A review by whenimreading
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

dark hopeful mysterious tense slow-paced

4.0

I love Leigh’s writing and I actually devoured this book, even though it was on the slower side. Very interesting historical fiction, set during the Spanish Inquisition with magic and a love story. It had a gradual build up with the final chapters really captivating me.

I thought Luzia, Valentina, Hualit, and few of the other female characters were very strong and really carried the plot. The atmosphere and setting created this addicting tension, Luzia had to hide her magic and Jewish roots from the Inquisition, and the fear of persecution is present throughout. 

Santángel was this mysterious enigma and I enjoyed his relationship with Luzia and how he confided in her. The magic that put him in this position of the familiar seemed very unique to me and overall, I enjoyed the subtlety of the magical system. 

Lauren Fortgang’s audiobook narration is always great, her ability to create movement in the words and delivery is really fantastic. I love her accents and emotion she adds to the characters. 

I’m pretty content with the outcome of the book. While it doesn’t pack the action scenes I might have been used to from this author, I think it’s worth checking out for the historical background and interesting characters.