A review by spookylettuce
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

Overall I enjoyed The Familiar with the characters, magic system, intrigue, and ending being highlights for me. I think the most similar reading experience I’ve had was with Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher which I also enjoyed a lot (they’re still both very different).
I found Luzia as a character and her character development compelling, circumstances allowing her to be more herself outwards and gain confidence in her abilities. Additionally the development of some other characters and the dynamics between characters leading up to and from the competition onwards.
I don’t always go for such a neat ending, but I did like how full-circle and tied-up the ending was here.
I’ve seen others critique the competition portion and how later on it felt as if it didn’t serve a purpose. But I disagree. I think it allowed for a lot of characterization and narrative tension. Tension of Luzia needing to pass for catholic, pass her abilities as divine, and the underlying intrigue/political tension amongst other things that would be spoilers. It also further defined Luzia’s abilities and how unique/impressive they were. Maybe I also just like that as a setting as a result of a lot of books I’ve read/liked having that element too though.
I also liked how several classic fairytale elements like diverging to be the third person omniscient, small subplot becoming more relevant and full circle (
the playwright
), etc.
I would have liked to see more information about the magic and its history in Luzia’s family in addition to the bits with her parents.
How did her aunt learn everything she taught Luzia? If she wasn’t as magically gifted was it just family oral history being passed down? Was any more of that family oral history shared then? Etc.
I cannot speak to the accuracy of the inquisition or elements of Jewish culture depicted, but it did provide a narrative tension and was interesting.
Additionally, I feel like even with the dire consequences of misusing magic displayed, that had no lasting consequences
other than a man losing his life but even that didn’t feel like it had much gravitas
. Also figuring out how to adapt how Luzia invoked magic nonverbally was just a bit too fast/neat/hand-wavy. Otherwise, I liked the way Luzia worked her magic and the patchwork of language that went into it.
If you liked Nettle and Bone or other slightly darker fairytale element-leaning stories that don’t necessarily have completely happy endings and have strong character dynamics you may enjoy The Familiar.
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