A SORCERESS COMES TO CALL by T. Kingfisher – Review

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher
Published by Tor Books on August 6 2024
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Horror
Pages: 336
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

The nitty-gritty: In her latest fairy tale retelling, T. Kingfisher once again proves she’s the master of dark fantasy with a healthy dose of heart and humor.

T. Kingfisher is one of the most consistent writers I know, and I always enjoy her stories immensely. A Sorceress Comes to Call is no exception, a delightfully macabre blend of fantasy, horror and humor, with some truly unforgettable characters. Kingfisher takes the Grimm fairytale The Goose Girl and adds her own dark spin to it, but there are only a couple of elements from the original story—there are geese and a horse named Falada—and you certainly don’t need to be familiar with it to enjoy this tale.

We follow a fourteen-year-old girl named Cordelia who lives with her mother, a horrible woman named Evangeline who just happens to be a sorceress. Evangeline is able to control people with magic, and she’s been doing so to her daughter for years. Cordelia absolutely hates being “made obedient” because she loses complete control over her body. The only reason the two have clothes and food is because Evangeline has found a benefactor to “give” her those things, but now she’s setting her sights on more: she wants to not only find herself a wealthy husband, but one for Cordelia as well.

Meanwhile, we meet Hester and her brother the Squire, who live comfortably in a distant village. One day, Hester wakes up with a terrible feeling that something bad is coming, and soon after Evangeline and Cordelia show up on their doorstep. The bad thing, which Hester calls “Doom,” is of course Evangeline, who has decided that the Squire will make a perfectly good husband for her. But Hester senses that something is off with the woman—and she can tell that Cordelia is unhappy and in some kind of trouble—so she gathers some good friends to try to stop Evangeline from getting away with her odious plan. But as Hester is about to find out, it isn’t easy to break a sorcerer’s magic…

I have one criticism I’ll get out of the way first. The first half of the book meanders and doesn’t really go anywhere, and I actually found myself a little bored. It isn’t until Evangeline and Cordelia end up at Hester’s house that things start to get exciting. This is also where we meet most of my favorite characters, and as usual with Kingfisher’s books, the characters made the story for me. I loved Cordelia, who starts out as scared and timid but later shows a lot of character growth, fighting back against her controlling mother. Hester was a fantastic character as well. She’s in her fifties and not afraid to speak her mind. There’s a bit of romance between Hester and an old suitor, which I thought was nicely done, but I mostly loved her for her shrewd commentary and her desire to help Cordelia.

A couple of side characters stole the show for me, though. Alice is the maid assigned to Cordelia when she arrives at Hester’s house, and I loved the way she confided in Hester when she sensed something terrible going on between Cordelia and Evangeline. Tom Willard is the butler and he was hysterically funny. In fact, everyone in the household starts to gang up on Evangeline once they figure out what she is. Kingfisher’s sparkling dialog is in full force when all these characters are together, and despite the story’s darker moments, I couldn’t help but smile while I was reading.

There are some unexpectedly gruesome surprises as well. Falada, Evangeline’s horse, isn’t at all what you think he is, and Kingfisher comes up with some awesome scenes that involve him and his connection to Evangeline. Add in murder, a surprise ghost, and a bunch of protective geese, and you have a funny, lively and sometimes shocking story.

Kingfisher infuses her tale with plenty of heartfelt moments as well. I love stories where the characters band together to protect each other and vanquish evil, and Cordelia forms some wonderful friendships with Hester and Alice and the others. I especially loved Hester’s story. She’s in her fifties and suffers from sore knees, but that doesn’t stop her from joining in the fight against Evangeline. I also enjoyed her romance with Richard, which is sort of a “second chance romance” that’s subtly done. 

This is another winner from T. Kingfisher, a well done genre mash-up that is sure to appeal to lots of different kinds of readers.

Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.