I was SO excited for this book, pre-ordered the hardcover and everything. I'm a massive Six of Crows fan, so I was really looking forward to this. And then I had to DNF halfway through because it was such a slog to get through. I didn't care about or connect to a single character, I didn't see the "romantic tension" or whatever the author was going for, the plot made no sense (and I say this as a lover of the weird and wonderful, fantasy, sci-fi, etc., I'm used to fantastical elements but this was just not it). As you mention in the video, it just feels derivative, and not in a particularly good or subversive way. There are so many more books and other media out there that do the same thing but better.
After reading some really mind numbingly awful books recently (to the point that I wondered how they even got published in the first place) The Familiar was like a breath of fresh air. It was familiar you are right, it didn't do anything amazing but it was sweet, well written and the ending was lovely, the characters well rounded. Sometimes that's all a reader wants from a book. It wasn't a 5 star but it was easily enjoyable and while I'll never reach for it again I will always remember it for being a book that just felt like a lovely stroll in a sunny park.
Something that bothers me about Perfectly Fine books like this (I haven't read it but enough reviewers I trust have said the same thing) is that once the author's name is just that bit bigger on the cover than the title, people often stop reviewing it critically. If that makes sense? Because it's a work, and because was widely loved, then people just seem to switch off that part of them that critiques fairly and neutrally. I remember that happened when it was """outed""" that Robert Galbraith was actually Yerwan Herself. The initial reviews were fine, mostly along the lines of 'it's not bad for a debut I guess, let's see where he goes with these'...then the Big Aul Reveal happened, and suddenly reviewers were singing their praises of it. I was aghast at the time, that people would flip so quicky and easily like that 💀
For me, I think it depends on WHY I am reading at that moment in time. Am I reading to be educated or challenged? Or am I reading for escapism, predictability or comfort? Those are two separate lists with two different rating systems for them. Movies are the same way. Sometimes I want to watch something profound, beautifully done, artful or challenging like Shawshank Redpemption, Elegance of the Hedgehog or Paterson. And sometimes I want to switch my brain off and watch hot people in spandex punch other hot people in spandex. And most of the latter books/shows/movies are instantly forgettable. However, they ARE the literary or screen equivalent of a pop tart. And sometimes, I just want a pop tart. And other times I want a meal, and if I get a pop tart when I expect a meal, I'm going hate it. So it very much depends on my mood.
I was pretty excited for this book since I'm Spanish and my area of interest lies in the Spanish Baroque period, the historical period this is set in. However, I was taken aback by certain things. First, the time period isn't the Inquisition since the Inquisition was founded in 1478, so it spans five centuries, being abolished in the nineteenth century and I had never heard an "Inquisition period" since we call it the early period. Secondly, the names, my God, the names! It sounded like a word salad! We have long ass names in Spain, but they have a specific order, so to speak. My excitement decreased when I read the first paragraph. A pìty, imo.
Thanks for this video Willow, I've had so much fun watching it. "Bad things are fun" hahah, I completely agree. I enjoy crappy stuff, as long as it isn't pretentious and it doesn't take itself too seriously. I think I won't be reading The Familiar for now 😂 P. S. Yayyyyyy, looks like you're getting close to 50k subscribers! Let's get her there, everyone 😉 (yes, I can do math. But also, a girl can have hopes).
There's so much to be said for things that aren't that great but you can tell that the people making it were having a blast at the time. This, indeed, does not sound like a case of that.
Interesting conversation. On the one hand, does it frustrate or bother me to travel through the same landscape that always gives me satisfaction even though it is very familiar to me? No. And on the other hand, I am someone who desperately loves new ideas. It's what gives salt to my life. I choose, without a doubt, a new idea over a known idea exquisitely constructed. I suppose that something "fine" fulfills a certain function.
@@WillowTalksBooks you might look at No One's Gonna Take Her Soul Away by Amanda B Weaver. I feel this is her strongest work yet. She's a self-published author, and as far as I know, her books are only on Amazon.
@@ThatNerdyMystic LOL, why I shouldn't reply prior to 6 AM! I couldn't suspend the disbelief around royals approving of "magic" during the Inquisition. Beyond this, the portion I read was oh-so-dry!
I’ve noticed that Leigh Bardugo’s last few books (Ninth House & Rule of Wolves) have just been alright… to the point where I didn’t preorder her new one. I wanted to wait to hear some reviews before deciding to pick it up and I’m not at all suprised that it’s just mid. Thank you so much for this honest and interesting review!! 😍
Idk, I def get that perspective, but I actually feel that way about her Ninth House and Hellbent books waaay more. I just cannot connect to them and I dont know why. The only identifiable thing that bugs me is Alex's addiction has about the same amount of ramifications as her eye color. Its just such a non issue for being hooked on painkillers. I actually enjoyed The Familiar. That being said, it did feel derivative in that in reminded me of a like 5 different books Ive read blended into one that doesnt live up to any of them. I thought it was good, not mid, but certain not great either.
