My Pigeon Familiar

So I recently read a review on these books and it said they were funny. I bought the series because I totally love you Bridget! You’re one of my favorite authors! They totally are funny and thoughtful! I laughed so hard in some parts and wanted to cry in others. This is a creative story with lots of laughs the dynamic between friends is great.

Loved this one-such a great read that pulled at my heartstrings. This group of friends are the magical misfits and you can’t help but feel for them & cheer when they realize the power of their friendship. You get POVs from all the friends but the main focus is on Minerva, a witch who’s spells misfire. She ends up bonding with a pigeon (honestly I loved that) and she has such a good heart who sees the best in people. Moving onto book two because I need to know what happened at the ending!

Reader’s Notes:– this is the first of a series & must be read in order– this is told from Minerva, Roxana, Xander, Clark, Bevin, Izaak’s points of view (though it mainly focuses on Minerva’s pov; at the end of this book, the author mentions that future books will change who the main focus/pov is from so each character gets a chance to be the ‘main’ pov)– there are witches, wizards, werewolves, vampires, zombies (a form of sick vampire, I believe), dragon shifters, angel & demon-spawn (children born from an angel or demon & a human) in this urban fantasy world– it is mentioned that demon-spawn can descend, which means if they commit any of the seven deadly sins, they gain a power & become more demon like; if they were to commit all of them, then they’d be a full-blown demon– it is mentioned that a few characters are interested in/dating someone(s) of the same gender– it is mentioned that a character does seances– there is some suggestive remarksReview:I removed a star because I’m not that comfortable with the idea of the demon-spawn (& the descending aspect of their being), nor did I like that there were same gender interests or characters that did seances. I’m not sure if I will or won’t continue reading the series (or at least the next book) because of these things. If I do continue, it’d be because I’m still highly curious about the pigeon familiar (& its affinity for escaping/trouble) & what’s going to happen next for Roxanna with the bit of a cliffhanger we were left on in this book.As I mentioned above, I really enjoyed watching the pigeon’s silliness & seeing Minerva slowly accept her. I loved getting to see how this urban fantasy world worked with its special supernatural drinks & hiding from normal humans. This friend group is not only entertaining, but it also was such a great dynamic with all of them. I loved how strongly they stood by each other, but also weren’t afraid to ponder hard questions and bring them up to whatever friend was nearby. I loved seeing them embrace Roxanna after they warmed up to her. And I loved that Roxanna really had no idea how a normal supernatural went about their days, it was funny to see them have to explain things to her!Summary:Minerva is a witch who just can’t keep her finicky magic under control, but longs to be one of the elite protectors of New York: a guardian. Just like her father. To make herself more desirable applicant for the group, she attempts to bond with a familiar that is awe inspiring. What she actually bonded to though was less than phenomenal: a pigeon. It’s the only thing that could have hurt her chances to be bonded to. And no matter what she does, Minerva can’t keep the dang pigeon from following her everywhere. Not to mention her school bestie has dropped in after leaving her unwanted marriage ceremony creating a city wide man-hunt for her. Can Minerva help her friend & prove herself to be a great applicant to the guardians at the same time?(Here’s a quick look into the other points of view too:)Roxanna knows that being a rare female dragon shifter has it’s perks, but she also didn’t realize how it could cage a girl in. Being as rare as she is, and with how much influence her father holds in their sphere, she was betrothed to the best fighter amongst them. And now that she’s finally met her soon to be husband, Roxanna isn’t too sure she wants to sit around like a porcelain doll that’s only good for furthering her species. She needs to take her fate into her own hands…Xander is a half-breed werewolf that’s looked down upon by his species because of being half human. No one wants to accept him to their pack as a member because of it. But if he doesn’t find a pack soon, he might literally go crazy…Clark is Minerva’s brother & a wizard. Unlike his sister, Clark’s magic actually works perfectly. However, he has the worst relationships. Maybe that’s because he keeps dating outside his species and thought his marriage would work despite his wife having been a human?Bevin is a demon-spawn that want’s nothing to do with descending. Every day is a struggle to choose to do the right thing, especially since her nature is to want to do bad…Isaak is a vampire & all vampires innately cause humans to fear them. But Isaak hopes to be a lead actor in a role that’s not the villain. Is it so much to ask for a chance of being different?

This story starts out with full on paranormal fantasy. I’ll admit to enjoying Twilight, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and Narnia. This books has witches, werewolves, vampires, demon-spawn, and more. At the beginning couple chapters I was a little worried because the paranormal aspect was so high, but I soon got used to it all and settled in. There are many POVs in this magical misfits friend group. A witch struggling with her magic, a dragon running away from her wedding, a demon-spawn fighting to stay good, a werewolf with no permanent pack, a top notch mage, and a vampire who likes to act. This is a fantasy saga series. It is on the edgier side with innuendos and some language. I enjoyed it and will continue the series.Content: one of the main characters is lesbian. That piece is only mentioned occasionally in passing and no action has been undertaken. Innuendos and some language.

My Pigeon Familiar follows a group of misfit friends in New York (sound familiar?). These friends (unlike the popular TV Show) span several races of magical beings including: mages, werewolves, dragon shifters, vampires, and pigeons…!! Even though they all have struggles fitting within the expectations of their kind, they have found a family and support system together.This story shares multiple POVs and focuses on a main challenge that they are all facing as individuals and as a group. When a blast from the past runs back into Minerva’s life it catches everyone off guard and everyone must maneuver the situation with as little difficulty as possible. They hit many snags and hilarious mixups along the way.Overall this book was a fun read and a great introduction to this world and characters. The set up for so many different storylines and character building had me wanting more and I truly look forward to getting more time with my new F•R•I•E•N•D•S!Thank you to the author for the ARC copy of this book! All opinions and thoughts are my own.