Author: Kristen Ciccarelli
Series: Iskari #1
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Release Date: October 12th 2017
Book Length: 304
Publisher: Gollancz
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 dark—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 hearing 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.
The Last Namsara is easily one of my
favourite fantasy books of this year. I mean, a princess who slays dragons,
dark forbidden fairy tales and romance? I was pretty much hooked from the very
first line….
“Asha lured the dragon with a story.”
The story begins with Asha killing a dragon,
she hunts dragons religiously to make up for a terrible mistake she made as a
child that resulted in her city being destroyed. Asha is reviled by her people
for her past and now must marry the much-loved commandant Jarek, to appease her
city. However Asha is given a chance to gain her freedom, she must hunt down
the First Dragon who burned her city and left half her body scarred and she
will stop at nothing until she’s free.
"Once there was a girl who was drawn to wicked things. Things like forbidden, ancient stories. It didn’t matter that the old stories killed her mother. It didn’t matter that they’d killed many more before her. The girl let the old stories in. She let them eat away at her heart and turn her wicked. Her wickedness drew dragons. The same dragons that burned her ancestor’s homes and slaughtered their families. Poisonous, fire-breathing dragons. The girl didn’t care."
Asha is a fierce,
determined and all round badass heroine. However what I loved about her
most was her personal growth, at the beginning she’s completely
flawed; she’s rude, arrogant, condescending, spoiled but the character arc is truly wonderful. As
the book progresses Asha’s evolves as a character, everything that comes with
being a pampered princess is completely broken down and she evolves fiercer
than ever with sound morals and beliefs. She learns from her mistakes, she’s able to see how narrow-minded she
was and actually grow as a person. I went from being really dubious of Asha to
ultimately being her high-school cheerleader. ha!
“The old heroes were called Namsara after a beloved god, he said. So she would be called Iskari, after a deadly one.”
The story is told from Asha’s point of view
in the present but there are a few chapters along the way that show you glimpses of the past such
as Asha’s childhood, how she lured dragons and my favourite: the tales of
Figaard’s myths and legends and of course the history of dragons. As Asha’s
journey leads her far from palace life and deep into the woods, she uncovers
devastating secrets that will change everything.
No one could know the truth: after all these years of trying to right her wrongs, Asha was still as corrupt as ever. If you opened her up and looked inside, you'd find a core that matched her scarred exterior.
In addition to truly enchanting story
telling, there was a slow-burn romance that you can’t help but get on board
with. Torwin is the slave of Jarek, Asha’s devious furture-husband. Torwin was
such an interesting character and I’m looking forward to learning more about
him in book two, his story and history is one I can’t wait to explore. So
clearly this romance is completely forbidden, Torwin will literally lose his
head, which only makes me ship it all the more; I’m such a sucker for forbidden
romances. However the slow-burn route Ciccarelli took was utterly brilliant and
addictive in its small doses. Both characters had chemistry, there was suspense
and I love how Torwin actually challenged Asha so she would finally open her
eyes.
The dragon came, slithering out of the red-gold silt like the treacherous thing it was. Sand cascaded down its body, shimmering like water...while it's slitted gaze fixed on the girl who summoned it. The girl who'd tricked it with stories.
The Last Namsara is a stunning debut to a
fantastic fantasy series. It’s fast-paced, action packed, filled with a diverse
cast, dangerous legends and of course dragons! There’s political intrigue, a
hidden rebellion and a consuming romance that will keep readers on the edge of
their seat and reading long into the night. Fans of An Ember in the Ashes,
Seven Realms and the Shattered Realms series with devour this.
A huge thank you to Stevie from Gollancz for my stunning copy of the book, allowing me to take part of the blog tour and of course bringing amazing books to my attention!
Check out the rest of the blog tour.
Happy Reading!
xo.
Oooh! I'll have to check this one out! Great review!
ReplyDeleteI have doubts about this book, it's so rare to have a really good fantasy book with dragons! But your review is very detailed and compells me to give this book a chance. Thanks for sharing Cody!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this book as well! I agree with you about the character arc - very well written!
ReplyDelete