Book Review: The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

I think you’ll enjoy this if you’re interested in historical fantasy with a strong romantic subplot.

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 improve the family’s social position.

What begins as simple amusement for the 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 lines between magic, science, and fraud are 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 Santángel, an embittered immortal familiar whose own secrets could prove deadly for them both.

The Book Review

I’ve somehow missed the whole hype train on Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse (they sound good, but I’ve heard that the original series, in particular, is a tad dated), and I didn’t even touch her Alex Stern books, due to the opinions I’ve heard being much more polarizing. However, when I heard about The Familiar, I knew I had to read it. I’m a sucker for anything vaguely Tudor-adjacent, and Spain and its history and culture was a related passion of mine when I took Spanish-language courses in high school and college.

While I know little about this specific era, beyond the basics of the Spanish Armada being in recent memory, Bardugo masterfully sets the scene, especially how King Philip’s favor has waned with Spain’s power following that crushing defeat. She also highlights how, politically and in terms of religious policy, not much had changed since the Spanish Inquisition for Jewish people, which is a major focus of the novel, with Bardugo pulling from her own heritage for inspiration. I also liked that the story was so rooted in the era to a similar extent to a “traditional” historical novel would be, with the speculative elements highlighting the way “witchcraft” was stigmatized, while some of these practices were also used in the upper-classes for personal gain.

The characters are all fairly intriguing. Luzia is a compelling protagonist, an orphan from a Jewish family working as a scullion in a noble household, who happens to have the capability to perform “milagritos,” or “little miracles,” like fixing a burnt loaf of bread or lightening the water buckets she carries every day. The skill is first discovered by her mistress, Valentina, who wants to exploit her gifts for her own gain, but Luzia takes the chance to secure her own future when powerful people like the king’s secretary take notice of her.

Pacing-wise, this is a tad odd, especially as initially, there is an intent to really highlight the drudgery that Luzia lives in, even if Valentina and her husband aren’t necessarily abusive. But once it gets into the real “meat” of the story, and Luzia gains more agency for herself, it really picks up. And while I can’t say I was super blown away by the romance between her and Santángel, I’d have to admit it had its charms.

This was a surprising read, and I’d happily read more in this vein from Bardugo in the future. And while I can’t speak for how avid Bardugo fans of her other work will respond to this book, I think you’ll enjoy this if you’re interested in historical fantasy with a strong romantic subplot.

Book Length — 400 pages

Hardcover Price — $17.08 (Amazon)