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3.5 ⭐ T. Kingfisher has become a master of retold fairytales. This book is loosely based on the Goose Girl tale. It‘s not a tale that I am completely familiar with, so this book was something completely new. While new it held all the classic components of a fairytale. You have the dark and evil entity, in this case of sorceress, who just wants someone with a lot of money that she can control. You have the ingenue, the young one

Greed drives Cordelia‘s mother to find wealthy men for each to marry. But her cruel extreme-helicoptering of Cordelia has made her meek and naive, lacking almost all understanding of the world, even the fact that dear mom is a powerful sorceress. So when Mom latches on to a squire, Cordelia enters into the world of the wealthy—servants and the circle of elderly friends of the squire‘s sister. For the first time, she has friends and privacy. ⬇️

My first T. Kingfisher was exactly what I wanted! A new fairytale with clever sisters, daughters claiming their own power, selfless girl friends, and one evil witch - I mean, sorceress, excuse me.

Love that #AuthorAMonth encouraged me to read a new to me author who‘s been on my TBR for too long!

Second book of 2026 completed. #authoramonth #litsyatoz #letterS @Soubhiville

Review to come. Another winner!

My next book for #authoramonth @Soubhiville

Fairy tales were already dark, but this retelling leans into a quieter, creepier horror. A Sorceress Comes to Call focuses on coercive control, abusive family dynamics, and the slow accumulation of dread. Inventive, unsettling, and darkly funny, with a refreshingly practical heroine. A standout among fairy-tale retellings.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you so so much for the fantabulous #allhallowsreads package @LeahBergen .This was a perfect Halloween/anniversary treat.That's definitely my new favorite bookmark,& the bag is perfection. I actually nearly bought both those books just a couple days ago lol, & everything is very much appreciated. Happy Halloween!

Huge appreciation to our amazing organizer @MaleficentBookDragon for another year of fun

#ahr #allhallowsreadswap #happyhalloween

Treating myself to this goose girl retelling. T. Kingfisher books always give me the same feeling I felt as a kid reading fantasy books.

A reimagining of the Brothers Grimm's “The Goose Girl“. Not the strongest of the Hugo Best Novel nominees this year, but I enjoyed the novel very much, as I do all of T. Kingfisher's stories.

#52bookclub (a fairy tale retelling)
#gottacatchemall (Smeargle: a pretty cover)
#hugoawards

My Kobo informed me that a T. Kingfisher book I hadn‘t read was on sale today, so naturally I grabbed it!

This was entertaining. It was a heartwarming found family with fun mature characters.

As a mood reader craving something dark, this delivers in spades. I like retellings, even when I am not familiar with the original fairy tale. I enjoyed the writing and was surprised by the underlying narcissistic abuse, gaslighting, and resulting behaviour of those being abused. I felt it on all on a personal level and wondered if I was imagining it. The blending of the retelling, themes, and plot were quite genius, and there was humour.

A delightful, fast-paced fantasy read with characters (non-magical) you would want as IRL friends. I did not know what to expect as I haven‘t read Brother Grimm‘s Goose Girl, but there‘s quite a number of heroic geese in this one!
Fantasy isn‘t my top genre, but I‘d recommend this one to start with for sure!

It's T. Kingfisher. So it's good. It really is. I loved the characters, especially Hester and Penelope. And I loved the fact that the females make the stories, the males are barely there to be there and help out. Everything else is true Kingfisher. Magic, humor, fantasy. Can't get enough of her.

Fun and fairly quick read. Did not lean into the horror elements too much, but definitely a dark fantasy. My bookclub is reading this currently and everyone loves Hester 😂

T. Kingfisher is one of my favorites. I get her humor. This was a dark fairy tale that was also humorous and sentimental. It was creative and imaginative. I really appreciated the faithful guardian geese.

I loved this book. Keeping in the fantasy genre it was a perfect read for the end of this crazy year.
This book is so good. I enjoyed it from start to finish.

Full review: https://lsmoore49.blogspot.com/2024/12/a-sorceress-comes-to-call-by-t.html

@redwombatstudio

T. Kingfisher is fast becoming one of my favourite authors so I‘m super happy to finally have a copy of her latest in my hot little hands!!

