The Familiar

A Novel

By: Leigh Bardugo

Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang

Length: 12 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

Long-listed, Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the Year, 2024

Long-listed, Amazon.com Best Books of the Year, 2024

Long-listed, Barnes and Noble Best New Books of the Year, 2024

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

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

"Essential."—The Washington Post

"Narrator Lauren Fortgang channels the currents of magic and intrigue running throughout Bardugo’s layered historical fantasy...Skillful narration combined with an enchanting storyline makes for great listening."—AudioFile

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)

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

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.

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.

Invested right away in this book!

The book grips you from the start and you are hooked. I couldn’t put it down!

A different kind of magical story

I loved this book! Sometimes I’d have to stop and think ‘who’s who’ since their names aren’t common. This book kept me wanting to listen more and I loved the ending. Narrating all the different characters was excellent. Highly recommend

Unfortunately underwhelmed.

The familiar was just that; a familiar and sometimes laborious trek down a well marked path. I kept waiting for the plot to thicken and for use to move past the obvious parts of the story but we never did. This experience was redeemed by the soothing voice of the narrator. Her voice was lovely. But as the writing was a bit monotone and the plot points easy to dismiss as filler…the lack of distinction between the main three female leads voiced by the narrator was confusing specifically due to the lack of character development and differentiation created by the author.

I made myself finish this blaming my own attention span. But the track ends up where one would expect. The details as well as the characters were forgettable.

A beautiful magical story

I absolutely loved listening to this book. The story is full of fascinating characters and gripping moments. Beautiful

Wonderful

one of my favorite authors. Great story as always. The characters pull you in you feel like you're there witness to the story.

Engaging story of Fantasy & Peril

I enjoyed the location and historical events of the time, albeit fictional. Good character development as always. Her writing never disappoints!