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Sign up todayA Sorceress Comes to Call
Length
11 hours 7 minutes
Language
English
Narrators
Eliza Foss & Jennifer Pickens
This audiobook uses AI narration.
We’re taking steps to make sure AI narration is transparent.
Learn moreBookseller recommendation
“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! ”
— Megan • Underground Books
Bookseller recommendation
“T. Kingfisher gives us a perfect mix of humor and fantasy with a dash of horror in a Regency setting. This retelling of the Goose Girl fairytale follows Cordelia as she tries to survive the nightmarish, social climbing, life ending plots of her sorceress mother. ”
— Tom • New Story Community Books
Bookseller recommendation
“One of the most striking things about this book is just how every chapter is captivating. Not bogged down in overly described scenes, it is focused on the characters to the point you feel everything the characters are feeling. While there isn't much traveling and sometimes not much action, you are still on the edge of your seat for what comes next. It is clear Kingfisher is such a wonderful storyteller. A very realistic and empathetic take on childhood trauma and the responses people have to trauma set in a low fantasy world. It is beautifully told and I was sad when the book was over and I won't be spending anymore time with any of the characters.”
— Jamille Christman • Eagle Eye Book Shop
Bookseller recommendation
“An intensely satisfying retelling of The Goose Girl! This dark-er faery tale explores the hearts and minds of Cordelia, her mother (oh-so-appropriately called 'Doom'), and Hester - Cordelia's would-be savior. The character development is deliciously in-depth, and the minimalist setting development forces the reader to explore those inner depths. Just chilling! Highly recommend!!!”
— Yvonne • Author's Note
Bookseller recommendation
“When you realize that your mother is an evil sorceress, it is a game-changer. Cordelia knew her mother was different and that her life under her mother's rules was unusual, but she didn't realize how different and unusual. Magic, good vs. evil, romance, murder, manipulation, and protective geese. This story has it all!”
— Nancy • Raven Book Store
Bookseller recommendation
“Oh my heart. I adore Kingfisher's tales, and especially her portrayal of women. The audio was particularly excellent; the narrators brilliantly portrayed everything from Hester's stubbornness to Evangeline's deviousness to Cordelia's hesitation. Practically perfect in every way. ”
— Melissa • Watermark Books
Bookseller recommendation
“Even though I'm not familiar with the Goose Girl fairy tale, I really enjoyed this story! The author did an excellent job of mixing a horror-tinged fantasy tale with just a dab of high-society Bridgerton vibes. I loved both POV characters, and I really loved that they each got their own narrator. Both narrators did an excellent job embodying their characters, and I was sad when the book was over. ”
— Stefani • The Book Nook
Bookseller recommendation
“An interesting use of magic to describe the emotional abuse and damage that can be done to someone by gaslighting and controlling behavior. ”
— Rosalyn • PRINTED
Bookseller recommendation
“In T. Kingfisher’s retelling of the Goose Girl fairytale, there’s an emphasis on found family, and finding strength in yourself that you didn’t know you had. I would like Hester and Cordelia to be my new best friends, please and thank you.”
— Cora Kelly • Bear Pond Books
Bookseller recommendation
“I really enjoyed this book! The author did a fantastic job of developing the characters and making their emotions feel real. I loved how the characters' choices and actions felt genuine, and you could feel the consequences of their decisions. Also, this book made me quite fond of geese!”
— Sarah • Cavalier House Books
Bookseller recommendation
“This book will transport you, it captivated me body and soul. Heck, I was getting a tattoo and barely felt it because I was so invested in A Sorceress Comes to Call. Kingfisher has penned another dark fairy tale that evokes love and terror in equal measure. I adored even the most despicable character (I didn’t particularly like her, but I can’t stop thinking about her) because Kingfisher writes with wit and charm no matter who the character is. She is especially adept at evoking practicality in absurd situations. This fairytale has magic, exceptionally lovely and meddlesome older women in the driver’s seat, a magic horse, and a young woman trapped inside her own body. I cannot overstate how much I enjoyed A Sorceress Comes to Call, and I hope you will enjoy it as well.”
— Izzy • Off the Beaten Path
Bookseller recommendation
“The perfect blend of characters in a fast-paced mysterious witch hunt. What more could you want?”
— Kristine • Buttonwood Books and Toys
From New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award-winning author T. Kingfisher comes A Sorceress Comes to Call—a dark reimagining of the Brothers Grimm's "The Goose Girl," rife with secrets, murder, and forbidden magic.
Cordelia knows her mother is . . . unusual. Their house doesn’t have any doors between rooms—there are no secrets in this house—and her mother doesn't allow Cordelia to have a single friend. Unless you count Falada, her mother's beautiful white horse. The only time Cordelia feels truly free is on her daily rides with him.
But more than simple eccentricity sets her mother apart. Other mothers don’t force their daughters to be silent and motionless for hours, sometimes days, on end. Other mothers aren’t evil sorcerers.
When her mother unexpectedly moves them into the manor home of a wealthy older Squire and his kind but keen-eyed sister, Hester, Cordelia knows this welcoming pair are to be her mother's next victims. But Cordelia feels at home for the very first time among these people, and as her mother's plans darken, she must decide how to face the woman who raised her to save the people who have become like family.
"Kingfisher never fails to dazzle."—Peter S. Beagle, Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Award-winning author of The Last Unicorn
"Kingfisher is an inventive fantasy powerhouse."—BookPage
Also by T. Kingfisher
Nettle & Bone
Thornhedge
What Moves the Dead
What Feasts at Night
A House with Good Bones
A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Books.
T. KINGFISHER (she/her) writes fantasy, horror, and occasional oddities, including Nettle & Bone, What Moves the Dead, Thornhedge, A House with Good Bones, and A Sorceress Comes to Call. Under a pen name, she also writes bestselling children's books. She lives in North Carolina with her husband, dogs, and chickens who may or may not be possessed.
Eliza Foss has performed in numerous theaters both in New York City and around the country. She's performed in Ten Unknown, Natural Selection, and Angels Don't Dance, among others. She has appeared in the films Split Ends and Chutney Popcorn as well as on television in Law & Order and The Merrow Report. She holds a M.F.A from the New York University Graduate Acting Program. Eliza has narrated over thirty audiobooks and short stories, including The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd, The Beck Diet Solution by Judith S. Beck, and Big Love by Sarah Dunn. She was featured in AudioFile magazine as one of “audio’s hottest romance narrators.”
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Reviews
"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, and men serve as helpmeets, sidekicks, and love interests. . . . Highly recommended for readers who enjoy reimagined legends.”—Library Journal, STARRED review
"Dark fantasy fans will be enraptured by the descriptive narrative and well-developed characters.”—Booklist, STARRED review
Praise for Nettle & Bone:
“This book is a modern classic.”—Seanan McGuire, New York Times bestselling author of Every Heart a Doorway
"Nettle & Bone is a wonderful entwining of darkness & whimsy."—Travis Baldree, New York Times bestselling author of Legends & Lattes
“Exciting, deeply wise, sad, brutal and compassionate all at once.”—Catriona Ward, author of Last House on Needless Street
“T. Kingfisher uses the bones of fairy tale to create something entirely her own.”—Emily Tesh, Hugo-nominated author of Silver in the Wood
“Funny, frightening, and full of heart; I loved it.”—Alix E. Harrow, author of The Ten Thousand Doors of January
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