***I received an advanced copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***

4/5 Star Rating

The author did a fantastic job of creating the character's and maintaining their personalities throughout. I like the author's storytelling, as it did not seem redundant nor incomplete. The only thing I wish we could have seen more of would be the backstory of Evangeline, and how she got to be the way she is.

The book itself dives into a complex retelling of The Brothers Grimm's "The Goose Girl" in which our main character Cordelia exists in forced isolation due to her mother's abusive rule. As the story continues and the themes of abuse continue, Kingfisher does an excellent job of allowing Cordelia to find her way through the isolation and manipulation and find her true place in the world. I think the ending was rather sweet and I like that after everything Cordelia went through, she was able to find her own family, albeit a complex one.

A Sorceress Comes to Call weaves fantasy, folklore, and found family into a new gothic classic. I received this E-ARC edition through Macmillan Audio, narrated by Eliza Foss and Jennifer Pickens.

"A Sorceress Comes to Call" is an imaginative retelling of "The Goose Girl," a Grimms Fairytale I am not familiar with but certainly will be reading after the treat that was this novel by heavyweight T. Kingfisher. I have always enjoyed retellings that authors manage to put a unique spin on, and this one is sure to check many boxes for lovers of dark fantasy.

Cordelia is the mousy daughter of the powerful Sorceress Evangeline. Whether acting as her puppet or supplicant daughter, she knows her only role is "to marry a rich husband," a rather obscure idea for the 14-year-old. Cordelia's only refuge from her isolated life and emotionally abusive mother's control is her horse Falada. With her father done away with after refusing the hand of the sorceress and another benefactor having lost interest, Cordelia is rushed away to an older squire's home where Evangeline hopes to entrap a husband once and for all. When Cordelia meets the squire's older sister, she finally finds the strength to get out from her mother's magical grips once and for all.

Audiobook: This is the first full-length fantasy that I have enjoyed through an audiobook, and I believe the narrators did a superb job of bringing the characters to life. With one narrator taking a softer voice approach to Cordelia and the other taking a tighter vocalization for the sister Hester, it was easy to keep the storyline straight through the entire book. I would certainly seek to enjoy other novels by both of these narrators.

For fans of found family, folklore retellings, and survivors of mother dearest, I believe anyone will be able to build a home in this sweet novel. 4.5/5 stars.

I finished this three days ago and I am still obsessing over it. First the narrators did an amazing job. They were perfect for their roles! They nailed the voices.
The way the author describes the scenes and they way people look had me captivated. I listened all the way through. I could not stop. I neglected my family and home and just listened.
I was so in love with Penelope. I love the geese!
I just think everyone should listen to this one.

I love a gothic retelling and T. Kingfisher is the perfect person for the job. the story was beautifully told and the narrator was fantastic.

T. Kingfisher continues her retelling of classic fairy tales, for A Sorceress Comes to Call the reader is presented with a darker version of the Brohters Grimm's The Goose Girl. As in other works by Kingfisher, there is a bit of humor over a story of cruelties and oddities.

Cordelia has been raised in an abusive isolation, her only friend her mother's horse Falada. Forced to be silent or a mirror of her mother, Cordelia's life has not been her own. But now her mother has a new plan, to wed a wealthy squire, and even though she is a sorceress, she will having to user charm, cunning and guile, for sorcery is undone or revealed at a wedding. Cordelia is brought along to help her mother, but for once in her life Cordelia is treated with kindness and is conflicted in her role. The squire's sister Hester is highly observant and very well versed in the social milieu. Cordelia and Hester's viewpoints alternate for the narrative. (For the audiobook the narration is wonderfully handles by Eliza Foss and Jennifer Pickens).

While this is not new ground for Kingfisher, a protagonist in a complicated familial relationship pushed to a crisis, A Sorceress Comes to Call makes excellent use of its source material but derives much of its momentum from well realized characters and the shared histories that have shaped them and their interactions. Plus, fans of Kingfisher might catch some easter eggs to other Kingfisher books.

Recommended to readers of fantasy, fairy tales or darker retellings.

I usually love T. Kingfisher's writing style, and her plots are always fabulous. But every now and again I find that I simply cannot get into one of her books - and unfortunately that was the case here... I'm not sure why. The premise drew me in and the deliciously evil mother made for a delightful villain. I doubt it was the audio format either, as I really enjoyed both narrators. But I just couldn't connect to the main narrative characters and found my attention flagging repeatedly until I finally realized I had lost the thread of what was happening. This one just wasn't for me...

I would like to thank NetGalley for giving me an audio-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Now THIS is what a retelling should be. Gory, dark, twisted, with a breath of fresh air that keeps it unique, A Sorceress Come To Call is my favorite book by T. Kingfisher to date.

