Review: The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli
The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli
Iskari #1
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.
I've always been a fan of dragon stories, but THE LAST NAMSARA may take the cake for uniqueness. At the opening, our heroine, Asha thinks Dragons are evil and has made it her life mission to hunt them all down. She's quite the little bloodthirsty killer, and good at her task. But in typical YA fantasy fashion, nothing is as it seems. I really enjoyed seeing Asha's progression from the role of killer, into something else as her world view slowly changed. Everything she thought she knew was a lie, and it sure made for a shakeup in her life, and the story itself. I was hooked watching her world fall around her, and then her standing strong picking up the pieces and fighting for what she felt was right. It just made for a very enjoyable heroine.
Moving onto the romance, and it's a forbidden one at that. Asha found herself in the unlikely situation of falling for a slave. It was interesting to see her trying to come to grips with her feelings as well as society's pressure around her, all the while her world view had come tumbling down. Oh and don't forget the conflict of her being betrothed to someone else. Torwin is both sweet, yet incredibly strong, refusing to give up despite knowing the risks. I really adored his character and I can't wait to see how thing progress with these two in future books.
All in all if you enjoy a good YA fantasy read about dragons that's full of twists and turns, look no further than THE LAST NAMSARA.
Moving onto the romance, and it's a forbidden one at that. Asha found herself in the unlikely situation of falling for a slave. It was interesting to see her trying to come to grips with her feelings as well as society's pressure around her, all the while her world view had come tumbling down. Oh and don't forget the conflict of her being betrothed to someone else. Torwin is both sweet, yet incredibly strong, refusing to give up despite knowing the risks. I really adored his character and I can't wait to see how thing progress with these two in future books.
All in all if you enjoy a good YA fantasy read about dragons that's full of twists and turns, look no further than THE LAST NAMSARA.
(Received a copy from the publisher)
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