The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo – Review

Published: April 9, 2024

Publisher: Flatiron Books

Series: N/A

Genre: Fantasy, Historical

Pages: 387 (Hardcover)

My Rating: 5 Stars

Synopsis:
From the New York Times bestselling author of Ninth House, Hell Bent, and creator of the Grishaverse series comes a highly anticipated historical fantasy set during the Spanish Golden Age

In a shabby house, on a shabby street, in the new capital of Madrid, Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to get through her days of endless toil as a scullion. But when her scheming mistress discovers the lump of a servant cowering in the kitchen is actually hiding a talent for little miracles, she demands Luzia use those gifts to better the family’s social position.

What begins as simple amusement for the bored nobility takes a perilous turn when Luzia garners the notice of Antonio Pérez, the disgraced secretary to Spain’s king. Still reeling from the defeat of his armada, the king is desperate for any advantage in the war against England’s heretic queen—and Pérez will stop at nothing to regain the king’s favor.

Determined to seize this one chance to better her fortunes, Luzia plunges into a world of seers and alchemists, holy men and hucksters, where the line between magic, science, and fraud is never certain. But as her notoriety grows, so does the danger that her Jewish blood will doom her to the Inquisition’s wrath. She will have to use every bit of her wit and will to survive—even if that means enlisting the help of Guillén Santangel, an embittered immortal familiar whose own secrets could prove deadly for them both.

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The Familiar is a brilliant historical political fantasy with enough drama, longing, and magic to keep you turning pages late into the night. I know I absolutely got hooked on this story from the first chapter, which was helped by Lauren Fortgang’s narrative performance. I do wish I had a print version of the book on hand to reference for spelling of names, locations, and terms but I shall do my best!

The Familiar follows Luzia Cotado, a servant of Jewish descent working the household of minor nobles in Madrid. One day Luzia is caught by the lady of the house, Valentina, working one of her ‘little miracles’ to unburn a loaf of bread and before she knows it, Luzia is performing her magic before dinner guests. Soon after, Don Victor, a wealthy man and her aunt’s lover, comes to an arrangement with Luzia where she will train with his man, Guillen Santangel, and compete in a tournament so that perhaps she could one day be the King’s court magician. Santangel, a dangerous man rumored to be unkillable, was cursed generations ago to serve Victor’s family as a Familiar. His honing of Luzia’s gifts is invaluable, though unsurprisingly the two form a connection that further complicates an already complex dance of politics and intrigue. This is quite the oversimplification of the plot, but it gives you the gist of the goings on and I encourage you to pick up this book if this sounds interesting to you.

I really loved Luzia as a character, though I wouldn’t say she’s traditionally ‘likable’. Luzia wants. She is a servant and has had a hard life, but she longs for the soft life and all the beautiful things a wealthy woman might have and she thinks cruel, jealous thoughts. All of these things don’t make her a bad person, but rather a realistic one. I love the tension between her and Santangel, which begins almost immediately. She makes him feel alive after centuries of numbness and he makes her feel powerful. Each has their own goals that don’t necessarily align with each other, though the competition and the goal of Luzia winning keeps them mostly on the same track. 

The competition aspect was done really well and it goes beyond simple performances or displays of power. These are magic workers in a time when the Inquisition is out for the blood of anyone perceived as heretical and we all know that definition is quite flexible. The competitors are balancing their desire to win with the desire to appear holy or that their gifts are heaven-sent so they aren’t tortured and burned at the stake. The competitors themselves also help to keep things interesting.

Overall, I loved this book but I picked it up knowing that it was a politics-heavy fantasy with much more talking and plotting than action or romance. Many of the low ratings I’ve seen were from people who seemed to have a different expectation and found what they were presented with boring. The characters and setting were great and I absolutely ate up all the interpersonal drama. The ending of the book was surprising, but fantastic and left me satisfied with all the characters’ fates and wrapped up all the loose ends. This is a standalone done well and Leigh Bardugo doesn’t disappoint!