A Sorceress Comes to Call presents a captivating dark retelling of "The Goose Girl," blending elements of historical fantasy with a touch of horror. The exploration of themes like parental abuse and narcissism adds depth to the narrative. Kingfisher's inclination toward horror is particularly effective in this story, which I found to be very well-written.

The dual-perspective structure is a highlight, allowing for a rich contrast between the two main characters, each with their own unique backgrounds and experiences. I appreciated how this dynamic enhanced my investment in both of their journeys. Cordelia, a sheltered young woman, faces the challenges of a controlling mother who uses magic to exert physical influence over her. Her desire for a wealthy husband to create opportunities for herself drives the plot, and her experiences are at times harrowing, yet incredibly compelling. This reimagining digs deep into the original tale's darker themes, making it a thrilling read for fans of Kingfisher’s horror style.

The pacing of this paranormal thriller is brisk, featuring numerous twists and turns that kept me engaged and eager to read on. The audio narration complements the historical context beautifully, enhancing the overall experience. I'm excited to see what T. Kingfisher has in store for us next!

4.25⭐️
The characters in this book are phenomenal! The wit! The charm! the dramatics! The way in which this author seamlessly weaves light-hearted humor into such a tense and horrific storyline is amazing!

This was like reading a Grimms' Fairytale. (Okay, I don't usually read book descriptions when choosing my reads, so I just now saw that it's a Grimm Brothers retelling.. that adds up, lol.)

There were some parts here and there that I felt could've used more development or ended up leaving me confused/let down. However, overall, this was a solid fairytale-esc fantasy!

Listen, I love the goose girl and I love a dark reimagining of anything. You tell me it’s a brothers Grimm story I’m down you tell me it’s goose girl I first in line. This was confusing as hell I had to reread each chapter at least twice. I can’t understand what was going on in the more I read it the more confused I got the more frustrated I got And the dumber I felt.

The audio was just ok. I wanted bit more animation like previous books, but I’m sure it’s fine for other audio bookers.


I just love TK’s shorter books, and don’t know if my interest can be kept with their longer stories. Shorter stories are definitely their forte and I will always rave and be a huge fan. This one just missed the mark for me.

T. Kingfisher is an autobuy author for me. I will read it all. Cordelia has lived under the control of her mother for all of her life. Her mother is a sorcerer and will use her power to make Cordelia obedient. Trapped in her own mind as her mother controls her body and mouth. After a suspicious death in town, her mother makes them leave in the dead of night. They arrive at the manor of a squire that her mother intends to marry. This story was so immersive. I did not want to put it down. Hester and Cordelia were my favorites! I loved this book so much! Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio arc in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Macmillan audio for the listeners copy.

This book was really interesting. You have a grimm's brother retelling of the goose girl. Cordelia knows her mother is terrible and yet can do nothing to stop her when her mother uses her sorcery of obedience on her. Soon Cordelia is roped into a plot for her mother to marry the Squire. Cordelia finds herself in a predicament of trying to stop her mother while helping her unlikely friends.

This book was brilliant. I was hooked from the beginning. There's so many lives intertwined. Between the magic and plots I couldn't stop listening. The imagery the narrator created was wonderful. I really appreciated the dual pov this book has.

Def recommend for fans of dark fantasy.

T. Kingfisher does it again. There is something that this author does so well and it’s making an amazing cast of characters, specifically of the older variety. Each of our characters is so flawed but so lovable that you keep rooting for them until the end. Even when the stakes are high, and believe me they are, Kingfishers books feel like returning home.

T Kingfisher has never disappointed me once and this is no exception. It was tender and funny, with enough fantasy to feel steeped in a new world and enough solidity to feel grounded in the plot. This book was a great time and I’m open to anything else in this world.

T. Kingfisher is one of my favorite authors. I have always loved her stories and A Sorceress Comes to Call is no exception. It is a delightful blend of fantasy, horror and humor, with some truly remarkable characters. I was unaware until I read a bit more that she based this book off the Grimm fairytale The Goose Girl which I’m not sure I had ever read. Thankfully I didn’t have to know the tale to enjoy her retelling.

First we meet a girl named Cordelia who lives with her sorceress mother Evangeline. Evangeline’s main power is being able to control people with magic, which Cordelia calls being “made obedient”. It is a horrific power that makes her lose complete control over her body. For years Evangeline “provides” for them through benefactors who give them what they need thanks to this dark power. Now she wants to find a more permanent situation by finding a rich husband for herself and Cordelia as well despite Cordelia only being 14.

Then we meet Hester an older woman who lives in a distant village with her brother the Squire. One day, Hester wakes up with a feeling that something bad is coming. Shortly after, Evangeline and Cordelia arrive. The bad thing, which Hester calls “Doom,” is of course Evangeline, who has set her sight on making the Squire her husband. Hester senses that something is not right with the woman and Cordelia. She gathers her friends to try to stop Evangeline’s evil plot.

Kingfisher’s is magical at writing characters. My favorite was Hester. I loved that she’s clever and not afraid to speak her mind. I also find it refreshing that she was older than your typical fantasy lead character. Cordelia was also a complex and interesting lead character. She doesn’t start as a strong female lead but she grows into her own beautifully with the support and help of Hester.

One thing Kingfisher always does exceptionally well is infusing the story with a really delightful cast of side characters. They added much needed humor and lighter moments to a fairly dark story.

This book is just another wonderful example of T Kingfisher’s ability to combine humor and darkness with a glorious cast of complex and interesting characters in a fantasy world that will appeal to a wide range of readers.

