This was exactly what I expected from a Grimm's Fairytale retelling from Kingfisher! It was atmospheric, fast paced and really kept me hooked. I did feel unfortunately that it ended up being a little unpredictable and we lost the atmosphere towards the end but I still had a great time reading and will definitely return to T. Kingfisher again!

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Thank you to T. Kingfisher, Titan Books, and NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

A Sorceress Comes to Call is a ‘fantasy of manners’ - a historical fantasy set in the regency era. I mostly liked the book but also found it a little lacking and surface level. Characterisation was off for some characters - Evangeline (Mother) did the classic dastardly-revealing-her-evil-villainous-plans, which weakened her character. The pacing was also quite slow in parts and I felt it should have either been edited into a novella or expanded into a fully-fleshed story. Interesting tidbits were skimmed over and not so interesting were dragged out - the old land was mentioned a few times but not expanded on and there was no explanation of the magic system but we sat through multiple meals that were not needed for plot development!

I think it’s my love for regency settings and appreciation for it being in 3rd person dragging it to 3 stars.

I love a good retelling, especially one with gothic overtures. And "A Sorceress Comes to Call" is ticking all of the boxes for me.
Loosely based on the "Goose Girl", this is a gothic fantasy that veers into horror at times but is never gruesome and manages to be original in the storyline. Our protagonist is Cordeila, a young girl who is imprisoned by who sorceress mother. Cordeila eventually decides to escape and the storyline moves rapidly as villains and heroines clash.

I absolutely love T. Kingfisher. I don’t think I’ve read a book of theirs I haven’t liked. This one is no exception. I love a good fairytale retelling. Especially when things are twisted around.

A Sorceress Comes to Call is a gothic fairytale retelling from T. Kingfisher. I have recently been binge reading all of T. Kingfisher’s work. She seems to write books that have a perfect blend of horror, fantasy and humour. Also, she manages to write rich and compelling standalone stories! Considering how many times I have been disappointed by a series; I love being able to pick up one of her books and know that it will be complete. This is exactly the case with A Sorceress Comes to Call- she has written a full and fleshed out story that mixes horror with black humour. It is definitely my cup of tea!

This is one of her more dark, gothic stories which toes the line between fantasy and horror. In it, we encounter a witch who has confined her daughter Cordelia in a house with no doors. She is completely isolated and strictly controlled. In fact, she is often forced to be silent and still for hours on end. When her mother starts pursuing an older Squire, Cordelia meets his unmarried sister Hester, a woman determined to save her brother and Cordelia. It was really refreshing to have a so-called ‘spinster’ as one of our main characters. She drives the action of the plot and I loved seeing her as a heroine.

This novel is inventive, twisted and very macabre at times. If you want a fairytale vibe, this is not for you. But… if you love seeing the horrible underside of legends and fables (and if you can handle some death and violence) I think you will love this sinister retelling.

Ooh this was good! I think I’ve officially found a new favourite author. This was my third T Kingfisher book and the best one yet.

T Kingfisher is absolutely superb at characters, her FMCs are complex, relatable and brilliant. It is so hard to make a character like Cordelia, who is timid and so downtrodden she never had the chance to develop a personality, a likeable MC. But she is so compelling. I was so drawn to her kindness, her growing confidence and subtle acts of bravery against a truly awful mother. And I loved that her character development wasn’t based on hidden powers.
Her mother Evangeline is a villain of the first order. A narcissist and dictator and utterly loathsome.
Hester was wonderful and I loved her immediately. Her story arc was also glorious and I loved how she stepped up, despite her dodgy knee!
The side characters were also superb and so beautifully etched - Imogene, Richard, the Squire, Willard (whose one liners were iconic) and of course Queen Penelope. Shout out to Falada as well for being utterly unexpected and equally terrifying.

This is a retelling of a Brothers Grimm story and in allegiance to the source text it is dark. The themes of this story are heavy and T Kingfisher does her magic in being able to weave through horror and darkness impeccably into a tight contained narrative.

Thoroughly recommend!

