Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

10 reviews

morganish's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad medium-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

4.5

The Familiar is hard to fit into a genre, because it's too magical to be purely historical fiction. And it's dark, but it's not exactly horror? I'm gonna go ahead and designate a new genre of my own making that this fits into, along with several other books I've read this year like Lone Women and Vampires of El Norte: the Dark Fantasy Historical. 

What Worked For Me

The Historical Setting: Similar to the other books I mentioned, the best thing about this book is that it takes a hyperspecific look at a historical time and place, one which I know very little or nothing about, and centers it. In this case, the book is set in Spain during the Spanish Inquisition; with a focus on the Jewish-Spanish experience. That was by far the most engaging part of the book for me. With as much vague cultural knowledge as there is floating around about the Spanish Inquisition, reading this was illuminating, and made me realize how very little I actually know about Spanish history or this particular period.

The Characterization: I expected this story to be a little bit more straightforward in its depictions of good guys versus villains, but this one kept me guessing. Not every character gets what a reader might think they deserve, but its done in an interesting way that always kept me surprised. It felt a bit more truly adult for that. And in a way that's hard to describe, feels a little bit more like escapism for me personally, when I'm kept guessing and things aren't all predictable.

The Prose: The writing wasn't distractingly flowery, but there were moments of writing that felt beautiful and timeless. The writing style felt a little bit like it was leaning toward and influenced by fairy tales at times, and the last few paragraphs solidified that in a way that was really emotionally impactful for me. 

What Wasn't My Thing

The Distance From Characters: The downside to that narrative style is that sometimes I felt like there was an emotional separation between me and the characters. Which probably worked when it came to writing about some of the grislier things that happen in the story But made it harder to connect to them and get truly invested.

The Romance: I think that, because the story was a little removed emotionally, and because it's more historical, the romance didn't really work for me here. Especially because it followed a certain kind of trope which kind of seems like it's been done a lot (maybe that's just my age speaking). It almost felt like the writing decided it could skip big parts of the characters getting to know or fall for each other. The downside of that, for me as a slow-burn fan, is that it all felt really fast and I wasn't invested enough when I think the story expected me to be. 

Who This Is For

I think this is going to appeal to historical fiction readers who don't mind a hint of dark fantasy. And for fantasy readers who like the more fairy tale-esque/YA style of stories and are okay with it having much darker, more adult elements. Existing fans of Leigh Bardugo's gritty underdog/outsider characters, dark worldbuilding & magic systems, and gothic-inspired romances would like this, even though the writing style, subject matter, and pacing felt very different from her usual. 

My Personal Rating System

Still shying away from wanting to rate books like a product; it's not my place to say if a story deserves to exist, and I firmly believe 99% of all art has a place and an audience who needs it. Following my personal rating system just to show how much I personally connected with a given book:

5 stars: I got so invested that it's definitely on my agenda to read other books by this author
4 stars: I would be excited to read another book by this author, but it's not a priority
3 stars: don't plan to read more by this author, but if assigned for a book club, I'd be cool with it
2 stars: don't plan to read more by this author, & if assigned for a book club, I'd be like, ugh, ok, fine
1 star: I will never pick up a book by this author again if I can help it (usually due to overt bigotry)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Antisemitism, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, and Torture

Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Gore, Misogyny, Infidelity, Slavery, Infertility, Grief, Sexual content, Bullying, Colonisation, and Death of parent

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

theespressoedition's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Murder, Religious bigotry, Blood, Infidelity, Antisemitism, and Torture

Moderate: Sexual content, Gore, Excrement, Physical abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

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

jazhandz's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.75

From a pure craft standpoint, Leigh Bardugo’s writing is at a peak in this book. It’s sensory and rich and compelling. The character work is lovely. Where this book falls flat for me is the relationships - and not only the central relationship, but the entirety of the relationships, romantic and platonic and familial and antagonistic. None of them will stick with me in a meaningful way. Which is a shame! I think if this book had stronger relationships it would be an easy favorite. As it is, it was fine.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Religious bigotry, Antisemitism, Confinement, Torture, and Body horror

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Infertility

Minor: Sexual content, Pregnancy, Vomit, Infidelity, Animal cruelty, and Death of parent

edamamebean's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I loved this book so much, I don’t even know what to do with myself. It was perfect from start to finish, genuinely the best I’ve read from Leigh Bardugo. I’ll be hard pressed to read a book that tops this one all year.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Infidelity, Torture, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Infertility, Murder, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Antisemitism, and Xenophobia

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Classism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Blood, Body shaming, Cursing, Gaslighting, Violence, Confinement, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Antisemitism, Body horror, Hate crime, Torture, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Infidelity, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Abandonment, and Bullying

sxndaze's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense 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

4.25

A thousand stories. A thousand 
meanings. But in the end, it belongs to no one, except the woman who holds it in her hand.

a little slow in the beginning, but it’s an addicting read. the amount of names and characters that are thrown at you can be overwhelming at times too, but that’s the nature of fantasy i think. luzia is a wonderful character and her drive and ambition is something you can’t help but root for. santángel is dark and broody and everything i love in a character and the two of them together are chefs kiss. 

the plot is intriguing and the magic system is fascinating. the development of the side characters is wonderful too and i enjoyed my time with them. it’s definitely something i want to revisit again in the future.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Antisemitism, Blood, Death, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Torture, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Infertility, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual content

Minor: Alcohol

soniajoy98's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Classism, Religious bigotry, Murder, Antisemitism, Abandonment, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Misogyny, Death of parent, and Sexism

Moderate: Mental illness, Torture, Gore, Islamophobia, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Alcohol, Sexual violence, Grief, Biphobia, Ableism, Confinement, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Infertility, and War

uranaishi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, and Confinement

Moderate: Death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Abandonment, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gore, Murder, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Classism, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, and Violence

Minor: Pregnancy, Vomit, Antisemitism, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Medical content, Bullying, Child abuse, Colonisation, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Terminal illness, War, Outing, Homophobia, and Rape