Book Review: The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli

Author: Kristen Ciccarelli

Series: Yes - Book #1 in the Iskari series.

Cover: I love covers that have hints of gold. I think it brings subtle elegance the the cover. Seeing the covers of the rest of the series, I think this gray scale & gold design is very lovely. 

Rating: 5/5 Even though I have read The Last Namsara last year, rereading the book still brought me so much feelings and awe at Ciccarelli's writing. I loved every single story and sentence in this book. I cannot wait to read her second book!

 

If you're interested in my first review of the book, here it is: The Last Namsara

Review: Here we go! As usual, the first half of my review will be my general thoughts about the book and the second half I'll be discussing some spoilery subjects. Read the book first before you venture further in this review! This book is a 5/5 for me. Last year, it was one of my favorite reads and I still enjoyed rereading every single line of this book again. Ciccarelli has a magical way with words. Reading her book literally swept me away.

The book centers around Asha, a princess known for bringing disaster upon her kingdom. She is given the name Iskari after the destroyer and killer of the past. She is tasked to hunt every dragon down to atone for her crimes. Everything changes the day she meets a slave boy, Torwin. Asha's world starts to change as she discovers more about herself, her family, and her fate. 

The world of The Last Namsara is very unique. I've never read a book where stories carry so much power. I love every single story that is told in this book. Each of them connects to the present situation perfectly. My favorite story is Willa's story. It's so beautiful. You guys MUST read this book. 

We get introduced to a lot of characters in this book. Overall, there are three general communities, draksors, skral, and scrublanders. Draksors are the higher class and royal members, skral are the slaves and scrublanders are a community that don't agree with draksors ways. Asha and Torwin are the most important characters. Torwin is the slave of her betrothed, Jarek. Jarek is an ass. Pardon my language. We also have Safire, Asha's cousin who is half drax and half skral. There is Dax, Asha's brother, and Roa, Dax's girlfriend. We also have the King himself. We also have DRAGONS!!!! Every character is memorable and unique.

My absolute favorite part about this book are the stories. I love how the book revolves around these stories. Old or new they're all so captivating and mirrors what Asha is going through. Another thing that I enjoyed about The Last Namsara is how every description in this book leads to a clue later on in the book. I didn't catch these subtle hints in my first read, but after rereading, I really appreciate how Ciccarelli weaves everything together.

My only negative thought about this book is the romance. The entire book takes place in a span of three weeks at most. I'm not a huge fan of fast moving romances. Even though this romance was cute, I really like romances that takes months to build not only upon their relationship but also their personalities. That is just my personal preference though!

Overall, I still recommend people to pick this book up. If you love dragons, fantasy, and strong heroines, you'll really enjoy this book. I'll be reading Book #2, The Caged Queen next and even though Asha is not the main character, I'm so excited to see what Roa has in store for us. Reading the synopsis already has me itching to read the next book.

!!!!!!!!!! SPOILERS AHEAD !!!!!!!!!!

From here on out, I'll be talking about points in the book that are pretty spoilery. Don't venture past beyond this point if you haven't read the book. If you're okay with spoilers, you do you my friend.

Let me just say, Asha's dad is the biggest asshole parent I've ever read. Like, it is usually the step parent that is the jerk of the story, but nope, not this one. What kind of person murders their spouse, poisons their son and burns/scars their daughter? An asshole that's who. Also, Jarek the Jerk makes me sick. When you read over and over about Asha's wedding dress, it just makes you feel so bad for her. 

Second, during my first read of this book, I didn't think much of Roa. For a character that spoke like 10 lines, she is a force to be reckoned with. I'm so curious what she'll do in her own book. I'm also curious if she actually likes Dax. I'll bet she's the smartest character in this entire series.

Even though I knew it was coming, Shadow's death still hit me so hard. Why do you have to do my poor baby dragon dirty like that Ciccarelli?! WHY?! I wanted Torwin and Asha to ride off into the sunset together on their own dragons. I mean Kozu is cool and all, but Shadow :(....

Another thing that annoyed me is the rule of "if you kill a king you gotta die as well". Can't Dax just veto it? I get that it is an old law, but at this point people are following it more for tradition rather than necessity. It's not like the gods are going to smite Asha. So who is there to enforce this other than the people's traditions?

Guys, I really really really love the vows in this book. There is something so beautiful about Willa's story that has captured my heart entirely. I LOVE the vows people say when they get married. There is something so perfect about it that it tugs my heartstrings. Part of me thinks it'll be great to use in a modern day wedding, but at the same time it doesn't make much sense without Willa's story. 

Favorite Line: 

It is still the same as before! Just a snippet of Ciccarelli's amazing writing. I would paste Willa's story here but, you guys have to read it for yourselves!

 In her bare feet, with the esparto grass brushing against her knees, Asha felt... unsheathed. The wind tugged at her hair. The night air kissed her scarred skin. She'd thought standing armorless before a watching dragon would make her feel vulnerable and exposed. And she did feel those things. But she felt something else too.

Unfettered.

Wild.

Free.

Top 3 Favorite Characters 

Asha - I can't imagine what it feels like to believe that you are the cause of the deaths of hundreds of people. Not to mention whereever you go, they call you Iskari, the destroyer. Not only do people hate you, but you also believe that you're ugly because of your scars. Not to mention, she has an oppressive father who turned out to be a major ass in the end. It hurts my heart that she has all of these thoughts constantly on her mind every day. She's my favorite because even through all of that, she is so powerful and courageous. 

Dax - At first, I was thinking of Torwin, but then I realized Dax was better. He is sacrificing everything for the better of the people. He even knows that if he kills his father, he will die as well and he still goes through with the plan. Dude is more courageous than I give him credit for.

Safire - Safire's story is sooo sad. I can't imagine getting beat up everyday simply because you're only half good blood and half bad blood. Even with everyone down her throat, she's still loyal to Asha. She literally gives everything up for Asha. Love this girl.

Overall, a lovely book to read. If you guys have read this book, let me know your thoughts on it. Love it? Hate it? Can't decide on it? Let me know! I'll be reading the sequel, The Caged Queen by Kristen Ciccarelli next.