I think this is my favourite T. Kingfisher. Loosely based on “The Goose Girl” somehow everything is flipped and just works perfectly. The regency setting is vivid and transportive. What I most adored was the unraveling and sinister undertone this story created. Although it also does have cozy elements that balance out the impending peril. Character wise, they are all brilliant and utterly believable. Even the horse has major personality. The story uses wit and wisdom all wrapped into one. I cannot recommend this book more - I read it in a day! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

Exceptionally written book with a cast of gritty, personable characters.

Weaker plot, yet strong, endearing, and hilarious characters- from main characters to all the small appearances.

I’m a plot driven person so it was a bit of a miss for me at times, despite that, I adored the character work, dark atmosphere and the overwhelming sense of dread bundled up within.

Not familiar with the original ‘The Goose Girl’ so this is a wholly original tale to me, I think it delivers a new story perfectly fine with no need of previous knowledge.

Very Vivid story, I could picture the plot completely in my head.

3.5 star, though one I’d recommend to the right audience who are more character driven. As there are plenty of moments I did love!

This book was an unexpected delight. T. Kingfisher takes the classic "Goose Girl" tale and spins it into something darkly whimsical and refreshingly original. The story centers on Cordelia, a young girl under the thumb of her manipulative sorceress mother, Evangeline. Their arrival at the home of the unsuspecting Squire and his sharp-witted sister, Hester, sets the stage for a tale filled with magic, intrigue, and a fair share of goose-related antics.

What I appreciated most was the character of Hester—a middle-aged heroine with a no-nonsense attitude and a bad knee, who proves that bravery and cleverness aren't reserved for the young. The narrative balances moments of genuine creepiness with dry humor, making for a read that's both unsettling and oddly comforting.

Kingfisher's prose is engaging, and the pacing kept me hooked from start to finish. The themes of autonomy, resistance, and found family are woven seamlessly into the plot, offering depth without overshadowing the story's fairy tale roots.

If you're in the mood for a gothic-tinged fantasy that subverts expectations and delivers both chills and chuckles, this one's worth picking up.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of this book.*

I haven’t had as much luck with T Kingfisher’s horror/retellings as I have with her cozy and romance but oh wow this was perfect. Evangeline was terrifying and deranged but very much existed in the same world as the more grounded Hester and Cordelia. Hester was a familiar Kingfisher character but I loved her for it and the friends she brought around her were brilliant. I don’t know how Kingfisher turned a dark fairytale nightmare into found family but she pulls it off spectularly

The title of this book is slightly misleading in that 'comes to call' implies a brief visit, possibly for tea. Here the sorceress has come to stay with the intention of marrying into the family. Similarly, although some of the names in the book are taken from the Goose Girl fairy tale, the characters and plot are very different.

It's told from the point of view of Cordelia, the sorceress' daughter, and Hester, the sorceress' unwilling hostess. It feels a bit like a murder mystery, although in this case the problem is not in identifying who the murderer is but in figuring out how to stop them.

The story is darker than the last couple I've read from Kingfisher, and although I enjoy her lighter stuff, I think that her writing tends to be more memorable on this end of the spectrum. There is a controlling mother, a man forced to commit murders, a sorceress who must be stopped, more murder, betrayal of secrets told in confidence, a child forced to torture herself, and a (murderous) headless horse.

Recommended, but with warnings for child abuse and minor character death.

Regency meets sorcery. Cozy meets horrifying. T Kingfisher and her traumatic past with horses.

Cordelia’s mother plans to marry a rich Squire and marry Cordelia off to someone even richer. Only thing is, her mother is an evil sorceress and extremely controlling and manipulative.
When Cordelia moves to the estate of her mother’s newest target, she finds a place that makes her feel safer and a wonderful friend in Hester, the Squire’s older sister.

Hester is amazing! A fifty-one year old shrewd, witty woman who has a heart of gold, immediately takes Cordelia under her wing, and is extremely suspicious of Cordelia’s mother (nicknamed Doom) and her ambitions.

<b>”Eh?" Hester realized that her brother had been speaking. "What was that? You have to speak up, my hearing's not what it was." (This was entirely untrue, but she had found that it was a very good excuse when she had simply been ignoring a dull conversation.)
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T Kingfisher tackles some heavy topics with a drop of cozy and heartwarming protagonists.