Sometimes I think it’s alright to say you don’t like something because it feels mid to you. I DNFed Six of Crows, but really enjoyed the Familiar. I can give no insight as to why, one is just for me the other isn’t. I also love cosy books (some don’t) some people adore those hallmark cookie cutter christmas movies. It’s okay for an analysis of those feelings it’s also okay to not justify your feelings.
Shadow and Bone brought a really interesting magic system that hadn't been done but its major legacy was in bringing popular YA fantasy out of classically generic historically inspired European settings. It was set in a world we'd never seen in YA fantasy and brought a lot more Russian-set fantasy and fantasy even beyond Europe entirely in the years to come.
Felt the same about the book, I only read it shortly after its release and I already forgot most of it by now. I also felt a bit like I was reading Astarion Fanfic from Baldur's Gate 3 because of how Santangel was described, and the squished in love interest didn't make any sense to me (and a magical tournament during the Inquisition didn't make sense to me either, it was just a strange time period to put this book in...)
It's funny, everyone I've heard review this who's read Leigh Bardugo before seems to have a similar reaction to you. I grabbed it off the new shelf in my library having never read Bardugo before with no real idea what it was about and no expectations and enjoyed it, but now I'm wondering if it was more about me enjoying Bardugo's writing in general than anything specific The Familiar did.
God, I hate mid content. Will be gladly missing this, not that it's super my genre anyway! I pride myself on my schlocky giallo B movie collection, and you're right. Mediocrity is the WORST. It takes a fantastic level of skill to make something absolutely awful. Looking at you, Neil Breen ❤
This is very interesting to me. I haven't read The Familiar yet, but it's the sort of book I'm often on the lookout for. But from the point of view of a writer, I feel as if there's not much room for novelty right now. Just look at Brandon Sanderson. I've not read him, but I'm aware that he's very popular and a friend who tried him said his books were just as you described this one - a bunch of known tropes. Basically, every other fantasy book in one. It's late stage capitalism, innit?
this is why I love your channel sm!! I also felt like it was very mid. Did I still like it yes but it wasn’t anything i’ll ever pick up again. But anyway, I really like how you described your feelings on this!! I do think some people will love this if they want a standalone historical fantasy and maybe new to the genre as a whole. Every video of yours I learn more ways to look at/critique books and I love that!!
I haven't read The Familiar (and don't plan to, especially after this review!), but everything you're saying reflects my experience with almost every single novel I've read this year! So many books feel so mid right now... like with just a little bit more effort from the author, a little more input from the editor, they could have been good, but instead they just... exist. Anyway, I agree with you and Nick. Bad Cree was great! I think it's especially a good book for someone who doesn't typically read horror but would like to dip their toes in to the genre, for instance, if they're participating in some reading challenge or something. Because it's more atmospheric and doesn't have a lot of gore and violence, I found it more approachable than some other horror. And like you and Nick, I enjoyed the look at Canadian Indigenous culture.
I have a book rec for you as well: Junk Film: Why Bad Movies Matter by Katharine Coldiron. She goes into how analyzing the things that don't quite work teaches you to make better things, but also that some of the objectively bad things contain awesomeness that something that was good wouldn't have even tried. It's great food for thought and she doesn't just go after the usual suspects. As for this sort of book... I like the occasional three star wonder, as long as I know going in. Maybe I'm tired and don't want to be blown away right now. The problem arises for me when my opinion that a book is like that is too out of step with everyone else's thoughts on a work. There's a perfectly serviceable recent gothic that everyone I know thought was wonderfully inventive and I thought it... was a gothic. "It's so cool how the house is a character and the historic secrets manifest physically..." and I'm like "Yes, welcome to the genre conventions, please enjoy your stay." Enough people talking this thing up to me have transformed it from "fine" to "my arch nemesis."
I feel like I have read so many painfully, agonizingly average new releases in the last 2 years. And then I feel bad because I rip apart these books that probably don't deserve it, but I'm just frustrated that such average slog is the standard now
I actually haven't read the Familiar (and I don't plan to) but I always find it really sad when books that have a potential to be great end up mediocre. Especially sometimes, when I feel like a couple of changes would have been enough to make the book really good.
I liked it more than you did, but it took a long time to get going. Toward the very end, it started to pick up, and I liked the ending. But you’re right; Ninth House and Hell Bent blew me away, and I expected so much more from The Familiar as a result.
