The Familiar: A Novel

Bored, rushed development, inconsistent magic systems

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book consumed me. I wish I could forget it and read it again every day.

Maybe this just isn’t my kind of book, but I typically love a mixture of history and magic. The characters at the center of this story - Luzia and Santangel - should have been captivating given their powers, personal histories and personalities, but the author never truly mined the depths of their potential. I found myself uninterested in their fate and not particularly convinced of their attraction. In fact, I am known to read a book in a day, and this one took me almost a month because it did not engage me. As I finally finished it, I realized that the two characters I wished I’d known more about were two fairly minor players in the story: Luzia’s employer and later protector Valentina and the female playwright Quiteria Escárcega. I’d love to read a whole book on them and how they transformed the once lifeless Calle de Santos into a haven for singers, actors, artists and poets and their love and passion for each other. In the end, this book has too many words for such a thin and predictable story about one dimensional characters.

This was a DNF at over 20%. I had trouble visualizing a lot of the surroundings and characters. It didn’t seem to have a rich story telling. I don’t think the setting was the issue because Spanish Inquisition is such an interesting time period, however you don’t get any of that here. The pacing was odd. The characters were bland and boring. Also, this book felt like a rehash of all those young adult and new adult books where “plain homely virgin girl has a special power and brooding hero comes to her rescue to teach her how to overcome said tournament or dilemma and they fall in love plot.” Tell me where we have heard this before?? Just like every book after hunger games