Bardugo's rich world-building sets the scene in Spain during the Inquisition, as a scullery maid with magical abilities is thrust into the spotlight, falls for a cursed lover, and finds that her only hope of survival--and revenge--is outwitting church, state, and the wealthy who gleefully wield their cruel power.
Luzia Cotado lives in a grim house on a shabby street in the new capital of Madrid, working as a scullery maid for an insufferable, unsatisfied mistress.
But when her employer figures out that Luzia is using tiny works of magic to get through her day, she insists that Luzia turn her attentions to magical efforts that will benefit her, or be turned out on the street.
The woman's greed and desire for greater social standing mean that Luzia attracts the attention of more and more powerful people, including the king--who is desperate for an advantage in Spain's war against England, and is searching for added power.
Luzia soon finds herself navigating the complex world of seers, frauds, and holy men vying for the king's favor in a competition to earn a position in his inner circle.
She must manage the weighty expectations set upon her--while always hiding her Jewish blood, which would make her a target of the terrifying Inquisition that looms over everyone.
Santángel, an ominous figure slated with helping Luzia harness her power, becomes a confidant and also shares his deepest secrets with her. He has been cursed for generations to serve a series of crooked masters and their offspring, with no escape in sight.
The Catholic church and the king struggle against each other for power, and wealthy citizens attempt to back the correct power-hungry, corrupt, prominent figure who will wrest control from the other. Greed and manipulation rule the day for all involved, with our main protagonists paying the price.
Is the nature of each competitor's magic from the devil, or is it the angels' power coursing through them? The church is poised to make final judgment--shaped by bribery and influence of accusers and, seemingly, by pure whim. The Inquisition also turns manipulative eyes on everyday citizens with demands for evidence of good versus evil, for impossible displays of purity, and relentlessly pursues the implications of others in evildoing.
Meanwhile, Luzia can't trust those competing against her for favor, as dark forces lead one after another to their destruction.
As Luzia balances her need to please the church and king with her display of power with her sense of self-preservation in not tempting comparisons to the devil's work, the dangers of scrutiny mean she is slated for interrogation and, likely, torture. But she and Santángel have become deeply emotionally intertwined, and when he tries to sacrifice his own life for hers, Luzia must test the limits of her own intuition and power to try to save them both--and just maybe enact revenge against those who have tried to destroy her.
I love a mix of historical fiction and fantasy, and while this novel isn't as layered and complex or as twisty as some other Bardugo novels, The Familiar hit the spot for me with trademark Bardugo detail and world-building that set a dark, rich scene for the action; an unassuming, unlikely heroine who comes into her power; an unorthodox, deep love; and satisfying revenge over corruption and evil.
More works from this author:
Leigh Bardugo is also the author of Ninth House, Hell Bent, the King of Scars series (Rule of Wolves is book two), the Six of Crows series, the Shadow and Bone series (which I mentioned in the Greedy Reading List Six Royally Magical Young Adult Series) and The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic.
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