Yes! I decided my tbr is too long to read something this unoriginal and dnfed it at about 100 pages. I also hate Cinderella-like stories, so this was a complete miss. Which is sad since my expectations were soo high 😢
Somehow missed that thid took place during the Spanish Inquisition. What exactly are they doing if magic users are known and have competitions? Just hunt down non-Catholics?
If you like Bad Cree and are interested in Indigenous Canadian fiction, you might like Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice - it’s dystopian/horror ish and good read. Indigenous horror in Canada seems to be having a moment and I’m here for it! Another I haven’t read but want to is And Then She Fell by Alicia Elliott
Such a shame 😢! I have this book in my TBR because I just read « ninth house » and am diving straight away into « Hell bent » now! The story seemed intriguing though😭! That said, happy you ended the video with « Bad cree », I will check that one out , thank you 💜
I do love books with vampires but I have been two minds about buying and reading the familiar, so thank you for this review and helping me to make my mind up about not reading at all now. I will start with Ninth House as the first book I read from her 😊. Oooh bad cree I will defo check it out 😊
@mothwench Really I thought it did because of what I have heard...oh my bad, but I haven't looked into it much and Familiar is usually a title I see in vampire novels so I just assumed I guess
I was SO excited for this book, pre-ordered the hardcover and everything. I'm a massive Six of Crows fan, so I was really looking forward to this. And then I had to DNF halfway through because it was such a slog to get through. I didn't care about or connect to a single character, I didn't see the "romantic tension" or whatever the author was going for, the plot made no sense (and I say this as a lover of the weird and wonderful, fantasy, sci-fi, etc., I'm used to fantastical elements but this was just not it). As you mention in the video, it just feels derivative, and not in a particularly good or subversive way. There are so many more books and other media out there that do the same thing but better.
After reading some really mind numbingly awful books recently (to the point that I wondered how they even got published in the first place) The Familiar was like a breath of fresh air. It was familiar you are right, it didn't do anything amazing but it was sweet, well written and the ending was lovely, the characters well rounded. Sometimes that's all a reader wants from a book. It wasn't a 5 star but it was easily enjoyable and while I'll never reach for it again I will always remember it for being a book that just felt like a lovely stroll in a sunny park.
Something that bothers me about Perfectly Fine books like this (I haven't read it but enough reviewers I trust have said the same thing) is that once the author's name is just that bit bigger on the cover than the title, people often stop reviewing it critically. If that makes sense? Because it's a work, and because was widely loved, then people just seem to switch off that part of them that critiques fairly and neutrally.
I remember that happened when it was """outed""" that Robert Galbraith was actually Yerwan Herself. The initial reviews were fine, mostly along the lines of 'it's not bad for a debut I guess, let's see where he goes with these'...then the Big Aul Reveal happened, and suddenly reviewers were singing their praises of it. I was aghast at the time, that people would flip so quicky and easily like that 💀
For me, I think it depends on WHY I am reading at that moment in time. Am I reading to be educated or challenged? Or am I reading for escapism, predictability or comfort? Those are two separate lists with two different rating systems for them. Movies are the same way. Sometimes I want to watch something profound, beautifully done, artful or challenging like Shawshank Redpemption, Elegance of the Hedgehog or Paterson. And sometimes I want to switch my brain off and watch hot people in spandex punch other hot people in spandex. And most of the latter books/shows/movies are instantly forgettable. However, they ARE the literary or screen equivalent of a pop tart. And sometimes, I just want a pop tart. And other times I want a meal, and if I get a pop tart when I expect a meal, I'm going hate it. So it very much depends on my mood.
I was pretty excited for this book since I'm Spanish and my area of interest lies in the Spanish Baroque period, the historical period this is set in. However, I was taken aback by certain things. First, the time period isn't the Inquisition since the Inquisition was founded in 1478, so it spans five centuries, being abolished in the nineteenth century and I had never heard an "Inquisition period" since we call it the early period. Secondly, the names, my God, the names! It sounded like a word salad! We have long ass names in Spain, but they have a specific order, so to speak. My excitement decreased when I read the first paragraph. A pìty, imo.
I actually really liked it. Possibly because it was Familiar 😉 felt kind of cosy to me and was what I needed at the time of reading it.
OMG "paint by numbers" story is an excellent comment.
Thanks for this video Willow, I've had so much fun watching it. "Bad things are fun" hahah, I completely agree. I enjoy crappy stuff, as long as it isn't pretentious and it doesn't take itself too seriously. I think I won't be reading The Familiar for now 😂
P. S. Yayyyyyy, looks like you're getting close to 50k subscribers! Let's get her there, everyone 😉 (yes, I can do math. But also, a girl can have hopes).
