A review by megansmith
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I have mixed feelings on this, but mostly positive! This was a really interesting premise, some of which I think the author executed nicely. The writing is incredibly descriptive and the ending really pulled me in, making me wonder how it was all gonna turn out. I also loved hearing about an era of time I knew very little about.

My cons: The beginning felt SLOW. I struggled til like over halfway through with the pace. But then the really interesting events went so quickly.

The romance also felt super sudden and honestly really forced, I struggled to root for them as a couple. And I wish the magic was explained a bit more.

Also, I struggled a bit on names, just because the book would flip between nicknames and formal names. Maybe if I read this in less sittings I wouldve gotten them down quicker? 

I had higher hopes for this book and Im kind of disappointed, but parts of it still caught my attention. Idk! If the premise interests you im sure you’ll like it, but it didnt live up to the quality of Ninth House that I was hoping for.