The Familiar

I wanted to like this book so badly. This is the 10th Leigh Bardugo book I’ve read. Before reading this she was batting a perfect 1.000 for me. Of the nine books I had read by her previously I would say that I enjoyed every single one. What’s even crazier is that I felt like she had been getting better. Her two most recent books (Ninth House and Hell Bent) were my two favorites. To top it off, it’s a historical fantasy book set in the time of the Spanish Inquisition, which is a really interesting time period and one rife to do fun things with from a fantasy writer’s perspective. To say that I went into The Familiar with high expectations would be an understatement. I didn’t just think that I would like it. I felt like I already knew that I would like it.

And yet I didn’t. I waited for the moment for the book to click for me and it never did. I don’t think The Familiar is totally irredeemable. Bardugo clearly did a ton of research into the setting, there are some really cool set pieces and some of the supporting characters are really cool. There are really only a couple of criticisms that I can make about the book. Unfortunately they are pretty big mistakes.

The first is that I just don’t find the main characters to be interesting at all. Here I’m mostly talking about Luzia and Santangel, who are easily the most prominent characters in the book. I just can’t bring myself to care about them, which is a really big problem because the book really needs you to be emotionally invested in them and their love story. Luzia is just boring and when she’s not boring she’s antagonistic to the point that it makes it hard to root for her. Santangel is a cardboard cutout of ‘edgy male love interest’ to the point that I could believe he was a character in a Twilight knockoff. When you have a romance between these two characters and have that be one of the biggest storylines of your book, the book isn’t going to be good. A novel can survive having boring or unlikable side characters. But even the best worldbuilding, supporting characters and pacing cannot save a book in which the two main characters just aren’t compelling. What’s so strange about this criticism is that I know for a fact that Bardugo can write characters like this extremely well. Alex from Ninth House and Hell Bent shares plenty of similarities with Luzia on paper but she’s actually great and is a huge part of what makes those books so good. Nikolai from the Grishaverse has some stuff in common with Santangel but he was easily compelling enough to carry a duology by himself. If a writer who I didn’t have as much faith in wrote these characters I’d be more forgiving but once again I know that Bardugo can do better than this and that’s what makes this criticism so frustrating.

While most of what I dislike about the book comes down to the fact that I just don’t care about Luzia and Santangel, it also has to be mentioned that this book has some weird pacing issues. I feel like it’s way too long and yet somehow feels rushed at various points as well. There is a lot of stuff going on throughout this book and I feel like a few sections or subplots could easily be taken out and make the book better.

For an NBA player, shooting 90% from the free throw line is exceptional. 90% gets you at least an A- in most classes. For a writer, having 90% of your bibliography be amazing is very worthy of praise. I still like Bardugo and consider her to be one of my favorite authors today. But this book is a notable miss for her.

This was one of my most anticipated books of the year, so maybe my disappointment with this book is on me, with my expectations set too high. But at the same time this was advertised as a deeply personal historical fantasy based on the author’s family history, while it was actually an alternate universe Alina x The Darkling story.

My full review for this book is on my booktube channel, where I explain why this felt like an alternate universe Alina x The Darkling

The beginning was great, and I loved the first chapter as it really sets the stage for things to come. We are introduced to several of our main characters and their situations. We have Luzia who is a maid in a not so wealthy house, and unhappy with her position. She has magic, but since it comes from her Jewish family and is performed with a mix of languages, she knows she could be killed for using it.

We also have Valentina, who is trapped in a loveless marriage and longs for companionship, while being isolated by societal expectations. Because of this she often employs cruel attention seeking and controlling tactics on the two servants in her house.

The first few chapters of the book we are told that this story doesn’t end well and there are small things that happened that cause a domino effect. I generally find this premise interesting, but the problem is, looking back on this part of the book, I stopped believing that it was actually these small things that made a difference. Luzia was too power hungry and ambitious not to get caught eventually. Sure the bread incident might have been what tipped Valentina off, but Luzia was careless. She freakin’ fixed the torn dress right in front of Valentina. And you can’t convince me that Luzia actually thought Valentina’s wrath was better than her interest. Luzia revels in the attention. She wants people to notice her and notice how powerful she is. She was going to show off eventually, bread incident or not.

At times, I liked that we focused on a power hungry ambitious character. It was interesting to see how far she would take things, how far she could climb in social status before falling. But it got old when this was Luzia's only personality trait. I didn’t feel like the characters were well rounded, which might be why I felt that I was kept at arm's length from the characters. I had trouble getting immersed in the story.

I really enjoy Leigh Bardugo’s writing. She has some great punchy lines!

"Luzia saw her reflection in the goblet, changed but unchangeable, made perfect and ruined all the same"

I love this one, though it feels like a Grishaverse quote.

“She could be safe. ‘I'd rather be powerful” she whispered to no one”

Oooh I was so ready for a corruption arc!

“But did he deserve to die?”

“Death doesn’t come to those who deserve it. I can attest to that.”

The book is written using modern language, so if that is something that breaks your immersion in a historical novel, then this one is not for you. It is something I notice, but it doesn’t take me out of a book, so it worked fine for me.

Overall, I'm glad I read it, but I think this is my first Bardugo book that I've read and won't be rereading

3.5 Stars

MILD SPOILERS AHEAD (I'll let you know when):

I enjoyed this quite a bit. Each time I sat down to read, I looked forward to the story and the character development (for the main players, in particular. There are a lot of characters here and many are not interesting or seem sort of flat and predictable...a few though could have used more air time because the potential was there: Quiteria Escárcega, for example). The love story was interesting and I found myself most invested in this aspect of the story and found that it was what kept me coming back (which makes sense as this is the main part of the story...). The political aspect of things as it relates to King Phillip and Antonio Pérez was tepid. Like, oh yeah...we have to talk about the King and Pérez and the Inquisition (which wasn't portrayed as all that intimidating here) because this is what's supposed to raise the stakes...ok, let's get on with it. However, predictable the love story was here, it was still satisfying and enjoyable. Sort of how ice cream is satisfying and enjoyable. You know it's going to be yummy. And when it is yummy, you're happy that it was yummy, but you also expected it to be, soooo....yeah. Know what I mean?

MILD SPOILERS AHEAD:

Valentina is interesting. Probably my favorite character in this whole thing and I felt like her story...especially where it ends up...could be its own tale. What a gray character, but one you find yourself rooting for some (not so) inexplicable reason. And that scene in the woods with the horse and Marius? It could have been longer because it was so well-placed and so important for the development of both Marius and Valentina...a lost opportunity in my opinion, but not bad by any means...I just wanted more.

As for the setting and atmosphere, I wanted this to be more “fleshed out” (if you can say that about things like atmospheres and settings). I knew when this was taking place only because of the events closely preceding and during the story (defeat of the Spanish armada by Queen Elizabeth I, Inquisition), but other than that, very little in the story reminds you of when this takes place or what the environment was like or even how the environment actually does its own work to raise the stakes. I think I need to think on this one more...but I just didn't visualize the environment a lot with this one...and I am GREAT at visualizing a story. It's what I LOVE about reading. But with this, Bardugo didn't ask much of you in that respect...and for me, that's a let down.

Ok, this is a lot for a standalone “romantasy” of 379 pages, but I had thoughts. Overall, I rate this a 3.5. I enjoyed it. I looked forward to picking it up and for what it's worth, if this were to become a series (which based on the ending, I don't think it would), I'd spring for the next one.