The Familiars
Ratings31
Average rating3.5
I really wanted to like the book as this book touches all of my favorite topics and genres but the plot is always so slow and nothing exciting really happens. I had to give up reading because it was just stalling my other books.
Historical fiction.
Witches.
Those are the words that made me want to read this book. I was not disappointed. Set in 1612, this book really paints a good picture of what it would've been like then. I enjoyed it, and I think I will add it to the books I like to read around Halloween.
I received a copy from Net Galley.
3.5 stars
I've gone back and forth on a rating and review for this one, as there are many things this does well but also things which, after thinking longer on them, just irritated me.
So one of the strongest elements of this story is the setting and the atmosphere, from the very start you really get a sense of the time period and how stark life was for people who weren't part of the gentry and how people's minds could be swayed by someone in power. The entire idea that women who worked with herbs were branded witches by the King and therefore everyone immediately hated and hunted them. In a modern world, this type of mass thinking is baffling.
The main issue I had with the book was the main character, she was a walking contradiction. At 17 and onto her 4th(!!) pregnancy, she is naturally concerned about losing another baby but just rides around the country on her horse willy nilly until literally giving birth. And when she finds out her husband has a mistress hidden away at her old house, of course she's angry and refuses to speak to him, but then a few chapters later "Oh I forgive him everything". Girl, just no.
So yes, very conflicted. Overall I did enjoy it as a historical story, but when the main character is really just a bit of an idiot it's hard to root for her.
I found this very gripping from the first page to the last. Each page imbued with a sense of frantic dread. Very well rounded female leads that I was rooting for the whole way. The ending wrapped up the story very nicely with a little bit of a mystery at the end - was witchcraft real? I didn't know a lot about the Pendle Witch Trials so this inspired me to read more about what took place. For a debut novel this was fantastic and I quickly got a copy of Stacey Hall's second novel “The Foundling”, eager to read more.
Women in the 17th century did not live a good life! Kind of depressing to read how weak the main character is.
It's horrifying to realise that so much of this is true as it's based on the infamous Pendle witch trials. However I was never fully captivated by the novel or the characters. A fairly enjoyable read overall but nothing special.