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A review by manjala
The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli
4.0
Okay, this wasn't the most deep and intricate fantasy novel ever, but Man, did I have fun reading this.
I think this is the most fast-paced book I've read in a while. The characters were fun, and the dragons were an integral part of the story. It had a lot of How to train your dragon - vibes, and as soon as I realised that I couldn't let go of all the similarities.
What I liked about the worldbuilding and characterization of this one was mainly how important storytelling was to the whole book. It opens with a beautiful sentence, which immediately grabbed my attention. I love how we got to hear some of the stories too throughout the book, and how they were connected to what Asha, our main character, experienced herself. She wasn't a perfect "I'm not like other girls" character, which I was happily surprised with. She was flawed, had prejudices and wasn't always right. She was powerful and courageous, but it didn't feel forced. I liked how all the characters showed emotion and didn't feel like a cut-out stereotype.
That said, as I said before, this isn't the fantasy book with the most depth. Everything happens a little too easily, and the plot twists were kind of predictable in my opinion. And even though it ended off in a way that set up the plot for the sequel, I'm not too invested in it, so I don't know if I want to read the second and third book in the series.
I wish we got to see even more details of the world, how the politics were (they were a little too simple for my taste), and I wanted more of the stories! It didn't hinder my enjoyment too much though, this was a really fun read.
I think this is the most fast-paced book I've read in a while. The characters were fun, and the dragons were an integral part of the story. It had a lot of How to train your dragon - vibes, and as soon as I realised that I couldn't let go of all the similarities.
What I liked about the worldbuilding and characterization of this one was mainly how important storytelling was to the whole book. It opens with a beautiful sentence, which immediately grabbed my attention. I love how we got to hear some of the stories too throughout the book, and how they were connected to what Asha, our main character, experienced herself. She wasn't a perfect "I'm not like other girls" character, which I was happily surprised with. She was flawed, had prejudices and wasn't always right. She was powerful and courageous, but it didn't feel forced. I liked how all the characters showed emotion and didn't feel like a cut-out stereotype.
That said, as I said before, this isn't the fantasy book with the most depth. Everything happens a little too easily, and the plot twists were kind of predictable in my opinion. And even though it ended off in a way that set up the plot for the sequel, I'm not too invested in it, so I don't know if I want to read the second and third book in the series.
I wish we got to see even more details of the world, how the politics were (they were a little too simple for my taste), and I wanted more of the stories! It didn't hinder my enjoyment too much though, this was a really fun read.