Thank you so much Allissa! I‘ll save the advent calendar for next year - but will be sure to share the contents - it‘s so pretty!

Thanks for hosting #AussieSecretSanta @CarolynM !

And Merry Christmas to all!

Finally! A five star read. I was beginning to wonder if I was the problem. Everything I read this Autumn had some flaws that turned them into obstacle courses I had to drag myself over to finish. So just the sheer pleasure of being able to read a book fluently from start to finish makes this a pick, but its also so good!

Honestly I think every woman over 30 should try T Kingfisher and this would be a great place to start with her.

1. I was in a fun musical version of “Dune,“ so I'm going to wear my fremen costume. Will probably be the closest I've ever gotten to recognizable cultural relevance for Halloween. 😂

2. A Sorceress Comes to Call was very creepy but balanced with positivity, so more up my alley than total horror.

Ready for the perfect October read? Cordelia has always been controlled by her mother. When they move into a rich man‘s house she starts to realize what true friends feel like. It‘s like a grownup version of Ella Enchanted. Hester, the rich man‘s sister is my fav! She‘s clever & sassy & her fear of losing her independence feels so real. This one wasn‘t as scary as I was worried it would be, but it‘s just creepy enough to be perfect right now.

A teen in literal thrall to her mother and a middle-aged woman fearing for her susceptible brother work together to fight their extraordinarily powerful enemy. An almost unbearably anxious read, but the horror is well balanced with kindness, comradeship, and love. (There's an understated but very tender romance.)

#HauntedShelf #FrightClub #31By31 Book 20
#Spookoween #HalloweenAtoZReadathon
#BacklistReadathon

This was my first T. Kingfisher story and I really enjoyed it. It‘s a simple story that would be fun to co-read with a tween.

I liked it, but it was way too slow for me. I‘m a girl that likes a faster pace.

There are so many complex, well-developed characters. Cordelia is a wonderful protagonist and Evangeline is a villain that is easy to hate, but it‘s the supporting characters that bring this story to life. I enjoyed the twists and turns and was surprised by many of them. The audiobook added to my enjoyment. I love that two narrators were used, allowing them both to bring different things to the story making it that much more enjoyable overall.

#ReadAway2024

Finished more than a week ago but I‘m behind on everything-including reviews. This was one of my #Roll100 Sept. picks, #85 “any library book.”

I enjoy Kingfisher‘s books & fairytale retellings. In this case it‘s The Goose Girl. She has such sly humor & endearing characters. Not my fave of her books I‘ve read so far (maybe the “old” 51-year-old character depressed me being written with such an elderly spin) but still a solid pick.

I am currently in the middle of three print books, which is not my normal vibe. I‘m buddy reading Kamala Harris book with a coworker, started A Sorceress Comes to Call for funsies and I agreed to take a professional development book study to support one of new to the building teachers

I know this sounds terrible but this kind of thing isn‘t really my jam and I am absolutely dreading it, but hopefully I get a few good things to use out of it.

My #SaturdayChatterday vibe is recovery from another busy week. So far the weekend is good.

Running errands & at the coffeeshop for lunch to read some of this book (one of my #Roll100 picks for Sept), catch up on some journaling & hopefully a few #LitsyLove cards for new members.💛

Next week is busy work-wise with retreat planning & a Hilo day trip on Thursday to film an end of month update.

No recommendations. I‘m still rewatching Dexter.

I liked this book, but I didn‘t love it. For one, as a 50 year old myself, I was a little offended at Hester being described as old and acting like an 80 year old instead of a 50 year old. Putting that aside, I did like Hester‘s friends, and I felt that Cordelia was strong for a 14 year old extremely sheltered girl.

…Doom appeared on Hester‘s doorstep, in the shape of a woman…

Moving on to my latest OwlCrate book. The redesigned dust jacket is lovely, and I really like the foiling on the hardcover. I hear good things about this book!

A solid fairytale retelling based on the Goose Girl tale- which I don‘t know too well. Good character work, but not quite the same humor of her previous books. I still really enjoyed it! 4⭐️

#bookspin pick done!

