dual POV between the sorceress' traumatized daughter, and the squire's arthritic, middle-aged sister.

I loved the found family, the magic, the second-chance love story, and the attack geese.

And I especially appreciated the tiny nod to Bone Dog in Nettle & Bone.

I loved it all.

Thanks to NetGalley, Tor Publishing, and Macmillan Audio for this magical ARC.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

I enjoyed this so much. I love the darkness of the story. It felt much more creepy than I had anticipated. This author has another win in my book.

Cordelia is a sympathetic character, and this is a great retelling of the Goose Girl myth. I really enjoyed the title, even if it was a bit spookier than the books I usually read.

This was a really excellent fantasy retelling of "The Goose Girl"! I've never read the original story by the Grimm brothers, so I can't speak to accuracy, but I loved this book. T. Kingfisher's writing is so easy to read, and this book was so hard to put down! The writing was very atmospherical, and I really enjoyed the manor setting, I also loved the cast of characters; both the main and secondary characters! I have to say that Hester was probably my favourite, though. I read it pretty quickly (as quickly as I possibly could in the middle of the school semester), and I'll definitely be reading more of T. Kingfisher's books! I overall would completely recommend this book :)