Publishers Weekly
★ 05/20/2024
With this riff on the Brothers Grimm’s “The Goose Girl,” set in a fantasy world inspired by Regency romances, Hugo Award winner Kingfisher (Nettle & Bone) continues her hot streak of deeply compassionate, thrilling, and often laugh-out-loud fairy tale retellings. Cordelia, 14, grows up in a house without closed doors. Her mother, Evangeline, is a dangerous enchantress who regularly compels her into total obedience. The first time Cordelia’s allowed some privacy is when Evangeline moves them into the home of her suitor, Squire Samuel Chatham—a home Evangeline means to seize and remake to her specifications by whatever means necessary. The Squire’s sister, Lady Hester, feels an awful presentiment of doom and is on the defensive around Evangeline, but only Cordelia knows the true, murderous extent of her mother’s powers. Can Cordelia speak up against a mother who controls her so completely? Would Hester even believe her if she did? The dual narrators—terrified fish-out-of-water Cordelia and tenaciously sensible Hester—are nuanced, distinctive, and frequently funny. Kingfisher’s remarkable skill for crafting scene-stealing secondary characters is also on full display in ruthless cardsharp Imogen Strauss, über-competent butler Willard, merry widow Penelope Green, and the mysteriously magical horse Falada. Expertly blending humor with folkloric horror, this incredibly satisfying fantasy will delight Kingfisher’s fans and newcomers alike. (Aug.)
From the Publisher
"Simultaneously bittersweet and beautiful, blending humor, heart, and no small amount of horror to create a tale that somehow feels both refreshingly new and like something that has always existed."—Paste
"A Sorceress Comes to Call is the Regency-fantasy-horror hybrid only T. Kingfisher could write."—BookPage, STARRED review
"Expertly blending humor with folkloric horror, this incredibly satisfying fantasy will delight Kingfisher’s fans and newcomers alike.”—Publishers Weekly, STARRED review
"This is another one of Kingfisher’s marvelous works (like the Hugo-winning Nettle & Bone) that takes elements of fairy tales, myths, and legends and blends them into a story that feels both familiar and new at the same time while subtly weaving a novel where women play the parts that men traditionally filled. . . . Highly recommended for readers who enjoy reimagined legends.”—Library Journal, STARRED review
"Dark fantasy fans will be enraptured.”—Booklist, STARRED review
Praise for the works of T. Kingfisher:
"Full of melancholy charm. . . . such a pleasure to read."—The New York Times
"T. Kingfisher’s delicate, bittersweet style of fantasy is like nothing else on shelves at the moment. . . . a perfect blend of sharp-edged humor and horror-tinged heart."—Paste
"Kingfisher never fails to dazzle."—Peter S. Beagle, Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Award-winning author of The Last Unicorn
"Kingfisher’s fairyland is full of teeth, wonder and horror; what’s dark is very dark, but what’s good will give you warmth. By the last page, my heart was mended.”—NPR
"A wonderful entwining of darkness & whimsy."—Travis Baldree, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Legends & Lattes
"Refreshing. . . . a true comfort read, in which gentleness endures despite outrageous cruelty.”—The Washington Post
"Absolutely delightful and full of charm and truth."—Naomi Novik, New York Times bestselling author of A Deadly Education and Uprooted
Library Journal
★ 05/01/2024
Cordelia's mother is an evil, murderous, self-centered sorceress who has decided to entrap a rich squire and set them up in style so that Cordelia can trap an even richer husband with her magic. But the sorceress has picked the wrong mark, and it will be her downfall. It's not the squire she's up against—it's his sister. Hester sees right through the sorceress, with some surprising assistance from an increasingly desperate Cordelia. Together, they marshal their forces in the hopes of defeating the sorceress and winning freedom. This is another one of Kingfisher's marvelous works (like the Hugo-winning Nettle & Bone) that takes elements of fairy tales, myths, and legends and blends them into a story that feels both familiar and new at the same time while subtly weaving a novel where women play the parts that men traditionally filled, and men serve as helpmeets, sidekicks, and love interests. Even better, the middle-aged heroine both saves the day and gets her happily-ever-after. VERDICT Highly recommended for readers who enjoy reimagined legends.—Marlene Harris
JULY 2024 - AudioFile
Eliza Foss and Jennifer Pickens narrate a haunting reimagining of the fairy tale "The Goose Girl." Cordelia lives with her mother, an enchantress, in a house with no doors. When her mother decides to marry the local squire, Cordelia and his sister, Hester, form an unlikely alliance. Pickens's portrayal of Cordelia's developing independence is breathtaking. A victim of both emotional and physical abuse, primarily via magic, she is desperate to escape, terrified of being caught but ultimately willing to do what needs to be done. Foss's portrayal of Hester's fear for her brother's safety and rage at her own lack of agency is sadly believable--and utterly staggering when channeled into a showdown against the ruthless enchantress and her familiar. K.M.P. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
