If you enjoyed Humans Don’t Have Horns, please request it at your local library. Libraries are how books find new readers who were not even looking for them.
The paperback is available for libraries to order through Ingram. The audiobook is already distributed widely across major platforms. If you use Libby, I do not think it’s there yet, but patron requests are exactly how librarians decide what to bring in.
The Plot
Luzia Cotado is a scullion in a crumbling household, surviving on grit, prayer, and the kind of small magic you keep buried if you want to stay alive. But when her employer discovers Luzia can perform “little miracles,” the secret becomes entertainment, then leverage, then a ladder. In a city where the Inquisition is always listening, attention is its own kind of sentence. Soon, Luzia is thrust into the orbit of a powerful man who wants to use her gift to win favor at court. Then enters Guillén Santángel: a familiar who is not quite human, not quite safe, and definitely not free. The more Luzia fights for control of her life, the more the world tries to brand her as a saint, or a heretic.
My Breakdown
This book gave me:
✨ A heroine who’s tired of being small
🕯️ A setting that feels lush, filthy, and alive (Madrid as a character)
🦂 A MMC who made me narrow my eyes and lean closer anyway
🗡️ Court intrigue where every compliment is a knife with lace on it
I really, really enjoyed The Familiar, so when I finished it, I searched online for more information about the book and author. I was surprised to see that this is Leigh Bardugo’s lowest-rated book on Goodreads. A lot of the reviews were like, “I read everything Bardugo writes, but this…”
I think this is mainly an expectation issue. Bardugo’s YA has been soooo successful, so people kind of expect the same from her. I’ve been reading quite a few of her books, and I can say that she is a very versatile writer who writes very differently in each one. So you need to come to this open-minded, and not to expect the same product that you received from this author in the past.
I loved and reviewed Six of Crows, but The Familiar has literally no resemblance to it.
The stakes felt high
I saw people complaining about the pacing, but for me, it moved fast. The tension builds and tightens; the stakes only get higher.
Luzia is morally gray, and I liked her for it
A lot of readers didn’t like Luzia, and I get why. She’s not written to be lovable. But I love broken characters. I love complicated, morally gray FMCs. And Luzia is one.
She sometimes does things out of vanity. She wants things. She wants more.
Later Luzia would understand that when it came to anything worth having, there was no end to more.
To me, Bardugo really captures what it is to be poor in a way some readers just won’t relate to. Poverty influences your decisions when you are exhausted and desperate and fed up with struggling.
The romance was sweet
It wasn’t the biggest firecracker romance for me, but it worked. I enjoyed it. It gave me tenderness and longing without taking over the whole book.
Bardugo’s writing is the main event
What I loved most was the writing. The way Bardugo brings characters to life is honestly amazing. Her descriptions are vivid and textured. She can build an atmosphere so well that you feel like you’re breathing the air of the place.
She loved playing cards and chewing anise seeds, and most important, she never gossiped.
My only beef with her as an author is that she keeps killing my favorite characters. This is not the first time. It’s getting personal.
The Jewish aspect
Bardugo has mentioned she’s a descendant of Jews who left Spain due to the Inquisition. This book isn’t about a Jewish person; it is about someone who is descended from people forced to convert. It delves into the fear of exposure. The terror of identity being discovered.
It reminded me of a book I’ve recommended before: Spinning Silver. That one is also deeply Jewish, though the characters are actively Jewish.
They’re completely different books, both in historical context, but especially in tone. The Familiar is far darker than Spinning Silver.
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
I’ve also recently read Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo, and I won’t review it on the blog because, unfortunately, it’s not a romance. (I wish it was)
It’s book one in an unfinished trilogy, and I LOVED it. The second one was a bit disappointing for me, mainly because it sometimes felt like a bridge to the third book.
Still, Ninth House is one of the best books I’ve read.
And Alex Stern is my newest FMC crush.
Weirdly, she reminds me of Jude from The Cruel Prince. Completely different books and characters, but the same survival-mode, badass energy. The same brokenness and anxiety that’s not hidden. I simply love that kind of heroine.
If you’re open to reading something that isn’t romance, I absolutely recommend Ninth House.
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I’ll still only recommend books I genuinely loved (honest reviews, always). If you buy through one of my links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
