Here are 92 books that A Sorceress Comes to Call fans have personally recommended if you like A Sorceress Comes to Call. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Ink Blood Sister Scribe

ian3

From Ian's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Unknown Author Why Ian loves this book

Interesting premise, relatable characters, thriller-like pacing.

By Emma Törzs ,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Ink Blood Sister Scribe as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Not all books should be opened.

In this thrilling fantasy debut, meet the family tasked with guarding a trove of magical but deadly books, and the shadowy organisation that will do anything to get them back.

* The instant Sunday Times bestseller *
* Good Morning America's June book club pick *

'A bold, new novel from an extraordinary new voice.' Marlon James
'Simply a delight from start to finish.' New York Times
'A spectacularly spellbinding debut ... sumptuously bleeds magic from every page.' The Fantasy Hive
'A magnificent debut.' The Bookseller
'A fantastic magical adventure, not to be missed.'…


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Book cover of The High House

The High House by James Stoddard,

The Victorian mansion, Evenmere, is the mechanism that runs the universe.

The lamps must be lit, or the stars die. The clocks must be wound, or Time ceases. The Balance between Order and Chaos must be preserved, or Existence crumbles.

Appointed the Steward of Evenmere, Carter Anderson must learn the…

Book cover of The Bright Sword

Eric Goebelbecker Author Of Shadows of the Past

From Eric's 3 favorite reads in 2025.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Eric's 3 favorite reads in 2025

Eric Goebelbecker Why Eric loves this book

A year ago, if you had asked me if the world needed another retelling of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, I would have said "sure, the same way it needs more ads for prepared meals and online therapy during podcasts."

But this book is a very different tale on the Arthurian Legends. The knights are flawed in fascinating ways that might just have you looking in the mirror. The classic battle of good against evil holds a great deal more nuance that many other versions while Grossman turns the love triangle that often sits as the center of these tales on its head.

This book looks pretty intimidating when it sits on your shelf, but it's well worth it.

By Lev Grossman ,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Bright Sword as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.


Book cover of From All False Doctrine

Wendy Palmer Author Of The Uses of Illicit Art

From Wendy's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Wendy's 3 favorite reads in 2024

Wendy Palmer Why Wendy loves this book

I'll be honest, I wouldn't have picked this one up if I didn't know and love the author under a different pen name. It's a metaphysical mystery set in the 1920s, centred around an atheist falling in love with a priest. The writing has a beautiful clarity, the style perfectly evokes a witty comedy of manners, and the interactions of all the characters, but especially Kit and Elsa, work so well. It's followed up by a loose sequel set in the 1940s and I recommend that one too, if you like this style.

By Alice Degan ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked From All False Doctrine as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"And smoke and fire, or maybe not fire, just smoke, and ... I don't know, somebody is saved from something."
"Damnation, one would expect," he replied automatically. "Though perhaps that's too obvious."

Toronto, 1925: An ancient manuscript and a modern cult promise the secret to personal metamorphosis. An atheist graduate student falls in love with a priest. A shiftless musician jilts his fiancée and disappears. From All False Doctrine is a metaphysical mystery wrapped in a 1920s comedy of manners.

Thrown together when their best friends fall in love, Elsa Nordqvist and Kit Underhill don't think they have much in…


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Book cover of December on 5C4

December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

Book cover of Intermezzo

John Sloan

From John's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Unknown Author Why John loves this book

Great story that it was very easy to relate to, possibly Rooney's best work yet.

By Sally Rooney ,

Why should I read it?

11 authors picked Intermezzo as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | A National Indie Bestseller

An exquisitely moving story about grief, love, and family―but especially love―from the global phenomenon Sally Rooney.

Aside from the fact that they are brothers, Peter and Ivan Koubek seem to have little in common.

Peter is a Dublin lawyer in his thirties―successful, competent, and apparently unassailable. But in the wake of their father’s death, he’s medicating himself to sleep and struggling to manage his relationships with two very different women―his enduring first love, Sylvia, and Naomi, a college student for whom life is one long joke.