Her mother can make Cordelia be obedient which made her akin to a puppet- controlling her body but Cordelia is still inside looking out helpless.
When we first meet her, and for most of the book, Cordelia is extremely meek and scared and unsure. Closing the door when she was home alone was as much rebellion as she initially dared. Living on an estate where she can suddenly close doors, keep secrets, and have a lovely maid is novelty to her.

<b>Her mother's good moods had once been more difficult to live with than the bad ones. Cordelia had dared to hope that things would change, that all would be better, that there would be no more obedience, and the weight of her hope had crushed her beneath it. Now she no longer had such illusions.
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Expect tensely fraught dinner conversations, delightful dinner guests, knitting, card games, but also grizzly murders.
This is a <b>comedic book of Jane Austen-esque manners</b>, but there is also a grisly, headless, glowing horse that roams the grounds at night.

T Kingfisher has definitely become an auto-read author for me and her range is INSANE!

Thank you to Tor for providing the physical arc in exchange for a review!

I really loved this one. The world drew me in right away, and the writing had such a beautiful flow to it; T. Kingfisher never disappoints.

The characters felt so real and layered, I grew really attached to them, and I wasn’t ready for it to end. There’s a depth and tenderness to the story that stayed with me long after I finished.

Definitely one of my favorite reads of the year so far.

A beautifully written story, I was totally immersed in the world created by T. Kingfisher. An enjoyable, magical novel that pulls you in from the start!

In this story, we follow Cordelia, a fourteen-year-old who is entirely under her mother's control. Sometimes even literally, as her mother can take over her body at any given moment. When Cordelia and her mother leave their small town for the remote country manor of a wealthy older man and his sister, Cordelia will have to choose between filial loyalty and her newfound independence.

I really loved this one! I was hooked from the very beginning and could not put it down. The characters are compelling enough that I would happily continue reading about them in a future book. The book is apparently a retelling of The Goose Girl by the Brothers' Grimm but, as I haven't read the original story, I can't comment on that.

A recommended read for fans of T. Kingfisher and dark fantasy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is very close to the top of my 'favourite books of the year' list. T. Kingfisher has not once disappointed me.
The way she writes characters is fantastic and I want to spend more time with every single one of them (yes, even that one). They are witty and clever, and I love every one.
The plot of this book is very clever, with an original story which is never boring. I laughed, gasped and, yes, there were tears. Thank you again, T. Kingfisher.

This was spectacular! I love this story to bits and the audiobook is so well done. The narrators did a great job at bringing these characters to life and their voices matched the mood of this story so well. I enjoyed every minute.

This is a reimagining of the Brothers Grimm's "Goose Girl" story, which I'm not at all familiar with, but this is T. Kingfisher, so of course I was going to request this and I'm so happy I got it.

I just loved this. The characters felt like real people and had a wonderful depth to them, the twists and turns kept me interested, the atmosphere was great and I could feel the tension rising, and I really liked the magic. It's the perfect blend of fantasy, thriller, horror, and coziness if that makes any sense.

4.5 stars rounded up

This is exactly how a retelling of a classic tale should be executed in my opinion. Sorceress Comes To Call is a loose adaptation of the Goose Girl tale, though you certainly don’t need to know anything about the original first; it feels like it riffs off the basic idea of the fairy tale, but T. Kingfisher very much makes it her own. This is undoubtedly a fairy tale, but far more reminiscent of the Brothers Grimm than the modern equivalents.

There’s something about the way Kingfisher writes that just makes a story feel effortless and accessible. She is excellent at balancing different genres together in her book; this book has plenty of light-hearted moments and funny quips, but they never detract from the tension and moments of true horror throughout. There aren’t many authors who can blend genres together so well, and Sorceress is a great example of this. The opening chapter in isolation is an excellent slice of pure horror, and sets the groundwork for the horror elements of the novel.

I have to mention Evangeline briefly, since her character was absolutely the making of this novel for me. She is a fantastically crafted villain; manipulating and suffocating, and completely dominating Cordelia’s life, she is the very definition of a dominating mother! It’s her actions that drive the story forward, and the perspectives of the other characters provide a nice balance, with Cordelia helplessly watching her mother enact her plan while Hester tries to suss out what she's up to.