A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher
Picked this book up with zero expectations and knowing nothing about it. Going off of the cover only, I assumed it would be maybe a cozy, YA book. I was very surprised both by the vibe and by how much I enjoyed it! This reads like a fairytale, though more Grimm than Disney. (And actually, it may be a retelling of one of the Grimm’s tales. Though I don’t recall which one).
The intro is one of the creepiest starts to a book that I’ve read. Turns out it’s a psychological horror story about a controlling, narcissistic (term used loosely/colloquially), mother who is made infinitely more horrifying because she is a sorceress who can use magic to take over/puppet other people.
This is set to a regency backdrop, which I usually find to be low stakes. Or at least, for the sort of high society stories that usually feature in regency books, the stakes all feel low because it’s just artificial. Caused by social pressures and expectations. Great if you like that, but only rarely my thing. While the bones of the plot fall into that same category, the horror element really elevates it to create a sense of urgency and impending doom.
This is a book about women, and really shows a wide spectrum of women as individual people, both good and bad.
It also touches on societal gender issues. Particularly women’s position within society, all the associated pressures of said position, and how easily their place can be upset. With changing povs between Cordelia, the sorceress’ teenage daughter, and Hester, a spinster and sister to the squire whom Evangeline, the sorceress, has set her sights on. The perspectives really contribute to the book feeling balanced. Where if it was all from Cordelia’s pov, there would not have been much forward momentum. If it was all from Hester’s pov, the horror element would not have been nearly as effective.
Overall, this was a really good book.
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.
