A review by hollyway
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

tense medium-paced

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

Have been hearing people rave about Leigh Bardugo for years, but the fact is I almost never like YA so it didn't seem worth reading her earlier novels. This novel being an adult fantasy with a promising blurb, I thought this would be a good entry point for me. I was pleasantly surprised! Almost everything in the prose and storytelling was really solid. It was an entertaining and atmospheric read which I would happily recommend to others. There's a big "but" however, which is that I listened to the audiobook and I did NOT vibe with the narrator. Like AT ALL. Audiobooks are not my favourite at the best of times so yeah, it was not ideal. I was still able to appreciate the story but I'm fairly certain it would have been a far more enjoyable reading experience if it had not been filtered through this narrator.