My first T. Kingfisher book did not disappoint - a colorful cast of characters and a hint of the paranormal made for an original retelling of a classic fairytale. Kingfisher does an excellent job with her character development and building tension throughout.

This book had developed strong female leads and offered realistic representation of protagonists older than 17 (pretty rare these days). Henny’s strategy and intelligence is reminiscent of the best of Agatha Christie. While only 14, Cordelia has an understandably traumatic backstory and while she makes progress she doesn’t become a B.A. witch hunter by the end, which is refreshing. She doesn’t suddenly take charge and overcome her trauma but does find solace and direction from those she comes to trust.

The world building in “A Sorceress Comes to Call”, is satisfactory for a stand alone. There isn’t much development beyond the places the scenes of the story. I could’ve taken more development there but it was definitely enough to keep the world together.

Cordelia knows her mother is unusual. There are no doors in their house, and Cordelia isn’t allowed to have any friends. Worst of all, her mother uses her magic to force Cordelia to be obedient - sometimes silent and motionless for hours, or even days.

After a suspicious death in their town, Cordelia and her mother travel to a remote country manor owned by a wealthy older man and his sister, Hester. Cordelia’s mother intends to seduce the man into a marriage. Hester sees how Cordelia’s mother treats her and is determined to do what she must to save both her brother and Cordelia from this wicked sorceress.

What I loved:

-The atmosphere. This book felt very eerie and dark, and the audiobook narrators definitely helped with that! Nonetheless, there were some funny and sweet moments throughout.
-The fairytale feel. This is definitely a dark retelling with strong horror elements, but it still felt like a fairytale, complete with heroes and entertaining side characters!
-The ending! I loved how everything wrapped up, and all the action in the end of the book!

What I didn’t love:

-Honestly, not much! I had a great time reading this book! If anything, the narrator for Cordelia sounded a little too young…but even that just drove home how naive and sheltered the character was!

I highly recommend this to anyone who likes retellings or is intrigued by the sound of a dark fairytale!

I received an audio-arc from Net Galley to review.

This story was a tale of women . . . One who has been beaten down by another’s manipulation until she is only a husk of a person, one that has internalized misogyny turning her back on something truly wonderful, and one who has turned the pain of being used and left into fuel to wound so many more. Yes, there are male characters but they are more of the grounding / supporting cast to a group of unique and unforgettable women.

One of our main characters, Cordelia (14), is meek and emotionless at the beginning of the book but becomes a little braver by the end. Hester, in her 50s, is bold and unapologetic. She is unsure if she can fix things but she knows she has to try for the sake of her loved ones. The other female characters, not mentioned in the synopsis, are equally enjoyable. The mother / sorceress is evil and something to be feared and hated - a true villain. All women will stick with me for a long time.

I will say that there are several trigger warnings that should be reviewed. There are on page depictions of child abuse, emotional manipulation by a parent, body horror, animal horror, and bullying.

Rated 4.5 stars rounded up for Goodreads.

Kingfisher is the ONE for me!!
It's hard to explain her style, and I get why her reviews are all over the place. She writes about dark subjects, in a way that doesn't feel grotesque. She has hard things happen, but you know everything will resolve in the end. She doesn't really do a romance - not a romance in the typical sense, like you'd think in a romance novel - but the love stories she crafts are beautiful. She has the best set of characters. She has a great blend of humor, melancholy, horror, and mystery.

This book utilized two narrators for the alternating POV, and the texture they brought to this story was unbelievable. So good. Felt like a real Grimm's fairytale.

I've only read two of her novels and they both felt like this. I LOVED this, and I can't wait to check out more!!

I want to love all of T. Kingfishers books. Nettle and Bone and A Wizards Guide to Defensive Baking are 2 of my most favorite reads of all time. I was so excited for this one, and while I enjoyed it, it is not as quirky and whimsical as I love. There are some really loveable characters and relationships in this, the plot is interesting and enjoyable, but at the end of the day I am not a horror fan. I still really enjoy her writing, characters and plot, but the creepy/gore is not for me. If you love a mix of quirky and creepy, this one is for you!

Audiobook read by Eliza Foss and Jennifer Pickens; I really enjoyed the dual narrator in this. Even though the characters and narrators are both female, I feel like it really helps to separate the chapters and POVs. Both narrators did an exceptional job at their parts.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Audio for this ARC in exchange for an honest review :)

#NetGalley #NetGalleyReads #BookReview #QuirkyHorror #Fantasy #FantasyBookReview

Well, it was beautifully written. The story was unique, although a bit sleepy. Not quite boring just sleepy. I have another T. Kingfisher book to read and I did enjoy the writing style. But.... the FMC of this book was so pathetic and whiny it was hard at times to enjoy it. It's really hard to rate this book.
3 for story, 4.25 for writing.

