The Last Namsara

            I read this book between yesterday and today, and I was pleasantly surprised. Like so many of the books that I read, I’d completely forgotten the premise by the time I picked it up. I’ll give a blurb here but check it out on Goodreads if you want other reviews and opinions.

            The Last Namsara tells the story of Asha, a young woman who has a secret: she tells the dragons’ stories. The old stories. Those forbidden to even consider, much less speak aloud. She is known as the Iskari. The death-bringer. She spends her time hunting dragons, luring them with her dangerous stories, until one day when she must face her betrothal to the cruel commandant. As she races to fulfil her father’s request that will get her out of this marriage, she finds that the truth is faster and determined to be revealed to her.

Asha’s character could have had a more solid foundation. Some decisions she made didn’t feel like enough evidence backed them. I wanted to understand her feelings a bit more. Honestly, it wasn’t far off. It was almost there. The development that Asha goes through feels real, and I enjoyed reading about her journey.

            The world is so incredibly interesting. I love the familiarity that these people have with these gods and how often it is that these gods walk among them. Through the novel, the dragon king of Firgaard was trying to get rid of the old ways and therefore the old gods. He wanted to be the one setting the rules. Just like Asha’s character, I wanted more world-building to come through and tell me why he wanted this. There was a reason revealed at one point (avoiding saying it because spoilers) but it didn’t feel firm enough. I wanted higher stakes.

            My favourite part of this novel was the dragons. I loved how intrinsic they were to the entire world, yet they were hunted like pests for the glory of the dragon king. There wasn’t any mention of using the bodies for anything productive, like food or materials. Asha makes herself dragon scale armour to protect herself from the fire, but that’s the only mention. I kind of enjoyed that dragons were something other than rare and special. It made for a unique reading experience.

            I’m excited to get into the next two books in the Iskari series, The Caged Queen and Skyweaver. Each book follows a different heroine, but each of them are intertwined with each other in the story that they are building together. I highly recommend this book for lovers of Throne of Glass and An Ember in the Ashes. It will take you to another beautiful world of wars, love, and amazing heroines.

Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5