4.5 !! rounding up for the rating :)

i haven’t read leigh bardugo’s other adult works, but i believe the familiar is a great way to start. her writing is beautiful, her descriptions are meaningful, and she is concise. i don’t think this was too fast or too slow, and i think she wrote the perfect amount. however, it took me about 45 pages to really feel invested. once i did, though, i tore through this. the characters are so well written, and each small character plays some important role. i question what happened to one character (did i miss something or like… what happened to that one maid? *not spoiler!), but overall, i really liked this.

there were a few parts that genuinely shocked me, and i love predicting things & being wrong! honestly, i don’t know that i love any of the characters, but i think that’s because they’re all so human? none of the characters are meant to be perfect, and i am so glad that the FMC and MMC weren’t flawless.

also, i totally misinterpreted santángel’s looks? i truly thought he was like a visibly old, dusty man, but i began to believe otherwise about halfway through. now i think he might be more of a draco malfoy type? to which i say hell yeah.