A review by despina19
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

4.0

This was my first great escapist summer read of 2024! This was also my first Bardugo. I loved the blending of historical fiction set in 16th century Spain with elements of magical realism. I loved learning about Bardugo’s personal family history, the plight of Sephardic Jews and the Ladino language and refranes. The writing is dense snd lush and took me longer to get through than I anticipated, but it was worth it! The characters were all very clearly portrayed, even smaller characters, and I love the way a character we might think is one archetype might turn out to be completely different by the