The Familiar

What a heartwrenchingly beautiful book. Leigh Bardugo once again stuns me with her beautiful writing & complex characters.

I wanted to like this book so badly. This is the 10th Leigh Bardugo book I’ve read. Before reading this she was batting a perfect 1.000 for me. Of the nine books I had read by her previously I would say that I enjoyed every single one. What’s even crazier is that I felt like she had been getting better. Her two most recent books (Ninth House and Hell Bent) were my two favorites. To top it off, it’s a historical fantasy book set in the time of the Spanish Inquisition, which is a really interesting time period and one rife to do fun things with from a fantasy writer’s perspective. To say that I went into The Familiar with high expectations would be an understatement. I didn’t just think that I would like it. I felt like I already knew that I would like it.

And yet I didn’t. I waited for the moment for the book to click for me and it never did. I don’t think The Familiar is totally irredeemable. Bardugo clearly did a ton of research into the setting, there are some really cool set pieces and some of the supporting characters are really cool. There are really only a couple of criticisms that I can make about the book. Unfortunately they are pretty big mistakes.

The first is that I just don’t find the main characters to be interesting at all. Here I’m mostly talking about Luzia and Santangel, who are easily the most prominent characters in the book. I just can’t bring myself to care about them, which is a really big problem because the book really needs you to be emotionally invested in them and their love story. Luzia is just boring and when she’s not boring she’s antagonistic to the point that it makes it hard to root for her. Santangel is a cardboard cutout of ‘edgy male love interest’ to the point that I could believe he was a character in a Twilight knockoff. When you have a romance between these two characters and have that be one of the biggest storylines of your book, the book isn’t going to be good. A novel can survive having boring or unlikable side characters. But even the best worldbuilding, supporting characters and pacing cannot save a book in which the two main characters just aren’t compelling. What’s so strange about this criticism is that I know for a fact that Bardugo can write characters like this extremely well. Alex from Ninth House and Hell Bent shares plenty of similarities with Luzia on paper but she’s actually great and is a huge part of what makes those books so good. Nikolai from the Grishaverse has some stuff in common with Santangel but he was easily compelling enough to carry a duology by himself. If a writer who I didn’t have as much faith in wrote these characters I’d be more forgiving but once again I know that Bardugo can do better than this and that’s what makes this criticism so frustrating.

While most of what I dislike about the book comes down to the fact that I just don’t care about Luzia and Santangel, it also has to be mentioned that this book has some weird pacing issues. I feel like it’s way too long and yet somehow feels rushed at various points as well. There is a lot of stuff going on throughout this book and I feel like a few sections or subplots could easily be taken out and make the book better.

For an NBA player, shooting 90% from the free throw line is exceptional. 90% gets you at least an A- in most classes. For a writer, having 90% of your bibliography be amazing is very worthy of praise. I still like Bardugo and consider her to be one of my favorite authors today. But this book is a notable miss for her.

I was just bored

Maybe it just wasn't the right time for this book, but I couldn't concentrate on the story, I felt very detached and just didn't feel like I enjoyed it that much.

They said it was supposed to give Babel 🫤

Wish I knew a bit more Spanish cuz a lot of terms were lost on me, but nonetheless I enjoyed how the relationship unfolded, how the magic was intuitive and tied in to the ending. I love the way Leigh writes environments and the life she adds to the minor characters that build into a believable setting. My only gripe is the tourneo was a slog to read through, and the politics didn't make a lot of sense to me.

The part i love about Leigh Bardugo's books is inevitably the world. I was absolutely fascinated by Ravka and the Grisha in Shadow and Bone, even when i found the plot and characters to be rather generic. In the Ninth House, the secret world of magic and mystery behind Yale University was utterly spellbinding, even as Alex Stern and Daniel Arlington started to feel like other characters she'd written.

And the lack of worldbuilding in The Familiar is why i can't give much love to the book. We are dropped into 1590s Spain with little orientation and given the protagonist of Luzia Cotado, a normal, ignorable girl who is drawn into the spotlight by her ability to work miracles (a familiar trope for Leigh Bardugo). Theres also a dangerous immortal love who trains Luzia in her magic and maybe develops feelings but also wants to use her for his own ends (sound familiar?). There are other half-developed characters who cross over with Luzia, using her for their advantage as she figures out what she wants for her own life.

