Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

42 reviews

gaky_m's review against another edition

mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was a very melancholy read for me. The book started off a little slow for my taste, but definitely picked up enough for me to enjoy it. I enjoyed the character development of both Luzia and Valentina, and I ADORED how the book ended. 

Finding an enjoyable and satisfying standalone novel nowadays is a rarity for me (I tend to accidentally start new series/trilogies all the time thinking they are standalones haha) and this one was a breath of fresh air in that regard! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Torture

Minor: Classism and Death of parent

stormeno's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Torture, Violence, Antisemitism, Blood, Mental illness, Gore, Classism, Confinement, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Grief, Misogyny, Sexual content, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Death, Gaslighting, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

shamaramill's review

dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Islamophobia, Infertility, Religious bigotry, Vomit, Antisemitism, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Torture, and Death

chronicacademia's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Antisemitism, Death, Hate crime, Body horror, Child abuse, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Classism, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Adult/minor relationship, Colonisation, Grief, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Blood, and Murder

savvyrosereads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Rating: 5/5 stars

Luzia is a scullion in the home of Valentina and Marius Ordoño when her “small miracles” get her drawn into a dangerous tournament to become the king’s champion.

Leigh Bardugo is one of my favorite authors, and this book absolutely reminded me why. I’ll start with the writing: it is STUNNINGLY good, with so many witty and beautiful quotes throughout. If I was annotating this, I could use up entire highlighter collections noting my favorite passages and moments.

Secondly, the characters. Leigh Bardugo writes a morally grey man (and just morally grey people in general) better than almost anyone in the game, and I am OBSESSED with how well she did that here. Santángel is easily one of my new favorite all-time characters, and I also loved Luzia, and (maybe controversially?) Valentina. Even the characters I disliked were so delicately rendered and fascinating to read about, which is the mark of a truly great book in my opinion.

Finally, the level of detail and historical research here is INCREDIBLE and makes for a wonderfully immersive read. Highly HIGHLY recommend!

CW: Death/grief; sexual violence; physical violence/injury; torture

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Torture, Death, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Infertility

erudia's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Torture and Antisemitism

Minor: Infertility, Confinement, and Death of parent

narzibenoucdel's review

dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

A great book with characteristic Bardugo strengths of writing and character, but needed to be 100-200 pages longer to flesh out the intricacies and themes to their full potential

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Blood, Misogyny, Sexism, and Torture

Moderate: Death of parent, Sexual content, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

lyraparledor's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Slavery and Antisemitism

Minor: Death, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Grief, Islamophobia, Death of parent, Infertility, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual content, Torture, and Vomit

aileron's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Death, Antisemitism, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Classism, Death of parent, Blood, Confinement, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Grief

Minor: Animal death, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, and Mental illness

pewterwolf's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Set in Spanish Golden Age, we follow Luzia, a scullion. She tries not to be seen, but she uses scraps of magic to make life a little easier. But when her mistress discovers that Luzia can perform  little miracles, she demands that Luzia uses them to better the family’s social position. But what begins as simple amusements for the bored nobility takes a dark turn when  disgraced secretary of the Spanish King, Antonio Pérez, and his familiar, Guillén Santángel, sees her and takes a dark interest in her. 

Luzia seizes the chance to better her self, but as her notoriety grows, the danger of her Jewish blood grows as, if she gets found out, the Inquisition’s wrath will be unspeakable. She has to stay several steps ahead. But the rules are always changing in the Spanish court and not everyone gets out alive.

I think I have to finally admit to myself that historical fiction and me aren’t going to get along and I need to stop pushing this genre onto my TBR lists. 

I struggle with them. This audiobook took me a month to get through. I started it the week of release, but I really struggled to connect with this. Plus, my brain was all over the place So I couldn’t really focus on this. But, when I did sit down and listen, I found myself bored and not connecting with the characters and the story. 

The story felt very slow and quite heavy (at times) for me. I like stories to have some pace when it starts, but it felt as if it took an age for the plot to charge forward. If you are a fan of slower burn of a plot where you get to know the characters, this is for you. But I find I like to know characters when they are doing something or when the plot is moving. 

While I wasn’t a fan of the story and the characters (they’re flawed characters, but not exactly likeable. I understood why they behaved the way they did, but I found it them frustrated and every time I found an element of them that I liked, something happened and I would be back at square one with this character), I am a fan of Leigh Bardugo’s writing and it fits so nicely with the audiobook’s narrator, Lauren Fortgang. I know she has read several other books by Bardugo, but this partnership works.

But this wasn’t for me. If you are a fan of historical fiction with an edge of magic, you should check it out. But be warned, it is a slow burn of a plot and can be heavy in places. 

As for me, like I said earlier, I think I have to admit that historical fiction, while a genre I like dipping my toe in and out of, isn’t the genre for me. I do have some on my TBR but I have heard really positive things about them so going to take the risk, but am going to go into them with low expectations. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Body horror, Violence, Vomit, Confinement, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Blood, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, War, Antisemitism, Gore, and Misogyny

Moderate: Cursing and Infertility

Minor: Dementia and Death of parent