A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher
Fantasy/Horror/Fairy Tale Retelling
August 6, 2024- Tor Books
ARC

Review by Angela

I’ve been in a bit of a book slump this year–constantly starting and stopping books, looking for something to catch my attention. But then a new T. Kingfisher appeared on my Kindle, and I just knew that this would be the thing to kick my reading year back into high gear.

Based on this author’s previous fantasy/horror titles, I was expecting something dark and sinister. And it was, but it was also actually kind of weirdly charming. The main protagonist is Cordelia, and she’s living under the thumb of her sorceress mother, who is a terrible, no good, evil woman who controls her absolutely. Even at times by somehow entering her mind and directing her movements and speech. Cordelia lives in constant fear, her only friends a girl next door and her mother’s beautiful steed. When several gruesome murders occur at the estate next door and her mother insists that they leave in the dark of night, Cordelia realizes her mother is the one responsible.

They end up at the home of a wealthy country squire and his sister, Hester. Cordelia knows that her mother is deviously planning to trap the kindly squire in marriage and will do anything to achieve her goal. Including murder. Cordelia begins to find a bit of independence in her knew circumstances and befriend the members of the household and their guests. But when her mother is centered in another shocking murder scene, Cordelia finally understands that she must find her courage and seek help to stop her once and for all.

Cordelia is a wonderful main character, and I enjoyed watching her come into her own, but it’s really the side and secondary characters that make this book shine. Truly. The banter, the friendships, the quiet romance between two of the older characters, all of it had me turning pages as quickly as possible. I kind of fell into this story and found myself positively enamored of the entire cast. Even in the direst of circumstances when they were desperately searching for ways to stop the villain, there were moments of humor and connection between the characters.

I could continue to gush about this brilliant retelling of the Brothers Grimm’s Goose Girl, but I’ll end this review by just saying–add this one to your TBR. Today.

Grade- B+