Sunday, December 1, 2019

Book Review: "The Last Namsara" by Kristen Ciccarelli

Title: The Last Namsara
Author: Kristen Ciccarelli
Series: "Iskari" #1
Genre: YA Fantasy
Page Length: 432 pages
Publication Date: October 3, 2017
Date Started: November 30, 2019
Date Finished: November 30, 2019
Rating: 4.25 // 5 stars
Goodreads

*I was provided a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own*

From the moment I heard about this book I knew I wanted to read it. My first encounter was all the way back in 2017 when it first came out and two things happened: I fell in love with the cover and the synopsis drew my attention immediately. For some reason, it took all these years for me to finally read it, so I want to thank HarperTeen for sending me a copy and finally pushing me into  reading it. I'm so glad I did.

This book was great. It had so many different elements that I loved individually and just all came together to form a wonderful story. From the characters to the magic and dragons to the political intrigue...it was great.

The magic and lore in this book is really interesting. The world the characters live in is not just their own--there are dragons with them. At the beginning of the novel, our main character is a dragon hunter--an Isakri. While out hunting, she tells old stories that have the power to draw dragons to her. The whole idea of a magic system revolving around old gods and dragons is just so unique to me.

Not only that, but the political intrigue and how society was structured in this book was very interesting. While you're reading, you're not really sure who you can trust and what's actually going on in this kingdom. We start off the novel thinking one thing and, by the end of it, have completely been bamboozled by the events.

The two main things that kept me engaged, though, were the characters and the stakes. What I liked about this book and the reason why I read it in one sitting was the fact that there were twists and turns that kept raising the stakes throughout the novel. It seemed like we'd just figure out how to deal with one thing when another curveball was thrown.

I really liked our main character, Asha, but I also loved all of the side characters. Our main character is in a really tough spot, mentally and physically. It doesn't ever really seem like anything can go well for her. Our side characters are also wonderfully written, which makes me excited since the next two books in the series are companion sequels following different side characters!

The one thing I will say was that I didn't feel like the romance was as strong as the rest of the components in the book, though that isn't necessarily a bad thing. I enjoyed the romance but I would have also been completely okay if it wasn't there, so I'm not sure how much it really impacted the plot besides how it influenced the different characters' actions.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I am definitely excited to read the next two. I think that the author has created a unique and compelling world full of high stakes and interesting characters that will keep me coming back for more time after time. I highly recommend!



Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren



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