annieb123's Review of A Sorceress Comes to Call

by T. Kingfisher

From USA Today bestselling author T. Kingfisher comes A Sorceress Comes to Call—a dark retelling of the Brothers Grimm's Goose Girl, rife with secrets, murder, and forbidden magic.

Cordelia knows her mother is . . . unusual. Their house doesn’t have any doors between rooms—there are no secrets in this house—and her mother doesn't allow Cordelia to have a single friend. Unless you count Falada, her mother's beautiful white horse. The only time Cordelia feels truly free is on her daily rides with him.

But more than simple eccentricity sets her mother apart. Other mothers don’t force their daughters to be silent and motionless for hours, sometimes days, on end. Other mothers aren’t sorcerers.

After a suspicious death in their small town, Cordelia’s mother insists they leave in the middle of the night, riding away together on Falada’s sturdy back, leaving behind all Cordelia has ever known. They arrive at the remote country manor of a wealthy older man, the Squire, and his unwed sister, Hester. Cordelia’s mother intends to lure the Squire into marriage, and Cordelia knows this can only be bad news for the bumbling gentleman and his kind, intelligent sister.

And indeed Hester sees the way Cordelia shrinks away from her mother. How the young girl sits eerily still at dinner every night. Hester knows that to save her brother from bewitchment and to rescue the terrified Cordelia, she will have to face down a wicked witch of the worst kind.

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

A Sorceress Comes to Call is a delightful fantasy fable by T. Kingfisher. Due out 6th Aug 2024 from Macmillan on their Tor imprint, it's 336 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

As always, brilliantly written and transportive, the author writes compellingly and so very well. This is a fairy tale in the classic style, but inside an original story framework. Evil sorcerous "mother", magical white horse, good vs. evil with real tension and some nail biting plot elements, there are moments of despair in the story and a few really scary moments before the denouement and resolution.

It's a standalone story, and self contained without any suggestion that there are plans to revisit the characters or setting in future.

Five stars. Perfect choice for public library, home use, or (the special foil stamped hardcover edition) gift giving. There are instances of body horror, animal death, murder and magic, some fairly graphic, so sensitive readers should be aware. There are also geese which play a fairly central secondary role; anatidaephobics should bear this in mind.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Reading updates

5 May, 2024: Started reading

5 May, 2024: Finished reading

5 May, 2024: Reviewed