The Familiar

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.