The Familiar is a new stand-alone adult historical fantasy novel by Leigh Bardugo. This book is also one of my dives into audiobooks that I did this month.
The story takes place during the Golden Age of Spain, where there are plenty of people hiding who they truly are.
Luzia Cotado lives in the new capital, Madrid, using little scraps of magic to make her life as a scullion more interesting. When her mistress, a women who is also down on her luck, finds out that Luzia has that ability to perform miracles, she starts to use her to hopefully better her family's social position.
What starts as way to amuse the rich, turns into something else when she gathers the attention of Antonio Perez, the disgraced secretary of Spain's King. Perez will stop at nothing to gain back the trust of the king, who is currently fighting against England.
Luzia is plunged into a magical competition, full of people with powers much stronger than her own, but figuring who is a fraud and who has a gift is a challenge. Under the guidance of Antonio Perez's servant and magician Guillén Santangel, But Santangel has his own secrets, and has lived many more lives than Luzia has. As Luzia tries to navigate a world she has never known, she runs a risk of the Inquisition finding out about her Jewish blood and the secrets of her family tree.
This book has a deep magical element, as well as a lot of historical influence. Luzia is a character with a complicated background who is just trying to survive. The families in the higher social circles are something she is not used to fitting in with, and their own plans and influences make a lot of difference. There are a handful of other magicians in the story, some with prophecies and others with the ability to perform well. Santangel started out also having a plan of his own, with feelings becoming complicated between him and Luzia and changing what he may have wanted at the beginning.
I really enjoyed the views into parts of historical Spain, with the added magic and stress of trying to fit in. The setting of the story, the explanation of what is going on both in Spain and world and complicated characters were really a win for me with this story. This is also the only standalone Bardugo has written, which is really fun since she is usually a series writer. I still felt the influence of her darker magic and cultural elements in this story.
Even with it being a recent read, I think this book is definitely one of my favorite's of Bardugo's.
A 5 out of 5 star read for me!
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