The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli Review
Hello Again!
Hope everyone has had a good week/ weeks! I have been pretty busy since the wedding and haven't posted in nearly 2 weeks! :O I'm so sorry for the absence but I promise I have been busy with good things! I have been working on lots of good things for my Etsy shop including a new product type and new bookmarks. Make sure to check them out soon! I also finished The Last Namsara last week and wanted to review it for you. See below, enjoy!
Synopsis
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
Review
First of all, I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love dragons. I love when I get to read about them, whether the story features dragons or they are a background aspect, it makes my day. This story features dragons heavily, so I was quite excited to start it and I was definitely satisfied with the part they played in this novel.
One of the first things I want to commend is the author's creativity. This is a unique story, steeped in magic and legend that has its own world. World building is very difficult to pull off and this author did well in creating a universe not too large to be explained but big enough to be expanded later on. I also enjoyed the unique story, it was nothing like I had ever read before which is always appreciated.
In terms of plot development, this story was unique in that this story had multiple climaxes. I would get to a point in the story where it felt like the story was getting close to the end but I would find that was not the case. This was actually enjoyable because there was still more story to be discovered but I found it a little odd. In addition, some of the story points were easy to see coming which was a little disappointing but didn't take away from the overall story.
One of the things I enjoyed most int his novel was the romance. There were several relationships to explore in this novel but the main relationship, between Torwin and Asha, was my favorite. It developed slowly and organically and wasn't an auto- love as most YA romances seem to be these days. I really enjoyed their banter as they start out as a royal and a servant and become peers and then friends and then develop another type of relationship. I look forward to seeing how their relationship further develops in the sequel.
Finally, the character development was not as in depth as I would have liked to have seen for a book of nearly 500 pages. We got some good development from our main character, Asha, and also from Torwin, but didn't get much development from any of the other characters. I can understand this for the most part as this story was focused on Asha and her story. I'm hoping we get some more development from our secondary cast of characters in the second novel as we don't know what the story for this sequel is yet.
In the end, I have no idea what's going to happen in the second novel. There was no clear enemy or problem at the end of this book that I could see so I have no idea where the story will go but I'm excited to see where it does go. I hope the author continues to expand the world introduced to us in the book and expand on the characters introduced.
Conclusion
Overall, I enjoyed this tale of dragons and magic. It was unique and had a great cast of characters. I am looking forward to seeing how this story progresses in the sequel later this year.
Length: At 432, I thought this was an excellent length for this story and nothing was left out
Story Development: Doesn't follow a traditional format, several small climaxes but still a great story!
Romance: Builds slowly and organically as it should! Loved it!
Protagonist Strength: Above Average
Re-readable? Yes
I give this book 4 out of 5 stars
