A Sorceress Comes to Call

This was a great read. I enjoy T. Kingfisher's writing and the imagination that she brings to fairytale retellings, in this case The Goose Girl.

A Sorceress Comes to Call has all of the complex family, class, and political drama you could want from a Regency setting. Social climbers, domestic help who know more than they should, aristocrats good and bad all mix with a bit of magic to produce an atmosphere full of intrigue that's entertaining to observe.

At the core of the book is a complicated relationship between Cordelia and her mother. Cordelia know her mother is not like other mothers. Other mothers allow their children to have friends, other houses have doors in the openings between rooms, and other children aren't held paralyzed for days on end by their sorceress mother.

A suspicious murder in their small town suddenly catapults Cordelia and her mother from their small town to a remote country manor. Here they meet the Squire who Cordelia's mother courts aggressively, hoping to become his wife. The Squire's sister observes that something unusual is afoot and sets about trying to save her brother and her new friend, Cordelia.

The writing is great, the audiobook narrators, Eliza Foss and Jennifer Pickens, do a good job, and it's a fun retelling of a classic Brothers Grimm story in a Bridgertonian setting.

Cordelia's mother is unquestionably abusive and a "wicked witch" character. If that sort of parental abuse of children (and generally horrific treatment of other people) is difficult for you, might be worth giving this one a pass. Even as a fairytale retelling, some of the scenes were uncomfortable.

Overall, this is a great, fun book. Well worth reading!