Overall, i was just left unimpressed. Its all the generic characters of an LB novel without the impressive settings to draw me in.

I have read and loved all of leigh bardugo's other novels, but ultimately, I enjoyed the concept of this book much more than its execution. maybe bardugo thought that, with enough orange blossom water, she could magic this book into something more compelling, but as is, it was just ok.

It was fine. The concept was interesting, but the main character's engagement with her Jewish identity seemed rather superficial, which didn't make a lot of of sense to me for something that was supposed to be a big part of animating her motivation. It's also sort of hard to get behind a character who not only doesn't seem to know what she wants out of life but who doesn't seem to care. We're informed that Luzia is a rebel, an iconoclast, but she is really very passive. I kept waiting for her to make a decision for herself, but things just sort of... happened to her. I was ultimately more interested in what became of her erstwhile employer than what became of the main character herself. As far as the crypto-Jewish elements, it very much read as the author using this framework to explore her own identity and felt shallow.

It was Boring till the end. I did not like the climax.

4.75⭐️

Because her mistress shows her off to her dinner guests, Luzia Cortado's "milagritos," little pieces of magic that make her life of drudgery as a kitchen maid a bit easier, get her noticed by a nobleman who is trying to win the favor of King Philip of Spain. She gains a patron and is entered in a contest for holy magicians, the winner of which will be presented as a gift to the King. In preparation, her patron's servant (or familiar) Santangel, who is a striking man with white hair, light eyes, and a presence that strikes fear in people's hearts, gives her lessons in how to develop her magic.

Everyone in this book has a very human longing for something--a better social position, a more secure life, a life with beauty and pleasure in it, a chance to be powerful, love, what have you. The longing propels them, but it doesn't lead them where they expect or hope to go. This fact of life is explicit in the story. It's Valentina's longing that gets everything started, and at the end almost everyone's life has been completely altered.

The Familiar turned out to be more of a romance than I expected, but it's well written, with an unusual plot. I enjoyed the historical setting of late 16th century Spain, with the shadows of King Philip, Elizabeth I of England, and the Inquisition.

Leigh Bardugo is so good at historical, I hope she writes more! She is starting to write the same sort of characters though, often her side characters are much more interesting. This is the case for The Familiar - there's so many historical references, interesting views on history and characters that I wish we could have explored a lot more than the romance.

4.5

I really liked this. It's incredibly unique- I've never read a book set in the Spanish Inquistion, let a lone one with magical realism. Nothing feels cheesy here- it feels so grounded and I gained perspective on history that I was not expecting.

I know a lot of people seemed to dislike this book- I think if you go in expecting more of what Bardugo has written in the past, you might find this one slower. But I found it just to be a different style- still really great, intelligent, and keeps you guessing.

I could so say many things but I'll get right to it: I was imagining santángel as an 80 year old man and Luzia as a 18 year old girl the entire time so their chemistry felt so unnatural. I'm sure their physical looks were probably described differently but ever since that motherfucker appeared on the page, he was an old ass hag and she was literally on the cusp of adulthood to me. Now, I must confess that I do, in fact, have a thing for geriatric, basically dead old men. So, IN ALL HONESTY, I was not opposed (well I kinda was, morally). But he felt like a predator to me the entire time until I eventually just had to rework my brain to ignore it. He was just too wise, too lived, to not be a bag of bones in my head. I digress.

Here's my short and sweet take of the whole thing:
- felt like a romantic lapvona (ottessa moshfegh).
- The fantasy element was beautifully done. It wasn't too heavy handed but also played an integral part in the plot.
- Too many names to remember. Specifically Victor vs Antonio Perez.
- writing style eats down. i truly wasn't aware bardugo got down like that. Also didn't know she's written every fantasy novel ever.
- loved valentina's arc
- This would've been so much cooler if he actually WAS old and was a mentor and father figure. That's the energy I was picking up at first anyways.

it would have been 1 star but it was objectively a good book. i was just so bored and don't think it was meant for me lol

I enjoyed it. Was this Bardugo's best novel? No, but it was entertaining, despite its flaws. I feel a bit too little is left to be explained - considering its historical fiction it takes a bit too many liberties without explaining why. I think she should have gone further into detailing the magic and its rules, or kept them even looser than it is.

