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.

Reading A Sorceress Comes to Call, a retelling of Brother Grimm’s Goose Girl, is like stepping into a fairytale. It’s hard to decide what made me love this book so much. Is it the vividly written characters? The atmospheric worldbuilding? Or the darker fairytale themes that are woven into each page? It’s impossible to choose but it is safe to say that A Sorceress Comes to Call is T. Kingfisher at her finest.

Cordelia has spent her life trying to make sure she stays on her mother’s good side. If she doesn’t, she often faces severe consequences—like being forced to sit silently and motionless for days on end. The punishments are unique because her mother isn’t like other mothers. Her mother is a powerful sorceress. After a suspicious death occurs in their town, Cordelia and her mother leave the only home Cordelia has ever known. They end up in a small country manor where Cordelia’s mother hopes to trick the Squire into marrying her. Realizing how dangerous her mother is, Cordelia enlists the help of the Squire’s sister, Hester, to stop her mother once and for all.

If you have not had the pleasure of reading T. Kingfisher, then I would say A Sorceress Comes to Call is an excellent place to start. It is a deliciously dark retelling that will have you flipping pages late into the night.