Rating: 4.5 stars
CBR16 Bingo: Dun Dun (From pretty much the first chapter, where Cordelia is "made obedient" there is a creeping sense of dread all the way through this novel)
Cordelia knows her mother isn't like other mothers. Other mothers can't take over your limbs and puppet you, or force you to stay still and motionless for hours or days on end. Other mothers permit doors that can be closed in the house and let their daughters have friends. Other mothers don't have a magical horse who spies on the daughter when they are out on rides. Cordelia's mother wants her to marry a rich man, and to launch her daughter properly into society, Cordelia's mother needs a rich husband who can provide her with the lifestyle she requires, and then conveniently disappear.
Cordelia's mother, Evangeline, has found a suitable candidate, a middle-aged country squire who she now just needs to charm sufficiently for him to propose marriage to her. She can't enchant him, because all magical spells are dissolved once the wedding takes place (it involves water, wine, salt and holy ground). Fortunately for her (certainly not anyone else), Evangeline is beautiful and enticing and more than manipulative even without using magic. What she had not taken account of when plotting, was suspicious relatives.
The squire's spinster sister, Hester, recognises Doom (as she without fail refers to Evangeline) the second she arrives on their doorstep, and she has no intention of letting her brother fall into her clutches. Hester is initially unsure whether Cordelia is her mother's creature and will take Doom's side, but after observing some of their interactions and speaking to the servants (Cordelia sometimes goes to sleep hidden in a wardrobe), she concludes that the girl will also need to be rescued from her ambitious and merciless mother.
I see lots of people saying that this is a dark fantasy set in the Regency era, but I really didn't see a lot of traces of a specific time period in the story. It could just as easily be set in some generic historical fantasy past. I have only read two books by T. Kingfisher previously, but even What Moves the Dead, which had me uncomfortable throughout, really kept me turning pages just to see what would happen next. Nettle & Bone was one of my favourite books of 2023. It also features a sinister threat and a sense of dread throughout, but in A Sorceress Comes to Call, the feeling of discomfort and unease begins in the very first chapter and doesn't really let up until the very end, because Cordelia's mother really is that unpleasant and so clearly extremely dangerous, and you really don't want her to cause harm to anyone, let alone the protagonists, Cordelia and Hester.
It should also be mentioned that this has some elements reminiscent of the fairy tale of The Goose Girl, but not enough that it feels right to call this a fairy tale retelling. The horse Falada certainly plays a very different role in this book than in the original fairy story.
Cordelia has never known kindness or affection, and having seen her mother do terrible things in the past, she knows the Squire and Hester are in danger, but she's afraid to talk to anyone. She knows that the tale of her mother's magical powers will most likely not be believed, and she fears she will be seen as her mother's accomplice. Luckily, Hester is an observant and clever woman, who takes Cordelia under her wing and listens to her, even when what she says appears preposterous. In an attempt to slow down Doom's seduction attempts somewhat, Hester invites a number of close family friends for a house party, to ensure that the Squire is never entirely alone with the scheming sorceress.
Cordelia and Hester are both such likeable protagonists. By letting the readers share the POV of Cordelia, Doom's traumatised young daughter, Kingfisher is able to show first-hand just how terrifying her mother really is. Giving Hester, a wise middle-aged woman the other POV gives the readers hope that there may be some way to thwart Doom's plans and hopefully give Cordelia a safer future.
Hester loves her brother but is by no means blind to his weaknesses. She knows that if she doesn't act quickly, Doom will have charmed herself into marriage with her brother, and after that, it's unlikely that either Hester or her brother will live for very long. Hester also regrets some of the choices of her past, which means she gave up on love and marriage of her own, and now she is older and has a bad knee and feels she would only be a burden to a potential husband. Thankfully, someone disagrees with this (there is a minor romantic subplot that I found very sweet).
I don't think Kingfisher's full on horror books are for me, because her suspense books are frankly more than unnerving enough. Luckily, I have a large back catalogue to choose from, and likely many good reading experiences in my future.
Crossposted on Cannonball Read
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