Leigh Bardugo’s The Familiar Book Review

I’m somewhat ashamed to admit this, but prior to last week, I had never read anything by Leigh Bardugo. Best known for the Shadow and Bone trilogy and the Six of Crows duology, Bardugo is one of the most popular fantasy writers of the decade. But although all her books have been on my TBR for ages, somehow I hadn’t gotten around to any of them until a week ago when I picked up her new novel, The Familiar.

However, I believe being a newbie to Bardugo’s work actually puts me at an advantage as a reviewer of this book, because I had no expectations going into it. Because although the GoodReads rating is overwhelmingly positive, (and it was a finalist for Goodreads’s Choice Awards for best fantasy novel) there were a lot Bardugo fans who thought it could have been better.

But I went in not knowing what to expect and judging the work based on its own merit, rather than any preconceived expectations. Therefore, if you want to get the skinny on whether this historical fantasy is worth your time or not, read on for my full The Familiar book review!

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Overview of The Familiar

4.5 Stars

Subgenre: Historical Fantasy

Read if you like

• Historical fiction / fantasy

• Romantic subplots that are secondary to the story

• Political intrigue

• Multiple POVs

• Magic contest

• Strong female protagonists

Pass if you don’t like

• Grittier stories

• Slow start

• Common (arguably overdone) romantic tropes

Judge a Book by Its Cover

And now for the most shallow part of the review where I give my first impressions on a book’s merit judged by the cover (and edges) alone. The artwork on the cover is very well done, of course, but for some reason, it doesn’t do anything for me. Actually, after reading the book I am still not sure what the chain represents or even whose hand that is.

I suppose it was a fitting cover for a book that takes place in the 16th century, with art and font styles that look as though it could be from that time period.

But my biggest problem with the presentation of the book is the edges. The first editions all have black sprayed edges, and although I am normally a big fan of sprayed edges, these were not well done. Granted, my copy was a library book and had clearly been handled quite a bit, but it looks cheap and it would have been better not having sprayed edges at all.

Note to publishers: If you’re gonna spray the edges, do it right!

Plot

Set in Madrid city during the late 16th century and the height of the Spanish Inquisition, this story is about Luzia Cotado, a nobody scullion sleeping in the larder of her barely-anybody employers’ household. But plain and unassuming as Luzia may seem, she has a secret: she sings refranes that have special powers that can do nifty things like unburn bread, multiply objects, and cause seeds to grow and bloom at exceptional speed.

Of course, it doesn’t stay secret long, and soon her scheming mistress discovers her powers through a mishap involving burnt bread (that magically becomes unburnt) and demands Luiza to perform party tricks for her guests in an attempt to boost her own social standing.

But soon these little displays of magic attract the interest of Antonio Pérez, the disgraced secretary to Spain’s king who intends to use her “milagritos” or little miracles as a way to recapture the king’s favor. For the first time in her life, Luzia sees potential for a better life, if only she can win a magical contest against her competition.

But being brought into the spotlight brings its own danger, namely, the Inquisition, who mercilessly tortures and executes those accused of witchcraft. Her Jewish blood also makes her a target, and so she has work cut out for her if she’s going to survive.

Her only ally is Pérez’s familiar, Santángel, a bitter immortal with his own secret agenda.

The plot does start a bit slow, but I enjoyed the historical setting and seamless combination of political thriller and romance. It doesn’t have any crazy plot twists in it, but it wasn’t super predictable either (at least, it wasn’t for me), and it had a highly satisfying ending.

World-Building and Magic System

Leigh Bardugo clearly did a ton of research for this book, and she does a great job painting a picture of what 16th-century Spain was like. I did find that the descriptions of some of the settings could have been more detailed, but overall the world-building was very strong.

The magic system was interesting – Luiza can make small miracles happen by singing refranes, which involve a melody and poetic lines of song. I think it could have been fleshed out a little bit more but Bardugo gives us enough to get a loose understanding of how it works. At the start of the book, Luiza can only do small things like unburn bread or multiply objects, but as she trains with Santángel, she learns how to use her refranes to do more impressive – and dangerous – feats of magic.

There are also other magical elements in the book, like Santángel, who is immortal and lends his master’s family neverending luck for as long as he is bound to them. Luiza’s rivals in the magic contest also have some magical abilities, but Bardugo is a little more vague with these characters and how their magic works.

Characters

I did enjoy the characters in this book, although they consist of some familiar archetypes, especially the protagonist Luiza. Let’s see, a lowborn “plain-looking” maid who has nothing only to rise up to be the most powerful person in the book? Check. A curmudgeonly, hot immortal love interest who falls for said plain woman? Check.

But tropey as the main characters may be, there is enough development within the pages for me to feel connected to them. I did especially like Santángel, who fights an internal battle between doing what’s best for him, and what’s best for Luiza.

The side characters are also well-developed, which always makes a book so much better! Valentina, in particular, experiences some growth throughout the story which was very well done.

There is also more than one villainous character in the book as well, although they could have been rounded out a little more, their motivations are explored enough that I bought the characters.

Romance

The romance is my favorite part of this book. I love fantasy books that focus first on the plot and the romance second because somehow it ends up making the romance stronger. That is what I found in this book. The romance feels secondary to the main plot but you still feel the tension and connection growing between Luiza and Sántangel.

Writing Style

Bardugo has great writing chops and I loved the prose in this book. She writes beautifully without the prose ever getting too flowery or confusing.

The Familiar also utilizes multiple POVs in the close third person, which is my favorite narrative style. Most of it is told from Luiza’s POV, but we get many chapters of Santángel and even more secondary characters like Valentina.

For a book that’s under 400 pages – which is quite a modest length for a standalone fantasy – she makes every word count and it neither felt too long or too short. And for me, that marks great writing as much as anything else.

Final Thoughts and Rating

The Familiar was not quite a five-star read, but it was my best read in a long time and has solidified me as a Leigh Bardugo fan. I’m definitely going to bump Ninth House and the Grishaverse series up on my TBR as a result!

From the prose and research to the romance and political intrigue, there is a lot to love about The Familiar and I highly recommend you give it a read.

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