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 adore the kookiness of T. Kingfisher's tales - she is for sure an autobuy author for me. And I found A Sorceress Comes to Call to be quite unputdownable once I got about a quarter of the way in... the narrator is FANTASTIC and the story is engrossing. But for some reason, I finished the book feeling a bit dissatisfied, like there were too many loose ends for the tale to feel complete. I've also found that the ages of the characters in some of the authors books (including this one) take me out of the story as well. Maybe in this instance, reading the story of the Goose Girl will fix the notion. Regardless, I'm happy to have listened/read and I look forward to the next tall tale the author weaves.

4 out of 5 wine glasses.

Being fairly new to fantasy, I had heard a lot about T. Kingfisher and was excited to see what the hype was about.
The hype is well deserved.
The plot was darker than I expected. The relationship between Cordelia and her mother was more troubling, but gripped me nonetheless.
I can't wait to read more from Kingfisher in the future!

Another great story from T. Kingfisher! The dark fantasy retelling of The Goose Girl, has the perfect combination of magic, murder and humor. Add in an overbearing mother and a great dark world is created.

Another beautifully done dark fairy tale from T. Kingfisher.

It’s important to note that this is not truly a retelling of The Goose Girl, but rather an original story that feels, at most inspired by the Brothers Grimm tale. The plot isn’t similar and the few characters who have counterparts in the original story play very different roles.

I actually think this is a good thing, as actually retellings of The Goose Girl aren’t rare, and this feels like something fresher and more original. The magic is in its ability to give a nod to a legendary story without becoming a prisoner of its plot.

The characters are like most T. Kingfisher characters, which is to say likable and interesting without being especially deep or multidimensional. Hester is perhaps an exception, and she’s the best character in the story by far. That said, Cordelia is easy to root for and her mother makes a tremendously good villain, even if both think and behave in a predictable manner to their own archetypes.

T. Kingfisher never feels especially devoted to setting, which is a bummer for readers like me who live for that more than for any other element in a novel, but the stories still manage to produce an excellent sense of atmosphere, which ultimately has the same type of transporting quality for the reader.

I unfortunately did not finish this one. I stopped at 48% as I was lost and felt the story was not going anywhere. I really wanted to like this one and am disappointed I didn’t.

Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this one in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, I was not a fan of this book or the audiobook narrator. The story fell flat for me and I was bored. The narrator was also just a bit monotone and boring for me.

I hope others love this one.

No one is doing fairytale retellings right now like T. Kingfisher, and they continue to get better and better. This dark(er) Goose Girl retelling is no exception. T. Kingfisher's stories to me are either more humorous (Swordheart) or lean more towards horror, and this is one for those who prefer the thriller/horror style of writing. I can't wait until the next release!

I've never read the original Goose Girl fairy tale, but I absolutely loved this story! I loved the ensemble cast of characters, group scheming, and sinister threat creeping in. Highly recommend to fans of T. Kingfisher, retellings, and/or witchy fantasy!!

This was a great read! I've read a number of T. Kingfisher's books - everything from her horror books to her self published fantasy books - and have had a range of experiences reading them, but can firmly say that she is one of my favourite authors. This was a little fresher and different than the other books of hers I've read; it felt more like a gothic Jane Austen-like novel mixed with the dark fairytale notes of magic. I'd put it alongside Nettle and Bone and What Moves the Dead, but with more... genteel aspects.
I really enjoyed having the two different narrators - I always love having an older narrator, and Hester was my absolute favourite character of this whole book. I loved her story arc, her personality, and the romance threaded into her story. That romance reminded me so strongly of Persuasion, too!
Cordelia was another story - I wanted her to have a bit more gumption by the end, but I completely understand why she didn't. That girl has been abused like crazy her entire life, and she's only 14; so definitely check trigger warnings and content warnings for this book before going in.
One thing that I think is mis-marketed just a touch with this book is the horror elements. We all know T. Kingfisher for her horror fantasy prowess; but this book didn't have as much horror elements as I was expecting after all the marketing I've seen for it. To me, this is much more of a gothic historical leaning book, and though it did have horror elements, I could've honestly gone for more, knowing what T Kingfisher can do with her descriptions coming from What Moves the Dead (those fungi were CREEPY okay).
All in all, I definitely enjoyed the book; I sunk right in so much that I ended up reading this book all in one sitting - I wasn't going to move! I think the audiobook narrators were also fantastic. I love when a dual narrator situation works really well together, and I think the two chosen for both Cordelia and Hester were great choices.

Honestly, one thing I love about most of T. Kingfisher's books is the way she writes older women and their friendships. Having now read this book, I'll always be sad that I can't be friends with Hester, Imogen, Penelope and even Richard.

Cordelia is a very realistic representation of a child living with an abusive parent, and the shock and fury that comes from realizing that other households/parents are not like that. I was so happy for her when she came into her own and out from under her mother's heel.

I listened to the audiobook and I really enjoyed the two narrators switching between Hester and Cordelia's voices and perspectives. Given how young and afraid (at the beginning) Cordelia is, Kingfisher made a really smart choice to also give us Hester's side of things.

What I loved:
- Excellent butler
- guard geese
- female friendships

What I didn't love as much:
- the pace is slower than I usually read (although it did fit the fairy tale retelling vibe)
- I think Hester's reasoning for not being with Richard kinda sucks and I think she did both of them a disservice by not marrying him ten years ago

This was great! I have loved the few T. kingfisher books I have head, and this one was very different but really interesting. I don't always love historical books, but the characters were so good and I loved the plot.