There's so much to be said for things that aren't that great but you can tell that the people making it were having a blast at the time. This, indeed, does not sound like a case of that.
It definitely doesn't, no 😅@@karidru5272
Interesting conversation.
On the one hand, does it frustrate or bother me to travel through the same landscape that always gives me satisfaction even though it is very familiar to me?
No.
And on the other hand, I am someone who desperately loves new ideas. It's what gives salt to my life. I choose, without a doubt, a new idea over a known idea exquisitely constructed.
I suppose that something "fine" fulfills a certain function.
Unfortunately I completely agree. It was totally mid. Which sucks bc it could have been so cool haha
It really feels like a missed opportunity for a good author to do something great!
@@WillowTalksBooks you might look at No One's Gonna Take Her Soul Away by Amanda B Weaver. I feel this is her strongest work yet. She's a self-published author, and as far as I know, her books are only on Amazon.
I DNF'ed as I could not suspend my disbelief that this could happen during the Inquisition.
So you never expected..... to DNF.... the Inquisition?
@@ThatNerdyMystic LOL, why I shouldn't reply prior to 6 AM! I couldn't suspend the disbelief around royals approving of "magic" during the Inquisition. Beyond this, the portion I read was oh-so-dry!
I’ve noticed that Leigh Bardugo’s last few books (Ninth House & Rule of Wolves) have just been alright… to the point where I didn’t preorder her new one. I wanted to wait to hear some reviews before deciding to pick it up and I’m not at all suprised that it’s just mid. Thank you so much for this honest and interesting review!! 😍
Idk, I def get that perspective, but I actually feel that way about her Ninth House and Hellbent books waaay more. I just cannot connect to them and I dont know why. The only identifiable thing that bugs me is Alex's addiction has about the same amount of ramifications as her eye color. Its just such a non issue for being hooked on painkillers.
I actually enjoyed The Familiar. That being said, it did feel derivative in that in reminded me of a like 5 different books Ive read blended into one that doesnt live up to any of them. I thought it was good, not mid, but certain not great either.
Sometimes I think it’s alright to say you don’t like something because it feels mid to you. I DNFed Six of Crows, but really enjoyed the Familiar. I can give no insight as to why, one is just for me the other isn’t.
I also love cosy books (some don’t) some people adore those hallmark cookie cutter christmas movies. It’s okay for an analysis of those feelings it’s also okay to not justify your feelings.
Shadow and Bone brought a really interesting magic system that hadn't been done but its major legacy was in bringing popular YA fantasy out of classically generic historically inspired European settings. It was set in a world we'd never seen in YA fantasy and brought a lot more Russian-set fantasy and fantasy even beyond Europe entirely in the years to come.
Ok
Felt the same about the book, I only read it shortly after its release and I already forgot most of it by now. I also felt a bit like I was reading Astarion Fanfic from Baldur's Gate 3 because of how Santangel was described, and the squished in love interest didn't make any sense to me (and a magical tournament during the Inquisition didn't make sense to me either, it was just a strange time period to put this book in...)
It's funny, everyone I've heard review this who's read Leigh Bardugo before seems to have a similar reaction to you. I grabbed it off the new shelf in my library having never read Bardugo before with no real idea what it was about and no expectations and enjoyed it, but now I'm wondering if it was more about me enjoying Bardugo's writing in general than anything specific The Familiar did.
God, I hate mid content. Will be gladly missing this, not that it's super my genre anyway! I pride myself on my schlocky giallo B movie collection, and you're right. Mediocrity is the WORST. It takes a fantastic level of skill to make something absolutely awful. Looking at you, Neil Breen ❤
This is very interesting to me. I haven't read The Familiar yet, but it's the sort of book I'm often on the lookout for. But from the point of view of a writer, I feel as if there's not much room for novelty right now. Just look at Brandon Sanderson. I've not read him, but I'm aware that he's very popular and a friend who tried him said his books were just as you described this one - a bunch of known tropes. Basically, every other fantasy book in one. It's late stage capitalism, innit?
Sanderson bros and SJM girlies
@@WillowTalksBooks haha
this is why I love your channel sm!! I also felt like it was very mid. Did I still like it yes but it wasn’t anything i’ll ever pick up again. But anyway, I really like how you described your feelings on this!! I do think some people will love this if they want a standalone historical fantasy and maybe new to the genre as a whole. Every video of yours I learn more ways to look at/critique books and I love that!!
