What happens when the weirdest cozy fantasy horror novelist you know of becomes inspired by Bridgerton? A Sorceress Comes to Call is what happens. T. Kingfisher blends the Regency romance of Bridgerton with the Goose Girl fairy tale, a very bad mom, a heaping tablespoon horror, shakes it all up and serves it over a middle aged woman and a teenage girl who are willing to fight an evil who isn’t afraid to kill the innocent.
I am 8 books deep in a T. Kingfisher binge. I don’t know why when I’m experiencing some real life body horror, I crave Kingfisher’s wonderfully weird, cozy horror. There’s romance, good people trying to do the right thing when they are in over their heads, and of course, some victory in the end. A Sorceress Comes to Call was a gripping read and very good company.
As a woman of a certain age, I love that the two people who take down the Doom are Cordelia, a teenage girl, and Hester, a woman of about my certain age with a bum knee. They are ably assisted by the love of Hester’s life (the romantic side plot is swoooony), two of her also of a certain age friends, a ghost, a butler, and some maids.
Cordelia’s mother is a sorceress. She inhabits Cordelia’s body, sometimes for days, making her do and say what she wants. Cordelia calls it being made obedient. her initial strategy with her mother is to do what she wants and call as little attention to herself as possible. As things change, she realizes that her mother (called Doom by Hester) won’t stop hurting people, no matter how well Cordelia behaves.
It was the calm of a burned-out house or a ravaged field, the calm that comes where there is no longer anything to lose. It was almost like being invincible.
Hester doesn’t know what Cordelia’s mother is, but she knows Doom when she sees it. I loved Hester and Cordelia. They both try so hard to stop bad things from happening, but until they team up they are ineffective. If you already love T. Kingfisher, this will delight you. If this would be your first book, it’s a great place to start.
I received this as an advance reader copy from Tor Books and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.