Ivan is a…


Book cover of A Haunting on the Hill

Leanbh Pearson Author Of Bluebells

From Leanbh's 3 favorite reads in 2025.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Leanbh's 3 favorite reads in 2025

Leanbh Pearson Why Leanbh loves this book

Loved a bold revisit to Shirley Jackson’s Hill House. The writing was fantastic at immersing me within the unease of the house, the clash between characters and Hand’s brilliant capture of the undefinable spaces of Hill House that echoed Jackson’s but retained their own originality. A great psychological horror with all the gothic trappings but a modern setting.

By Elizabeth Hand ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked A Haunting on the Hill as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE FIRST AUTHORISED FOLLOW-UP NOVEL TO THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE

'A fitting - and frightening - homage to The Haunting of Hill House ' NEW YORK TIMES
'Full of totemic menace and a heart-in-mouth, can't-look-away frisson' BRIDGET COLLINS
'Beautifully creepy. Welcome back to Hill House' ALIX E. HARROW
'Like Hill House itself, this accomplished tribute stands alone: disturbing and unforgettable' GUARDIAN
'A Haunting on the Hill captures the essence of the original whilst offering something brand new' CARLY REAGON

**Named a Best Book of the Year by The New Yorker, The Washington Post, and Harper's Bazaar**

______

Whatever walks…


Book cover of Selkie Moon

Lissa Sloan Author Of Glass and Feathers

From Lissa's 3 favorite reads in 2025.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Lissa's 3 favorite reads in 2025

Lissa Sloan Why Lissa loves this book

I connected with this heartfelt selkie story so hard. Kelly Jarvis writes so beautifully!

By Kelly Jarvis ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Selkie Moon as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

We are all surrounded by darkness. And we are all drawn to the light.The Orkney Islands north of Scotland are steeped in stories of selkies, seal folk who swim in cold ocean waters and shed their skins to sing and dance on land. One young girl named Isla uses legends of selkie brides to understand her parents’ troubled marriage and navigate her strained relationship with her mother. As Isla comes of age, she confronts the sacred points of transformation found between sea and land, nature and civilization, and past and present, uncovering the key to her identity.Selkie Moon is a…


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Book cover of Trusting Her Duke

Trusting Her Duke by Arietta Richmond,

A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.

Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother had…

Book cover of The Crimson Road

Leanbh Pearson Author Of Bluebells

From Leanbh's 3 favorite reads in 2025.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Leanbh's 3 favorite reads in 2025

Leanbh Pearson Why Leanbh loves this book

Great gothic fantasy with a fresh take on the vampiric folklore. These are real, dangerous vampires with humanity as a resource. A wonderful proactive female protagonist who is genuine and original. A dangerous quest, pursued by the far reach of a dark enemy. A beautifully crafted gothic fantasy enriched with folklore and an epic fantasy adventure like no other.

By A.G. Slatter ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Crimson Road as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A captivating dark gothic fantasy set in the same universe as the award-winning author's All The Murmuring Bones, The Path of Thorns and The Briar Book of the Dead. A tale of vampires, assassins, ancient witches and broken promises, perfect for readers of Alix E. Harrow, Hannah Whitten and Alexis Henderson.


Violet Zennor has had a peculiar upbringing. Training as a fighter in underground arenas, honing her skills against the worst scum, murderers and thieves her father could pit her against, she has learned to be ruthless. To kill.


Until the day Hedrek Zennor dies. Violet thinks she's free -…


Book cover of The Dream Runners

Lissa Sloan Author Of Glass and Feathers

From Lissa's 3 favorite reads in 2025.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Lissa's 3 favorite reads in 2025

Lissa Sloan Why Lissa loves this book

I was so sucked in by the premise of this intriguing book! Like everything Shveta Thakrar writes, it is magical and emotional--but this one has nagas!!

