Hello, Book Nerds! Welcome back to Reading Has Ruined My Life or welcome if you are new. As always, my name is Hannah and I am your captain on this journey into my bookcases.
As promised, I bring you a new review on another witchy read. Did I mention it’s on a newish release? Have you guessed what we’re reviewing today by those clues alone? What if I also told you the edges of the book are painted black? Does that help?
Please give a warm welcome to The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo!
This is the first time I’ve ever read any of Leigh Bardugo’s work. I had a wonderful time. So let’s crack in.
As always, a spoiler alert is in order. This is your one and only warning. If you’ve read any of my other reviews then you know I love to spoil the entirety of what I read. Synopsis time now.
Our story today focuses on young Luzia Cotado who is somewhere between the ages of 12 and 24. I don’t know if her age is stated and I missed it or if it’s never given, but I thought she was a pre-teen girl for almost the entirety of the read and then she began a sexual relationship with a man and I was thrown through a loop. For all intents and purposes, imma say she's 18. Anyway, she’s a scullery maid for a “wealthy” family in Madrid, Spain. As Luzia is our main character, she’s not your average scullery maid. Nay, nay. She has magic.
The lady of the house, Valentina, discovers Luzia has magic powers and she does the obvious thing: brag about it. Soon Luzia is performing her magic act at every dinner party Valentina throws. At one party she captures the attention of Antonio Pérez, the disgraced former secretary of King Philip II. Wanting to return to power, Antonio has Luzia entered into a contest to basically become the next court magician and secret weapon of the king.
Luzia agrees to enter this contest. This is her one chance to better her station. But by doing so Luzia also enters the lion’s den. The other competitors of this contest are vicious. Some are even out for blood. And not only does Luzia possess magic, she also has Jewish heritage. And you know what’s big at the time of our story. The Spanish Inquisition! Luzia has entered a very dangerous realm.
Can she stay alive? Will her heritage be found out? Is the contest worth it? All great questions. Find out the answers in The Familiar.
I have two main issues with this read. First of all, The Familiar suffers from too many characters syndrome. I knew who Valentina was, I knew who Luzia was, I knew who Hualit was, and I knew who Santángel was by the time I was halfway done. I at least knew who the main players were. The minor characters are a different story. I didn't know who anyone was. I needed help. I needed a character diagram. I needed a few pages in the back with all the characters, how they relate to one another, and if they’re high or low society. That would have been very helpful.
To be fair, I often have a hard time keeping track of characters when there are a lot of them. So this could totally be a me problem and mean nothing to other readers unless you’re like me and can't keep a bunch of names straight. Listen, you know if you can’t keep track of a large cast of characters. Just keep that in mind if you’re sitting down to read this one.
My next issue was with the pacing...I guess. This is again more of a me issue. The Familiar is a slow read, it’s a very slow paced book. I have no issue with The Familiar being slow paced. Realistically the pacing's fine, I just don’t know what else to call this problem. My issue is the fact I could only get through roughly thirty pages a night. I would fall asleep in the middle of a chapter. I think it took me two weeks to get through, and the book's only 379 pages long. This isn’t a super hefty book. It’s a pretty standard length. Yet it was a beast for me to get through.
Not to say The Familiar is bad. It’s far from bad. I just have my own issues that detract from this read. In fact, I’m a big fan of the plot. It’s fairly simplistic in nature, a young girl has magic powers and is forced to take part in a magical competition only to be thrown into a metaphorical viper den. But what makes the book so good is the amount of conflict. No one can be trusted, it’s truly everyone for themselves.
Guess what, this adds to something I love in fictional characters. Most characters in The Familiar live in a gray space, and I love when characters are like this. No one is fully good nor are they fully bad. Some characters certainly lean towards villain, but most are simply human and are trying to survive. They’re all dimensional, and when I could remember who was who, enjoyable to read about.
The Familiar is a great read. While my enjoyment was a depleted just a tad, the issues I have with this novel are more me problems than problems with the writing. I think most readers will be fine. I highly recommend The Familiar despite my issues.
With that, I must bid you all adieu. I shall see you next week with another new review that is still keeping with the witchy vibes I have going here at RHRML. I’ve just realized that there are a lot of witchy books coming up these next few weeks as we enter into Spooky Season. Sorry not sorry. If you can’t wait till next week though, then you can always check out my podcast Nothing to See Hear. Allow me to tell you a spooky story, learn about gay vampires, fairies, or a weirdo of history. There’s a lot more where that came from so I’m sure you’ll find something you like.
Until next time, stay safe, wash your hands, and read some good books for me.
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