The newest novel by world-building master Leigh Bardugo just hit shelves on April 9, 2024. Titled The Familiar, Bardugo dips her toes into a new category of writing: historical fiction.
Her previous and potentially best-known works come under the “Grishaverse.” Six of Crows and its sequel, Crooked Kingdom, are her most popular novels under this label. Outside the Grishaverse, Bardugo has Ninth House and its most recently released sequel Hell Bent. These novels take a slightly more real approach, looking at the dark underworkings of the Ivy League with a touch of forbidden magic.
The Familiar diverges from both these previously explored styles of fiction for Bardugo. But never fear, magic is still at the core of the story. The setting brings us to Madrid during the Inquisition in the mid-16th century. Luzia Cotado is the main character, a woman employed as a scullion, until she reveals her own ability to perform small miracles. She finds herself sprung into a ring of danger and magic as powerful men try to take advantage of her abilities while she tries to gain control over her own destiny. This choice brings her a teacher named Guillen Santángel, a strange man nicknamed and feared under the name of the Scorpion.
I would rate the novel a 7/10 overall. It’s definitely not a bad novel. I would compare it to Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin. If you loved that book, The Familiar is definitely for you.
SPOILER WARNING! Proceed with caution if you have not read the novel yet and don’t want plot elements revealed.
The Spanish era, the complex and dangerous implications of religion, and the way women were often limited in their own agency built a great environment. After all, Bardugo has always been amazing at painting the environment of her stories. She also said the story is based on her own family history, so there is an additional element of personal connection. It is one of the biggest positives I have from the book. Luzia’s character is also fantastic. I love her backstory, wit, and creativity. She is a fiery spirit discovering herself and reveling in her abilities for the first time. If you’ve also read Six of Crows, I would describe her as a combination of Nina and Inej.
My two biggest issues with The Familiar were pacing and the development of certain characters. The former appears to cause the latter in most cases.
The book comes out to 379 pages of story. Yet it is not until page 140 that the characters reach the main setting. The core plot focuses on Antonio Perez’s endeavor to win back favor with the King. His character is a real historical person who served as a royal advisor to Spain’s king. In the novel, he is staging a series of trials, hosted at La Casilla, for people with magical abilities to prove themselves as real and useful. He hopes to present someone with a “holy gift” of great use to the king. That is how Luzia, when her magical talents are revealed at the start, draws the attention of Don Víctor, who hopes she will win and bring him immense power as a result. But again, as I said, they do not reach this location to begin these trials until more than a third of the way through the book.
The result of this, in my opinion, is the stunting of several more minor characters and relationships. Luzia and Santángel’s romance suffers the most. The true development of romance between them doesn’t begin until they’ve reached La Casilla. As a result, things feel very surface-level (to me). They very quickly begin a physical relationship, which is Luzia’s first. It is often a crass interruption of what is going on. For example, on page 252, Santángel and Luzia come together for the first time that day. There are numerous dangerous developments that they should be discussing. However, Luzia simply says, “Can it be done against a door?” and the scene shortly cuts away.
There was no tenderness. No small moments of affection or cues that built up to them starting a relationship. It went from zero to 100. It was a disappointment and left me wanting something more. Especially since we are supposed to be convinced of their deep love for one another by the end when it looks more like a physical relationship and not much more.
I felt similarly about the character of Valentina. She was Luzia’s master at the start of the novel, employing her as a scullion. She was cruel, shallow, and in a loveless forced marriage. Her development was actually fantastic. Valentina’s treatment of Luzia changed, they learned to care for one another, and she saw the errors in her ways. Marius, her husband, actually becomes a friend to her. And it is hinted a few times that another female character may be interested in Valentina. There was so much potential for her ending. But the end was very rushed. The relationship with the other woman sprang out of nowhere. They didn’t truly interact a single time before getting together. Marius was also done dirty, turning on the bit of development he received and being written out of the story in the end.
There was also a combination of last-minute betrayal plotlines that I would’ve liked to see more development for. I won’t spoil them here; the book is still worth reading. Again, a 7/10. But for a Leigh Bardugo story, I was expecting something a bit more. I will be curious to see if she pursues more work in this vein, returns to Ninth House, or gives us the next installment within the Grisha Verse. I’ll definitely be continuing to read her work!