Reviews with content warning for Animal death - The Familiars

This book was a lot slow paced than Mrs England and I didn't enjoy it as much. The characters were based on real people during the witch trials which I loved! The second half really picks up so if you are struggling stick with it, it does get more exciting toward the end.

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evelum's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Exactly the kind of heartfelt adventure I was looking for. Fleetwood's perseverance was touching, and I loved how down to earth all her relationships were.

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wallflovver's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

there's something about this book that had me absolutely hooked, i was spending my days looking forward to unravelling more of this story as soon as i had the chance.

im a sucker for female friendship stories, especially ones where the two seemingly have nobody else and grow together, making their days less lonely and filled with light.

i especially loved the imagery of foxes following Fleetwood, to represent her bond with Alice even when they are apart.

i generally disliked the male characters, and felt great sympathy for the women in this story. as is true for women at the time, the society they lived in cost them their lives.

the mix of fiction and historical fact in this book was really interesting, i enjoyed the way it was presented.

the writing style was really nice and easy to consume, i got thru this book really quickly and had no issues with understanding the story and its plot points

overall i was completely gripped by this story and was pleased with the ending

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labbradorite's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.75

I love the writing style of this book, it felt like i was reading a classic but much much easier to understand

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j0annaj3nkins's review against another edition

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mysterious 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

4.25

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nataliaf4's review

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dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

5 stars! This book gripped me from cover to cover. I adored the characters and gothic setting and the main friendship in this is one of my favorite literary female/female friendships to date!

TW: descriptions of miscarriage and stillbirth, animal death, gaslighting, blood, and mentions of sexual abuse of a minor.

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bybookandbone's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
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

I don't think I have the words to describe everything I loved about The Familiars. Fleetwood is an incredibly sympathetic character. Just as I was getting irritated with her inaction, we discover that she is only 17, been married for four years and is pregnant with four miscarriages behind her. That's just so much for a young person to take. Plus the childhood neglect and abuse... absolutely horrific.

Throughout the book, Fleetwood has to deal with being seen as nothing more as an interactive uterus in an expensive dress.
I don't want to say much more than that without spoiling the story, though I wish it had ended with the violent murder of her husband, Richard, and his friend Rodger.

Alice is one of the women accused of witchcraft and Fleetwood's only friend, as well as the only midwife who has actually helped her with her difficult pregnancy.
Don't be fooled into thinking this book is about the Pendle trials, it's set around them but at the end of the day, it's Fleetwood and Alice's story.

I still wish they ran off together

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btrz7's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

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