A beautifully rendered retelling of The Goose Girl, A Sorceress Comes to Call is a triumph of warm character exploration, cosy vibes, and the kind of dark fairytale that T Kingfisher is now renowned for.

The themes it explores all too dark and all too human despite the magical setting - namely abusive relationships and family dynamics - but this is tempered with sincere sweetness and a coming of age tale that forms the backbone to the story, as well as a luscious, later-in-life Regency romance.

A Sorceress Comes to Call is charming beyond compare - the kind of work Austen or Heyer may have been compelled to write had they wished to include Cthulu horses in their works (their loss, truly). A dazzling effort all round.

T. Kingfisher has been one of my favourite, auto-buy authors for years, and I'm really excited to see her pull off another unique, dark, fairy tale retelling. To be honest, I didn't actually realise it was a retelling - a reimagining, as the blurb states, is perhaps a better description - until I went to write this review. Once you know, the elements are there, but the story stands completely on it's own as a clever, unique tale either way.

Continuing the (painful) honesty, I haven't adored the last couple of Kingfisher books I've read - A House with Good Bones and What Moves the Dead just weren't for me - but I never should have doubted. I know those really hit for a lot of readers but for my tastes, A SORCERESS COMES TO CALL is a real return to form!

I loved the way the story takes really dark, horrific elements and balances it out with humour and with the manor house, polite society setting. Kingfisher does horror really we when it's small and relatable, and A SORCERESS COMES TO CALL manages that perfectly. Some of the most chilling moments are when Cordelia feels betrayed by someone she trusts, or when her mother takes control of her actions (in this case literally - and in the opening paragraphs, so there's no spoilers - puppeting her body in magical 'obedience'). Cordelia's fear and the sense of secrecy and isolation build the atmosphere wonderfully.

There's also the expected Kingfisher madcap characters, which on paper always sounds like the books should be a way too farcical type of comedy to work for me, yet somehow always does. I adored both POV characters - Cordelia, who's sweet and biddable but trying so hard to be brave, and Hester, a fifty-year-old spinster with a bad knee, who breeds geese and does embroidery and has a sex-life. Imagine!?

I'm not sure I'd say I prefer A SORCERESS COMES TO CALL to Swordheart, which is my very favourite Kingfisher book, but it's a very different type of story, so it's not a true comparison anyway. I do think this is objectively one of her best works (to date, since her books seem to go from strength to strength, constantly making me shift my goalposts!) and definetly in my top three.

A five-star read! I can't wait to buy my own hardcover copy.

Ohhh Kingfisher does it again. A must-read author for me now. Haunting, humorous, whimsical, magical and utterly gripping, with a tingle of horror, her latest doesn't disappoint. The type of retelling only she could do.

An eerie retelling of the Brothers Grimm's Goose Girl, from bestseller T Kingfisher. The authoe is always a must read for me and this book does not disappoint. Clever, fun and utterly unputdownable.