_A Sorceress Comes to Call_ is a magical, engrossing, and dark retelling told from the perspectives of Cordelia, the young daughter of the evil sorceress Evangeline, and Hester, the unmarried sister of a wealthy lord that Evangeline chooses to target for marriage. The narrators Eliza Foss and Jennifer Pickens give life to the author T. Kingfisher’s writing, keeping the reader engrossed in the world of dark magic as Cordelia and Hester, with the help of close friends, fight to defeat Evangeline.

Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio for the audiobook ARC of this story.

I am a huge T. Kingfisher fan and was really excited for her newest book. A Sorceress Comes to Call is a loose retelling of the Brother's Grimm Goose Girl fairytale. It was a solid story, but I didn't love it as much as other works by T. Kingfisher. While our main character Cordelia was lovable, her absolute inability to have a backbone was grating at times. She did get better towards the end, but she never even thought about trying to fight against the magic when her mother would make her obedient and that in itself feels a little out of character for any teenager. Our other main character, Hester, was 50 but kept referring to herself in such a way that you would've thought she was 80. We did have a decent sized ensemble cast of characters that were great, but there wasn't as much banter between them as there normally is with a T. Kingfisher book and I really did miss it. The pacing did feel a bit off at times--we moved fast, then slow, then really slow, then rushed through the end. All in all it was a good story, but not one of my favorites from the author.

A Sorceress comes to call follows the story of Cordelia, a 14-year old girl living in the shadow of her controlling and abusive mother. Cordelia's story intersects with Hester's, a 50-year old woman who is the sister of Samuel the squire, and we get dual POV's as Cordelia and Hester try to stop Cordelia's mother Evangeline from sinking her claws into the squire.

Huge trigger warning for anyone who may struggle with reading about abuse perpetrated by a parent. There are fantastical elements to the abuse Cordelia faces at the hands of Evangeline, but quite a lot of it is more "mundane" like not having access to privacy in her own home. I kind of liked that aspect of it as it depicted a realistic abusive dynamic where the abuser happened to also have magic at their disposal. Think of the worst person that you know and then imagine that they can use magic to bend people to their will. Terrifying, isn't it?

This is a very loose retelling of the Goose Girl fable. I think it feels more inspired by it rather than a re-telling, but also, what do I know?

Anyways, I really liked the dark atmosphere and sense of dread that everyone feels at the hands of Evangeline. It was a believable tale of a manipulative woman using people to attain her own goals, the magical elements were really just a means to an end. I do kind of wish that more people had been taken in by Evangeline's charm, because that is what makes manipulative people so scary isn't it?

I really liked the audiobook and the fear that you could hear permeate through Cordelia's entries, and the dry humor that you could hear in each of Hester's. I really appreciate the way that T. Kingfisher gives older women like Hester agency in her own story rather than letting the young people decide the story like you see in a lot of fantasy books.

Overall this is a quick and fun read. Do I wish there were more geese? Yes. Did I get some weird monsters? Well, it's a T. Kingfisher book so that's a given.

My first T. Kingfisher book, and I fully anticipate it leading to a reading long list of Kingfisher titles. I love books with lesser-known magic systems or sideways looks at how magic works, and this one delivered that and more. Sorcery is so interwoven with nature and rituals and secrets instead of just spoken spells or innate power and it makes the plot progression so fraught with tension. Cordelia's narrative chapters broke my heart from the start, and I couldn't wait for Hester and her to start trusting each other so they were no longer alone in their struggles. All of the character work was so well executed and had me hanging on the edge of my seat to know who would make the next move.

***4.0 stars***

Overall,
I am pretty big T. Kingfisher fan, they are an insta buy author for me for sure. This new book, longer than most of her others did not disappoint. Kingfisher has a way of mixing fantasy with gothic/slightly spooky vipers. This was a very original and fun read. At its core, A sorceress comes to call is a story about finding your voice and facing your fears. I would definitely recommend this book.

Thank you Netgally and Tor for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my free and honest review.

While it's not unusual for mothers and daughters to have conflicted relationships, we can all be thankful that few are as conflicted as that between 14 year old Cordelia and her sorceress mother. When Evangeline, as evil a witch as any in fiction, sets her sights on a rich husband, things get really complicated. Poor Cordelia, always terrified anyway, sees harm coming to the sweet bumbling man and his kind sister, Hester. She's quite convinced that there's no way to save them. But no one has really counted on intelligent and cunning Hester who has no intention of letting the worst happen to Cordelia or anyone else. This retelling of the Brothers Grimm's "The Goose Girl," is absolutely brilliant. Kingfisher's ability to create realistic and likable characters, as well as a truly horrible villain shines in one of this 2024's most charming fantasies. A lovely narration enhances a terrific story.

