Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

109 reviews

chasinggrace's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? No

4.5

*Update: I reread this right after finishing it and I am bumping to a 4.5⭐️ review. The prose and foreshadowing in this book are beautiful. 

Leigh Bardugo you have DONE IT AGAIN!! A dark romantic fantasy set in 1400’s Spain that features a determined girl and a cursed immortal man. The pure YEARNING from this man absolutely made the book for me. The way he phrased his love for her was beautiful - this writing was fantastic. 

This is gothic fantasy, so slightly slower and darker than epic or ramantasy novels. But I loved it just the same. Not all of the characters were likable, and many were hatable. I found myself thinking, “this is gonna end badly” so many times because I couldn’t see a way out for our FMC. 

I’m SO HAPPY that this book had a positive ending for Santangel and Luzia. I needed a fantasy book with a happy ending and they are such a beautiful couple ❤️

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Genocide, Infertility, Misogyny, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism

quiet_reader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Sexual content, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Minor: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Mental illness, Islamophobia, and Colonisation

paracosim's review against another edition

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, and Antisemitism

Moderate: Mental illness and Death of parent

ohennui's review against another edition

emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Violence, and Blood

Minor: Physical abuse and Death of parent

hazelgirl21'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? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Mental illness, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Minor: Animal death

meganpbell's review against another edition

adventurous informative 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? It's complicated

4.25

This richly imagined and cleverly-plotted historical fantasy follows a young servant forced to keep her Jewish heritage a secret during the Spanish Inquisition whose mistress discovers her magical powers and demands she use them to advance their fortunes in a high-stakes contest to become the King’s miracle-worker. I did struggle to get into it due to the slow pace…and I felt the characters and romance weren’t fully fleshed out. Still a worthwhile read!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Confinement, Sexual content, Torture, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, and Classism

Minor: Death of parent and Fire/Fire injury

chaoticlibrarian's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, Blood, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Infertility

allyareads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Classism

circe813's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Blood, Antisemitism, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

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

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

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