TBR Check in: What I am Reading Next

Welcome to a brand new TBR Tales, friend! My journey through the to-be-read pile involves observing and creating patterns in reading. Though I have practiced curating TBRs for a month, coming up with themes I want to read over the course of a few months, today I want to share about two books that I recently got from the library – let’s call it some unplanned reading that seems to fit well.

A Sorceress Comes to Call and The Capital of Dreams are fairly new releases. I requested them at different times but they both became available together. When I was ready for my next read, I looked through both synopsis and realized how similar yet unique they are. This TBR Tales is a short reflection on these books that came to me and the literary exploration they promise.

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The Books

Let’s start with taking a look at the books with their genres and synopsis:

Book 1: A Sorceress Comes to Call

By T. Kingfisher | Goodreads

Genre: Retelling, Fantasy, Horror, Fairy Tale

A dark retelling of the Brothers Grimm’s Goose Girl, rife with secrets, murder, and forbidden magic

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.

Book 2: The Capital of Dreams

By Heather O’Neill | Goodreads

Genre: Fantasy, Literary Fiction, Fairy Tale

A breathtaking dark fairytale of survival and betrayal, from the vivid imagination of Heather O’Neill

Sofia Bottom lives in a small country that Europe has forgotten. But inside its borders, the old myths of trees that come alive and faeries who live among their roots have given way to an explosion of the arts and the consolations of philosophy. No one, from the clarinetists to the cabaret singers, is as revered in the arts as Sofia’s brilliant mother, the writer Clara Bottom. How can 14 year old Sofia, with a tin ear and an enduring love of the old myths, ever hope to win her mother’s love?

When the country’s greatest enemy invades, and the Capital is under threat, at last Clara turns to her daughter. Sofia must smuggle her new manuscript to safety on the last train evacuating children from the city. But the train draws to a suspicious halt in the middle of a forest, and Sofia must run for her life, losing her mother’s most prized possession. Now frightened and alone in a country at war, Sofia must find a way to reclaim what she has lost. On an epic journey through woods and razed towns, colliding with soldiers, survivors and other lost children, Sofia must make the choice between kindness and survival.

In a stunning dark fairytale of a novel, Heather O’Neill reveals once again that she is a master of language that is as delicious as cake and serious as a gunshot.

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First Impressions Based on Synopsis

Both A Sorceress Comes to Call and The Capital of Dreams are dark fairy tales with young girls as protagonists. Here are three themes I glimpsed from the synopsis and the ways in which the stories promise to approach them.

Themes of Maternal Power and Control

Mother-daughter dynamics is the first thing I noticed about both these books and how I got the idea of writing this article! While Cordelia’s mother in A Sorceress Comes to Call is a sorceress and has a particularly dominating presence in her life, Sofia’s mother in The Capital of Dreams is brilliant and artistic. Both mothers play an important role in shaping the protagonists, their sense of self and independence. As I head into motherhood myself, I am excited to dive into two portrayals back to back. Related to this, I want to see what kind of support network the girls end up creating for themselves.

Magical Settings and Mystical Elements

Fairy tales have magic. While it is obvious that A Sorceress Comes to Call has that element, The Capital of Dreams alludes to it through reference to old myths and faeries. I am not expecting a Fantasy tale in either with elaborate spells but more subtle forms of magic. These are serious books that address dark themes and hopefully the writing is able to convey high immersion and emotions.

Coming of Age

A Sorceress Comes to Call and The Capital of Dreams are coming of age stories. Cordelia feels the threat of her mother’s sinister plans and the time might finally be near when she takes a stand against her. In Sofia’s case, war sends her on an epic journey whose perils challenge being kind and surviving. I think both books have the potential to explore internal and external battles as Cordelia and Sofia face defining moments in life, taking the steps to become the women they are to become.

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The Reading Plan

I am excited to see all that these two books have to offer and how one will help me understand the other one better. Which book to read first?

I am going to start with A Sorceress Comes to Call. Its eerie, Gothic atmosphere, the dark retelling of the fairy tale, Goose Girl, is perfect for a Fall read!

The Capital of Dreams promises to be more philosophical. Just flipping through its pages revealed a very interesting storytelling set up. I love reading wartime fiction and am interested to see how magic and a young girl’s perspective will expand that for me.

I believe reading them back-to-back will deepen my understanding of how fairy tales can explore both personal and universal struggles.

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Final Thoughts and Invitations

What were the chances of finding two books that seem to go together so well? Stay tuned for reviews of these books on the blog! Maybe an article contrasting them might be on the list.

I want to leave you with a few questions:

• Tell me what you are reading and what’s the next book you plan to pick up!

• Have you heard of A Sorceress Comes to Call or The Capital of Dreams or both? 

• If you had to pick one, which would you start with and why?

• What are two books that you read close together which made you reflect on similar themes?

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