I’ve had a bit of mixed experience with Leigh Bardugo’s books. I thought the Shadow & Bone trilogy was generic and bland but loved the follow up duology set in the same universe, consisting of Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom. I loved Ninth House, but felt somewhat let down by the sequel, Hell Bent. I’m currently in the middle of reading several long series and wanted a bit of a palette cleanser (without starting another series), so I started reading Bardugo’s latest release, The Familiar, as I knew it was a standalone novel.
The Familiar is a historical fantasy novel, set in Spain during the reign of Philip II after the defeat of the Spanish armada by the “heretic” Queen Elizabeth I of England. The Spanish are looking for any advantage they can get, so anyone who can do magic is of particular interest to the crown. The book follows Luzia, a scullion in the service of an ambitious but relatively poor (obviously not poor poor, as they can afford a house and servants…) family, who can work “miracles”. Once her abilities become known, she tries to use them to achieve her own ambitions. But there are others who wish to use Luzia’s abilities to further their own ends, including her mistress, her patron, and her patron’s servant (Santangel, the titular “familiar”), so she must learn to navigate politics and determine who would cause her harm.
I really liked Luzia and her story. I find a lot of times in novels like this, the plot happens to the main character, rather than because of them. While there are others involved in instigating and advancing the plot, Luzia has agency and is ambitious and her choices are intentional. I also liked the side characters, some of which go through a surprising amount of character development. It’s a relatively short book, but the world-building is imaginative (I don’t know much Spanish, but I liked that it had Spanish words and phrases scattered throughout), well-paced, and had a satisfying ending.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it.