The Familiar

A Novel

By: Leigh Bardugo

Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang

Length: 12 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER * #1 INDIE BESTSELLER * NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

“An immersive, sensual experience.”—The New York Times

"Essential."—The Washington Post

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Leigh Bardugo comes a spellbinding novel set in the Spanish Golden Age.

“A must-read for those who are seeking a little magic in their lives.”—Deborah Harkness, #1 bestselling author of A Discovery of Witches

In a shabby house, on a shabby street, in the new capital of Madrid, Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to get through her days of endless toil as a scullion. But when her scheming mistress discovers the lump of a servant cowering in the kitchen is actually hiding a talent for little miracles, she demands Luzia use those gifts to improve the family's social position.

What begins as simple amusement for the nobility takes a perilous turn when Luzia garners the notice of Antonio Pérez, the disgraced secretary to Spain's king. Still reeling from the defeat of his armada, the king is desperate for any advantage in the war against England's heretic queen—and Pérez will stop at nothing to regain the king's favor.

Determined to seize this one chance to better her fortunes, Luzia plunges into a world of seers and alchemists, holy men and hucksters, where the lines between magic, science, and fraud are never certain. But as her notoriety grows, so does the danger that her Jewish blood will doom her to the Inquisition's wrath. She will have to use every bit of her wit and will to survive—even if that means enlisting the help of Guillén Santángel, an embittered immortal familiar whose own secrets could prove deadly for them both.

A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books.

©2024 Leigh Bardugo (P)2024 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"The sharp realism mixes with a genuine feeling of enchantment to create a top tier historical fantasy."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"The Familiar highlights all of the things that make Bardugo so well loved: a romance with maddening chemistry, an artfully built world, side characters with their own deep backstories, and a plot full of dark twists and spiderweb connections."—Booklist (starred review)

“Lush, gorgeous, precise language and propulsive plotting sweep readers into a story as intelligent as it is atmospheric.”—Kirkus (starred review)

Great Stand Alone!!

Let me start by saying, I don’t even usually read the kind of genre but I enjoyed this!!

I downloaded this the moment it came out just because I love Leigh, and it did not disappoint. The writing is incredible!!! Multiple moments tickled my brain, they were so well written.

The beginning is a little slow but her writing makes up for it. It gets better with every chapter and I was really happy with the ending.

I would recommend it to people who want a good indie, old time novel!!

Mother Bardugo Writes, I Read.

Had no idea what to expect going in but holy s*** was I not disappointed! Loved this stand alone! Loved the story, the mystery, the magic, all of it. My only complaint? That I now have to wait for the next Alex Stern book 😭

A history lesson intwined with a Fanatsy

This book was super heavy. First time reading this author. Still sorting out what I thought.

It was really good

I really liked this book. Did I love it, no. Was it a bad book? Absolutely not! I there a couple in this book? Yes! But I would not call it romantic, more like there is a couple that comes together. There is a lot to this book as in history. There is magic but it's more like small miracles. Do I recommend you read this? Yes, yes I do.

The Ending

Thank you, Leigh Bardugo, for the amazing ending. My heart is still soaring. You had me worried.

Exquisite

Everything about this novel and its production was perfection. Dark, magical, romantic, beautifully told, will listen again and again

Another instant classic

Leigh does this again we don't even need to wait for books to be released to buy them we go ahead and pre order always sure that she will continue to deliver another great story. I was waiting and waiting for that end and once again you did amazing! I by the way wouldn't mind getting more stories on the multiple characters. Great combination on languages within the story and narrator does it justice. Luzia & Santangel are just great protagonists to this story thanks to Leigh.

Reminded me of why she's my auto buy

Great, surprising story. The reader enters expecting magic and betrayal, only to find so much more.

Delightful & haunting

It was a very well written story. I honestly couldn’t predict how it would end or where it was going even in the very last seconds. I would absolutely recommend this book.

Fools

A tale of what happens to greedy people who are not satisfied with what they have, and the outcome of wanting more.