My favorite work by this author so far! The two narrators were equally fantastic at developing the characters and bringing the pages to life. This book complicated the typical matriarchal mother to daughter magic-inheritance narrative that I often see. And, I'm always a fan of "found family" dynamics and central characters who branch away from stifling relationships and find people who truly love them. Evangeline was a great, scary villain and Cordelia and Hester were easy to root for. I recently said this about another book, but I found that the magic system and world building were unique and didn't fall into the trap of over-explaining or getting too into the weeds with the mechanics and rules of that, but focused more on vibe (which I found really effective).

Firstly I want to thank NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with an audio ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I’m a big fan of T. Kingfisher. She’s just got a way with retelling stories you already know and making them her own. A Sorceress Comes To Call is no different. This is a Goose Girl retelling, with fantasy, intrigue and even some horror elements. And T. Kingfisher somehow makes it all cozy! She’s so good at setting the atmosphere, making the reader feel like they are in the story with her characters. You feel Cordelia’s struggle and heartbreak, her terror and her bravery. You empathize with Hester and her struggle with chronic pain, and her feelings of inadequacy around the man she loves. I even found myself rooting for the geese in this book! Everything Kingfisher does is magical and a touch spooky, and I will happily read it all!

A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher is in short the story of a young girl with a horrible mother. Cordelia is "made obedient" by her mother Evangeline by controlling her body with magic, who has intentions of marrying her off for great sums of money. When her current benefactor loses interest, Evangeline moves them to a new town to find a new one.

I am already a huge fan of Kingfisher, and this book just solidifies how much I love their writing! This story feels very fairy tale like, but with harrowing scenes. There were some truly terrifying moments throughout the story, and it really will take you by surprise.

The characters in this book were also all amazing. Every single one was fleshed out and I loved that it was split into two perspectives. There is a bit of romance between two characters, but it is so sweet and wholesome and you will definitely be rooting for them!

Even with such a scary concept, Kingfisher is able to add humor. There was dialogue that made me chuckle at times, and it makes you feel like you're in the story with these characters. It also helps that the audiobook narrators were great! There was one for each perspective, and both were very soothing and held my attention with all of the emotions portrayed.

Overall another great book by Kingfisher!! If you like fairy tales with dark turns, this book is for you.

I really liked the idea behind this story. I really liked the characters in this story. I really liked the ending of this story. I really liked the beautiful writing.

I didn't like the pacing of this book. The middle half of this book moved very slow for me. The beginning was exciting because you are learning about this world, the sorcery, and the characters. The ending of the book was exciting because you are getting all your questions answered and the characters are getting a resolution. The middle part where the characters were living together and being passive aggressive with each other was slow and could have been shortened.

T. Kingfisher does it again with another incredible story packed with interesting characters, exciting twists, and enchanting writing. Imagine having a mom who's a sorceress, can make you and anyone else obedient, causes chaos and destruction, and destroys anyone who stands in her way. That's what you get here!

The range of T. Kingfisher’s writing is honestly unmatched. I’ve now read seven of Kingfisher's books, and I still have no idea what I’m getting into until I’m deep in the story. I wasn’t familiar with this story from Grimm’s, but that is definitely not a limitation for reading this story.

Kingfisher has a knack for crafting believable and precocious teenage characters, as well as older women. The dual POV in this book—following Hester and her friends (in their 40s/50s) along with 14-year-old Cordelia—works brilliantly. Hester and her gang, with their creaky joints and irreverence for social norms, are incredibly relatable. Cordelia's perspective, on the other hand, brings a lot of depth and a genuine sense of fear and horror to the story, adding a crucial layer to the narrative.

The audiobook was a treat with different narrators for each perspective. Both did a great job of embodying different characters and providing a distinct voice for them, and their voices matched the mood of this story so well.

In typical T. Kingfisher fashion, this book has its share of gruesome moments, with a demon horse and guard geese adding to the horror. If you're looking for something to scratch that horror itch, this book is perfect!

Another hit from T Kingfisher! This book is one of her most difficult to classify, landing both solidly within the fantasy and horror categories, not feeling quite at home in either. The story of Cordelia and Hester is beautiful, talking about found family, boundaries, love, and the importance of staying true to yourself. Some of the characters are people I will be thinking about for a long time to come. Thank you Tor and Netgalley for the advance audiobook.

The atmosphere of the book is in typical T. Kingfisher style eerie with humor. I did enjoy most of the tale though there were a couple elements that left me confused on their addition. As for the narrating of the story, the narrators were a solid 5/5.

T. Kingfisher dazzles again with this tale set in a magical, Regency-Era world. 14-year-old Cordelia is the star of the show as she gathers courage and a group of middle-aged, yet stalwart, friends to stop her mother, who just happens to be a sorceress. This tale will appeal to both the old and the young (and to those who prefer whiskey in their teacup). Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.