A review by blewballoon
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

Did not finish book. Stopped at 11%.
Really not loving this so far. It's a bit too crass and unpleasant; there were 3+ mentions of casual sexual assault in the first 5% of the book. It feels like everyone is just abusing each other, or making whatever the most selfish and impulsive choice is that they can make. All the side characters seem to be there to add more awful texture. I think you're meant to sympathize with the main character and her bad choices, but the writing is missing the mark because I don't feel anything for her apart from mild exasperation.

It reminds me of some other books I read narrated by Saskia Maarleveld (Hester, God of Endings, Little Thieves), but she didn't narrate this one and I wonder if she could have made it much better if she did. I can take some grit and darkness, but I need there to be a sense of hope and change to get me through the sloggy parts. I am not finding that here.

This is my first Leigh Bardugo book, and if this is a good indicator of her writing style, I don't think I like it. I had high hopes since I know her books are quite successful, and this premise interested me, but hopefully this is a fluke and I'll have better success with one of her other books in the future.
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