A review by halefa
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

emotional hopeful mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

Overall, I kinda liked the book. However, i would split it in two: I definitely liked the first half more than the second half, and the end dragged out a bit in my eyes. 

I enjoyed the setting, even though the correct Spanish pronunciations if Spanish words in the studio book did throw me out quite a bit on the beginning and it took me a while to consistently map names to characters. 

I did not hate the main character, but she was also not the most fascinating main character I've ever read. She reminded me of Alex Stern in "Ninth House". What bothered me was how it was highlighted again and again how plain and simple and poor she is and how all society judges her,  it at the same time the author highlights again and again and again how beautiful and smart and funny she is to her love interest.

Speaking of - this is my main gripe with the book. This is yet another lovestory between an immortal hundreds of years old man and a young girl, and somehow that young girl becomes the absolute world-turning love for him. It's being talked a lot about that he might be the devil and thus not suited for her, but never is the age and power gap being discussed by anyone in the story.

So overall it was an entertaining story to listen to, but nothing more. 
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