Series: Iskari, Book One
Publisher: Gollancz
Format: Hardcover
Published: 12th October 2017
Number of Pages: 432
Book: For Review*
Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Adventure, Paranormal,
Mythical, YA
Recommended Age: 13+
Contains: Violence,
Death
Blurb From Goodreads:
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.
Review:
“The
old heroes were called Namsara after a beloved god, he said. So she would
be called Iskari, after a deadly one...”
Once there was a girl who was drawn to old
stories. The stories with power. The stories the dragons craved.
She told stories to Kozu, the first dragon.
And he grew to crave her, too. But when she refused to tell him
another story, he grew angry with her. He burned her with his fire and
then he destroyed much of her kingdom, killing many of her people.
It was all Asha’s fault. She should
have known better – after all, the old stories killer her own mother.
Now, her people loathe her and to restore
the honour she lost the night Kozu’s fire scorched her people, Asha goes out
and hunts dragons, bring their heads to her father, the dragon king.
But that is not enough to redeem her.
No, she must now marry Jarek – a cruel man she despises like no other.
There is no escaping the binding – until her father offers her a chance
of escape: if she can kill Kozu and bring him the dragons’ head, she will be
free.
But amid rising tensions and the defiance
of Jarek’s slave, Torwin, can Asha find a way to save herself and her people?
Can the old stories reveal the truths that have been hidden for so very
long?
Anyone who knows me is all too aware of my
dragon obsession. They are my absolute favourite fantastical creature and
I would literally sell my soul for a real one. My mum actually calls me
Hagrid from time to time due to my dragon mania. So when I was offered a
chance to read The Last Namsara, how
was I meant to say no? In fact, The
Last Namsara has probably been my most anticipated debut of the whole year
and the instant it landed on my doorstep, I just dived straight in. And I
fell instantly and irrevocably in love. Because I’ve read a lot of books
about dragons, but none like this. The
Last Namsara just pulled me under a spell – stories truly do have power,
especially ones as magical and beautiful as this one.
Asha was such a stronger character – and my
very favourite type of princess: a badass with swords and an axe. To
begin with, she was all kinds of broken – a hunter desperate for forgiveness,
who could not forgive herself. A girl who killed dragons to try and clear
away the other deaths on her hands. It would have been so easy to dislike
her – but I never did. Because Asha was brave and tough as nails and
funny and so very alone it made my heart ache for her. And then she goes
on this journey over the book – I’ve never seen such character development in a
single book and I just loved it.
Torwin – oh my sweet Torwin! He was
just the sweetest, loveliest thing and I spent a lot of the book just wanting
to wrap him up in a hug. He was loyal and devoted and kind to Asha, even
when no one else would even look at her face.
I just loved the two of them together.
I’ve never read a story where a princess fell in love with a slave – and
I never thought I could love such a romance so much. The two of them were
just perfect together and I loved watching their relationship grow. It felt
utterly real to me and was just the sweetest, most wonderful thing.
I loved all of the minor characters too,
especially Safire, who was just as much of a badass as Asha – maybe even more.
The child of Asha’s uncle and a slave, Safire was an outcast and seen as
easy prey despite her royals blood – but she never let it break her. And Dax was a really lovely big brother – a
bit of a dreamer, he was kind and strong and quick witted. Roa was awesome! These two are the main
characters in The Caged Queen and I’m
so excited to see more of them!
Jarek was an epic arsehole – I loathed him,
even when I felt pity for the boy who lost his parents to dragon’s fire and yet
saved the girl responsible for their deaths.
I simply have to mention the dragons – even
if I have to watch what I say for risk of spoilers! The dragons in this
book were characters in their own right (the main two especially) and they were
written in such a way it took my breath away. The dragons in this book
can be terrible and destructive and ruthless. But then so can humans.
And like humans the dragons can be so much more – and though they do not
speak our language, they could tell stories of their own – such beautiful
stories.
I absolutely loved the way Kristin wrote
this book – I loved the main plot line and story of Asha and her journey.
And I loved the old
stories interspersed throughout the book. I can see why Asha was drawn to
the stories – they were just so very beautiful.
This plot was just nonstop! Just when
I thought it was time to take a break and get some much needed sleep, a new
twist threw me and simply made me
read on. Kristen will be responsible for
many sleepless nights and her books are always going to be so worth it.
I don’t like slavery – I think it’s utterly
abhorrent, as most do! But I thought Kristin handled the subject in a
truly delicate way, weaving the slavery of skrals into the story effortlessly
and enabling yet more plot twists to cause my jaw to drop!
If you haven’t guessed yet after reading so
far through my long, rambly review, I absolutely adored The Last Namsara. As a dragon lover, this book was heaven to
me and I cannot wait to see what Kristin brings out next. I’m especially
excited about the second book in the series, which will focus on Roa and Dax –
I loved both characters and can’t wait to get to know them better!
Kristin Ciccarelli is now added to my list of auto-buy authors – and The Last Namsara is one of my favourite
books of 2017. If you love dragons like I do or just want to read about a
badass princess, please pick up The Last
Namsara. You won’t regret it!
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go
stand in nature and tell an old story to the world. Because I just really
really want a dragon.
Star Rating:
5 Out of 5
5 Out of 5
Read this
book if you liked:
Grisha by Leigh Bardugo
Before She Ignites by Jodi Meadows
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Happy Reading
Megan
* This
book was received from Gollancz in exchange for an honest review
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