336 pages
English language
Published Aug. 8, 2024 by Doherty Associates, LLC, Tom.
Cordelia knows her mother is unusual. Their house doesn’t have any doors between rooms, 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 sorcerers.
After a suspicious death in their small town, Cordelia’s mother insists they leave in the middle of the night, riding away on Falada’s sturdy back, leaving behind all Cordelia has ever known. They arrive at the remote country manor of a wealthy older man, the Squire, and his unwed sister, Hester. Cordelia’s mother intends to lure the Squire into marriage, and Cordelia knows this can only be bad news for the bumbling gentleman …
Cordelia knows her mother is unusual. Their house doesn’t have any doors between rooms, 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 sorcerers.
After a suspicious death in their small town, Cordelia’s mother insists they leave in the middle of the night, riding away on Falada’s sturdy back, leaving behind all Cordelia has ever known. They arrive at the remote country manor of a wealthy older man, the Squire, and his unwed sister, Hester. Cordelia’s mother intends to lure the Squire into marriage, and Cordelia knows this can only be bad news for the bumbling gentleman and his kind, intelligent sister.
Hester sees the way Cordelia shrinks away from her mother, how the young girl sits eerily still at dinner every night. Hester knows that to save her brother from bewitchment and to rescue the terrified Cordelia, she will have to face down a wicked witch of the worst kind.
Surprisingly (to me) dark fantasy about a girl whose abusive mother is trying to seduce and manipulate her way into the aristocracy
This T. Kingfisher book is a regency-esque novel about an abusive sorceress trying to magically worm her way into a marriage for money with her terrified daughter in tow.
The setting feels like regency mixed with fantasy, but also where all the identifying details of either genre have been blurred out. There's sorcery, social classes, and concerns about money and inheritance. However, there's no specific sense of place here in either a regency or fantasy genre here, and instead the novel comes off as a character-focused comedy of manners and dark fantasy/horror mashup.
As with most T. Kingfisher books, I adored the characters and the character dynamics and that carried a lot of story for me. Maybe this is too personal, but some of the abusive dynamics hit a little too close to home for me (especially the bits around doors and privacy), but it made Cordelia finding safety and …
This T. Kingfisher book is a regency-esque novel about an abusive sorceress trying to magically worm her way into a marriage for money with her terrified daughter in tow.
The setting feels like regency mixed with fantasy, but also where all the identifying details of either genre have been blurred out. There's sorcery, social classes, and concerns about money and inheritance. However, there's no specific sense of place here in either a regency or fantasy genre here, and instead the novel comes off as a character-focused comedy of manners and dark fantasy/horror mashup.
As with most T. Kingfisher books, I adored the characters and the character dynamics and that carried a lot of story for me. Maybe this is too personal, but some of the abusive dynamics hit a little too close to home for me (especially the bits around doors and privacy), but it made Cordelia finding safety and trust again all the stronger.