I really enjoyed the dual perspectives of Cordelia and Hester. The blurb on this one doesn't do any of it justice. Cordelia was absolutely abused by her mother and her character is so sad to read. And Hester? Hester showed us that older women -- disabled women -- can still fight. I loved their dynamis so much. I loved the way the original fairytale was incorporated (if you haven't read Goose Girl, do yourself a favor and read it. It's lesser known, but it's one of my favorites). I loved the other characters -- Miss Penelope was great and I loved her so much.

Overall, an amazing book with an amazing audio narration.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

A Sorceress Comes to Call is a brilliant, immersive, and wildly entertaining fantasy that hooked me from the first line.

This one was everything I hoped it would be—dark, magical, compelling, and captivating, with some Downton Abbey vibes thrown in. I adored every one of the characters and loved the development. The world-building was fantastic, and the writing was both beautiful and immersive. The story was also wonderfully paced, and I could not get enough. I also enjoyed the subplot romance and the inclusion of two narrators: one was a character in her early teens, and the other was a middle-aged woman, which added greatly to the story’s experience. This story was truly spectacular.

Let’s take a moment to appreciate the audiobook narration. I loved the two narrators. They fit the characters and world beautifully. They were soothing but easily held my attention. I would have loved to hear more defined voices for the side characters, but the writing makes it fairly easy to discern who’s speaking. The narrators made the read even more magical!

Thank you to the publisher for the free ALC!

A beautifully dark retelling of Grimm’s The Goose Girl, A Sorceress Comes to Call(ASCTC) is one story you won’t regret.

I found myself deeply immersed in Cordelia’s macabre life. The horrid dealings of her mother broke my heart, and I was instantly connected to her. All of the characters were well written, and not a single one felt like a spare. They each had a dynamic personality and their own unique quirks.

The writing itself is extremely beautiful and created an immersive atmosphere. While there are dark themes, this story didn’t feel overly grotesque or reminiscent of a horror novel. The pacing is fairly even throughout, which makes the story easily digestible and almost like a cozy read, but dark.

Comprised of magic, wicked plots, friendship and untold danger, ASCTC keeps you on the edge of your seat biting your nails with suspense. Honestly, I was pulled in so quickly and I didn’t want to put it down.

Overall, I loved everything about this book and I highly recommend it!

Also worth noting, the narrators for the audiobook were excellent.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an audiobook ARC for my honest review.

5 Stars. This was a fantastic audiobook - both readers were excellent. I really enjoyed the characters and the dialogue. I have never read the fairy tale, the Goose Girl, that this book is based on, but I look forward to reading it in the future to compare it with A Sorceress Comes to Call. Despite its darker themes, I appreciated the humour and kindness that the characters in this book displayed, and was absolutely rooting for them to. I received an advanced copy of the audiobook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, and will be buying a physical copy to my shelves in the future.

A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher is a dark retelling of the Brothers Grimm's The Goose Girl and herein lies a story of secrets, murder and forbidden magic. Cordelia is a 13 year old girl and her mother? Her mother is the sorceress in question. She has a familiar, a snowy white horse. One day, Cordelia's mother moves them into the manor home of a wealthy squire. It has always been the mother's goal for Cordelia to marry a very rich man, and that takes money. A town house in London, ball gowns, jewels, all cost money so her mother is marrying a man that can give all that to Cordelia. Only the squire's sister, Hester, and Cordelia know she is up to something. I've read the Goose Girl and it is already a dark story, but this is darker. I was on the edge of my seat listening until the end to find out which way this would go. It was very good, and even if you know the story, it is not an exact retelling so I really felt the tension mounting and could not get to end fast enough. Really well done. 4.5 stars. Thank you to Net Galley #netgalley and Macmillan Audio #macmillanaudio for my advance audio copy.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

4.75/5 stars

I absolutely LOVED this, as I expected to because T. Kingfisher is a beast. This was the perfect blend of dark and creepy but also beautiful and funny - the unique mix that I've only really experienced with Kingfisher. The characters were rich and unique and the story had my attention from the beginning. I was invested and curious and couldn't ever 100% figure it out, but I wasn't confused either.

I loved every bit of this and I think anyone that enjoys a good mystery with some humor and dark fairytale elements will LOVE this too.

As for the audio production, the voice actors were amazing and perfectly captured their characters - amazing!

A YA Brothers Grimm fairytale reimagining with magic, lies and ghosts.

T. Kingfisher does a great job with fairytale retellings. Thornhedge (a dark sleeping beauty retelling) is my absolute favourite from her. A Sorceress Comes to Call is a re-imagining of, "The Goose Girl," by The Brothers Grimm, which is a new-to-me fairytale.

