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Review: The Last Namsara

by Kristen Ciccarelli

The Last Namsara

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Title: The Last Namsara
Author: Kristen Ciccarelli
Publisher: Harper Teen
Book: #1 of Iskari
Genre: YA/Fantasy
Found: Fairyloot Box (Nov 17)
Rating: 4 Voodoos

In the beginning, there was the Namsara: the child of sky and spirit, who carried love and laughter wherever he went. But where there is light, there must be darkness—and so there was also the Iskari. The child of blood and moonlight. The destroyer. The death-bringer.

These are the legends that Asha, daughter of the king of Firgaard, has grown up learning in hushed whispers, drawn to the forbidden figures of the past. But it isn’t until she becomes the fiercest, most feared dragon slayer in the land that she takes on the role of the next Iskari—a lonely destiny that leaves her feeling more like a weapon than a girl.

Asha conquers each dragon and brings its head to the king, but no kill can free her from the shackles that await at home: her betrothal to the cruel commandant, a man who holds the truth about her nature in his palm. When she’s offered the chance to gain her freedom in exchange for the life of the most powerful dragon in Firgaard, she finds that there may be more truth to the ancient stories than she ever could have expected. With the help of a secret friend—a slave boy from her betrothed’s household—Asha must shed the layers of her Iskari bondage and open her heart to love, light, and a truth that has been kept from her.

- Goodreads

A Fairyloot Book Box Book – November 2017

I feel like I haven’t picked a book off my shelves for a really long time… I’m usually reading an ARC on my Kindle or a library book or something that’s time restricted. It was really nice to just pick a book at random and read for fun, with no deadline looming in the near future.

I took this one at a leisurely pace, in other words it took me just over a month to read, but I think it needed that. It needed time to breath and grow in my imagination and as a result I fell in love with this story. The story follows a girl named Asha, a girl who’s father is the Dragon King. When Asha was a child she told stories to the dragons. Stories that gave them the ability to breath fire and communicate with humans. But one day the dragons turned on her family and her people, killing many and leaving her burnt and broken. Now, Asha is a Dragon Hunter and lives to reap retribution on these foul creatures.

I really enjoyed the way this book was written. We were given the main story from Asha’s point of view but every now and then we were given an ‘old story’. These were the stories that were forbidden by her father because of their power. I liked that they had a different feel to them. They seemed old. Like myths or legends and gave us helpful little insights into the history that Asha would have grown up knowing.

I liked Asha but I have to say I did find her a little whiney at times. She seemed to be consumed by guilt and this was constantly clouding her judgement especially when it came to her father. I don’t really understand how she didn’t see he was manipulating her all the time. I loved Asha’s cousin though, Safire. I just wish we’d seen more of her!

I don’t think anyone could miss the love interest coming. Torwin was an obvious choice, the servant with a not-so-secret willful and firey streak. But I did enjoy seeing their relationship develop. Forbidden love is always the best isn’t it ?

The story itself had a good pace and kept me interested. I loved Kristen Ciccarelli’s writing style making this one of the better YA fantasy’s I’ve read in a while but I must agree with a few of the other reviewers, it did seem like a story I’d read before… I’m not sure if it was the predictability of the storyline or just because it felt like a myth/legend retold. The juries out on that one.

The ending was great, and left us with so many different directions that this series could take next. I  don’t know how I will be able to wait till September but I’m glad to see it has a title: The Caged Queen, a blurb, and a gorgeous cover already!

The Caged Queen

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