Thank you so much! That’s really made my day 🥹
I haven't read The Familiar (and don't plan to, especially after this review!), but everything you're saying reflects my experience with almost every single novel I've read this year! So many books feel so mid right now... like with just a little bit more effort from the author, a little more input from the editor, they could have been good, but instead they just... exist.
Anyway, I agree with you and Nick. Bad Cree was great! I think it's especially a good book for someone who doesn't typically read horror but would like to dip their toes in to the genre, for instance, if they're participating in some reading challenge or something. Because it's more atmospheric and doesn't have a lot of gore and violence, I found it more approachable than some other horror. And like you and Nick, I enjoyed the look at Canadian Indigenous culture.
I have a book rec for you as well: Junk Film: Why Bad Movies Matter by Katharine Coldiron. She goes into how analyzing the things that don't quite work teaches you to make better things, but also that some of the objectively bad things contain awesomeness that something that was good wouldn't have even tried. It's great food for thought and she doesn't just go after the usual suspects.
As for this sort of book... I like the occasional three star wonder, as long as I know going in. Maybe I'm tired and don't want to be blown away right now. The problem arises for me when my opinion that a book is like that is too out of step with everyone else's thoughts on a work. There's a perfectly serviceable recent gothic that everyone I know thought was wonderfully inventive and I thought it... was a gothic. "It's so cool how the house is a character and the historic secrets manifest physically..." and I'm like "Yes, welcome to the genre conventions, please enjoy your stay." Enough people talking this thing up to me have transformed it from "fine" to "my arch nemesis."
This recommendation is so amazing. As a lover of bad films occasionally, I need this!!!
You could say that the familiar was very familiar
I did 😊
I am already forgetting this book. 😄 Brutal.
I feel like I have read so many painfully, agonizingly average new releases in the last 2 years. And then I feel bad because I rip apart these books that probably don't deserve it, but I'm just frustrated that such average slog is the standard now
I actually haven't read the Familiar (and I don't plan to) but I always find it really sad when books that have a potential to be great end up mediocre. Especially sometimes, when I feel like a couple of changes would have been enough to make the book really good.
I liked it more than you did, but it took a long time to get going. Toward the very end, it started to pick up, and I liked the ending. But you’re right; Ninth House and Hell Bent blew me away, and I expected so much more from The Familiar as a result.
Thank you for recommending Bad Cree it sounds interesting.
I really liked Shadow and Bones.
Yes! I decided my tbr is too long to read something this unoriginal and dnfed it at about 100 pages. I also hate Cinderella-like stories, so this was a complete miss. Which is sad since my expectations were soo high 😢
Somehow missed that thid took place during the Spanish Inquisition. What exactly are they doing if magic users are known and have competitions? Just hunt down non-Catholics?
If you like Bad Cree and are interested in Indigenous Canadian fiction, you might like Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice - it’s dystopian/horror ish and good read. Indigenous horror in Canada seems to be having a moment and I’m here for it! Another I haven’t read but want to is And Then She Fell by Alicia Elliott
📚✨I really enjoyed Bad Cree also 🎉
I see your Tommy Wiseau's "The Room" and I raise you Neil Breen's "Fateful Findings"
Just finished this book last night
Cool :)
Such a shame 😢! I have this book in my TBR because I just read « ninth house » and am diving straight away into « Hell bent » now! The story seemed intriguing though😭! That said, happy you ended the video with « Bad cree », I will check that one out , thank you 💜
How bad is it that I still want a copy because of that gorgeous cover?
Nah I totally get that
So much of the same 😮. Thank you for the review ❤️
I'm embarrassed to say this was a cover buy for me. When I started reading it I was enjoying it but then DNF'd it. I just got bored.
I do love books with vampires but I have been two minds about buying and reading the familiar, so thank you for this review and helping me to make my mind up about not reading at all now.
I will start with Ninth House as the first book I read from her 😊.
Oooh bad cree I will defo check it out 😊
It doesn't have any vampires lol
@mothwench Really I thought it did because of what I have heard...oh my bad, but I haven't looked into it much and Familiar is usually a title I see in vampire novels so I just assumed I guess
@@crimsonwhispersva2498 nah I partly laughed because my friend thought the same thing
@@mothwench glad I am not the only one then
Really wish I’d watched this review before I bought the hardback 😅
Me too lol although I guess that’s impossible
It's such a shame this book is mid. But I'm really excited to one day check out Bad Cree :)
I was looking forward to this book for MONTHS, so disappointed. The premise really gripped me :/
Sounds like this is one of the books of all time.
Oh no
❤❤❤❤❤
Jiu Jitsu is my favourite awful film, it's just terrible in every way possible