By Shveta Thakrar ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Dream Runners as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

A lush tapestry of dreams, myth, and magic-perfect for fans of Holly Black, Roshani Chokshi, and Margaret Rogerson.

Seven years ago, Tanvi was spirited away to the subterranean realm of Nagalok, where she joined the ranks of the dream runners: human children freed of all memory and emotion, who collect mortal dreams for the entertainment of the serpentine, immortal naga court.

But when one of Tanvi's dream harvests goes awry, she begins to remember her life on earth. Panicked and confused, she turns to the one mortal in Nagalok who might be able to help: Venkat, the dreamsmith responsible for…


Book cover of What Moves the Dead

Todd Brown Author Of When Shadows Burn

From my list on books that will fry your brain.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been fascinated by how people behave and how in-group bias can change who they are. That interest led me into computational sociology (I study human behavior for a living), with my work appearing in The New York Times, USA Today, WIRED, and more. But my deepest fascination has always been with people’s propensity for the horrific. I LOVE the liminal space where fear, secrecy, and belonging collide. Being neurodivergent, living in a small Virginia town with my wife and our neurodivergent, queer son, I see how communities can both shelter and suffocate. That tension is why I’m drawn to stories saturated in dread, beauty, and what lives in the shadows.

Todd's book list on books that will fry your brain

Todd Brown Why Todd loves this book

I love this book because it made me laugh when I least expected it.

The wit is so sharp it almost feels like a weapon against the darkness creeping in at the edges. I remember grinning at one line and then, two pages later, feeling the walls closing in.

That balance of humor and horror made me feel like the story was written for someone like me, someone who finds the grotesque easier to face when it comes with a crooked smile.

By T. Kingfisher ,

Why should I read it?

9 authors picked What Moves the Dead as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An instant USA Today & Indie bestseller

From the Nebula and Hugo award-winning author of The Twisted Ones, comes What Moves the Dead, a gripping and atmospheric retelling of Edgar Allan Poe's classic "The Fall of the House of Usher."

When Alex Easton, a retired soldier, receives word that their childhood friend Madeline Usher is dying, they race to the ancestral home of the Ushers in the remote countryside of Ruritania.

What they find there is a nightmare of fungal growths and possessed wildlife, surrounding a dark, pulsing lake. Madeline sleepwalks and speaks in strange voices at night, and her…


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Book cover of Aggressor

Aggressor by FX Holden,

It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.

The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…

Book cover of A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking

Elizabeth Hopkinson Author Of Cage of Nightingales

From Elizabeth's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Elizabeth's 3 favorite reads in 2024

Elizabeth Hopkinson Why Elizabeth loves this book

I had not read cosy fantasy before I decided to give this title a go, and I'm really glad I did. It was thoroughly enjoyable, and such an antidote to the sometimes dark nature of the real world. This book is both funny and original. I love the idea of a baking wizard, whose main skill is making gingerbread men dance, and who has a temperamental sour dough starter called Bob. The plot becomes something of a murder mystery, unravelling secrets about the city where Mona - the main character - lives. In the end, it's up to Mona to defend the city with the skills she has, as inoffensive as those skills may seem. She's going to need a bigger gingerbread man - and a lot more of Bob! I liked it so much that I have gone out and bought more cosy fantasy books. I think it's my…

By T. Kingfisher ,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Fourteen-year-old Mona isn't like the wizards charged with defending the city. She can't control lightning or speak to water. Her familiar is a sourdough starter and her magic only works on bread. She has a comfortable life in her aunt's bakery making gingerbread men dance.

But Mona's life is turned upside down when she finds a dead body on the bakery floor. An assassin is stalking the streets of Mona's city, preying on magic folk, and it appears that Mona is his next target. And in an embattled city suddenly bereft of wizards, the assassin may be the least of…


Book cover of Ink Blood Sister Scribe
Book cover of The Bright Sword
Book cover of From All False Doctrine

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