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marmaladereads 's review for:
A Sorceress Comes to Call
by T. Kingfisher
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A decent dark fairytale but not T. Kingfisher's best. The story follows 14 year old Cordelia, who is quite ignorant in the ways of the world, as she is swept along in her mother's schemes to marry a rich man, the Squire, and Hester, the Squire's sister, who suspects that something sinister is afoot.
I really enjoyed the way Cordelia was taken in and adopted by Hester and her friends, especially since Cordelia had grown up quite sheltered and isolated by her mother. Where the story fell a bit flat for me was in Cordelia's relationship to her abusers. It felt very one dimensional. In general it didn't feel like Cordelia had much emotional depth. The writing and the pacing meant we really got to know the characters on a deep, human level but the characterization fell a bit flat for me.
I think the murder mystery and stopping Evangeline made for an interesting story here, but the fairytale aspect worked much better in Kingfisher's other books, such as Thornhedge, which have somewhat less of a human quality to them and I didn't expect them to go quite as deep.
I really enjoyed the way Cordelia was taken in and adopted by Hester and her friends, especially since Cordelia had grown up quite sheltered and isolated by her mother. Where the story fell a bit flat for me was in Cordelia's relationship to her abusers. It felt very one dimensional. In general it didn't feel like Cordelia had much emotional depth. The writing and the pacing meant we really got to know the characters on a deep, human level but the characterization fell a bit flat for me.
I think the murder mystery and stopping Evangeline made for an interesting story here, but the fairytale aspect worked much better in Kingfisher's other books, such as Thornhedge, which have somewhat less of a human quality to them and I didn't expect them to go quite as deep.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence
Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Vomit, Murder