I don't give it 4 stars because I feel the romance was poorly developed and forced. Luzia's character did not need it and it felt even Bardugo didn't care for it.

Enjoyable but not sure it's as good as the Alex Grant series.

Though it was darker than other books I have read of hers, it lent a sense of realism to the story.

I'm a little torn on how to rate this - the book was great, I just started to lose interest in the second half. But the descriptions were so rich and good. Santángel was an interesting male lead and i loved his backstory. Luzia was a little bit boring of a female character but overall a good read.

Finally done! This was sooo goooood. Surprised at all the bad reviews I keep seeing. The ending blew my mind.

This was pretty darn good. I don't know what is up with the bad reviews I keep seeing for this book. It had way more heart, intrigue and feelings than that stupid five broken blades book that everyone keeps waxing poetics about but is just filled with horny teenagers. Anyway, not to get sidetracked, Luiza was such a bad ass. Loved how everyone once in a while, the callused hands were brought up and played a role in the story.

I also saw someone describe Santangel as an old man and just

Very Leigh Bardugo: the pace builds towards the end, and the ending aims to leave a sense of fulfillment...even though I do feel like I wanted more.

I like how everyone has their own ambitions that manifested in many different ways. Every single character feels alive to me. Every single one of them, not just the main characters.

The only flaw was the romance. It should have had a bit more buildup. It should have been marinated a bit longer.

Leigh Bardugo writes it, I read it. The ending was so satisfying, and I love a good standalone!

In the realm of fantasy literature, where the incredible becomes conceivable and realms beyond our reality flourish, “The Familiar” by its renowned author initially promised a grand foray into mystic lands and arcane mysteries. However, upon a thorough examination, the book reveals itself not as a treasured relic of narrative artistry but as a flawed artifact, made all the more conspicuous by its disappointing execution and questionable content.

At its heart, “The Familiar” is woven with the threads of potential greatness, a tapestry depicting a world of intricate magic systems and a diverse cast of characters. The initial plunge into this world is indeed mesmerizing, luring the reader with its rich descriptions and complex lore. The allure of ancient spells, mythical creatures, and the classic battle between dark and light initially sets a promising stage.

However, as the pages turn, the enchantment of the book's beginning crumbles under the weight of its own ambition. The ending, in particular, stands out as egregiously executed. It unravels any previous investment in the story with a conclusion that feels both rushed and hollow. This precipitous drop in storytelling quality not only betrays the reader's investment but also sullies the book's earlier achievements.

Compounding this issue is the book's foray into romantic subplots and character interactions, which are marred by cringe-worthy dialogue and scenarios that can only be described as smut without substance. These scenes, seemingly inserted to add a layer of adult complexity, instead come across as forced and gratuitous. They distract from the core narrative and undermine the characters' development, reducing them to caricatures defined by their basest desires rather than their potential as epic heroes.

What is perhaps most disheartening is that the widespread popularity of “The Familiar” seems less a testament to its literary merit and more a reflection of the celebrity of its author. It is an unfortunate truth in the literary world that often a name can carry more weight than the quality of the content. This phenomenon is painfully evident here, where the author's fame has seemingly blinded many to the book's glaring deficiencies.

In conclusion, while “The Familiar” initially presents itself as a promising fantasy epic, it ultimately fails to deliver on its potential. The narrative is sabotaged by a poorly executed conclusion and unsavory attempts at mature themes. These elements tarnish the reading experience, making it a prime example of how a book can ride the coattails of the author's previous successes rather than standing on its own merits. As such, it serves as a cautionary tale about the pitfalls of commercial success overshadowing the foundational need for quality storytelling in literature.

"He kisses her fingers, and combs her hair, and he treasures her, as only a man who has lost his luck and found it once more ever can."

Unlike many of the reviewers here, this is the first book I've picked up by Leigh Bardugo, and this absolutely beautiful book has brought me into her fold of fans.

DNF 8%