Dark, spellbinding and entertaining

Desire, greed and fortune are more complicated when there is magic involved. A simple maid with a complicated history finds herself embroiled in intrigue and a series of escalating problems and opportunities as she reveals a secret power. From obscurity to revelation, Lucia and the women around her make the most of their varied and difficult circumstances, drawing the eye of the powerful and in Lucia's case of a mysterious familiar. set in Spain at the time of the inquisition, this fantastic story is not without pain and misery but is also filled with a howling humour and twists that keep the reader gripped with every intrigue.

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Not my favourite

The six of crows is my favourite book and I’ve loved everything Leigh Bardugo writes and I’m gutted I didn’t fall in love with this book. She is a master mind of weaving together stories and this is the case here. You can easily enjoy the story telling. Ultimately, it is a heavy listen and I didn’t warm to the characters. The story based in Inquisition Spain is really interesting. What the book missed is the amazing world building of her other books.

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A lovely story

Well written and beautifully read. I was engaged from the very start. It was the kind of book which I didn’t want to end.

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Adult fantasy standalone

Loved almost everything about this book. The narrator did an amazing job: loved her singing Luzia’s milagritos😍

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A Brilliant Spanish Fantasy

This was a fantastic telling of a really enticing story. The fantasy elements blended so well with the Spanish setting and made for a great read.

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Maddening narration

The story is good but the narrator speaks no Spanish so that names of people and places are unintelligible, which detracts from the plot.

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Beautiful story telling

Leigh Bardugo again builds a beautiful world filled with magic and amazing characters - loved this book and Lauren’s narration is once again amazing!

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Captivating

Five stars all around. Love the story and character developments. The reader did a great job and actually liked the ending!

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Felt nothing for any character

This was such a disappointment after six of crows and ninth house. Like another reviewer mentioned feel bad writing this as it’s so personal to the author but there was nothing compelling about the characters or the plot. I felt no tension in the story the characters didn’t feel well developed at all and I just didn’t care what happened to them. I gave up at 28% I very rarely dnf a book but this feels like it was written by someone else

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1 person found this helpful

What the hell?

I have a habit of not DNFing books, but every now and then, a story appears that seriously tests my resolve.

The only way I can explain why this book has even made it to the stores is that sometimes, an author´s name is big enough that their book is published with no questions asked because it is a given that it will sell well. If an editor was even involved in creating The Familiar (which I highly doubt), they should be sacked on the spot.

I don´t enjoy writing reviews like this, especially because Leigh Bardugo is one of my favourite authors, and especially because she said multiple times during the marketing campaign that the story holds personal significance to her. Unfortunately, I can honestly say I could not find a single redeeming quality that would change my mind.

If I didn´t know The Familiar takes place in 16th century Spain from the blurb, nothing in the way this story is told makes it apparent to a reader. The language is far too contemporary and the way the characters interact with each other is in no way authentic.

None of the characters are properly fleshed out, which means I didn´t connect with anyone enough to root for or against them. The romance is the absolute height of nauseating cliché tropes and it is completely unnecessary here. I was actually very surprised the author half-arsed it so badly because she usually nails the will they / won´t they tension perfectly.

The pacing is completely off as well. Most of the book drags on horribly, with a ton of exposition and virtually no action, only to give us an ending that is too rushed and feels very sloppy.

The magic system is not properly established, which results in many scenes feeling terribly convenient. The whole tournament angle is also very vague and the promised result provides no enticing incentive for the participants or the readers.

And none of this is to say The Familiar had no potential. On the contrary, there was plenty, it´s the awful execution that killed this story for me. Honestly, it felt like a first draft of a complete novice that would probably never have got published if it wasn´t backed up by Ms Bardugo´s credentials.

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3 people found this helpful