The story is told in two POVs, one from a 14-year old daughter of an evil sorceress (Cordelia), and the other from the adult sister of the man the sorceress is trying to marry (Hester). Hester's character was my favourite. I love reading about 'older' women, especially ones who are on the outside of society. This story is placed in a vague regency-era setting. Having never married, Hester has freedom and a friend group that allows her to move around in the world in a way other women at the time couldn't. I just wanted to sit at a table drinking and playing cards with these friends. That could have been the whole book for me and I would have asked for more!

The story lost excitement for me with Cordelia, as our adult characters had to stop the momentum of the story in order to explain things to her like propriety, sex and which fork to use while eating.

Our narrators, Eliza Foss and Jennifer Pickens did amazing jobs with the voices! I love that we have two different narrators as both our POV characters are women. They were really compelling and I believed fully that they were the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC.

This book is best read in a hansom cab on the way to your new home. If you hear someone whispering in your ear, pay attention.

One of the best T Kingfisher tales in a long time, I have already started suggesting this title. I think it will be fun for fans of cozy fantasy, fairy tale re tellings, and regency novels! I loved the setting and the characters!

If you ever want to read something that is kinda disturbing and/or gruesome at times but it's all written in a cozy way, then I highly recommend T. Kingfisher books.
This story was something I found myself wondering about when I wasn't reading it and something I was excited to get back into as soon as possible.
I found it engaging and interesting.
I cared about the characters and how their stories would end and found the ending satisfying.
Overall, no complaints from me.
I also enjoyed the narration on the audiobook, it was done very well in my opinion.

I always love kingfishers stories. You get everything in this book horror, fantasy, romance, found family, a villain you hate, even attack geese.

T. Kingfisher has an uncanny ability to really suck me into a book and envelope me into the story. Every book of hers I have identified with the main character in some way and became addicted to the read.

With A Sorceress comes to call I IMMEDIATLEY despised the mother and wished and hoped and stayed on the edge of my seat WAITING!!!! for someone to kill her/annihilate her/smack her ANYTHING. And poor precious Cordelia, broken by her mothers magic and ruthlessness. A prime example of with great power comes great cruelty.

Cordelia has spent her whole life doing as her mother has told her and being obedient, what chose does she have when her mother forces obedience with magic. The only friends she thought she had is a lie and her mother in on a new path to destroy other peoples lives for her own gain. Cordelia WILL be her pawn and help her. Evangeline is any mans weakness, this marriage is as easy as pie, except for the soon to be grooms spinster sister who doesn't believe an ounce of the charade this new comers have brought to her home. Can Cordelia trust her though and find safety or will her mother just kill everyone?

This is how a modern retelling of a fairytale should be done! It was dark without being gruesome. The duel point of view allowed for both a child’s voice, which kept the original purpose of fairytale being for children, and the adult voice, which helped to bring in a modern perspective. I especially enjoyed the twist on the familiar and the theory on what constitutes as holy ground.

I listened the audiobook version. The narrators are fantastic at giving an eerie quality to the story and it really added to my experience, so I would recommend this format.

This is a wonderfully written story and I do say wonderful because it gave me a real sense of wonder that I rarely find in fantasy anymore.
It's dark and beautiful, and immerses you in its world.

The characters are compelling and more complex than I expected, the world building is great and the resolution so satisfying.

The best book I've read this year.

I love everything by T. Kingfisher, but her fairytale retellings have not been at the top of my favorites list until now.

'A Sorceress Comes to Call' is dual POV between Cordelia, a young girl whose every move is controlled by her mother, and Hester, a spinster living with her brother, the Squire. One day Hester has a premonition that Doom is coming, and then her brother brings Cordelia and her mother to their home to stay. What can go wrong?

This book is a gothic thriller. Since I'm a wimp, I don't read thrillers or horror, but T. Kingfisher books are the exact right amount of spooky for me. The scares are less about gore and more anticipation of bad to come and wondering if the characters will be able to stop it before it's too late.

The characters in this book are its main selling point. Everyone, including the side characters and servants, is unique and has their own quirks and goals. The dialogue is magnificent, and I was continually laughing out loud.

The audiobook is narrated by Eliza Foss and Jennifer Pickens who give distinct voices to Cordelia and Hester and are a joy to listen to.

The blurb of this book says it's a Goose Girl retelling, which I can see, but it's a vastly different story, so I'd recommend forgetting anything you know about the Goose Girl and going into this story fresh. Every Goose Girl retelling I've read has been wildly different since they tend not to follow the plot but instead use pieces of the story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for access to an early audio copy of this book.