A bit of a rough reading month for me, but A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher was a standout.

#readingbracket2024 #bookbracket2024 @CSeydel

Considering I had a lot going on last month I'm proud of what I managed to read in August. I'm still getting most of my reading done using audio on my commute but reading is reading right? I think my favorite read of the month was the tagged.

My August Adult Fantasy Owlcrate is here. It's a very different cover from the original. Pretty though!

This was fun. It's been ages since I've read The Goose Girl so I'm fuzzy on the bits of retelling other than the horse is named Falada lol. I wouldn't say it's her best work but it was a quick and entertaining read if you like horror tinged with a bit of regency romance.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I‘m ready to start slipping on some reads that feel like FALL. I enjoyed the dark fairytale vibes and the bewitching characters in this, but the plot felt a little lackluster to me. This is my first read by this author, so I would be willing to try another one of her books. 🎧

Finishing up my book by the fire!

#AboutABook

I really enjoyed Thornhedge, a #FairyTaleRetell of Sleeping Beauty with a little Beauty and the Beast thrown in. I‘m excited for Kingfisher‘s newest (tagged) a Goose Girl retelling & I‘m in the library e-book hold line for it as it‘s not available in print from my library yet.

The last 3 years that ive gone camping ive brought a T. Kingfisher book with me. It was perfect timing that this book was a BOTM pick this month and im camping!!

Another amazing book by T Kingfisher. Is Cozy Horror a genre, because that is what I would call this.

Vacation vibes!

4.5/5

Cordelia is 14 and her mother, Evangeline, is a sorceress who uses her power to manipulate those around her to bend to her will. Hester is the middle aged sister of a squire who has the misfortune of being an ideal target of Evangeline.

I loved this just as much as Kingfishers' other fairytale retellings. I thought this one leaned ever more on the side of horror especially the kind magic Evangeline did to Cordelia.

audiobook: A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher
e-book: The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer

#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

Here are my August Book of the Month choices! 🥳🎉🎉🎉 I was particularly excited to see the new Kingfisher book! What did everyone else pick? #botm

Cordelia‘s mother is a wicked sorceress! She has complete control over her daughter & she uses it to get what she wants.

The sorceress sets her sights on a wealthy squire & soon they are moved in & a wedding is planned.

My favorite character was Hester but there are so many relatable likable characters, you‘ll be cheering for them! I even enjoyed hating the sorceress! Thoroughly enjoyed the book!

Recommend the audio!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

In this Kingfisher fairy tale retelling of The Goose Girl, the daughter of a sorceress and the spinster sister of a squire must team up to thwart the sorceress's violent machinations. I loved these characters and Hester's bold nature is a great foil to Cordelia who has been made unsure of herself from years of abuse.

TW: violence, child abuse, violence against animals (kind of-- it's actually a demon)

The mc is great, and the relationship between her, her mother, and Falada is ... unique, interesting, extremely well-done. Slowly discovering that your mother is a sorceress and that's why you're so afraid of her is quite the premise. YET. Most of this book is supporting characters chitchatting and I never had a good handle on the setting because the haunting tableaus of T Kingfisher's other books weren't present here. So idk. Kind of recommend.

I just love Kingfisher‘s writing— she has such versatility and always creates great characters. This one feels like a new classic fairy tale! 14-year-old Cordelia has spent much of her life isolated and under the strict control of her rather wicked mother, Evangeline. When Evangeline must find a new suitor, she takes Cordelia along to a wealthy squire‘s home. Hester, instantly suspicious, fosters an unexpected friendship with Cordelia. Excellent!

Gruesome fairy tale meets novel of manners! Inspired by the Grimm Brothers‘ “Goose Girl,” Kingfisher depicts the horror of the power parents wield over their progeny—here pitting an evil sorceress (and one absolutely horrifying horse) against her own awkward, earnest daughter and the canny spinster sister of the rich nobleman she‘s bewitched. In this grisly, horror-tinged fantasy, a lovable found family and a fantastic middle-aged heroine await!