The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo (Overview, Summary, Book Review) / WHY THIS ENDING IS PERFECT

The Familiar is Leigh Bardugo's new standalone historical fantasy, and Santangel and Luzia were giving Shadow and Bone's Darkling and Alina Starkov. There's almost a dark fairy tale feel to this book, which makes sense if you've read Bardugo's The Language of Thorns – Leigh's writing is as luscious as ever.

The Familiar takes place in Madrid during the Spanish Inquisition, some time after the defeat of the Spanish armada against the English. Warnings for book content include sexual scenes, adult language, torture, death, and mass persecution.

My discussion contains spoilers, but I talk about everything very generally and out of context without giving away any major scenes.

CHAPTERS:
0:00 Welcome and preview of The Familiar (What is The Familiar about?)
2:08 Luzia and Leigh Bardugo's worldbuilding
3:00 p.m. Common points between Santangel & Luzia and Darkling and Alina Starkov
15:46 Side discussion on characters (Valentina & Marius Ordoño, Antonio Perez, Victor De Paredes)
5:20 p.m. Guillen Santangel, the Scorpion
5:57 More plot summary and character discussion
7:43 How Valentina has one of the most satisfying growth arcs
9:17 Reading an excerpt (Valentina's point of view, page 309)
10:30 Santangel as a morally gray lover (reading excerpt, page 204)
11:09 The richness of Leigh Bardugo's writing (reading excerpts, page 159)
12:15 Closing of the discussion (final reading of the extract, page 379)
1:40 p.m. My opinion/rating on The Familiar
3:10 p.m. Is The Familiar spicy or steamy? (Is The Familiar a romance?)
3:43 p.m. Video recap (what else should I read in April)

Thank you for watching!

Other books cited:
Babel by RF Kuang
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
The Book That Would Not Burn by Mark Lawrence
The Book That Broke the World by Mark Lawrence
Funny story of Emily Henry
The Eternal King by LJ Andrews

ON ME:
Hi! My name is Sandra Bruxvoort: Japanese American, half Filipino, mom, minimalist. Gamer, Book Reviewer, Fantasy Nerd. Here, for stories, that means books and book adaptations. Oh, and I write things too. New videos when anxiety compels me.

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