The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo is a historical fantasy set in Spain during the inquisition. The story follows scullion Luzia Cotado, who is hiding a gift for little miracles. 

This is my first book by Bardugo, I have several by her on my TBR but something compelled me to pick this one up first, and I really enjoyed it. Her prose is beautiful, I found myself rereading passages often. This was an immersive adventure into 16th century Spain, and I loved Luzia’s character and her embodiment of hope despite everything. The undertone of her growing female rage was really impactful to the story. I enjoyed that Bardugo created the main characters to all have very different lives - but all of them are still difficult lives. 

The history is well researched -  I was really interested by the Hispanic and multicultural focus, which I think helped emphasize the treatment of non-Catholic cultures at the time. I love the magical realism elements as opposed to pure fantasy - the magic blends seamlessly with the historical beliefs at the time - everything feels very plausible. 

4 stars mainly because the pacing felt a little off/the last 10% of the story felt rushed, and the supporting characters didn’t feel quite as detailed as I would’ve liked - but I did enjoy the ambiguous ending. I think it would’ve been stronger as a duology. I definitely recommend for historical fantasy lovers! 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️