Reviews

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

mayawildgoose's review against another edition

fast-paced

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

5.0

cathwren's review

3.0

I had initially imagined Santángel looking like Claude Frollo from Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which is why a large portion of the book did not work for me. The concept and events within the book were compelling enough for me to carry on and the writing was quite beautiful at times. It felt like Bardugo's entry into New Adult and whilst I liked the majority of the writing there were moments that felt crass and unnecessary. I was disappointed that I did not care for any of the characters unlike in Bardugo's other books. 

Aspects of the characterisation and relationships developed felt vaguely similar to The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and I didn't like them then and I don't like them now. The plot armour felt heavy in this ending. 

Would recommend (for an interesting magic system), wouldn't read again.

kieraawatson's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark inspiring 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? Yes

3.75

tavia16's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

tintendrache's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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? Yes

5.0

cossmo's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

3.5

qraiqe's review against another edition

3.0

 I am so sad about this book as I was LOVING it at the start, and I was exited to read an adult Leigh Bardugo fantasy. Sadly despite this being classified as Adult, and I would agree based on some of the more explicit scenes in here, there's also something very decidedly YA about this.

Very predictable plot and a surface level romance aren't necessarily bad, however there were genuine interesting more mature ideas here, but with one foot in either of the Adult and YA doors, The Familiar fails to play on the strengths of either genre.

Leigh Bardugo is still a fantastic writer, so I still mildly enjoyed it. 

fvrrest's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

veeralaitinen's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

smallneen's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5