The Familiar: A Novel
#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER * #1 INDIE BESTSELLER * NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
"An immersive, sensual experience." --The New York Times
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Leigh Bardugo comes a spellbinding novel set in the Spanish Golden Age. In a shabby house, on a shabby street, in the new capital of Madrid, Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to get through her days of endless toil as a scullion. But when her scheming mistress discovers the lump of a servant cowering in the kitchen is actually hiding a talent for little miracles, she demands Luzia use those gifts to improve the family's social position. What begins as simple amusement for the nobility takes a perilous turn when Luzia garners the notice of Antonio Pérez, the disgraced secretary to Spain's king. Still reeling from the defeat of his armada, the king is desperate for any advantage in the war against England's heretic queen--and Pérez will stop at nothing to regain the king's favor. Determined to seize this one chance to better her fortunes, Luzia plunges into a world of seers and alchemists, holy men and hucksters, where the lines between magic, science, and fraud are never certain. But as her notoriety grows, so does the danger that her Jewish blood will doom her to the Inquisition's wrath. She will have to use every bit of her wit and will to survive--even if that means enlisting the help of Guillén Santángel, an embittered immortal familiar whose own secrets could prove deadly for them both.
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Community Reviews
Did not finish book. Stopped at 11%.
Really not loving this so far. It's a bit too crass and unpleasant; there were 3+ mentions of casual sexual assault in the first 5% of the book. It feels like everyone is just abusing each other, or making whatever the most selfish and impulsive choice is that they can make. All the side characters seem to be there to add more awful texture. I think you're meant to sympathize with the main character and her bad choices, but the writing is missing the mark because I don't feel anything for her apart from mild exasperation.
It reminds me of some other books I read narrated by Saskia Maarleveld (Hester, God of Endings, Little Thieves), but she didn't narrate this one and I wonder if she could have made it much better if she did. I can take some grit and darkness, but I need there to be a sense of hope and change to get me through the sloggy parts. I am not finding that here.
This is my first Leigh Bardugo book, and if this is a good indicator of her writing style, I don't think I like it. I had high hopes since I know her books are quite successful, and this premise interested me, but hopefully this is a fluke and I'll have better success with one of her other books in the future.
Content Warnings:
Moderate: Racism, Violence, Sexual assault, and Religious bigotry
Really not loving this so far. It's a bit too crass and unpleasant; there were 3+ mentions of casual sexual assault in the first 5% of the book. It feels like everyone is just abusing each other, or making whatever the most selfish and impulsive choice is that they can make. All the side characters seem to be there to add more awful texture. I think you're meant to sympathize with the main character and her bad choices, but the writing is missing the mark because I don't feel anything for her apart from mild exasperation.
It reminds me of some other books I read narrated by Saskia Maarleveld (Hester, God of Endings, Little Thieves), but she didn't narrate this one and I wonder if she could have made it much better if she did. I can take some grit and darkness, but I need there to be a sense of hope and change to get me through the sloggy parts. I am not finding that here.
This is my first Leigh Bardugo book, and if this is a good indicator of her writing style, I don't think I like it. I had high hopes since I know her books are quite successful, and this premise interested me, but hopefully this is a fluke and I'll have better success with one of her other books in the future.
Content Warnings:
Moderate: Racism, Violence, Sexual assault, and Religious bigotry
Absolute smash. I'm a long-time Leigh Bardugo fan and still hold that Six of Crows is one of her very best works but this is right in that same vein. The setting is gorgeous, the magic elements throughout are thoughtful and precise, and the connections among the characters had me wanting to re-read it as soon as I finished!
Fantasy at its best, and sans dragons and faeries and smut!! I love historical fiction and this 16th century epic is set during the Spanish Inquisition with magic, greed, love worth fighting for, church corruption at its finest, and full of nonstop action. I couldn’t put this down; I started it via the Audible version through Libby and had to run to my local indie bookstore and pick up the hardback so I could see the words I was hearing and feeling. Book #54 in 2024
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