A Sorceress Comes to Call

A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher

I enjoyed this book! It had a slower build-up to a pretty wild ending. I didn't read it particularly fast at first, but found myself really enjoying the last third or so.

Things I liked:
- Minor horror elements that didn't squick me out. As someone who's not a fan of horror in particular, but appreciates fantasy with some darker bits as long as I can stomach it, finding an author who's able to strike that balance is always exciting.
- Romance and true friendship between the older characters. The MC in this book is a YA character, but she's not part of the romantic thread, nor is she at all interested in romance because she's focused on surviving with a monster for a mother. The story's one true romance is between a couple that reads as being somewhere in their 50's-60's, and I thought it was very sweet. And the friendships that ring as the most lasting and true are also between three middle-aged ladies. I liked their feistiness and independence, and found them very fun to read.
- Fairytale vibes without being an actual retelling. While I've heard this book has been marketed in some places as a retelling of Goose Girl, I would ignore that. Yes, it has some geese and a girl, but A Sorceress Comes to Call feels more like its own tale than a rehashing of an older one.

Things I didn't like:
- As I mentioned earlier, this book took me a while to get into the story and to care about the main character. I'll admit it's entirely possible that was a me thing and not a pacing or story issue, but either way I did have to push myself to keep going at a couple points in the first half.

In addition to fans of Kingfisher's other works, I would recommend this book for readers who enjoy fairytale beats with the feel of a fresh story, and who like seeing characters of diverse ages living a full life of their choosing.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC, this is an unbiased review.