“Other mothers don’t force their daughters to be silent and motionless for hours, sometimes days, on end. Other mothers aren’t evil sorcerers.”
If you take a dark fantasy fairytale retelling, throw in some mystery, horror and sorcery, and then sprinkle some Regency romance over it, you’d get something like A Sorceress Comes to Call; this story is every bit as quirky and deliciously deranged as you’d expect from T. Kingfisher.
I’ll be honest, I didn’t even look at the synopsis before diving into this book, and I think that is the best way to experience it. Kingfisher has earned her place on my auto-buy authors list over the past couple of years, and the brilliance of A Sorceress Comes to Call once again proved why I adore her writing so much. From the very first page, I was just captivated by the eerie yet charming atmosphere, which kept me glued to the page the entire way through.
Not to mention, Kingfisher’s character work is just second to none! From the rebellious underdog girls, to the headstrong older women, to the hateable antagonists, and even to the wayward animals, every single character just pops off the page in their own unique way. Though while Kingfisher undeniably nails the dual POV storytelling, I do have to admit that I think Cordelia just paled a tiny bit in comparison to the absolutely marvellous Hester.
I mean, I just love me a fierce and resilient older lady (with chronic pain, at that) who will stop at nothing to save her brother from the clutches of ‘Doom’, his new dreadful lover. Hester is just an absolute hoot, and I was so on-board for the very tender slow-burn romance that simmers in the background of her storyline. Moreover, the way that she slowly takes Cordelia under her wing when she suspects that the child might not be in league with her evil mother after all was just so wholesome to see, and I really loved the tentative development of their dynamic.
And speaking of Cordelia, she absolutely surprised me in the best way possible. While she started out just a bit too bland and meek for me to really latch onto her, I can’t deny that her twisted relationship with her mother immediately had me in a chokehold; her terror, anxiety and desperation truly bleed off the pages, and I really appreciated the careful exploration of parental abuse and narcissim woven throughout the narrative. This is a perfect story of the power of women, the importance of community, and the resilience of the human spirit, and I especially loved seeing how all the strong independent women in this story helped Cordelia through her journey of growth and independence.
While the ending of A Sorceress Comes to Call might have felt a bit rushed and hectic to me, especially compared to relatively slower pacing throughout the rest of the narrative, I also think this was a perfectly imperfect ending to this story. Kingfisher’s dark yet amusing authorial voice just makes for the most unique and memorable fantasy stories out there, and somehow all her slightly weird genre-blending just works every time.
If you have never tried Kingfisher before, I think A Sorceress Comes to Call is a perfect entry point to get a taste of her brilliant storytelling. And if you have loved her works in the past, especially Nettle & Bone and Bryony & Roses, then you are once again in for a treat with this newest banger of a fantasy standalone. It’s a bit macabre, a bit comedic, and has lots of quirky weirdness, like an evil headless horse, that will fill you with equal parts terror and delight.
