The Last Namsara

Asha, daughter of the king, is feared and admired as the greatest dragon hunter. She is nicknamed the Iskari, after the destroyer in the ancient legend of Iskari and Namsara. Her father has ordered her to marry a cruel man, but then offers her a bargain: if she can kill the most dangerous and oldest dragon in Firgaard, she will have her freedom. But during her quest with the help of a secret friend, she finds that not everything is as it seems, and the ancient tales may be more real than she imagined.

What I Liked:

THE LAST NAMSARA has exceptional world building. From the detailed imagery to the ancient legends, this is a novel where you can sink into the setting and feel yourself among the characters. The dragons are particularly great, and I love the different ones we get to meet along the journey.

Asha’s character arc is extremely well done. I had trouble connecting with her character, but regardless, her characterization is full of depth, complexity, growth, and even healing. As she discovers the truth about dragons, the ancient legends, and even her own upbringing, you’ll be amazed at the emotional resonance Kristen Circcarelli captures.

What Left Me Wanting More:

While there is much to enjoy, I found it difficult to make a connection with the story and characters. The plot can be a bit slow going, and it wasn’t until about the second half or so that I was eager to keep turning the pages. Some areas left me with more confusion than answers, but as this is the first book in a series, more explanations might be found in the sequel.

Final Verdict:

Though I wasn’t able to connect with the story as much as I wanted, THE LAST NAMSARA is still an enjoyable adventure with admirable character growth and outstanding world building.

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.